The Haas Agency » collision damage

4 Tips for Safe Winter Driving

Peter W. Haas — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:37:43 +0000

Connecticut residents are preparing for another snowy winter. The 7 day forecast is calling for snow in the next week or so. The Haas Agency wants you to be prepared. Take the following 4 Steps and watch the video below to make sure your prepared as we enter the new winter season.

Make sure you have plenty of windshield washer fluid
Make sure the tread on your tires are at safe levels
Don’t forget to put the ice scraper in the backseat of your car
Make sure your windshield wiper blades operate properly, and you have new wiper blades for the season.

What are some of your tips for safe driving in the winter? (leave a comment).

Rental coverage for when your car is at the body shop

Timothy J. Haas — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:46:40 +0000

One of the most valuable – and often overlooked – coverages on an auto policy is rental reimbursement coverage. Many agents don’t quote this coverage, because at the beginning of their relationship with you, they’re trying to win your business. They try to keep their premium low compared to other insurance quotes you may have received. (This is why it’s nice to have an agent who take time to talk with you, as a friend, and with whom you can build a beneficial relationship).

Many times after an accident, the body shop can take two to three weeks to fully repair your car. Well, if you have only one car available to you, how are you going to get around? Answer: rent one, but who will pay for it?

This is where rental reimbursement coverage comes in. The coverage is offered in terms of a daily rental reimbursement rate, like $20, $30, $40 or $50 per day of car rental. In CT and NY, an average rental sedan would cost about $35 to $45 per day to rent. The coverage term is usually 30 days.

And how much does the coverage cost? It’s cheap . . . only $12 to $25 every year. This is a great deal considering a car rental for thirty days could cost nearly $1000 or even more.

Rental reimbursement coverage is not for everyone. However, everyone who has their primary car in the shop for more than a few days wishes they had taken the coverage, if it was ever offered. Please consider yourself informed, and do the right thing. Call your friendly agent.

People rebalance their investment portfolio, has your protection portfolio been rebalanced?

Paul F. Haas, Jr. — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:01:47 +0000

Rebalancing protection means shifting premium dollars to pay for catastrophic losses while taking more personal risk for the smaller losses. It make sense to save money this way.

We use basically the same principle when configuring the protection balance between assets (home, cars, boats) and income (life insurance, disability income, long term care). It comes down to personal priorities.

The balance of protection people have between large losses and small losses needs to be adjusted periodically. Your objective should be limiting your exposure to large, catastrophic losses to your assets, income and family and take a bigger portion of the small loss — the small losses you can afford to handle on your own.

For example: Most people have what they believe to be an adequate amount of liability coverage, usually $100,000. In effect what is actually happening is they are making sure the insurance company pays all the small losses (under $100,000) with the insured willing to pay the really big losses, those worth more than $100,000. At the same time most insured’s select low deductibles on their possessions, in effect capping their exposure to loss at $500 or less. In this case the insurance company is only liable for the limited value of that possession. To improve catastrophic protection insureds can increase the percentage they pay on the smaller losses.

The best way to solve this problem is speaking with an insurance professional and building a long term relationship with that individual, so that he will be sensitive to the kinds of life changes that we all make over the long term.