Consider this approach: Gather your insurance policy documents in one place. You’ll need the declaration pages that show the insurance carrier, the effective dates, automobiles and coverages. You should also gather similar documents for your home, condo, renters or boat policies. Having more policies with one company affords bigger discounts.

Now that you have all the documents you need, call or visit someone that you can trust — your local independent insurance agent. Send your documents to him, and he will provide a competitive proposal that compares your current policy to the proposal. You decide if making a change is worth the little effort required to switch. Tim or Peter will make the transition as smooth as possible, by making sure you don’t pay for coverage you don’t need and dropping the old policy in the most effective way. The team of agents at most independent firms are trained and put their reputation on the line in the communities where they live and work. Haas Insurance Agency offices are located in Newtown, CT and Glastonbury, CT. Don’t hesitate to jump out of the online quoting maze to find out what value a professional can bring, especially when you’ll save as much or more than you could quoting everything alone without any help from someone that shares a mutual interest in your insurance protection at a great rate.

Ask your agent.  Will he or she suspend the car you don’t use during the winter? In most states, taking the car  completely off the policy can cause problems with the registration, but you can suspend coverage – or reduce coverage to minimum levels.

At best leave comprehensive coverage active on the car. In this manner, you retain insurance on the car to protect you from losses from fire, theft, and falling objects. These can easily happen in the winter when a car is outdoors, or even when it is garaged.

If you’re not sure about any of this, just contact me at 203-746-5077 or 860-659-1301 and I’ll review your policy and help.

Well, 26 years later I still have the same philosophy–that people should not insure the small losses that they can take care of themselves at the expense of not having enough coverage for a truly catastrophic loss. The only difference now is the deductibles are not $250, I advocate for $1000 deductibles. No one wants to part with a large deductible, however, if the philosophy is to only worry about the loss you cannot afford then you should insure yourself that way by paying out of pocket for the loss you can afford.

Putting the philosophy aside, the premium saved in many cases will more than make up the difference over time. For example, if there are two cars and the savings are $110.00 each six months by switching your collision deductible from $500 to $1000 it would take two and a half years of reduced premium payments to save the difference between the two deductibles. I think that is a risk worth taking, especially if you are a careful driver. The same holds true for your home insurance.

When you are ready to review your insurance protection plan, just contact me. We’ll design an insurance plan that meets your protection needs at the lowest possible cost.

When these cars are garaged for the winter, there is a great opportunity to save on your auto insurance. Just call your agent, and request to have the liability coverage on your auto suspended. In Connecticut, the state requires that you sign a form – the form is meant to be a recorded acknowledgement that you won’t drive your suspended car without active liability insurance coverage.

Don’t drive the care when liability coverage is suspended, just call your agent before you take the car out next season. Put a note on the drivers seat to remind yourself to call your agent first.

While the car is in storage, the vehicle will be protected from comprehensive claims, like fire, theft, vandalism and falling objects.

In my experience, this approach can save people $200 to $300 per year on their auto insurance. We’re delighted to save our customers money in this way, because this is a service that we can perform easily for you and make it as hassle-free as possible.