A word about DEDUCTIBLES...

Simply stated: A deductible is the amount that you pay toward a loss or claim before the insurance company begins to pay. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium.

• The more you are willing to participate in your loss, the greater the savings on your premium.

The insurance company will offer your a lower premium if you take a higher deductible because your LOSS FREQUENCY and your LOSS SEVERITY will be lower. Consider if you have a $2000 deductible instead of a $500 deductible:

1. You'll make fewer claims because you won't be making claims for $600, $900 or $1995 losses. You'll simply pay those yourself. (FREQUENCY)
2. When you do submit a claim the insurance company will be paying $1500 LESS than if you had the $500 deductible. (SEVERITY)

There is no "correct" deductible to choose. It depends on what I like to call your personal LOSS THRESHOLD. So before we get too far ahead, lets take a moment to diagnose your "loss threshold."

Lets say you go out and buy a $3 picture to hang in your bathroom. Are you going to insure it? Of course not! Now you go out and buy a famous $252,000 masterpiece painting. Are you going to insure it? Unless you are a multi-millionaire, you certainly will. Somewhere in between the $3 print and the $252,000 masterpiece is your loss threshold. Your loss threshold is the amount of money you can stand to lose without doing any great harm to your daily lifestyle or your peace-of-mind. In the above example, different people will have different thresholds. There is no right or wrong answer here!

ANOTHER SIMPLE CALCULATION....

OK. Let's say you're ok with a loss threshold of $1000 or less. Now you can choose between a $1000 deductible or a $500 deductible. Here's all you have to do.

1. Find the premium difference between the two.
2. Let's say you save $80 a year in premium to take the $1000 deductible.
   
3. Now look at the DIFFERENCE between the 2 deductibles which is $500. It would take you over 6 years ($80/yr x 6 years = $480 ) to save the DIFFERENCE between the deductibles.
   
4. Now you simply ask yourself, "Do I think I'll have more than 1 claim in the next 6 years?"
   
5. If the answer is yes, you should probably take the lower ($500) deductible.
   
6. If the answer is no, then the higher deductible ($1000) probably makes more sense.

If you're still confused by this, just give me a call and I'll walk you through it....

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

A few thoughts on PROPERLY insuring your Rental Property

So, you're going to be a landlord! Since it's nearly ALWAYS a good time to buy real estate, you're making an excellent move. The long-term value of real estate from an investment standpoint is, in my humble opinion, the best leverage available.

Now that you've taken that step, it's important to get the right kind of insurance to protect not only your investment from the ravages of fire, vandalism, smoke, and broken water pipes, but also protection from the greedy hands of your tenants should they sustain an injury on your property in the form of Liability Coverage.

There's usually 4 primary areas of coverage you want to explore when looking into insurance for your property that you rent to others. (doesn't matter if it's a single family dwelling, duplex, multi-plex or a condo.

1. Building Coverage - Protection for the structure.
2. Personal Property Coverage - Protection for the contents of the unit that you own. This includes refrigerator and window treatments primarily. It would also include any other non-building type items that you own and are stored or used in the rented dwelling.
3. Loss of Rents Coverage - This pays your fair market rent value to you whenever your property is rendered uninhabitable from a covered loss.
4. Liability Coverage - This is that important coverage that protects you when tenants or their guests are injured or sustain some "other kind" of "loss" that they think is YOUR FAULT and they come after you with vengence and an attorney!

There's other coverages to consider like Medical Payments (usually included), Flood and Earthquake Coverage(BOTH usually NOT included).

Ok so now you at least have a place to start. Let's take a quick look at each one to give you just a little guidance.

BUILDING COVERAGE
This coverage is identical to homeowners insurance in that it protects the building against physical loss from perils like fire, smoke, vandalism, water damage from broken appliances and pipes, falling trees, automobiles, etc. It's usually written on an ALL RISK basis. Which is fancy insurance talk that simply means EVERYTHING except certain listed exclusions is covered. In other words, if something happens to the structure and it's NOT listed in the exclusions... IT'S COVERED!

You'll want to get enough coverage here to rebuild the structure at current construction costs. Ask your agent of a general contractor what current constructions costs would be for a place like yours. For a more complete discussion, read HOW MUCH HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE DO YOU REALLY NEED (the section on the building coverage walks you thru the same thinking you'll need to determine coverage on your rented property.)

PERSONAL PROPERTY COVERAGE
This portion provides coverage for items that you likely brought to the property. (Exception here might be a refrigerator or window treatments) Rule of thumb is that if it's permanently part of the structure it's a building item, if not, it's likely a personal property item. Most window treatment items (curtains, blinds, curtain rods) will be personal property (check with your agent to be sure) Refrigerator is personal property. An installed dishwasher is likely a building item.

Usually you don't need too much coverage here -- $2000 to $5000 is usually enough, but add your stuff up to be sure.

LOSS OF RENTS COVERAGE
This is important to provide a consistent flow of income should you sustain damage to the property that renders it uninhabitable for a period of time. Policies can pay for up to 12 or 24 mos or some offer an indefinite period of time. Usually it's just for a short time like a few days or a week or two.

LIABILITY COVERAGE
This could be one of the most important decisions you make regarding your rental property insurance. My advice is to think of $1 Milliion as a minimum. The difference between $300,000 and $1 million is likely less than $100 per year ($8.00 per MONTH) Beleive me, a WISE investment in the protection of EVERYTHING you own. Liability losses can be wide ranging and EXTREMELY varied in nature.

Here's a quick story about one...

Just this year a policyholder called me and told me that they were being sued because their tenant's girlfriend accidentally let the tenant's dog out of the back yard. The dog made a beeline across the street and kicked the stuffing out of the neighbor’s dog. The landlord (NOT the tenant or the girlfriend) was being sued by the neighbor for veterinarian bills that exceeded $3000 and for mental anguish, stress, and… well, you know the drill. Fortunately my policyholder had not only their Rental Dwelling Insurance in place but also a $1 Million Liability Umbrella standing between this crazy neighbor and everything they owned. Without that, this could have been their problem…

They could have been paying off this “little problem” for years. They could have risked everything they own in addition to their FUTURE EARNINGS by not having the foresight to get adequate Rental Dwelling Insurance and a LIABILITY UMBRELLA policy.

You can insure your rental property, your personal property and your liability exposure in one simple policy.

Be sure to take your time and spend a few minutes in the chaos of the transaction to talk with your insurance professional about these important coverages.

You can always call or email me if you have any questions.

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

FAQ's California Wireless Law effective July 1, 2008

NEW HANDS-FREE CELL PHONE LAW IS EFFECTIVE 7/1/08.

California finally catches up to what's safe and realistic by enforcing a requirement to use cell phones while operating a motor vehicle with either a wireless or "wired" ear piece. Soon we'll all look like Spock and Lieutenant Uhura from Star Trek with those funny "listening devices" protruding from our ears.You can check out the Official FAQ's at the California Department of Motor Vehicles website, but here's my personal spin.

There will be no grace period. That sounds like really bad news, but it doesn't count as a "real ticket" and the fine for the first offense is only $20.

If you're under 18, you can't talk on the phone AT ALL while driving. This includes talking AND texting. HOORAY! (interestingly, the law doesn't specifically address texting by over 18 operators.

Speaker option is OK. Push to talk is NOT. I guess HANDS FREE means just that.

Calling 911 in an emergency situation is an exception. Makes sense to me.

Good luck. I think this is a law that's LONG OVERDUE and should be enacted in all states. The ONLY accident I've been involved in my last 25 of driving was when I was rearended while stopped at a light when a young girl was REACHING FOR HER CELL PHONE and took here eyes off the road.

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

The Paint on my Fender Isn't Going To Match the Rest of the Car

Face it. Paint fades over time. Your car sits out in he sun and gets weather-beaten by rain, snow, etc. After a few years, the paint looks OK, but you can tell that it isn't like it was when the car was brand new.

Then.... you have a little fender bender and your left front fender is crunched. Damage isn't all that bad, but you need a new headlight and some paint when it's all done.
Doesn't matter how good the body shop is at matching the color. Actually most of it is completely computer driven and there's specific formulas for a given year and make of the car. The body shop can match the paint spot-on PERFECT. That's NOT your problem though.


The new paint is new and the rest of the paint is not. While it will match perfectly to the color it won't look the same and you want to paint the rest of the car. You think the insurance company should pay for that.

THEY WON'T. (usually)

Matching paint is not their concern. It's been round and round in the courts and it's just not a case you're going win. There could be an exception if you're dealing with the insurance company of the AT-FAULT driver who hit your car. I'll talk abou that next.

Sadly the case is that the insurance company is NOT obgligated to match the paint on the rest of the car. You might get an adjoining door painted or a little "blending" of some kind, but if you want the paint matched by painting the whole car, you'll have to pay for the DIFFERENCE yourself.
Take heart though! This is an OPPORTUNITY!

You might be able to strike some kind of deal with the body shop to paint the whole car. Remember most of the cost of painting is to set up the job -- Masking; mixing the paint, booth time, drying time, etc. That's all the same if they paint a fender or the whole car.

Make a deal with the body shop OUTSIDE of the insurance deal to paint the rest of the car. You'll get a better price and you can ethically let the insurance pay for all that set up on THEIR nickle.

If you were hit by someone else and are dealing with THEIR insurance company, you might be able to get some consideration for the non-matching paint. NOT MUCH, mind you, but something. This won't work if the accident was your fault because your car is being repaired under the collision portion of your policy and there's no provision for a liability-type payment (which this is) in that portion of the policy and the adjuster (even if they want to) CAN'T pay for that for you.

Before you go after this, be sure you get into the head of the adjuster and know WHAT THEY NEED to write you that check by reading (at least the Purple Section of: They're NOT offering me enough for my vehicle.

You'll need to document the reduced value of your car because of the non-matching paint. It may only be worth a few hundred dollars, but it might be worth your time. Talk to some used car lots or people who sell cars a lot and you'll get some ideas. You'll need to get something in writing so you might want to be willing to type something up on their stationery and return to get their signature. Ask them what to say and you'll be on your way.

Remember the claim settlement gig is a process. Take your time and help the adjuster document their file and you'll get a better settlement.

GOOD LUCK!

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

Options When You Have Damage from a Prior Accident

A client called me yesterday with an interesting dilemma. Said that recently, when his car was parked on the street, it was hit by a Fire Truck on a call. Kind of unusual as Fire Truck Drivers are usually pretty good at what they do.

Nevertheless, he was concerned because on the same side of the car there was some damage from a prior accident and wanted to see if he could get that fixed at the same time. He also wanted to make sure the paint matched the rest of the car. So here's the advice I offered to Steve.

The insurance company is only going to pay for the damage that was a direct result of the accident caused by the Fire Truck. Nothing more, nothing less.

Your best bet is to make a deal with the body shop OUTSIDE of the parameters of the insurance company settlement. Here's why.

Anytime you repair a car there are some fixed expenses that are there regardless of the size of the job. The car has floor time, rack time, parts to order, paint booth time, drying time, set up the paint sprayer time, set up the sander time, on and on and on. The body shop will appropriately include most of that in the estimate for the insurance portion of the repair. Then the body shop might to ahead and fix your "other fender" for less because they have to go through all that set up stuff anyway.

Talk to your estimator at the shop see if you can't make a bettter deal. I bet you can.

GOOD LUCK!

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California