This week we will take another break from talking about the Long Island homeowners and flood insurance situation and talking a little about a question we still get a lot at our office. That would be the one about what insurance you have to buy from the rental company when you go on vacation and rent a car.
A number of years ago, in response to car rental companies trying to add $10-20 per day onto the cost of a rental vehicle through things like 'collision damage waiver', the State of New York came up with mandatory coverage to be included on every New York car insurance policy so that NY residents would not have to pay the extra charges.
So now, every New York auto insurance policy contains a 'rental vehicle coverage endorsement' providing coverage for actual damage to or loss of a rental vehicle. The coverage extents to rental of a passenger car, station wagon, van, or pickup, anywhere in the U.S., its territories or possessions, and Canada. So right away, note that coverage does NOT apply to a truck larger than a regular van or pickup, such as the type you might rent from U-Haul to move your stuff, for example. And coverage does NOT apply to rentals in Europe or anywhere outside the U.S. and Canada.
Note that the coverage specifically DOES apply to 'loss of use' of the rental vehicle. That means that if you have an accident, and the rental company loses 3 weeks worth of rental income while the car is repaired, that loss is also covered. That's because once the rental companies lost the extra daily rental charge, they tried to come up with other things to add on that were not covered under the NY auto policy. So the state included additional coverage.
Please note that you must read your own policy and/or talk to your insurance agent to make sure your policy has the exact same wording, but basically on something like this where it's required by the State, the wording has to match the State standards and so should be standard. So when you rent a car on vacation, and comply with the restrictions set out in your policy, the bottom line is that you do NOT have to buy any extra insurance for the damage to the rental car.
For more info on this or any of your other insurance questions, please feel free to contact us through our web site at www.NYInsuranceWithService.com.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
insurance- insurance industry
There are many great Insurance resources available. Including the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association.
According to their site "The nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents & brokers with more than 300,000 members
Professional Insurance Agents "The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) represents independent Professional Insurance Agents in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Our members are local Main Street Agents who serve their communities throughout America."
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety "
Insurance Information Institute:
insurance resources consumer oriented......
According to their site "The nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents & brokers with more than 300,000 members
Professional Insurance Agents "The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) represents independent Professional Insurance Agents in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Our members are local Main Street Agents who serve their communities throughout America."
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety "
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is an independent, nonprofit, scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing the losses — deaths, injuries, and property damage — from crashes on the nation's highways.
The Highway Loss Data Institute's mission is to compute and publish insurance loss results by make and model. Both organizations are wholly supported by auto insurers."Insurance Information Institute:
insurance resources consumer oriented......
insurance- insurance industry
There are many great Insurance resources available. Including the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association.
According to their site "The nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents & brokers with more than 300,000 members
Professional Insurance Agents "The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) represents independent Professional Insurance Agents in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Our members are local Main Street Agents who serve their communities throughout America."
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety "
Insurance Information Institute:
insurance resources consumer oriented......
According to their site "The nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents & brokers with more than 300,000 members
Professional Insurance Agents "The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) represents independent Professional Insurance Agents in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Our members are local Main Street Agents who serve their communities throughout America."
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety "
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is an independent, nonprofit, scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing the losses — deaths, injuries, and property damage — from crashes on the nation's highways.
The Highway Loss Data Institute's mission is to compute and publish insurance loss results by make and model. Both organizations are wholly supported by auto insurers."Insurance Information Institute:
insurance resources consumer oriented......
Saturday, July 15, 2006
First 'Wind vs. Flood' Insurance Lawsuits from Katrina
Well, we knew it was coming, but the first lawsuit against insurance companies resulting from the denial of Katrina claims has started. Unfortunately, most people did not have flood insurance, either because they felt they were protected by the levee system (those people may have a legitimate beef with the Army Corps of Engineers or others, in thinking the levees should have worked) or they thought they were far enough from the water to be safe.
In the recent flooding in some upstate New York counties, it has been estimated that only one per cent of the people had flood insurance. If you live in a mountainous area, it's hard to imagine needing flood insurance, but FEMA estimates that 25% of all flood claims come from areas that are NOT considered 'special flood hazard areas.'
Here on Long Island, and especially in Suffolk County (the further east you go, the more Long Island is considered vulnerable to hurricanes and other such big storms) we have a slightly different situation for those right down by the water. Since most homes have been built or in some way refinanced over the past 35 years (since the National Flood Insurance Program started), most have been required by their banks to carry both wind (homeowners insurance) and flood insurance. Many people should probably review their limits to be sure they are enough, but there is a lot of flood insurance in force near the South Shore.
Move a few blocks north of the water, however, and the situation is quite different. That's where the flood zones change to something other than 'A', and the banks have, until now, not been mandated to require flood insurance. That is all about to change as congress works on the 2006 Flood Insurance Act which will change the whole system to require more participation based on what happened with Katrina.
A few weeks ago Newsday published a map that clearly shows what our Emergency Preparedness people have been telling us for a long time. Based on elevation (facts, not guesses), water from a hurricane the size of Katrina would bring flooding past Sunrise Highway in many places, and certainly much further from the shore than has been seen in the memories of most of us.
Still, flood insurance in those Long Island areas outside the hazard zones can be as little as $352 (even less for a house on a slab), so many people are buying it anyway, since it seems a small price for a lot of peace of mind.
As always, for more info on flood insurance, visit our site at www.FloodInsuranceNY.com.
In the recent flooding in some upstate New York counties, it has been estimated that only one per cent of the people had flood insurance. If you live in a mountainous area, it's hard to imagine needing flood insurance, but FEMA estimates that 25% of all flood claims come from areas that are NOT considered 'special flood hazard areas.'
Here on Long Island, and especially in Suffolk County (the further east you go, the more Long Island is considered vulnerable to hurricanes and other such big storms) we have a slightly different situation for those right down by the water. Since most homes have been built or in some way refinanced over the past 35 years (since the National Flood Insurance Program started), most have been required by their banks to carry both wind (homeowners insurance) and flood insurance. Many people should probably review their limits to be sure they are enough, but there is a lot of flood insurance in force near the South Shore.
Move a few blocks north of the water, however, and the situation is quite different. That's where the flood zones change to something other than 'A', and the banks have, until now, not been mandated to require flood insurance. That is all about to change as congress works on the 2006 Flood Insurance Act which will change the whole system to require more participation based on what happened with Katrina.
A few weeks ago Newsday published a map that clearly shows what our Emergency Preparedness people have been telling us for a long time. Based on elevation (facts, not guesses), water from a hurricane the size of Katrina would bring flooding past Sunrise Highway in many places, and certainly much further from the shore than has been seen in the memories of most of us.
Still, flood insurance in those Long Island areas outside the hazard zones can be as little as $352 (even less for a house on a slab), so many people are buying it anyway, since it seems a small price for a lot of peace of mind.
As always, for more info on flood insurance, visit our site at www.FloodInsuranceNY.com.
Thursday, July 6, 2006
Hilary Confused about Homeowners vs. Flood?
Well, I never had any doubts that it is very common among the average 'person on the street' to be somewhat confused about just what is covered under homeowners insurance as opposed to FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program. But I would have hoped that a U.S. Senator and Presidential hopeful would have been able to get better information.
Hilary Clinton was touring some of the flood-ravaged areas of upstate New York recently, and took the opportunity to call on Allstate Insurance Company to reconsider their position of not writing new flood insurance policies on Long Island and other downstate areas, along with the cancellation of tens of thousands of existing policies. (Note that 'flood' in that case was her word, not ours)
Unfortunately, the flood damage she was looking at would ONLY have been covered under flood insurance policies issued by the National Flood Insurance program! While it's great that she is advocating on behalf of us here on Long Island and other areas that are prone to hurricane damage, Allstate would not be the culprit here, nor would they be the problem if we had major flooding here on the South Shore or anywhere else for that matter.
According to the article in National Underwriter magazine, Mrs. Clinton stated more than once that it's a shame that Allstate is no longer willing to provide flood insurance to their customers in Long Island, NYC, and Westchester. This kind of misinformation can only add to all the confusion and problems currently surrounding the market for coastal homeowners insurance.
Unfortunately, from what I have read, only about 1% of the people affected by last week's flooding actually carried flood insurance. That's most likely because they live in mountainous areas and would never have expected floods. But here on Long Island, and specifically on the South Shore, you need both a homeowners insurance policy AND a flood insurance policy if you want to be properly protected.
As always, for more information, please visit our web sites at www.nyinsurancewithservice.com and www.floodinsuranceny.com
Hilary Clinton was touring some of the flood-ravaged areas of upstate New York recently, and took the opportunity to call on Allstate Insurance Company to reconsider their position of not writing new flood insurance policies on Long Island and other downstate areas, along with the cancellation of tens of thousands of existing policies. (Note that 'flood' in that case was her word, not ours)
Unfortunately, the flood damage she was looking at would ONLY have been covered under flood insurance policies issued by the National Flood Insurance program! While it's great that she is advocating on behalf of us here on Long Island and other areas that are prone to hurricane damage, Allstate would not be the culprit here, nor would they be the problem if we had major flooding here on the South Shore or anywhere else for that matter.
According to the article in National Underwriter magazine, Mrs. Clinton stated more than once that it's a shame that Allstate is no longer willing to provide flood insurance to their customers in Long Island, NYC, and Westchester. This kind of misinformation can only add to all the confusion and problems currently surrounding the market for coastal homeowners insurance.
Unfortunately, from what I have read, only about 1% of the people affected by last week's flooding actually carried flood insurance. That's most likely because they live in mountainous areas and would never have expected floods. But here on Long Island, and specifically on the South Shore, you need both a homeowners insurance policy AND a flood insurance policy if you want to be properly protected.
As always, for more information, please visit our web sites at www.nyinsurancewithservice.com and www.floodinsuranceny.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)