Bragg Insurance Agency is proud to offer Erie Insurance products and works hard to make the customer buying experience an easy and pleasant one.  Erie’s excellent reputation with how they handle claims along with their awesome buying experience makes Erie a company hard to beat.

On May 3rd of this year the put out the following press release in regards to the JD Power award.

For the fifth year in a row, Erie Insurance received the highest ranking in Customer Satisfaction with the Auto Insurance Purchase Experience in the J.D. Power Insurance Shopping Study. In 2017, Erie Insurance received a score of 879 out of 1,000.

“In this digital age, we strive to provide our agents with the right tools to reach .  Customers in ways they prefer and expect, but still reflect our hallmark of service,” said Tim NeCastro, president and CEO of Erie Insurance. “A customer might start an insurance search online, but we believe it should end with a handshake.” 

The Insurance Shopping Study provides a detailed look at the customer experience in shopping for a new auto insurance policy. It explores what prompts someone to shop for insurance and which factors contribute to the purchase decision. Three factors were measured to determine overall satisfaction. They are, in order of importance: price, distribution channel and policy offerings

A common misunderstanding that contractors have is to think that their Liability Insurance covers the building materials when they are working on a project.  General Commercial Liability (CGL) covers exactly what its name implies; the contractors liability if someone in injured and the contractor is held liable.  

Building materials in the midst of construction or on site are NOT covered by a CGL.  To cover the building materials in the midst of construction or on site, it must first be established who actually owns those building materials, the contractor or the homeowner.

The contract between the builder and the homeowner should specify who actually owns those materials.  If the contract fails to address the ownership of the building materials, at a minimum a verbal understanding should be established.

The party who owns those building materials is the party that is responsible for purchasing the builders risk insurance.

The builders risk policy should then cover all of the building materials on site and in the midst of construction until the project is completed.  If set up properly this policy would cover the material for damage due to storms, fire, theft, vandalism, and other perils that will be named in the policy.

Some Business Owner Policies (BOP) held by contractors may include some coverage for building material.  Often times these coverages are insufficient for different types of projects.  If a contractors has a BOP that offers some building material coverage, the homeowner should request to see a copy of that policy, and then verify that the builders has enough coverage for their specific project.

Newly licensed drivers are 96% likely to have an accident.  For most people it’s not a matter of if they will have an accident but when, and how bad will the accident be.

The summer of 2017 has been no exception here in central Indiana.  It seems like nearly every day this summer I have heard of a young driver that was in a serious accident.  Sadly there have been several teens and adults alike that have been killed this summer in automobile accidents. 

Because of these statistics and a national trends that indicates that many driver are texting and driving, adding a teenager to an auto policy can be expensive.  The higher premiums have caused some households to delay in adding their young drivers to their auto policies.  While this may seem like a way to help save on insurance premiums, it actually could cost that household in higher premiums and cause coverages to be withheld.

The short answer to the question of “When should I add my teenager to my auto policy” is “as soon as he/she gets their driver’s license.”  If you are thinking of delaying or withholding your young driver from your auto insurance policy, here are some things to think about.

When adding a driver to a policy the insurance company looks at the issue date of the drivers license.  If the driver’s license issue date indicates that it is a young driver that was never added to the policy the insurance company will normally backdate the adding on of the driver to the issue date of the license and charge the premium to the insured from the issue date.  This is especially true if the young driver has had an accident.

Because withholding young drivers information from household auto insurance policies has actually become a national trend, insurance companies are wising up and changing how they handle these situations.  Some carriers are now excluding coverage for young drivers that live in the same household if they have not been added to the policy.

So here is what all of the this means.  If you fail to add your teenage driver to your auto policy, lets say for 1 year, and they have an accident.  It is entirely possible that your insurance carriers will deny coverage because they were not added to the policy.  They could also choose to cover the claim but then add the young driver to the policy backdating the addition of that driver to the date they received their drivers license and charge the insured for 1 years of premium for that young driver.  That additional premium would be due immediately and the insured would likely be dropped.

The bottom line is that the best practice is to add your young drivers to the policy as soon as they get their license.  If you cannot afford the increased insurance premiums do not let them get their license.  Many parents make their children wait until they were older to get their driver’s license and they can afford the insurance premium payments.

Click Here for more information on how insurance works with Teen Drivers.

How much coverage is enough? Are you under-insured or are you over-insured? That’s a question that does not have a generic answer. There is not a one size fits all insurance plan.  Do you have an insurance plan?

This is what makes the relationship between an insurance agent and the insured so important. Your coverages should be custom fit to your specific risk factors and assets that need protected.  You and your agent should have a plan incase a catastrophe happens….and it could.

Because our society has become so litigious one policy that everyone should consider is an umbrella policy. If you own a home, have any money in the bank, a 401K or retirement account, own a business, or have wages that can be garnished an umbrella policy can usually provide adequate protection.

Click here to watch an informative video that explains that you don’t have to be a millionaire to be sued like a millionaire.