Yes. Several years ago insurance carriers discovered that there was a direct coloration between poor credit scores and higher levels of claims. Most insurance companies create an "insurance score" as part of their pricing and underwriting guidelines. The "insurance score" has a component of your individual credit rating built in to it.

 

Some insurance carriers place more weight on personal credit than others in terms of their pricing. There are very few insurance carriers today that don't participate in some scoring level.

 

However, unlike some other states, insurance companies doing business in Connecticut may only use a score for a pricing on NEW BUSINESS only. Insurance carriers may not use scoring on renewal policies. Lastly, look for Insurance Scoring to also begin to affect Homeowners Insurance in the near future.

Your liability insurance protects you for the operation of a rented car for 30 days. If you have comprehensive and collision coverage on one vehicle, that coverage extends to the rented car. Your deductibles still apply. Use a credit card to rent the car. Most credit cards include "collision damage waiver" which pays for your collision deductible and certain other types of events. Check with the credit card company.

 

There may be restrictions for vehicle types. If you rent a vehicle with exceeds 10,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight, you may need to buy all the insurance from the rental agency. Also, the policy territory is USA, it possessions; Canada, and Puerto Rico. If you rent elsewhere, you need to buy all insurance from the rental agency. Ask your agent.

If you lease or borrow to buy a car, the amount of your note may be greater than the value of the vehicle. This is the gap. GAP coverage pays this difference. Insurance usually pays for the depreciated value of your car. So, if you have a long term note and a new car, the GAP may exist.

No. Your car insurance only pays for things which are part of the car such as seats, tires and wheels, and permanently mounted audio equipment. Stolen items are covered by homeowner or tenant policies.

If you have rental reimbursement on your policy you have a limited amount to cover rental costs, usually $30 per day for 30 days. You must get authorization from the company before you rent. If you want the insurance company which carries the policy for someone responsible for your damages to pay for a rental, you must get authorization from that company. This daily limit and length of time allowed may be limited. Make sure that you know what will be allowed before you incur any costs. If the vehicle is a total loss, there may not be any rental reimbursement from any source.

Your policy protects you and the person driving the car.

Drive safely. Make sure that you are getting every discount to which you are entitled. The discount list includes credits for more than one car on a policy, more than one policy with the same company, driver education courses, good student, air bags, alarm systems, car pooling, no previous losses, and more. Consider higher deductibles on comprehensive and collision insurance. If your vehicle is not worth much, you can drop comprehensive and/or collision. High performance and high value cars cost more to insure than standard cars.

This policy adds an additional layer of liability protection to your auto and homeowner or tenant liability limit. The coverage can be "following form", exactly like your auto and homeowner liability, or it can be true "umbrella" which adds some important protection such as libel and slander. The layers start at $1,000,000 and additional $1,000,000 can be purchased. Cost is surprisinlgy low. Ask us.

No. You should insure it for the cost to rebuild, not market value. This way, if there is a partial loss to the building, you will be reimbursed for the cost to replace the partial loss.

For the building, it means the cost to rebuild at today's cost. As long as your amount of insurance on the building equals the cost to rebuild, you will get replacement cost at the time of loss. A complication can arise if you are required to improve the building to meet current building codes. Some policies include a limit of 10% of the amount of insurance on the building to cover the increased cost of construction to meet code. Ask us, especially if your home is older. For contents, it means today's prices of your personal property. Antiques and fine art values are subject to limitations.

You should buy specific insurance for unusual items of high value. The value is set by appraisal. The coverage is more extensive than the standard policy. Most often, there is no deductible. Cost is surprisingly low.

The special coverage values jewelry at appraised amount. It also covers disappearance, loss of a stone from the setting, and recognizes loss to one of a pair. Most often, there is no deductible. The standard policy limits the amount available for theft to $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the company, there is no coverage for disappearance or loss of a stone, and the policy deductible applies to any loss.

No. There is no coverage for either property perils or liability. You need separate policies.

Yes. The standard homeowner policy does not cover liability for your business. A small amount of business contents may be covered as long as you operate as a sole proprietor. Separate buildings used for business are not covered. The right coverage can be added by either adding it to your homeowner policy or writing a commercial policy. Ask us.

First, make sure that the dwelling is insured for the cost to rebuild. If not, you will not be fully compensated if you have a claim. Any "savings" at the expense of inadequate insurance will be costly. You can reduce your premium by taking a higher property deductible.