Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing okay and staying safe from this virus. I just wanted to touch base with you to let you know how things are going as far as how the auto insurance industry and state license bureaus are dealing with this virus shutdown. Many of you have been concerned about your policy and have called me with some questions that probably everyone else is wondering as well.

As far as the auto insurance industry, things are still going fairly well given the circumstances. Most of the auto insurance companies are still open. The only difference is that many of their employees are working from home. And if you’re currently one of my customers, I have remained open since my office is located in my home anyways. So if you have any questions or concerns during business hours, please give me a call. And for those of you who have other types of policies with me such as motorcycle, boat, golf cart, snowmobile, mobile home, motorhome, etc., everything in this article applies to you as well.

At the end of this article, I will be posting contact info for websites and phone numbers for your state’s license bureau for those of you who live in the six states that I work in.

As far as the auto insurance companies, many of them are still operating as normal as they possibly can. So if you need to contact your insurance company, you can still do most of the things online that you could before. This includes the companies who have apps that you use on your phone. Or if you need to give them a call, most companies still have someone there 24/7 to take your call. Understand that because of the changes in logistics as far as employees working at home, you may experience longer wait times on the phone. But you will still be able to get to talk to someone who can help you.
As far as your state’s license bureau, you can still do many things online that you could before. And while most all of the BMV/DMV locations are closed, many of them are providing phone numbers to where you can reach someone.
 
The good news:

• For those of you who have lost all or part of your income because of this shutdown, the auto insurance companies are being more lenient and flexible about certain situations more so than what they were before. So if you have a payment due very soon and you’re unable to make the payment on time because you’ve lost all or part of your income, I strongly suggest that you call your insurance company. Most all of these companies will work with you during these uncertain times. But be sure you call before your payment is due! Don’t wait until your policy is past due. I have noticed that most companies are being very flexible with financial issues you may have.

• For those of you who may soon have a driver’s license or tag/registration about to expire, again, the state license bureaus have been more lenient on those issues as well. I suggest you go online to your state’s BMV/DMV or call to see exactly how to handle your issue. But for the most part, states have asked law enforcement officers to use a little more discretion and leniency for those who have reached an expiration regarding their vehicle/license. But again, be sure to find out exactly what your state is doing because each state is handling it a little differently than the next.

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 *** Second Update: Food Delivery Work.
  
 Many restaurant employees (such as waitresses, bar staff, etc.) and also others who have been laid off from their regular job have picked up temporary work delivering food since the Coronavirus Shutdown. If this applies to you, you may have been wondering  how this works with your personal auto insurance policy.

 In the past  as far back as I can remember,  no Personal Auto Insurance policy ever covered a driver While making any work related deliveries ( you needed a commercial auto insurance policy to do that). However, because of this coronavirus shutdown, many auto insurance companies are removing that exclusion while this shutdown goes on. So if this applies to you, be sure to call either your agent or your auto insurance company to ask if the company is indeed removing that exclusion temporarily.
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If anything Important happens or changes in the upcoming days or weeks, I will update this blog article with the most recent info. So be sure to check back periodically to see if there have been any changes made. Take care everyone and be safe!
 
State BMV/DMV Contact info:

Ohio
https://www.bmv.ohio.gov/
(844) 644-6268
 
Indiana
https://www.in.gov/bmv
888-692-6841
 
Michigan
https://www.michigan.gov/sos
(888) 767-6424
 
Pennsylvania
https://www.dmv.pa.gov
717-412-5300
 
Virginia
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/#/
(804) 497-7100
 
West Virginia
https://transportation.wv.gov/DMV/
304-558-3900

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Transcription:
 
Slide 1:
 
Hello! I’m Dan Lyles with Lyles Insurance. In this video, we’re going to go over why state minimum liability auto insurance coverage sucks!
 
Slide 2:
 
When many drivers buy auto insurance, they choose the state minimum level of liability coverage that they’re allowed to buy. And this video is going to explain why this is a big mistake! And we’re also going to give you a better understanding of how liability coverage works with auto insurance.
 
Slide 3:
 
First, let’s go over the basics of liability coverage. Liability coverage is required on all auto insurance policies. And what it does, it pays the other guy if you cause an accident which results in other people either being injured or having property damage. And those are the two parts of liability coverage: Bodily injury and Property damage.
 
Slide 4:
 
It’s important that you understand what the numbers mean as far as liability coverage levels. So here’s how you’ll usually see it, is three numbers separated by slashes. So let’s use the example of 50/100/25. The first number 50, that’s the maximum amount in thousands that your coverage will pay to any one person that you’ve injured. So anybody, single person it won’t pay more than $50,000. The second number, 100, represents multiple people being injured and the total it will pay in full to everybody, $100,000. And the third number represents property damage. $25,000 is the most it would pay here.
 
Slide 5:
 
So if you look at the levels of state minimum coverage that your state requires, I’ve included the six states in my territory where I sell auto insurance: Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Michigan or Pennsylvania. If you live in any of those six states, you can see what your state’s minimum level of coverage that you need to carry. And as you might notice, those numbers are pretty low. In fact very low!
 
Slide 6:
 
This is the fundamental reason why state minimum liability coverage is inadequate. It’s usually okay for your minor accidents or fender benders. Where it falls way short are the more serious and severe accidents. Think about if someone is hospitalized. And look at those levels of coverage on the previous screen. You’ll realize that just one or two days in a hospital can exhaust those amounts. And you could be on the hook for the rest of it if someone’s critically injured or has really severe injuries. That’s why you need to stay away from state minimum coverage.
 
Slide 7:
 
When drivers choose just to settle for state minimum liability coverage, it’s usually because they realize that that only pays the other guy. What they don’t realize: you also limit yourself by doing that. Because uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is very important coverage to have for yourself in case you get hit by somebody that either doesn’t have liability coverage, or has skimpy levels of coverage as well. And you are not allowed to carry higher levels of uninsured motorist coverage than what you selected for liability coverage. So if you choose to go skimpy on the liability coverage, you’re limited to that same level of coverage yourself. This is very important to keep in mind.
 
Slide 8:
 
And one last thing that I want you to think about, understand that liability coverage is not unit priced. Meaning that doubling your amount of liability coverage will not double the price. In many cases, doubling coverage only amounts to an increase of a few dollars more per month. And even tripling or quadrupling coverage is only a little more beyond that. So the best way to handle it is to look at the next levels of coverage. Go up at least one and two levels and see how much higher it costs. Because usually you can afford a little higher coverage. And keep in mind what I mentioned about how inadequate state minimum coverage is. And you can see why it’s a no-brainer to go with higher levels of coverage.
 
Slide 9:
 
For those of you who live in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia or West Virginia, if you’d like to get an auto insurance quote, I will be happy to run one for you personally myself. I’ve left my quote information from my website on here. And I’ve also listed my phone number. You can go online and get a quote or just give me a call. Thank you for watching and have a great day!


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Transcription:

Slide 1:

Hello! I’m Dan Lyles with Lyles Insurance. In this video, we’re going to go over some key tips that you need to know for buying golf cart insurance.

Slide 2:

There are basically two ways to insure a golf cart. Number one is an exclusive stand alone golf cart insurance policy. And as this video will show you, this is a much better idea than the second option, which is insuring a golf cart by attaching it onto your homeowner’s policy.

Slide 3:

If you compare the prices between a standalone exclusive golf cart policy versus an attached policy, you’re going to find that the price is nearly the same for both. Both are very inexpensive compared to other recreational vehicles. But the main difference is the added value you get with a standalone exclusive policy. So for the same money, you get more coverage flexibility, you get offered higher levels of coverage, and more types of coverages added.

Slide 4:

Here’s why golf cart insurance policies that are attached are not as good policies as standalone exclusive policies. The main reason being unreasonable coverage restrictions. For example, some companies will not allow you off your property, some companies won’t cover you while crossing public roadways, and there are even some attached policies that won’t cover you playing golf on a golf course. Now these are the type of things we buy golf cart insurance for! So how silly is that? And also, an attached policy does not have the higher levels of coverage that an exclusive policy offers. And, they don’t offer as many types of coverages as an exclusive policy does.

Slide 5:

There are five main parts to a golf cart insurance policy. And you might notice that they are the same five parts that you have on a regular auto insurance policy: liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage, comprehensive coverage and collision coverage. And you see the two there in asterisks, not all attached policies will offer uninsured motorist or medical payments coverage.

Slide 6:

Golf cart insurance policies generally have a broad range of acceptance. However there are some golf carts that are unacceptable. And those include golf carts that go over 20 miles an hour. Now there are a few companies that will let you to stretch that to 25 miles an hour, but most of them cut the limit at 20. An engine cannot be modified in any way. And finally, you cannot use a golf cart for commercial or business use. This includes renting or leasing to others. You need commercial insurance for that.

Slide 7:

Here are some other benefits to having exclusive golf cart insurance coverage. Number one, you get offered higher levels of coverage than you do with an attached policy. Number two, free accessory coverage. This is anything permanently attached to your golf cart. If you have comprehensive and collision coverage, that automatically comes free up to a certain amount, and you have the option of purchasing more if you need. And also, as I mentioned before, a standalone policy will offer medical insurance and underinsured motorist coverage. Whereas most attached policies do not. And finally, if you’re like most people and occasionally transport your golf cart with a trailer, you can also buy coverage on the trailer as well.

Slide 8:

As far as the best place for finding golf cart insurance, I suggest you go through an independent agent who has multiple golf cart insurance companies that can get you multiple quotes at once. That’s more time efficient than shopping around one company at a time. And for those of you who live in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia or West Virginia, if you would like for me to personally run you a quote, I’ll be happy to do so. I’ve listed a webpage on my website where you can get an online quote. I’ve also posted my phone number here if you want to get a quote by phone. I will also post those below the video to make it easy for you to click on. Thank you for watching and have a great day!