Transcription Slide 1: Hello! I'm Dan Lyles with Lyles Insurance. And in this video we're going to go over the do's and don'ts of buying auto insurance online. Slide 2: Shopping online is a great way to find auto insurance. But you need to know where to look and where not to look when you search online. If you go to the right site, you might find the right coverage you need at a good price. But if you go to the wrong site, you're probably going to run into some problems. It boils down to the luck of a click if you don't know what to look for. Slide 3: The single biggest problem of searching for auto insurance online is that the websites that you should stay away from tend to dominate the top of the search engine rankings, whether it's Google or Bing or anybody else. Meanwhile, the websites that can be the most helpful tend to get buried down in deeper pages to where you don't see them. And that's something you've got to be very well aware of. And I'll talk more about that later. Slide 4: So let's first get into the don'ts because this is very important. There are three types of websites that you should avoid. Number one, dealing directly with an auto insurance company. There's three problems with that. Number one, it eliminates the agent, which I'll get into later. Number two, it's not time efficient to quote with one company at a time. There are hundreds of auto insurance companies in almost every state. So why waste your time quoting with just one company? It doesn't make sense. Number three, there's no flexibility in handling a customer with special policy needs. Number two, clicking on a lead generation site. And I've got a lot more to say about lead generation sites. But for now, just understand that they use misleading and sometimes unethical tactics. And they don't really sell auto insurance at all. Slide 5: The third type of website you should avoid are the ones that are posting ads. These are found when you do a Google or Bing search or whoever. They're usually at the top and the bottom of the search engine pages to where you can't miss them. The problem is that the vast majority of these ads come from the areas I just mentioned; direct companies and lead generation sites. And that's the problem. Those two both have deep pockets, and they push out the agents and agencies that you need to be talking to, that can't afford to compete with the money they spend towards these ads. And that's why it's important to be aware of what's an ad and what's ranked naturally. Slide 6: Now let's go over lead generation sites. As I mentioned, they don't sell auto insurance at all (although their websites often appear as if they do). And what they do is, they simply collect your quote information. But instead of running a quote and selling a policy to you like an agent or agency would, what they do is, they take your quote information and sell it to other third-party auto insurance agents. And there's where the problem is. Sometimes they sell it to a lot of agents. And like I said about their website. They kind of disguise themselves to make themselves look like an actual agency or an insurance company. If you get a quote at one of these sites, your phone's going to blow up, I'm telling you! And it may take days, weeks, or even months before it stops. So stay away from lead generation sites. Slide 7: So how would you know if you ran into a lead generation site? Well, the good news is, they're very easy to spot once you know what to look for. And the key here is to just avoid the anonymous. If they don't have a “NAP” (which is name, address, phone number in the business world). If they don't have a name, address and phone number listed on their website, that's a dead giveaway! A name, address and phone number should always be placed in one of two places. Either right on the home page or some agents like to put it on the “About Us” page. Either one is fine. But if you don't see them on either, that's usually a big indication that you've ran into a lead generation site. So if you don't see name address and phone number in either of those places, RUN! Slide 8: Now let's talk about some of the websites that can be helpful, and find the best auto insurance policy for you. First, we're going to start with independent agents. And what that means is, an independent agent doesn't work for just one company. They sell auto insurance for multiple companies. And the best thing about quoting with them: Number one, it's very time efficient. You get quotes from multiple companies at once versus getting quotes one company at a time, like you do when you quote directly with a company. Number two, you get advice from a knowledgeable agent, not a clueless customer service rep that these direct companies like to use. All they do is follow a sales script. And they have the company's best interest in mind, not yours. Number three, your info is kept private and not shared like with a lead generation site. And number four, an independent agent has a lot of flexibility with customers having special policy needs. For example, let's say you need a SR22 filing, or let's say you need to have a driver excluded. Not all companies do that. And that's where an independent agent can be very helpful. Slide 9: So I've gone over the benefits of quoting with an independent agent. Now let's talk about quoting online with a captive agent or agency. For most of you, an independent agent is going to be the better choice. However, for a small percentage of you, a captive agent might be just what you need. But they have some limitations that an independent agent don't have. So let's go over those real quick. It's just a couple pros and cons. The pro is: You get advice from a knowledgeable agent just like you do with an independent agent. And your info is kept private and not shared. Again, that's completely different than what's going to happen with a lead generation site. The limitations of a captive agent though: It's not time efficient as I mentioned, to quote with one company at a time. And if you have special policy needs that that company can't handle, then a captive agent…. they're stuck! They can't help you. So they don't have the flexibility of switching companies like an independent agent does. Slide 10: Finally, let's go over some do’s and helpful tips. Number one, input longer more descriptive search engine queries. What a query is the actual words you type into a search box when you're searching online. Short queries, they tend to bring the most of the lead generation sites and direct companies. If you do a little longer, more descriptive queries, it's going to cut the number of those down. It won't get rid of it, but it will help. Number two, search farther down in the search engine rankings as I mentioned before. The agencies that you're looking for may or may not be on page one. So don't be afraid to click on pages farther down. Number three, if you're ever unsure about a website, and whether or not it's legit, simply do a search and look them up. You can find out a lot of information about them. Finally, if you get a quote, don't be afraid to ask your agent if you don't understand anything. That's what they're there for, to help you understand the coverage and coverage levels That's the benefit of having an agent instead of dealing directly with a company. So I hope this has taught you what you need to know about where to look and where not to look. I hope this has helped you and you've learned something. Thank you for watching. And have a great day! Link from video: Auto Insurance Page Related Blog Articles: Video: How Auto Insurance Companies Differ in Calculating Rates Video: Key Auto Insurance points to know when buying a car Video: Why State Minimum Liability Auto Insurance Coverage Sucks! Video: Late payments on auto insurance and how it hurts your rates Video: Car Insurance with a Speeding Ticket: Shopping around is a must!
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Transcription: Slide 1: Hello! I'm Dan Lyles with Lyles Insurance. And in this video, we're going to help drivers have a better understanding, for those who need a named operator auto insurance policy with an SR22 filing attached to it. Slide 2: First, what is a named operator policy? A named operator policy (it's also known as a non-owners policy) is a special type of auto insurance for drivers who need to carry personal liability auto insurance, but they don't have a vehicle or have a vehicle registered in their name. Slide 3: A named operator policy only offers three levels of coverage: liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, and medical payments coverage. And remember that named operator policies are only secondary coverage as opposed to primary coverage like regular auto insurance is. What that means is, if you have an accident, the owner of the vehicle’s regular auto insurance company is going to be the main insurer. So they're the ones that are going to pay first. This only covers you if what they have is not enough to cover all the damage. Then a named operator policy will kick in on a secondary level. That's why named operator policies cost so much less than regular auto insurance policies. Slide 4: Here's what a named operator insurance policy does not cover. You'll notice on the previous screen you do not see comprehensive and collision coverage. That's the actual physical damage coverage on your vehicle. A named operator policy does not offer that. Also, it provides no coverage whatsoever if you're driving a vehicle that you own, or a vehicle owned by anyone living in your household. And just like a regular auto insurance policy, no policy will cover you for commercial or business use of the vehicle. To get covered for that, you need commercial auto insurance. Slide 5: Now let's go over an SR22 filing. What it is and what it isn't. An SR22 filing is not auto insurance. It simply attaches onto an auto insurance policy. And what it does, it's a guarantee to your state BMV or DMV that you're carrying at least the state minimum in auto insurance liability coverage. Now for those of you who don't own vehicles, an SR22 attaches to a named operator policy just as easy as it does a regular auto insurance policy. Slide 6: So once you buy this policy with an SR22, the company will let your state license bureau know about it. And as long as you've met all your other reinstatement requirements, an SR22 filing will be the last step in getting your license back. Now, here's the bad part of it. The insurance company has to notify the license bureau if this policy ever cancels. Slide 7: So the best way to think of an SR22 filing is to think of it as a “tattle tale”, as I like to call it. In other words, the company is required by law to tattle on you if you ever cancel or lapse on a policy with an SR22 attached to it. Once this happens, your license will get suspended again until you take out another SR22 filing that is active. Slide 8: Quickly, I want to go over special filings which only apply to drivers in Virginia and Indiana. In Virginia, many of you will be required to carry an FR44 filing. And in Indiana, you'll be asked to carry an SR50 filing. Just understand that everything I've said about SR22s in this video apply to both of those as well. And in the case of SR50s in Indiana, also understand they have since done away with SR50s. And the only ones still being required to carry them are those who are grandfathered in before the law changed. You're probably going to have to get an SR22 filing as a substitute. But don't worry about it. That will work just fine instead of an SR50. The reason you'll probably have to substitute is, most auto insurance companies no longer write SR50 filings. Slide 9: Now this is very important. After you bought a named operator policy with an SR22 and you've got your license back, sooner or later many of you are going to want to buy a vehicle of your own. And as you remember, named operator policies won't cover you driving a vehicle that you own. So how should you handle that? Well, you have two options. Slide 10: The first option: You can easily convert a named operator policy to a regular auto insurance policy in just a few minutes. All it takes is a call to your agent to make the change. You're basically just adding a vehicle to your policy, which will automatically convert it to a regular auto insurance policy. This does not affect your SR22 filing in any way. In fact, in most cases your policy number even stays the same. But remember, it's very important that you do this before you drive the vehicle. And what this option does, it combines your SR22 and a regular auto insurance policy together. So that way, you're only paying for one policy this way. This is the most common option. And for eighty to ninety percent of you, it's the better option. Slide 11: The second option: You can also carry two active policies at once. Some people do this. They'll have a named operator policy just to take care of their SR22 filing and keep their license. And then they go and buy a regular auto insurance policy just to insure the vehicle(s). For most people, like I said, the first option is a better choice than this one. But not always! There are situations where the second option makes better sense. So I hope you have a better understanding now of how named operator policies work in conjunction with SR22 filings. Thanks for watching and have a great day! Link from video: Named Operator Auto Insurance Page Transcription: Slide 1: Hello. I'm Dan Lyles with Lyles Insurance. And in this video we're going to go over the major factors used to calculate auto insurance rates. Now, before I begin, I just want to kind of go over something real quick. The ten factors we're going to be talking about, I'm putting in no specific order. They’re just at random. I would like to prioritize them by level of importance. But that's impossible because auto insurance companies weigh each factor differently. So let's just get started. These are all at random. And I hope you learn something. Slide 2: Number 1, is age. And of course, the age group that gets picked on the most here are the newly licensed teen drivers. They pay the highest rate. But the good news is, from that point all the way up to your late 60's…. As you get older, your auto insurance rate will slowly decrease over time. And then somewhere between age 70 and 75, depending on the company, your rates will start increasing again. Slide 3: Number 2, is location. Now, there are several variables that go into that. But generally speaking, people who live in larger cities pay a higher auto insurance rate than people living in small towns, and vice versa. Slide 4: Number 3 is residential status. If you own your own home, you're going to pay a lower auto insurance rate than those who rent their home, live with their parents, or otherwise. The reason is homeowners get a big discount on their auto insurance. Slide 5: Number 4, is marital status. Married people always pay a lower auto insurance rate than people who are single, divorced or separated. Slide 6: Number 5, credit rating. The better your credit, the less you're going to pay in auto insurance. 92% of all auto insurance companies use credit at least to some degree. However, that degree varies greatly between one company to a next. So don't get hung up if you've got some dings on your credit score. The more you shop around the less that's going to be an issue. Slide 7: Number 6, driving record and claims history. Just about every auto insurance company will check two things before they sell you a policy. Number one is your motor vehicle report (MVR). And number two is your insurance history report, which is known as CLUE. And any dings on either of those records will raise your premium up a little bit. They'll stay on your record for a period of three to five years. After that, although they still stay on your record, they won't count against you as far as your insurance rate is concerned. Some companies only go back three years. Some go back as far as five. But once you’ve hit that anniversary of no longer counting against you, then you should start to see a decrease in your rate at your next renewal. Slide 8: Number 7, having current auto insurance. Almost all auto insurance companies award discounts to new customers who have a current liability auto insurance policy that's been active for at least six months. And some companies will give you higher discounts if you have higher levels of liability coverage. And others will award even more of a discount if you've had current auto insurance longer than six months. Slide 9: Number 8, gender. Female drivers pay less for auto insurance than male drivers do. Sorry fellas, that's just how it goes! Slide 10, Number nine is billing options. Auto insurance companies usually offer three major options as far as how to pay for your auto insurance policy. The first is just making monthly manual payments each month as you go. This usually costs more than any other option. The second option, having payments automatically withdrawn from your checking account. That's a little cheaper than actually making monthly payments. But to save the most money, the third option paying the entire policy in full is going to give you the most savings in the long run. I know it's a big chunk to come up with at one time. But if you do the math, you're saving a lot of money that way. Slide 11: Number 10, the vehicles you have insured. This comes down to several factors such as size of your vehicles, the type of vehicle, any safety features it may have, and of course the big one, the types of coverage you choose. Whether or not you put full coverage on the vehicle makes a big difference. So I hope you've learned something from these ten factors. Thank you for watching. And have a great day! Link from video: Auto Insurance Page Related Blog Articles: Video: Understanding the Auto Insurance Expiration/Renewal Process Video: How Auto Insurance Companies Differ in Calculating Rates Video: Auto Insurance & Older Drivers: 7 FAQ's Video: Why State Minimum Liability Auto Insurance Coverage Sucks! Video: Late payments on auto insurance and how it hurts your rates Transcription Slide 1: Hello! I'm Dan Lyles with Lyles Insurance. And in this video we're going to go over ten of the most common heard auto insurance myths and lies. These are things you probably hear from family and friends. A lot of things that are believed to be true that aren't. We're going to go over ten of the most common. Slide 2: Number 1: Having Comprehensive coverage means I have everything. You can have Comprehensive coverage and still have a lousy policy. Comprehensive is really a term I don't like because it's misleading. The Comprehensive coverage only represents one of five major parts of your auto insurance policy. What it does it covers you for physical damage to your vehicle for anything other than a collision (such as theft, fire, vandalism, hail, hitting a deer, things like that). Slide 3: And just like the last slide: Full coverage means I have everything covered on my policy. Not true! Full coverage is another misleading term. You can have full coverage and still have a lousy policy. Again, full coverage only represents two of the five major parts of an auto insurance policy. But what people mean by having full coverage is simply physical damage coverage on their vehicle, which includes both Comprehensive and Collision coverage. Slide 4: Number 3: If someone borrows my car and wrecks their policy will cover it. That is not true. Auto insurance policies always follow the vehicle, not the driver. So whenever there's an accident, the owner of the vehicle, their insurance is the one it's going to cover it. Now, when someone borrows your vehicle they're covered on your policy under what's known as “permissive use”. Slide 5: Number 4: “I have full coverage on any vehicle I drive”. Let me tell you. This is hogwash! Because no such auto insurance policy exists. If they did they'd go bankrupt, if they covered any vehicle you drive with Comprehensive and Collision coverage. The only vehicles that you have physical damage coverage for are the ones that are listed on your policy that you have chose to take out Comprehensive and Collision coverage. So don't believe anybody when they say “I have full coverage on any car I drive”. It's not true. Slide 6: Number 5: My policy automatically covers my teenage kids on our vehicles. What I'm talking about here are when kids turn 16 and 17 and get their license, and they're still living with their parents. The parents need to add those kids as drivers onto their auto insurance policy. Or sometimes it might work out to where they take out a separate second policy. Sometimes that will help save on the cost, because it is expensive for a 16 or 17 year old. But because of that, a lot of people try to cheat the system and leave the kids off the policy. Let me tell you. I've seen a lot of people have some heartache over that. So just understand that there's ways you can save money and still play by the rules without trying to cheat the system. If you think you're going to cheat the system and get away with it, you're taking a big risk at landing in some hot water. Slide 7: Number 6: Shopping around for auto insurance hurts my credit score. Now, I understand why people believe this because if you go shopping around applying for credit cards, that certainly does hurt your credit score. But with auto insurance, it's simply not true. It's a completely different way of running credit that doesn't affect your credit score. There is no way an auto insurance company checks credit and negatively applies to your credit rating. Slide 8: Number 7: Having state minimum liability coverage is all you need. Let me tell you, state minimum liability coverage sucks! It's only good for minor accidents. If you cause a severe accident, especially one where somebody or multiple people are severely injured, state minimum liability is not going to come close to covering part of it. And also, if you hit an expensive vehicle, or damage a house, or damage multiple vehicles, the state minimum liability in property damage could fall short as well. So don't believe that state minimum liability coverage is all you need. It may be all you need to drive legally, but it doesn't cover you adequately. Slide 9: Number 8: If I loan my car to someone and they crash, my rates will not go up. Well, let me tell you, if your rates don't go up after someone crashes your vehicle, you're very very lucky. Most of you are going to see an increase. Not right away but when your policy expires, you'll see that increase likely on a renewal offer. And if you think you're just going to shop around and fly under the radar with another company, that's not going to happen either. Because MVR’s are not the only thing auto insurance companies check. True, someone else's crash isn't going to show up on your motor vehicle report (or driving record), but companies also check what's called CLUE reports. Which is an insurance claim history type thing. It's going to be on there. And so don't think you're likely to fly under the radar, or not get an increase if someone borrows your car and has an accident. Slide 10: Number 9: Auto insurance costs more on red colored vehicles. This one is just plain silly! I don't know where this comes from. But the color of a vehicle has no effect on auto insurance rates. Slide 11: And finally, Number 10: If I get a ticket from out of state it won't hurt my driving record (it won't show up). That used to be true at one time. But today, it's getting less and less likely. About 95% of you are going to see an out-of-state ticket show up on your resident state driving record. Slide 12: I hope you've enjoyed this video and learned something in the process. If you'd like to learn more about auto insurance please visit my blog. I have hundreds of articles posted. I posted the link here on this slide. Thank you and have a great day! Links from video: Blog page Auto Insurance Page Related Blog Articles: Video: The best way to buy auto insurance online Video: Understanding the Auto Insurance Expiration/Renewal Process Video: How Auto Insurance Companies Differ in Calculating Rates Video: Auto Insurance & Older Drivers: 7 FAQ's Transcript – Ohio SR22 Bond Slide 1: Hello! I'm Dan Lyles with Lyles insurance. And in this video I'm going to go over the basics of an Ohio SR22 bond, and also answer some frequently asked questions. Slide 2: Right off the bat, I want to clear up some of the confusion about an “SR22 bond”. It is a misleading term. You may also have heard “SR22 bond insurance” before also. Again, it is misleading. An SR22 is not a bond, nor is it auto insurance. It's a state filing that either attaches onto an auto insurance policy or a Financial Responsibility Bond. That's where the confusion comes from, with the term “SR22” bond. Ohio is the only state that has these type of bonds. So, Ohio is the only place you hear this “SR22 bond” term. It's usually what an SR22 does, is when your license is suspended. It's the last step you'll need to get your license back. Slide 3: Here's the good part about what an SR22 filing does for you. When you buy an auto insurance policy or a Financial Responsibility Bond that has an SR22 attached to it, the auto insurance company notifies the Ohio BMV that you have taken out an active SR22 filing. This SR22 is a guarantee to the BMV that you're carrying at least state minimum liability auto insurance coverage. Once the BMV processes your SR22 filing, your license will be reinstated (assuming you've paid all other fines and met all other requirements). Slide 4: Now here's the bad news about an SR22 filing. The easiest way to understand it is what I call a “tattle-tale”. You need to keep this SR22 active for as long as the BMV requires you to carry it. And if you ever cancel on a policy or drop the SR22, the auto insurance company is required by law to tattle on you. That is, notify the BMV that the policy is canceled. Once this happens your license is going to be suspended again until you have another active SR22 filing in place. Slide 5: Now let's go over the basics of an Ohio Financial Responsibility Bond. It's simply a special type of auto insurance coverage. It gives you state minimum liability on any vehicle you drive (as long as you're not using it for business or commercial purposes). The only coverage that it offers is state minimum liability coverage and nothing else. And it's designed much like a named operator's policy or non-owners policy. It's for people who need auto insurance but don't own a vehicle. Slide 6: Here are some other key points about a financial responsibility bond. Unlike regular auto insurance, there is no medical coverage offered. There is no uninsured motorist coverage offered. There is no Comprehensive or Collision coverage, which is the actual coverage on the vehicle you're driving. And unlike regular auto insurance, which can insure several drivers on one policy, a bond only covers one driver. And that's the person named the bond. It is the absolute minimum that you can buy and drive legally in the state of Ohio. Slide 7: This part is very important. You need to know how to set up an SR22 filing properly. And it's very simple. If you own a vehicle or have a vehicle registered in your name, you simply need to take out a regular auto insurance policy, and attach the SR22 filing on to it. If you do not own a vehicle, you need to take out a Financial Responsibility Bond, and attach the SR22 filing onto it. Slide 8: Now I want to answer some of the more frequently asked questions. I think it will give you a better understanding of how this works. Number one: How do I file an SR22 with the state BMV? It's real simple. You can do one of two things: Number one, simply do nothing. Because once you buy a policy, the auto insurance company is going to file that SR22 electronically to the state. Usually that's done within a matter of minutes or an hour two at the most. It's done really quick. The slow part is waiting for the BMV to process it, which usually takes one, sometimes two business days. Now if that's not fast enough for you, your second option is to take the SR22 paperwork in to the BMV yourself, and have them process you all right there on the spot. Your agent will be able to give you all the paperwork you need. They can email it or fax it to you if need be. But either option will work. Slide 9: Number two: How long do I need to carry an SR22 filing? That's going to vary depending on what your license was suspended for in the first place. But for the most of you, it's going to be a period of three years. And it is very important, I want to add, that you know the expiration date of how long you need to carry that SR22. Because people been burnt by not knowing it. Number three: Can I buy an SR22 attached to an auto insurance policy while my license is still suspended? The answer is yes. Because they understand that until you have this SR22, your license can't be reinstated. So you can get a policy with an SR22 and your license still suspended. However, it is with the understanding that you're going to be getting your license reinstated very quickly. And by very quickly, I mean only a matter of a couple days. So you don't want to start this until you're ready to get everything settled. Slide 10: Number four: Can I purchase two separate policies, one for auto insurance coverage to insure my vehicle, and a financial responsibility bond just to satisfy an SR22 requirement? And the answer is yes. Yes, you can. In fact, on rare occasions I have suggested people do this. Especially those who own their own home and have their homeowners and auto insurance bundled together. Sometimes it comes out better to have two separate policies. However for nine out of ten of you, and the vast majority of you, it's going to come out cheaper to just have everything on one regular insurance policy with the SR22 attached to it. Slide 11: Number five: This is for drivers who own their own vehicle. But instead of buying regular auto insurance coverage like they should, they buy a Financial Responsibility Bond instead. Now, legally this is okay to do. But I'm telling you, it's a very bad idea! Number one, state minimum liability coverage sucks! It's only going to cover you adequately for a very minor accident. It's not going to be enough if you cause a severe accident with injuries. Number two, a bond only covers the person named on the bond. So if you loan your vehicle to anybody else, they're driving your vehicle illegally. And if they wreck your car, they're going to come after you! I've seen quite a few drivers get in a lot of hot water over this. And number three, there's important coverages regarding auto insurance coverage that aren't offered on a bond. They include uninsured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage, and if you have a newer or more valuable vehicle, comprehensive and collision coverage. So you would have to go without all of those with the financial responsibility bond. And again…. Just don't do it! Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it! Slide 12: Number six: Where do I find the best rate? You've probably learned that many auto insurance companies won't write SR22 filings. And many don't offer Financial Responsibility Bonds. So it's a little trickier looking around. The best way is to simply go through an independent agent who specializes in non-standard auto insurance (it's also known as high-risk insurance). Those companies are friendly with SR22 filings. And an independent agent can quote you with multiple companies at once, which gives you a chance at a better rate. If you'd like to get a quote, click on the link below on my website and I'll be happy to run a quote for you. And as always, I handle all quotes personally and privately. I hope this has taught you what you need to know about SR22’s and Financial Responsibility Bonds. Thanks, and have a great day! Link from video: Ohio Financial Responsibility Bond Page Related Blog articles: Video: When does my Ohio SR22 auto insurance requirement end? Transcription: Slide 1: Hello! I'm Dan Lyles with Lyles insurance. And in this video, I'm going to help you find affordable auto insurance with a DUI on your record. Slide 2: There's three keys to finding an affordable rate with a DUI. Number one is simply knowing where to Look. You probably don't have much experience shopping around for auto insurance with a DUI. So I'm going to help you with that. Number two is how to set up your policy properly. I'll help you with that also. And then third, just minor things, but minor things can make big differences as far as how to set up your policy, and things like that, and understanding how companies handle DUI’s. We're going to get into a little bit of that also. Slide 3: As far as knowing where to look, there are basically three categories of auto insurance companies. Number one is Preferred. This is where they only like drivers that own their own home, have excellent credit, and have a clean or nearly clean driving record. They usually won't take anybody with a DUI. Number two is Standard companies. They're your middle-of-the-road, kind of mainstream, most popular auto insurance companies. Some of them will insure drivers with a DUI, others won't. But of the ones that do, they're usually very expensive for drivers with DUI’s. And then the third category, Non-standard, which is also known as “high-risk auto insurance”. This is where you want to look with a DUI on your record. This is where you're going to find the most affordable rate. They are far more DUI friendly and they don't penalize you as much premium-wise for DUI’s. And they're mostly represented by independent insurance agents. So you want to find an independent insurance agent. Now, not all of them sell non-standard auto insurance. But of the ones that do, some of them specialize in high-risk auto insurance. That's where you want to look. Slide 4: It's important that you understand how state filings work because with a DUI, you're going to have a very high chance that you're going to be required to carry a state filing also. Usually for a period of three years. In most states that's going to be an SR22 state filing. However, Virginia drivers will also see FR44 state filings and Indiana drivers will see SR50 state filings. They all work about the same. A state filing is not auto insurance. It simply attaches onto an auto insurance policy. And all non-standard companies are friendly with state filings just like they are with DUI’s. You just need to let your agent know that you're required to carry one. Slide 5: It's very important that you set up your policy properly, and it is very simple. It just boils down to whether or not you own a vehicle. If you do own a vehicle, or have a vehicle registered in your name, you simply need to take out a regular auto insurance policy. If you do not own a vehicle, you're going to have to take out what's called a named operator auto insurance policy (also called a non owners policy). Ohio drivers also have the option of taking out a Financial Responsibility Bond. Any of these policies will easily attach a state filing on to it. Slide 6: Here are some other key points to know about DUI’s regarding auto insurance. First of all, whether you get charged with DUI, DWI, OMVI, OVI … whatever …… they're all the same thing as far as auto insurance is concerned. Another thing, you might get the option of choosing between a 6 month and a 12 month policy. If your driving record is clean, it doesn't really make much difference which one you choose. However, if you have a DUI or any other violation or accident on your driving record, you're much better going with a six month policy. And here's one that's going to surprise you. If you get a DUI reduced in court down to a reckless op charge, you're actually going to pay more in premium for a reckless op violation than you are a DUI. I know that sounds crazy. But that's how it works. And finally, after you get a DUI …. If they suspend your license, don't get caught driving. Just don't drive, period! Even non-standard companies will go hard on Driving Under Suspension charges. Slide 7: Multiple violations from the same incident. This is where, let's say you get a speeding ticket. Get pulled over for speeding. They notice you're drinking. They give you a DUI also. As far as an auto insurance premium goes, they're only going to charge you for the most severe violation you received. So if you've got a speeding ticket and a DUI, they're only going to count the DUI for that one incident. As far as state filings go, it's very important that you know the expiration date of how long you need to keep that state filing. If you cancel it too early, your license is going to get suspended again. And if you keep it too long, you're probably paying more than you need to be. And also, it's very important to know exactly what's on your driving record. Getting an auto insurance quote without knowing an accurate driving record, your quote is worthless, because the prices aren't going to be accurate. If you don't know what's on your driving record, it's real easy to find out. Just contact your local license bureau. I hope this has helped you understand what you need to know about DUI’s regarding auto insurance. Thanks and have a great day! Link from video: Auto Insurance Related Blog Articles: Video: Can I buy SR22 auto insurance with a suspended license? Video: SR22 Auto Insurance: Going from a DUI to license reinstatement Transcription: Slide 1: Hello! I'm Dan Lyles with Lyles Insurance. And in this video, we're going to go over what you need to know before you buy boat insurance. Slide 2: It's important to understand that not all boat insurance policies are alike. Some are good, some are very lousy. And some things you need to watch out for include crazy policy restrictions. And I've included some examples here where some policies won't even cover your boat while it's moored at a marina, or cover you while you're participating in things such as fishing tournaments, regattas or poker runs. Are you kidding me? That's the reason we buy boats in the first place. What good is boat insurance if they're not going to cover you during those events? And also watch out for crazy mileage restrictions. Make sure you're covered wherever you're planning on taking your boat. And also remember that some companies don't offer all the same coverages that a good boat insurance policy does. And I'm going to get into that more here in just a little bit. And also keep in mind that the difference in premium between a good policy and a bad one is, you'd be amazed sometimes very close to one another, like pennies on the dollar. So it's always worth it to spend a couple extra bucks just to get much better coverage. Slide 3: I can't stress this enough, but please! Do yourself a favor, and do not buy boat insurance directly online from an insurance company. When you do this, you leave the agent out of it. And it's very hard, if not impossible to tell a good policy from a bad one that way. In fact, many companies won't even let you see the terms until after you've paid for the policy. What good does that do? You need an agent who can review coverage on a policy before you buy it. Slide 4: There are two major types of boat insurance policies. This is where they kind of fall into two categories. Number one, exclusive standalone boat insurance, meaning, it's not attached to anything. It's just boat insurance. This is usually where you find the best type of boat insurance coverage. The second is boat insurance that is attached to a homeowner's insurance policy. A lot of homeowners do this when they buy a boat. They just simply attach it onto their homeowners insurance policy because it's simple and easy. However, you got to watch out with that because not all homeowners insurance policies cover boats the way a standalone policy usually does. Sometimes, it only offers minimal types of coverage, plus some have those crazy policy restrictions I mentioned earlier. Slide 5: I quickly want to go over the five basic parts of a boat insurance policy. These are the basic meat and potatoes parts of your policy. Any good boat insurance policy should offer at least all five of these. Number one is liability coverage. That's if you're at fault in a boating accident and you caused damage or injury to others. It pays the other guy. Number two is uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage. That's if another boater hits you, and they either don't have liability coverage, or don't have enough liability coverage to cover all the injuries they caused. That's when this part kicks in. Number three is medical payments coverage. That's for injuries from a boating accident for you or your passengers regardless of who would be at fault. And number four and five kind of go together. Comprehensive and Collision Coverage. They’re the actual physical damage coverage on your boat. And I like to learn it backwards. A collision will cover you for any boating accident. Comprehensive coverage will cover your boat for anything else. Slide 6: Here are some other secondary coverages that you'll find only on a good boat insurance policy, usually only on the stand-alone policies. Number one is contents and accessories coverage. That covers you for things such as fishing equipment, navigation equipment, stereo equipment, things like that. You'll normally be offered this for free up to a certain amount, and then have an option of purchasing more coverage if you need to. Number two is trailer coverage. The trailers you use to haul your boat with… The coverage on them are very inexpensive and worth looking into. Number three is personal property coverage. This is things such as life jackets or life vests, flotation devices, skis, inner tubes, wake boards, things like that. Number four, total loss or gap coverage. This only applies to brand new or nearly brand new boats. But it's excellent coverage to have if you have a newer boat, especially if you're financing it. And finally number five, roadside assistance and towing. There, I can't give you a thumbs up or thumbs down because each policy is so different from the next. You just got to read what is actually covered, see what the price is, and decide for yourself whether or not you think it's worth having. Slide 7: Finally, let me give you a quick tip about helping you find the best rate. One thing you do not want to do is shop one company at a time because that's very time inefficient. You're much better going through an independent insurance agent who can quote you with multiple companies at once. And let the agent do the shopping around for you. Plus they'll be able to answer your questions of some of the things I've mentioned earlier about the quality of your policy. You won't get that if you're shopping online or calling directly to a customer service rep. So I hope this has helped you understand the basics of buying a boat insurance policy. Thanks and have a great day! Link from video: Boat Insurance Page Related Blog Articles: Video: 10 Additional Coverages offered on a good Boat Insurance Policy |
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Dan Lyles is an Independent Insurance Agent serving Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.. Archives
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