This is Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Today, I'd like to talk about a serious issue, texting and driving. They say it's the next to drunk driving. The kids nowadays have grown up texting, and they don't realize they shouldn't be doing it in the car. I would ask that you talk to your kids and talk to them very seriously about texting and driving and ban it 100%, if you catch them driving and texting that you restrict them from driving for a period of time. We feel this is very important.
Texting while driving is dangerous, Talk to your teen about the dangers of texting while driving. Make no texting part of your driving contract. Set a good example, don't text and drive. Call 800-659-0986. If you want more information, give us a call at 1-800-659-0986 or look us up on the web theinsurancecenter.us. Thank you.
Hi, I'm Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida, and one of our biggest concerns is our kids driving. One of the ways we can help our kids and help ourselves is we have them sign a contract stating what the rules are regarding the vehicle, what grades are required, if they stay out too late what the penalty will be. We feel this is very important, and it spells out and makes it easy for our parents and for the kids to know what the rules are ahead of time, and there's no confusion in case something does happen.
Creating a "Driver's Contract" for your teen driver can help set rules and expectations. Setting minimum grades for driving privileges can help your teen stay focused on academics. Lower insurance premiums are available in many cases.
You can find a contract at our website, www.theinsurancecenter.us or you can call us at 1-800-659-0986. Thank you.
Some GPS systems will allow you to monitor your teens driving habits when you are not in the car.
Hi, I'm Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida today talking about GPSs in the cars for our kids when they're driving. I know a lot of us don't want to spy on our kids, but there are now devices you can get to go in the car that will monitor the speed, the roads they're traveling, and how they're braking. I know that we say, oh, I don't want to spy on our kids, but I think it's a big deterrent when they're driving knowing that any given moment, we can look up and see what they're doing or how fast they're driving. So, we suggest you look into one of these devices where it may save you some money on your insurance.
If you have questions, give us a call at 1-800-659-0986 extension 215 or log on to www.theinsurancecenter.us for complete details.
You should shop your car insurance rates for teen drivers. Lower insurance premiums are available in many cases. Log on to www.theinsurancecenter.us for complete details. ____________________________
This is Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida, I'd like to give you a tip to save your family money. When we start having kids and they start driving, you need to shop for insurance more than ever. It's one thing when there's a husband and a wife, but when you start adding teens, a lot of companies have varying rates. I've seen rates from as low as $1,200 to $2,000 for the exact same risks. The difference is being different companies. We'd like to shop for you. Give us a call at 1-800-659-0986 extension 215 or look us up on the web.
This is Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Today, I'd like to talk to you about water losses. Water loss is the #1 claim on Homeowner's policies, and a lot of these losses could be prevented. Where we see the losses is that washing machine hose breaks or the supply line to the toilet breaks or the dishwasher hose leaks. My suggestion is every couple years, you have a plumber come in and inspect them to make sure they're good and that they don't need replaced. Most of these lines are very inexpensive to replace. So again, I would have them checked and replaced if necessary to prevent that claim. You know, even if you do have a loss you still have to pay your deductible, so it's gonna cost you money out of your pocket.
If you have any questions, please give us a call at 1-800-659-0986 or look us up on the web or Log on to www.theinsurancecenter.us for complete details.
This is Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Here's a tip most people don't know. When you own vacant land, your Homeowner's policy will cover that land. And I say "vacant," it must be vacant -- no structures on it -- and also, it will cover your home if you're building a new one while it's being built for liability. It was designed so that if you're building a home you would have that coverage for that land while it's being built.
If you have questions on this give us a call at 1-800-659-0986 or Log on to www.theinsurancecenter.us for complete details. Thanks.
Insurance Center of Central Florida http://www.theinsurancecenter.us/
Get FREE information about bodily injury, property damage and uninsured motorist insurance. Why you should review your auto policy. Log on to www.TheInsuranceCenter.us for complete details.
Frank: One of the big questions we always get that people want to know is when I rent a car, do I need to buy the collision waiver, the insurance that the car company is offering. And Kevin's going to tell us about that.
Kevin: Well, that's a question that everybody likes to ask because when you're there, you always hear the spiel from the kid behind the counter, and they make it sound like this wonderful product. People always want to know, should I pay for that? Should I pay that daily charge, which has increased significantly over the years.
Frank: what, about $15 to $20 a day?
Kevin: Oh, it can range from $15, and I've seen it as high as $30 a day. The reason why purchasing that warranty -- because it's not an insurance product, it's a warranty product -- from the rental agency is a good idea is because when you sign that contract when you rent the car, you're taking a lot of liability on yourself that you may or may not realize. And part of that liability is you're guaranteeing the rental agency if something happens to that car, you're going to take responsibility for it. Now, if you damage the car in an accident, you may be able to file a claim against your current auto insurance company, and they may help you pay for it depending on what type of auto insurance you have. But other reasons why you may want to buy the waiver is because if you damage the rental car, you can call the rental agency, you can call the 800-number, they'll come and get the car. Some of them will bring you another one. You don't have to make a claim against your auto insurance. You don't have to pay a deductible, which you will have to pay if there's a claim against your auto insurance. Some deductibles can be as high a $1,000 depending on the damage. You can relieve that responsibility, and it will also cover the rental agency's loss of income from them not being able to rent that car for a week or for two weeks or for longer because they can't put it on the road because you broke it. So, for people who ask, should I buy this? If you have auto insurance, there's a good chance your insurance company might pay to fix the damage to that rented car. What most of them will not pay for is any loss of income to the rental agency, which can be substantial. You're going to have to pay a deductible, which is an out-of-pocket expense to you, and it's going to be a claim against your auto insurance policy, which means your auto insurance might get more expensive or even non-renewed. So, when you're thinking whether or not it's a good deal, if you remember those factors, it might help you make the decision.
Frank: We had a guy, he rented a car in Alaska, and he brought it back, parked it, put the keys in the thing. About four months later, he gets a letter that says, hey, you wrecked our car. And he had to go back and forth arguing with them saying, hey , I didn't wreck your car; who says it didn't happen I dropped it off? I think he ended up paying a deductible and having his company pay it. But again, they were charging him for days off that he had to pay out of pocket as well.
Kevin: Right, absolutely. And another thing to remember is it all depends on the rental agreement. The details that I can tell you from this desk are what I know from a few examples from national rental agencies, but there's rental agencies out there that might have agreements that ask for a tremendous amount of information that I haven't even discussed. So, it's always a good idea to read the rental agreement. And if there's any question at all about what coverage you might have under your auto insurance policy for a rented vehicle, you'll want to give your insurance agent a call.
Frank: Again, give your agent a call, review your policy, and if you like a second opinion, give us a call at the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Our number is below.
This is Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida, I'd like to give you a tip to save your family money. When we start having kids and they start driving, you need to shop for insurance more than ever. It's one thing when there's a husband and a wife, but when you start adding teens, a lot of companies have varying rates. I've seen rates from as low as $1,200 to $2,000 for the exact same risks. The difference is being different companies.
We'd like to shop for you.
Give us a call at 1-800-659-0986 extension 215 or look us up on the web.
Hi, I'm Angie with the Insurance Center of Central Florida here to tell you about the Give and Get Referral Program. Give and Get is a program we developed to reward mortgage and real estate professionals for our client referrals. Our goal is to promote long-lasting business relationships with both new customers and business associates. You can receive a $10 gift card for any insurance lead. It's fast, and it's easy, and it's a win, win, win situation for you, your client, and the Insurance Center.
Here's how it works. When you refer a customer, log on to our website at www.TheInsuranceCenter.us, click on the Mortgage Broker and Realtor Partnership Program button on the bottom left of the page. Fill out the information, click submit, and you're done. It's that easy. You can be assured that your clients will receive fast, professional service, whether they decide to do business with us or not.
At the Insurance Center of Central Florida, we believe in doing business locally, so let us reward you for a client referral. You and your customers will be glad you did. Thank you.
Hi, I'm Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida today talking about GPSs in the cars for our kids when they're driving. I know a lot of us don't want to spy on our kids, but there are now devices you can get to go in the car that will monitor the speed, the roads they're traveling, and how they're braking.
I know that we say, oh, I don't want to spy on our kids, but I think it's a big deterrent when they're driving knowing that any given moment, we can look up and see what they're doing or how fast they're driving. So, we suggest you look into one of these devices where it may save you some money on your insurance. If you have questions, give us a call at 1-800-659-0986 extension 215. Thank you, Bye.
Frank: One of the other things I'd like to talk about is why you should shop your auto insurance. A lot of people get with the same company and stay with them for years. They don't really shop, and I don't think that's wise. Even if you read Consumer Reports, they will tell you to shop your rates not in between a direct writer, but go to some of the independent agents as well. There are several things that will affect your rates.
Kevin: Absolutely. Your auto premium can be based on a number of variable factors, anything from the age of the children or the age of the individuals on the auto insurance, the type of car that you drive, crash statistics - national crash statistics can have a huge impact. The geographical region that you live can have a huge impact. And these things are always changing, and several of which are out of your control. It's always a good idea to have your auto insurance shopped at least every couple of years to make if one of those variable factors have changed, you're not missing out on some possible premium savings.
Frank: One of the things we do, we have a program that will do five different rates at one time. And what's amazing to me is that the person sitting across from us has the same risk, but the companies will have rates that typically will vary up to 40%, and I think it really depends on the company who they're most comfortable insuring. Everybody's so different anymore that these rates aren't very consistent. One company might have higher rates, and they're going to terrible for this customer, and all of a sudden, they're the lowest. So, it does really pay to shop.
Kevin: Absolutely. And it's also important to remember that if you have significant changes in your life, if you get married for example, it might be a good idea to shop your auto insurance because one of the partners might have a better driving record than the other, might have a better credit score than the other. There might be an issue there that can help control the pricing of the auto insurance favorably. So, it's important that your auto insurance agent understands exactly how things are with your situation currently and is able to keep you up to date on any changes in your life or in your area that could have a direct impact on the cost of your auto insurance.
Frank: And especially if you have teenagers. I mean, teenagers are so expensive. And again, the company's rates deviate so much for teenagers. Some are more inclined to insure them. Some have special programs for them called Teensurance, where they want to insure those teenagers, and they want to help them take courses so they have fewer accidents. So, you do want to shop, especially if you have teenagers.
Kevin: Absolutely, it's extremely important that you contact your insurance agent, ask them if there's any possible factors that have happened in your life that could change the pricing of your auto insurance. You may not have had any accidents in quite some time. Contact your insurance agent today and ask them to quote your auto insurance for you and see if maybe some of those changes in your life will have a direct impact on how much you're paying for your insurance.
Frank: Again, give your agent a call, review your policy, and if youd like a second opinion, give us a call at the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Our number is below.
Hi, I'm Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida, and one of our biggest concerns is our kids driving. One of the ways we can help our kids and help ourselves is we have them sign a contract stating what the rules are regarding the vehicle, what grades are required, if they stay out too late what the penalty will be. We feel this is very important, and it spells out and makes it easy for our parents and for the kids to know what the rules are ahead of time, and there's no confusion in case something does happen. You can find a contract at our website, theinsurancecenter.us, or you can call us at 1-800-659-0986. Thank you.
Frank: Not everybody has a home, but most of us have an auto, and everybody has to buy auto insurance. And I think we should at least understand basic coverages and some basic problems with auto insurance. Kevin's going to give us some basic information on that.
Kevin: Right. In the state of Florida, what is required of you at the time of the accident is that you have what we call 10-20-10, and what that means is $10,000 worth of Bodily Injury Liability Insurance, $20,000 maximum per accident bodily injury limit, and $10,000 property damage requirement. Basically, what people need to know is that if you have the minimum limits in the state of Florida, then that means that if you cause an accident where people are injured, then the most your insurance is going to pay for any one person's injury is $10,000. Now, $10,000 is a lot of money. I'm never going to scoff at $10,000. But when you're talking about bodily injury, you can go through $10,000 pretty quickly. It doesn't take more than one hospital visit.
Frank: Or how about one ambulance ride?
Kevin: Yeah, one ambulance ride and one treatment can easily eclipse $10,000 for a single person. If there's more than one person injured in the same accident, the maximum you're going to get for that accident that you're responsible for is $20,000. So think about it if it's a serious accident, it's a horrible thing to think about. But $10,000 for one person and $20,000 total is not a very significant amount of insurance.
Frank: Actually, statistically, one out of the two of us will get injured in an automobile accident.
Kevin: One out of the two will be injured in an automobile accident. And then finally, the third component is the $10,000 property damage requirement, which was made law in the state of Florida in the early 1980s. And the reason that that's important is because in the early 1980s, $10,000 could fix a pretty nice car; $10,000 could buy a pretty nice car. If you've suffered any damage to your vehicle within the last couple of years, you probably know it doesn't take much to do thousands of dollars worth of damage to your vehicle. So, a $10,000 physical damage requirement is something that you need to pay very close attention to when you're trying to make sure you have enough automobile insurance to cover your liability in an accident.
Frank: And you need to consider if you have any teenagers out there driving. if older people are driving now, their reflexes aren't as good as they used to be. The other part, too, when you're talking about property damage, it's not always necessary for the vehicle you damage. Sometimes there's collateral damage. An example I saw one time was a guy who ran a dump truck off the ground. The dump truck ran into the dirt and had a fuel spill, and they had to dig up that fuel spill and haul it away for pollution clean up. The fuel spill itself was $6,000. So, that can add in there. So, you do want to consider how much coverage you do buy.
Kevin: Absolutely, and it's unfortunate, but over 40% of drivers in the state of Florida are driving with either no insurance or with the absolute minimum required by law. and as we've just discussed, even the minimum amount can be insignificant if you have any form of bodily injury or property damage resulting from the accident.
Frank: Again, give your agent a call, review your policy, and if youd like a second opinion, give us a call at the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Our number is below.
This is Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Today, I'd like to talk about a serious issue, texting and driving. They say it's the next to drunk driving. The kids nowadays have grown up texting, and they don't realize they shouldn't be doing it in the car. I would ask that you talk to your kids and talk to them very seriously about texting and driving and ban it 100%, if you catch them driving and texting that you restrict them from driving for a period of time. We feel this is very important.
If you want more information, give us a call at 1-800-659-0986 or look us up on the web theinsurancecenter.us. Thank you.
Hi, I'm Frank Hanrahan from the Insurance Center of Central Florida. If there's one insurance tip I can give you, this is it. A lot of people have motorcycles now, and the big problem with motorcycles is it's not us having an accident, it's the person that hits us in a car that didn't see us. And we can get severe injuries. We can have high medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering. The way you could insure yourself is, you could buy Uninsured Motorists on your motorcycle policy. However, the insurance companies realize there's some very high claims on this, and their premium is correspondingly high. But there's another way we can do it. We can add Uninsured Motorists to our auto policy, and then have it stacked, and that's the key term "stacked." You want to make sure it's stacked, and then our auto policy will also respond and pay in the event of a loss. I know this is a little bit confusing, but it's very important, and I'd really suggest you do this. Either contact your agent or call us at 1-800-659-0986 or look us up on the web. Thank you.
Kevin: And that's why there's another form of insurance that's extremely important for you to consider when you're purchasing your auto insurance, and it's called uninsured motorist. And the reason that's important is because there's so many drivers out there who just don't have enough insurance if that happens to be the person that you end up getting into an accident with. Even if it's their fault, if they don't have very much insurance. you could still incur a massive medical bill. You could still incur significant bodily injury. Those expenses still need to be paid.
Frank: As a matter of fact, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday that said that they expect uninsured motorists to go up as the economy does poorly because people can't afford their insurance. if it's food, housing, or auto insurance, auto insurance is at the bottom of the list.
Kevin: right. It's unfortunate you have to even consider buying insurance to protect yourself from the actions of others, but that's just the way it is because the limits in Florida are so low, you just don't have any control over how much money's going to be available to you if you actually do get hurt. It's extremely important that you review your auto insurance with your agent so that you feel comfortable with the limits that you have, and you can also see how inexpensive it might be to significantly increase these limits. Significant increases might not cost all that much.
Frank: We had a guy who was a passenger in a car, a car crossed the median, hit him, broke his neck. Father, engineer, family of three. He was out for a year, and I think that claim was $250,000.
Kevin: $250,000. And it's extremely important that you know exactly the insurance that you have if you cause the accident as well as the insurance that you can have if somebody else causes the accident to you so that when the worst happens, whether it's caused by you or caused by someone else, you know that there's going to be enough insurance there to help you pay the bill.
Frank: And think about it. every night you watch the news, there's always an accident. it's not something that's random like a hurricane, once every five years. There's auto accidents, people get hurt every day. Nobody does it on purpose. It's an accident. So, in case it happens to you, you want to make sure you have the right coverage.
Kevin: Absolutely. Call your agent and ask for a review of your auto insurance policy today.
Frank: Again, give your agent a call, review your policy, and if youd like a second opinion, give us a call at the Insurance Center of Central Florida. Our number is below.
Serving the Insurance needs of Central Florida. Client Focused. Service Driven. The Insurance Center of Central Florida is here to help individuals and families with their personal insurance needs by providing the highest level of product knowledge and fair, honest pricing. We want our clients to know what they are buying and why they're buying it, whether you need an auto insurance policy for your new car or a policy for your home.
