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In some cases, existing homeowners, health and auto insurance policies provide the coverage you need. In others you may need separate or additional coverage, especially if the student will be away from home. Here are some of the issues to help you decide:

Property Insurance: It’s amazing how the value of a student’s personal belongings quickly add up, often to a five figure number. You should check whether your homeowners insurance covers this – but remember, even that may require expensive items such as computers or valuables to be separately listed in the policy. Otherwise, consider renter’s insurance, which has the added advantage of liability protection.

Health Insurance: Most family policies cover dependents who are full-time students, but definitions of “full time” vary by insurer. Students who marry will likely lose this coverage.  Also, if your policy is through a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and the student is outside of their coverage area, although they’ll probably be covered locally for emergencies, they may have to return home for routine medical visits. Separate student health insurance plans are available but benefits are usually limited compared with family policies. Premiums are affected by a range of considerations including deductibles and co-pays. Our health insurance experts can help you review your options and help you figure out what the best choice is for your student.

Auto Insurance: The key issue here is whether the student’s existing auto insurance policy imposes any limitations on coverage for extended out-of-state use.  In addition, you also have to let your agent know when the auto is going to be parked or garaged at a new location, especially, again, if it’s out of state.  Is your student going away sans vehicle?  If so, you may qualify for a discount.

The important point to drive home, is the need to always check the extent of your existing coverage before the student leaves. Of course, we would be happy to work with you on this and provide further information and advice.

For more information, or for a coverage analysis, please call our office at 805-544-8929 or visit us online at Engle and Associates Insurance

Comparing market or real estate value of a home and Replacement cost of a home is like comparing apples and oranges. Market value is the price for which you could sell your home. Market value takes into consideration: land value, neighborhood, comparable sales, and more.  Replacement or reconstruction cost is the amount of money it would take to rebuild your home, with like kind and quality, at today’s costs. Replacement cost reflects the cost for building materials, code compliance, demolition, construction labor, and more.

In the current economy, many people are under the assumption that construction costs have reduced as much as property values. This is simply not the case. The fact of the matter is, today, you can buy an existing home for much less money than it would cost to build that very same home.  Although you may hear from a friend that they got someone to do some work for “super cheap,” this is the exception to the rule. Contractors’ overhead hasn’t reduced much, and cost for building materials hasn’t decreased dramatically either. Contractors are just like everyone else, they need to put food on the table, and I don’t know many non-profit construction companies out there.

The bottom line is, if you’re not sure, give us a call to conduct a current replacement cost analysis of your home.  The amount of coverage you need, should be based on the true reconstruction costs of your home, regardless of current market value.

Click here if you want to know more about home insurance or get a free California Home Insurance Quote.

That’s why I want to talk to you about the true cost of insurance.  We get calls from clients now and then telling us that our price is too high, and that they got a quote on the internet for less money.  My first question is “what did you get for that price?”  In other words, Do you have the same coverage? In most cases, the internet, doesn’t make a very good insurance professional.  The folks who staff the call centers are generally low paid, entry level workers, whose primary goal is to get you signed up.  They are not industry experts who keep abreast of changes in the marketplace, and thoroughly analyze a client’s risk.  No, they are there to sell policies… these are the Walmarts of the insurance industry – the prices can be low, but in most cases you get what you pay for.

So what’s the true cost of insurance?  Let’s say you have a $500,000 auto liability limit right now.  You go online and get a “good price,” but the liability limit is only $300,000.  It saves you $300/year though, so it’s a good deal, right?  Read on for the answer.  You’re in a car accident, it’s your fault, but it’s not that bad of an accident.  Oh and the other party suffers a hand injury.  $300,000 should be enough to cover it right?  Oh, but the person you hit is a plastic surgeon, and with her hand injury, she’s out of work for 4 months.  Her monthly income is $80,000.  There’s $320,000 for just her lost wages.  Now you’ve got the surgeon’s medical bills ($100,000), not to mention, that she was driving a Mercedes Benz S550 ($70,000).  Total cost for you: $490,000.

If you don’t have the cash on hand, the courts can seize your assets, garnish your wages, and more.  But for $25/month, you could have had adequate coverage in place.  With all that said, there is no reason you should be paying high premiums when all else is equal.  That’s why we can do the shopping for you.  We have direct access to over 60 different insurance companies to ensure that you are getting the best VALUE for your insurance dollar – both coverage AND price.  If you feel like you’re paying an unfair price, call my office and let us completely re-evaluate your coverage package.  If you got a quote elsewhere, send it over and let us evaluate it for you – we will tell you if it’s truly a good deal.   -Jayne Engle Allen

If you want to get a free San Luis Obispo Insurance Quote, click here.

So, what I want to know, is when did cheapest, become the best? When did insurance become a commodity? It has always been something that is price sensitive, however it really all started with a certain Gecko, and grew from there… I’m a bit of a media junkie, and I can’t watch television, listen to the radio, or surf the web for more than 5 minutes without hearing or seeing an ad for what I like to refer to as “the big spenders.” They’re all telling me how much money they save their customers.

In 2007, These Big Spenders: Geico, Progressive, Allstate, and State Farm; collectively spent $1.5 Billion on advertising. Yes, that’s Billion, with a “B.” They spent $1.5 Billion to convince all of us that we should buy our insurance from the lowest bidder. In an era of Wal-Mart, Costco, and other discount and wholesale stores, we have all been brainwashed to believe that if we don’t get the cheapest price on something, that we’ve somehow shorted ourselves. Look at Flo in the progressive commercial – she’s selling insurance in a virtual big box store! I’m not saying that you shouldn’t shop around, but be sure you’re comparing apples to apples when it comes to your coverage. It doesn’t save you money if you’re paying a cheaper price, but sacrificing valuable coverage.

I see it time and time again. A potential client comes to me with their current insurance policy in hand. We review the coverage and undoubtedly find gaps, HUGE gaps in coverage. Just last week I was working on a homeowner’s policy where the client’s house was underinsured by $123,000. When I completed my comprehensive coverage analysis, we also found that she would greatly benefit from earthquake coverage. So when I ran the numbers, my quote turned out to be $142.00 more per year. For $142.00 more per year, she gets $123,000 more in coverage AND earthquake coverage. Here’s the kicker, we ended up increasing her deductible to offset this premium difference, and guess what… our annual premium was within $10.00 of their old policy, with MUCH better coverage.

With that said, I want to go back to my first question. If you knew, for a fact, that your home or business was going to burn down tomorrow, would you buy your policy from the lowest bidder? Or would you consult an insurance expert, to be sure you have the proper protection? My point is, most people have the attitude that ‘It’s never going to happen to me.’ Two years ago, one of my long time client’s home burned to the ground. He had plugged in his laptop to charge before he went to work. The laptop’s battery pack malfunctioned, overheated, and caused a fire. When he returned home, his home was nothing more than ashes and a few pieces of charred lumber. He told me, “I never thought I would actually use this insurance.” He received his check quickly, and without hassle, because over the years, we had recommended coverage increases, and policy changes to be sure he was adequately protected.

That’s exactly what an independent insurance professional does for you. It’s not about selling policies, it’s about building relationships, and providing ongoing protection counseling, not just at the time of sale. There are many of us out there who spend our days (and nights, and weekends) thinking about, reading about, and talking about insurance. Independent insurance professionals aren’t a ‘middle man,’ as some of the ‘big box’ insurance companies would want you to believe. We are educated, licensed, and experienced professionals who, instead of representing the interests of one, single insurance company, we represent the interests of our clients. The companies we represent, rarely advertise. Instead of advertising to the masses, our preferred companies provide us, the independent agents and brokers, with their premier insurance products. This allows us to work with our clients to create a custom insurance package; finding the best coverage, at the best price, for their unique situation. Not everyone fits into a cookie cutter policy.

If you would like a free protection review, please feel free to call my office toll free at 877-364-5380. Or send an email to Protection@EngleInsurance.com