Car Insurance….
Save 15% in 15 minutes…… So easy a cave man can do it….(I love that commercial) we’re being conditioned to think that when it comes to car insurance, cheapest is best. Unfortunately, many times the policies we see that were bought online or over the phone are just minimum coverage that actually doesn’t amount to a very good value at all. That 6 month veteran of the insurance industry on the other end of the phone forgot to tell you that the state minimum you just bought won’t even cover the damage you just did to the front quarter of my wife’s Expedition. Everything after that first $5000 will fall solely on your shoulders. Unfortunately, your insurance advisor will probably have moved on to greener pastures by the time you call to complain. Where is the value in that deal?
So What is “No Fault”?
Here in Pa. our laws have specified that the “first party benefits” portion of our auto policies will function on a “no fault” basis. That simply means that your policy coverage follows you wherever you go and that your policy responds “first” regardless of who is at fault in an accident. What are First Party Benefits ? They refer to the Medical, Income loss, accidental death, funeral benefits and extraordinary medical expense portions of your policy. This coverage needs to be tailored to “your” individual needs. Retired, unemployed, no health insurance, have health insurance…all are situations that may require an adjustment to cover what’s best for you. Call us now and We’ll give you a checkup on your First Party Benefits.
That’s Value!

Low mortgage interest rates are prompting a surge in refinancing. More than 85 percent of all mortgage activity in one recent week involved refinancing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Because many lenders have reduced their staffs in the last couple of years, they are now lacking the manpower to quickly process refinancing requests.

Mortgage Master, a lender in the Northeast, will hire up to 200 people in the next year. They say that, at this time, 90 percent of their mortgages are refinancings.

Your life savings… whatever is left of it…. is in jeopardy due to a lawsuit…you did nothing wrong though…..guess what ? You still have to defend yourself. Defending yourself takes a lawyer and lawyers still don’t work for free.

An Excess Liability policy provides coverage in the event that your auto , homeowners, boat, atv or similar personal policy exhausts their limits of liability and a judgment has been awarded in excess of those limits. Including the legal fees that normally run into the tens of thousands of dollars on even small lawsuits. Average premiums for these policies average $150-200 per year depending on personal circumstances. For those who can’t afford to leave it to chance, excess liability policies are the security blanket they need to protect their hard earned savings. Call today and we’ll be glad to get you a “piece of mind” rate .

If only our parents knew what we were actually doing when we took the car to a “friends house” for the night. Actually it may have been better if they didn’t, but that doesn’t mean that now that we’ve become parents we shouldn’t have a better system of knowing just what those kids are doing with the car.

Our latest weapon comes in the form of a little black box. EDRs, or event data recorders have been modified for use in our vehicles.

Few drivers even realize that their actions on the road are being recorded and re-recorded every 20 seconds. Nearly a third of all vehicles on the road today have event data recording devices (EDRs). About 64%of 2006 models have them, including most Ford and GM cars.

Linked to the airbag system, the device records the severity of a crash by measuring deceleration. It captures vehicle speed and engine RPMs, seat belt status, and braking. The information can be downloaded to a computer. EDR results have been used in some courts to convict a person who caused death or injury. And it has been used to free a person who witnesses said was going 90 mph when he was only travelling 60mph. The National Highway Safety Administration ruled that beginning in 2011, electronic data recording has to be disclosed to car buyers, along with information that their driving data can be downloaded only with their permission.

According to Time, privacy advocates worry that EDRs combined with global positioning systems, which will soon be common in cars, could lead to real-time surveillance. They say police might issue tickets for speeding when they never saw the infractions.

Progressive Insurance has offered 3.6 million customers the possibility of a $100 annual rebate if they install black boxes that gather six months of data and share that information. They say that safe driver should pay less.

Other Insurance companies are currently investigating the uses of EDRs in insured autos and the possibility of discounts to clients who actually earn them by exhibiting safe driving habits.

Exciting or Intimidating ? For those of us with upcoming youthful drivers, the possibilities of monitoring their speed, location, etc could lead to fewer grey hairs and safer children. The knowledge that someone is watching should encourage us all to practice safer driving habits. Pennsylvania auto insurance may be affected in the future.