Staying above water. . .Why Flood Insurance?

Did You Know….

·         Everyone lives in a flood zone.

·         If you are in lower risk areas, you can purchase lower cost Preferred Risk Policies (PRP).

·         Flood insurance is affordable.

·         Flood insurance is easy to get.

·         Contents coverage can be purchased by renters to protect their belongings.

·         Federal disaster assistance is not the answer

Property policies do NOT usually include coverage for floods.

Flooding causes more than $2 billion of property damage annually and floods occur more often than all other natural disasters with the exception of fire. In a high-risk area, a home has a 26% chance of being damaged by a flood during the course of a 30-year mortgage compared to a 9% chance of fire.

The Actual Cost of Flood Damage

Flooding may bring significant personal and financial hardship. Since most homeowner policies exclude losses due to flood, it is important to purchase a separate flood policy.

High Cost for Flood Cleanup

A customer that experiences damages due to flooding may have to come up with serious cash. According to FloodSmart, homeowners who encounter one to four inches of flood damage may have to pay approximately $15,150 out of their own pocket to clean up after the waters subside. That $15,150 could pay for replacing items like:

• $600: Computer accessories
• $950: Cleanup, materials
• $1,000: Doors, base trim, and windows
• $1,500: Replace drywall, insulation
• $7,900: Replace carpet, flooring

Customers impacted by five to twelve inches worth of flood damage to their property can tack on an additional $12,000 for a potential cleanup bill that could be more than $27,000. This could account for:

• $900: Electrical and plumbing
• $1,000: Repaint interior
• $2,200: Appliances
• $2,400: Kitchen and bath cabinets
• In addition to the $15,150 for the repairs listed above

And the dollar amounts just keep rising. For each additional inch of flood water, the potential cost to homeowners rises. FloodSmart says customers who experience a two foot flood may have to pay more than $33,000 for repairs for only a 1,000 square foot home.

It takes 30 days after purchase for a flood policy to take effect, so it's important that you buy flood insurance before the floodwaters start to rise.

Why should I purchase flood insurance?

• Floods are the most common natural disaster.
• Most homeowners, condominium, manufactured home, renters and business insurance policies exclude losses due to flood.
• Flooding is the most costly natural disaster in the U.S., causing nearly $24 billion of property damage over the last 10 years.
• Just an inch of water can cause costly damage to your property.
• A car can easily be carried away by just two feet of floodwater.
• Your home has a 26 percent chance of being damaged by a flood during the course of a 30-year mortgage.
• Government assistance is sometimes available, but only if the disaster is declared a state or federal disaster, and the assistance is usually in the form of a loan.
• A federal disaster loan of $50,000 will be paid back at $240 a month at four percent interest while the average flood insurance policy costs $500 a year.

What if my flood risk appears to be low?

• Everyone lives in a flood zone - anywhere it rains, it can flood.
• Flooding is not limited to coastal areas. Floods and flash floods happen in all 50 states.
• Approximately 25 percent of all flooding events occur outside Standard Flood Hazard Areas.
• If you live in a low-to-moderate risk area and are eligible for the Preferred Risk Policy, your flood insurance premium may be as low as $129 a year, including coverage for your property's contents.
• Just because you haven't experienced a flood in the past, doesn't mean you won't in the future. Flood risk isn't just based on history, it's also based on a number of factors: rainfall, river-flow and tidal-surge data, topography, flood-control measures, and changes due to building and development.

What causes flooding?

• Many conditions can result in a flood: hurricanes, broken levees, outdated or clogged drainage systems and rapid accumulation of rainfall.
• New land development can also increase flood risk, especially if the construction changes natural run-off paths.
• Floods often happen when bodies of water overflow or tides rise due to heavy rainfall or thawing snow. Flash floods may occur without warning when a large volume of water falls in a short time.

Source: www.allstate.com, http://www.floodsmart.gov/
Contact us @ www.allstate.com/robstadnicki

First-Time Auto Insurance Buyer's Guide

If you've never had an auto insurance policy before—don't worry. It isn't as complicated as it seems. Understanding what you're buying is important. But with a little research, Allstate's online tools and your local agent, it can be easy.

Where Do You Start?
Before you start comparing auto insurance quotes and companies, take a little time to figure out what you need. The Bumper-to-Bumper BasicsSM tool helps you do exactly that. It only takes a couple minutes and any one of our virtual guides can explain auto insurance so it's easy to understand.

After that, you're ready to start a Ballpark estimate. It's quick and you won't even have to give your name. It'll also help you quickly understand what rates you can expect to pay, along with what features and coverages are available.

What Coverages Should You Consider? 

Every auto insurance policy has several different coverages that protect you, your passengers, other drivers and your vehicle. Some coverages are required by the state you live in, and some are optional. Here's a short list of common auto insurance coverages, along with what they typically cover:

• Bodily Injury Liability — Costs that you're legally responsible for, resulting from bodily injury or death to another person.

• Property Damage Liability Coverage — Damage to another person's vehicle or property that you're legally responsible to pay for.

• Medical Payments Coverage & Personal Injury Protection Coverage — All reasonable medical expenses resulting from a bodily injury, sickness, disease or death of your passengers or a driver on your policy, as the result of an accident.

• Underinsured / Uninsured Motorist Coverage — Costs resulting from bodily injury caused by another driver who doesn't have enough insurance (or any at all).

• Collision Coverage — Damage to your vehicle caused by a collision with another object or from the vehicle rolling over.

• Comprehensive Coverage — Damage to your vehicle from anything other than a collision. Things like a windstorm, fire, theft, hail, flood or vandalism.

The insurance coverage you choose depends on your situation. Even though you're just starting out, getting the bare minimum might not be right for you. Take a look at what each one covers, and decide whether or not that protection is something you need. Sometimes, adding an optional coverage only amounts to a few extra dollars a month.

How Much Auto Insurance Coverage Should You Consider?

Once you know what you're interested in, the next step is to choose how much insurance protection you want. Typically, you'll be choosing a limit or a deductible.

A limit is the maximum amount an insurance company will pay out for a particular coverage. A higher limit means you're better protected from high costs, and that protection will cost you more money.

A deductible is the amount you've agreed to pay out of your pocket before the insurance company pays for any other covered losses. You usually have to choose one when you get Collision or Comprehensive coverage. After you pay a deductible, the insurance company typically pays the rest, up to the actual cash value of your car. Choosing a higher deductible typically means your premium will be lower.

How Do You Know If You're Paying Too Much?

Make sure you're comparing "apples to apples" when you're looking at rates from different auto insurance companies. In other words, when you get quotes to compare, make sure they include the same coverage, limits and deductibles. Even though a quote might look lower, it might not offer you the same protection as a more expensive one.

Most auto insurance companies, including Allstate, will offer a variety of discounts. Try using the Personal Quote tool to find out all the discounts you qualify for, or talk to your local agent.

Rethinking Your Auto Insurance Coverage

Most insurance policies are renewed every six months, and some people go back over their policy then to make sure their needs are still being met. Others check it less often—when they have a major life change. Like getting married, having a baby, buying or selling a car, buying or selling a home—anything that affects their assets.

What If You Need to Make a Claim?

Making a claim is the exact reason you carry auto insurance—it's what you do when you have a loss that's covered by your policy. You might not be thinking about it now, but after an accident, having an experienced company with a smooth claims process can help get things back to normal much easier.

Allstate has a 24/7 Customer Information Center that is always available to help you with your claim, and your local agent is there for you too. If you sign up for Allstate's free Customer Care website, you can even make and track your claim online anytime, anywhere.

Source: http://www.allstate.com/

Deductibles and Coverage limits in Auto Insurance Policy

Deductibles

A deductible is the amount of money you agree to pay to help repair or replace your car if you have a claimed covered by your policy.

Example: A driver damages his car in an accident and it will cost $5,000 to repair.



Choosing a higher deductible means you might pay less for your insurance premium now, but you should be prepared to pay more out of your pocket later if you have an accident.


Coverage Limits

Each coverage has a limit. If you have an accident claim covered by your policy, insurance company will agree to pay for damages up to that coverage's limit.

Example: A driver causes an accident in which someone is injured. The case goes to trial and there is a verdict to compensate the injured person with $57,000.

Choosing a higher limit means you might pay more for your insurance premium now, but it could help protect you from having to pay other people's expenses later.



Source: www.allstate.com
Questions? Want to make change? Contact us at www.allstate.com/robstadnicki

Auto Insurance Made Simple

Summary of coverages

Auto insurance protects you and your family in all kinds of situations involving a vehicle. A good way to know which coverages you have purchased is to check your policy Declarations under "Coverage."

Automobile Liability Insurance can help protect your assets.

If you are at fault in an accident, you could be held legally responsible for injury or damage caused by the accident. All drivers are required by law to have both of these liability coverages:
       
     Bodily Injury Liability - helps protect you from paying medical costs, loss of income and funeral expenses of other people involved in an accident.

    Property Damage Liability - helps protect you from paying for the repair or replacement of another driver's car.

There's a coverage available to protect you from drivers with no insurance.

Sure, you have car insurance. But there are a lot of other drivers out there who don't. What if one of them crashes into you?

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage can help.
It's divided into two parts:

       Bodily Injury - Coverage includes your injuries or death, or those of your passengers of family members driving your car if it's hit by a driver with little or no insurance.
      Property Damage - Coverage includes damage to your car or property if you're hit by a    driver with little or no insurance ( Not available in all states.)

     

There's a coverage that can also help pay for your injuries from accident.

If you're in an accident, whether it's your fault or someone else's, paying for medicare can be a concern. That's where Medical Payments Coverages comes in. In some states, this coverage maybe known as Personal Injury Protection and may comver additional expenses such as loss of wages while you're recovering from an accident.

      Automobile Medical Payments - coverage can help pay for some of your medical costs or funeral expenses if you or anyone in your vehicle is injured in an accident.



What about damage to your car?

If you crash your car, your car insurance can help to repair or replace it so you can get back on the road again quickly. There are two types of coverages to consider.

      Collision Coverage - pays for damage to your car if you collide with another car or something else such as a building, bridge or tree. If someone hits your parked car, this is considered a collision as well.

  

      Comprehensive Coverage - pays for damage or loss to your car caused by something other than  a collision such as theft, fire, vandalism, windstorm or hitting an animal.

For each of these coverages, you may be responsible for the deductible amount you've selected.

There are other coverages you can buy to protect your car.

  Towing and Labor Costs -reimburse you for towing and basic roadside-assistance expenses if you're stranded on the road.

  Rental Reimbursement -repays you for the cost of renting a car while yours is in the shop being repaired due to a covered accident--up to 30 days.

  Sound System Coverage - protects your investment from theft or damage if you've installed a high-end sound system in your car. Check  with your insurance porvider to see if your system qualifies.

Auto Coverage at a glance.

The chart below summarizes key auto insurance coverages.

Your policy Declarations shows the coverages you've chosen, along with deductibles and limits--which is the maximum amount the insurance company will pay.

Source:Allstate insurance company www.allstate.com/robstadnicki