Insurance Questions - DeKok Insurance Group, Inc.

If I Borrow My Friend’s Car, Am I Covered?

July 11, 2013 By Jon DeKok

Most people have an idea of what’s covered and not covered under their various insurance policies. But at DeKok Insurance Group, we are often asked about borrowing or loaning a car.

Now that summer is here, and you might be looking to borrow your neighbor’s truck for a home-improvement project or a trip to the local landfill, we thought it was a great time to provide a little more information.

Generally, insurance coverage follows the vehicle rather than the driver. So in most instances, as long as the owner of the car has insurance, it’s covered even if someone other than the owner is driving it — as long as they have the owner’s permission.

The borrower’s insurance is considered secondary, meaning that in the event of an accident, it could apply if the owner’s insurance is insufficient to fully cover the damage.

It’s important to note that there are some exceptions to what is called “permissive use” coverage. For example, permission must be given by the owner, unless the borrower has a reasonable belief that they are allowed to use the car. However, the borrower cannot give permission to someone else. So if your teenager allows one of his or her friends to drive your car to {local destination}, your coverage likely won’t apply.

Coverage might also be denied if the borrower operates the vehicle in a negligent or criminal manner. And if the borrower is using your car for business purposes, your personal auto policy likely won’t cover that.

If you have a regular long-term arrangement to either borrow or lend a car, the borrower should probably be added to the owner’s personal auto policy. Those who don’t own a car, but often borrow one, might also consider “named non-owner coverage,” an endorsement that provides bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motorists coverage and more.

Ultimately, it’s usually safe to loan your friend your car for occasional errands or projects. And the same goes for borrowing a car. Just make sure it’s for “normal” use. You’ll want to confirm that the car has coverage and that your insurance, whether you’re the owner or borrower, will apply.

Feel free to give us a call at 507-226-8121 if you have any questions — after all, you don’t want to wait until after an accident to get answers!

Jon

Email: dekokinsgroup@gmail.com

Phone 507-226-8121

Better coverage. Better prices.

Jon DeKok has been serving insurance clients for over 30 years. He specializes in home, auto, umbrella, recreational vehicle, business, and life insurance. He is licensed in the state of Minnesota.

Attractive Nuisances

December 4, 2012 By Jon DeKok

What is an Attractive Nuisance?

An attractive nuisance is something that is so interesting that it would entice a child into entering another’s property. For instance, many courts require that the object be man-made and many require that you “maintain” the nuisance in order to be liable. This would mean that ponds or lakes are generally not attractive nuisances.

Some of the typical attractive nuisances include:

Swimming pools and fountains
Machinery (lawnmowers, weed trimmers, etc.)
Wells and tunnels
Dangerous animals
Paths and stairs
Construction materials
Trampolines
Empty buildings

How can you protect yourself from liability?

Taking some basic actions to prevent injury goes a long way toward avoiding liability. Courts usually punish people who didn’t seem to care or put any effort into encouraging safety. In short, you should do whatever it takes to prevent a child’s access to the nuisance.

If you have any questions about attractive nuisances, please feel free to call or email me.

Jon

dekokinsgroup@gmail.com

phone 507-226-8121

DeKok Insurance Group, Inc. Referral Program: When you tell your family and friends about your positive experience with my agency, and they call for a quote, I’ll send YOU a $20 gift card.

Photo purchased at fotolia.com © air – Fotolia.com

Are Your Insurance Rates on the Rise?

October 17, 2012 By Jon DeKok

Don’t you hate it when your insurance rates go up? I do too! Being an independent insurance agent helps, in that I can shop several companies for a better rate, and most of the time find one, but not always due to several factors.

More about that in another blog.

Getting back to rate increases. It makes sense to see your rates increase some, after all, some of the things that make your rates what they are, are increasing in cost (car repairs, medical costs, lumber, materials, labor, etc.). However, what doesn’t make a lot of sense is when you haven’t had any losses, and your rates go up 40% or more.

All insurance companies try to anticipate what their losses will be each year, in 5 years, etc. in order to set their rates. The goal is to collect enough premium dollars to pay for the losses, pay their expenses, set aside money in reserves to take care of unexpected losses, and make a profit. Insurance companies are a business and should make a profit in order to stay in business and motivate growth.

There are some other things that come into play when looking at several different insurance companies rates. One company may be doing business in the whole country, and some are only doing business in one or more States. This can have an impact on that company’s specific rates since some States are more prone to different types of hazards (Wind storms, tornados, hurricanes, fires). For instance, the Mid West has had a higher than the normal amount of wind storms in the last five years, causing rates to increase on most homeowner’s insurance policies (roof damage, etc.). Another factor is underwriting (an insurance company’s rules to accept business). Each company accepts new clients based on rules they feel will keep them profitable. Some of these are based on the client, and some are based on the property to be insured.

Some companies have been surprised by the amount of losses they find themselves paying due to an unexpected number of storms, and other losses. When this happens, they will try to tighten up their underwriting rules, and raise their rates to get back to their comfort zone.

I don’t necessarily hate a rate increase when it is needed, but what I do dislike an awful lot is when a company panics, and jacks their rates up 40% or more or takes other drastic immediate moves that are detrimental to their clients.

If your insurance company has raised your rates in a panic kind of way, or if you would just like to see what I can do for you, please feel free to call (507-226-8121) or email me at dekokinsgroup@gmail.com for a comparison.

Jon

dekokinsgroup@gmail.com

507-226-8121

Graphic purchased from fotolia.com © zinch – Fotolia.com

When They Steal Your Identity

August 2, 2012 By Jon DeKok

Many insurance company’s have an Identity Fraud Expense Coverage. This is usually an endorsement added to your Homeowner’s or Renter’s insurance policy. This coverage is designed to help you get your identity back and cover the cost to restore your good name and credit.

For example – Travelers insurance has an endorsement which costs $25 per year. It will pay up to $25,000 per loss. They will reimburse these expenses in your resolution efforts.

Lost wages as a result of time taken off from work to deal with the identity theft – up to $1,000 per week for a maximum of five weeks.
Notary and certified mailing charges for completing and delivering fraud affidavits.
Fees to reapply for loans that were denied due to erroneous credit information caused by the identity theft.
Long distance telephone charges for calling merchants, law enforcement agencies or credit grantors to discuss an actual identity fraud.
Daycare and eldercare expenses.
Attorney fees incurred, with Traveler’s consent, for:

– Defending suits brought incorrectly by merchants and their collection agencies

– Removing criminal or civic judgments wrongly entered against the victim

– Challenging the information in a credit report

If you have any questions concerning identity theft, or would like to discuss other insurance needs, feel free to call 507-226-8121 or email me at dekokinsgroup@gmail.com

Jon

Renting a Car? How Are You Insured?

July 30, 2012 By Jon DeKok

Have you or your family flown somewhere for vacation, like Florida, California, or Hawaii? You are picking up your rental car, and the rental agency’s service person is asking you to purchase insurance for the rental car. Do you really need to purchase their extra insurance?

The State of Minnesota has addressed this issue. In short, if you have a personal vehicle insured in Minnesota, and you rent a vehicle, your current personal auto insurance policy will cover it anywhere in the United States. Even if you have only one vehicle insured and it is covered for liability only. The rented vehicle will be fully covered since coverage for damage to the vehicle extends from your personal auto’s Property damage liability coverage.

Here is the statement the State of Minnesota requites rental car companies to attach to their rental contracts (65B.49, 2011 Minnesota Statutes).

“Under Minnesota law, a personal automobile insurance policy must: (1) cover the rental of this motor vehicle against damage to the vehicle and against loss of use of the vehicle; and (2) extend the policy’s basic economic loss benefits, residual liability insurance, and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages to the operation or use of a rented motor vehicle. Therefore, purchase of any collision damage waiver or similar insurance effected in this rental contract is not necessary. In addition, purchase of any additional liability insurance is not necessary if your policy was issued in Minnesota unless you wish to have coverage for liability that exceeds the amount specified in your personal automobile insurance policy.”

If you have any questions concerning insurance coverage for a vehicle you are renting, please feel free to call 507-226-8121 or email me at dekokinsgroup@gmail.com.

Jon