The Independent Agent—America’s Best Kept Secret

What makes someone an independent insurance agent? What does it matter to individuals and businesses? What are the benefits? Are there any drawbacks?

An Independent Agent, or in our case, an Independent Agency, is an agency that is not bound to a single company. For example, Copple Insurance Agency has contracts with many companies, including but not limited to: the Cincinnati Insurance Companies, CNA, General Casualty, Bituminous, Progressive, Met Life, and so on.

Having a multitude of companies to choose from is a huge benefit for our customers! We are not forced to sell from only one company. This allows us to choose the right company for each situation.  By giving us a few pieces of information, we can give multiple quotes on each line of insurance, and select the policy that has the right coverage at the best value.

Being an Independent Agency, we strive to provide stellar customer service. Our clients know that when they need us, we’ll be there. They also know that when they call in, they will be talking with a real person that cares about them.  We also strive to create a lasting relationship with our clients. In fact, we would rather call them our friends and partners. So, our friends know that they can count on us to be honest, dependable, and caring for them. You don’t have to take our word for it though, click HERE to see what they are saying about us online!

We are a one-stop-shop; we can take care of your Homeowner’s, Automobile, Personal Umbrella, Boats, Aircraft, and Valuable Property insurance. We can also take care of all of your business’s insurance too: Property, General Liability, Commercial Umbrella, Worker’s Compensation, Commercial Auto, Inland Marine, Professional Liability, Bonds, and more! Just think about how convenient it could be having all your insurance with the same agency you know and trust!

As Independent Agents, we take a consultative approach to insurance. We believe insurance is not a commodity, and needs to be respected for the intricate creature it is. That’s why we explain what we're selling, because an informed buyer is the best buyer. We are committed to selling you only what you need, and have years of experience in finding coverage gaps and other potential pitfalls. We also offer risk management through the companies we represent and in-house methods. Everything we do is to create a better experience for our friends and partners.

If you've never heard of an independent agent, that’s because we don’t have multitudes of television, radio, online, billboard, and print advertisements constantly reminding you.The independent agent typically relies heavily on word-of-mouth to find him or her new clients. 

So if you’re not already with an independent agency, consider giving one a chance the next time you’re looking for insurance. You might just be pleasantly surprised what your hometown-agency can offer. If you are already with one, tell a friend—let them know what they've been missing!

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

How to Make a Winter Emergency Kit

Winter weather is already here for most of us, and with it comes a host of additional risks while driving. With Christmas and New Year's just around the corner, you should consider keeping some extra emergency items in your car for winter emergencies. The following list was compiled to be an ideal emergency kit that can keep you prepared for almost any winter-related problem:

• Rock salt (to melt ice)
• Sand or kitty-litter (for traction)
• Snow shovel
• Ice scrapers
• A blanket
• An extra, warm outfit 
• Battery-powered radio (so you don't have to waste your car's battery/gas for the radio)
• Non-perishable snack foods 
• LED Flashlight (very bright with low-energy consumption)
• Extra batteries
• Water
• Booster/jumper cables
• Tow rope
• Emergency flares
• Matches
• Pocket knife/Swiss Army knife
• First-Aid kit
• Solar-Powered USB charger (it can rest on your car's dash and recharge your phone for emergency calls) 

We recommend finding an old backpack or duffle bag to keep all of these items in. While we hope you don't ever have to use it, we know these things will come in handy if you do! Stay safe out there!

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Those Sneaky Sublimits

The property in your home is insured for a set amount of personal property. However, did you know that just because you have X amount of dollars of insurance on that property, other limits apply in the event of a loss? Find out what sublimits are, and how they can affect your settlement come claim time!

Sublimits are in all standard homeowners' policies, and are applied by category.  These sublimits come into play when there is a loss on personal property. There is a sublimit assigned to different categories of items (see below), and they limit coverage of that category to the amount selected for the sublimit. 

The following is a non-exclusive list containing many of the probable coverages that may be subject to a sublimit:

• Money, Bank Notes, Gold, Silver, Platinum

• Securities, Deeds, Passports, Tickets, Stamps

• Watercraft & Equipment

• Musical Instruments

• Trailers (non-watercraft)

• Jewelry, Watches, and Furs

• Firearms & Equipment

• Silverware & Goldware

• Trees, Shrubs, & Other Plants (subject to a % of Coverage A, and a per-item limit)

• Fire Department Service Charge

• Grave Markers

• Land Stabilization

• Ordinance or Law

• Refrigerated Products

• Electronic Media

• Fire Extinguisher Recharge/Replacement

• Increased Day Care Expense

• Computer Records

• Fungi/Wet Rot/Dry Rot/Bacteria Coverage

• Damage to Property of Others

The total sublimit of each category ranges from insurer to insurer. Some insurers will allow you to change the sublimits, some will not. The typical range of the sublimit is from $500-$5000, but there are exceptions, and ways to increase the amount past that. Depending on the insurer, some of the aforementioned coverages might be simply excluded altogether. 

Example Claim-Scenarios Involving Sublimits

Let's say (tragically) your house and all of your belongings burnt down. Let's also say you had a fine watch collection worth $50K. Almost all policies have a sublimit on jewelry/watches, and your policy (for this example) had a sublimit of $5K. You probably have other jewelry and your spouse or children may have watches and jewelry as well. That's an unpaid loss of over $45K.

Another example (and this one is a more intricate one) is the sublimit for your trees, plants, and shrubs. This coverage has a total limit of (typically) 10% of your Coverage A (the total value of your home). So if you have your home insured for $150K, you have a total coverage of $15K. Another sublimit is typically applied as a per-item limit, so for this example, your per-item limit is $500. Now if a fire engulfs your yard, replacing any of your rare plants/shrubs or re-planting your 20+ year old trees can get expensive, very fast. For example, a four-foot tall blue spruce can cost over $600 a piece! So you're looking at only being able to afford to replant saplings, and only up to the $15K total limit.

How Do I Make Sure I'm Properly Covered?

As I mentioned above, some insurers will allow you to increase the amount of the sublimit. Unless you have a large collection, or one or many high-value pieces, simply increasing the sublimit for that category will adequately cover you. If your insurer won't allow you to increase the sublimit to an adequate level, (which is often the case if you have a sizable amount) you can schedule your property. By scheduling your property, you can individually insure your high-valued items to properly cover them.

Another caveat to being properly covered is knowing whether or not your personal property is insured for Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value. The difference between Replacement Cost and Actual Cash Value valuations can be the difference of hundreds or thousands of dollars. 

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Ordinance or Law Coverage--Properly Protecting Your Buildings

There’s a provision that most standard insurers don't cover: Ordinance or Law. Many insurers give the option to insure for Ordinance or Law losses, but most don't come standard. But what is Ordinance or Law coverage for? What happens without it?

Every community has building and zoning ordinances, and these ordinances are constantly being modified and reinvented as new technology and information comes out. Easy examples would be the banning the use of asbestos and the requirement of egress windows being used for basement bedrooms. These and many other ordinances and laws come into play when a certain percentage of your building is destroyed (the exact percentage depends on your current city code, but is typically 50%), or when certain things need to be replaced. The coverage comes into play because the basic insurance policy itself often only covers you to replace to the exact same condition to what was lost, instead of up to the new code standards. Let me show a few examples.

For my first example, let's say you have a $200K home built in 1910, and (for simplicity’s sake) a storm destroys exactly half of your home. Being half destroyed, the city ordinance requires you to rebuild the whole home up to current standards. In this case, the standing part of your home must be demolished and rebuilt, even though it is technically undamaged. With Ordinance or Law coverage, the cost to demolish the standing portion would be covered, along with any increased costs of construction from building up-to-code. Without Ordinance or Law coverage, you would be held responsible for all of the demolishing and extra rebuilding expenses.

The next example pertains more to commercial property owners. Let’s say your building was completely destroyed. The insurance company is going to pay to rebuild, but the problem is that the city has rezoned, or new land use ordinances have been created. These new laws may require you to move your building elsewhere. The extra cost of the new land would not be covered without Ordinance or Law coverage. Also, you may be required to rebuild in a completely different fashion. Due to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, you may be required to rebuild with the building being accessible to those who are physically disabled. That may require elevators, entryway-ramps, widened doors, raised toilet seats, etc, that weren't there previously. These increased costs would not be covered without Ordinance or Law coverage.

Laws and ordinances are being changed all the time. If your home or commercial building is fairly old and hasn't been remodeled or changed much since it was built, you’re at even more risk in the event of a loss. Remember that undamaged parts of your building may have to be remodeled or completely rebuilt to satisfy the new codes. Also, the new materials and structures that are needed can drive up costs as well. Don’t worry if you can’t keep up with all the new laws, just make sure you are properly insured to cover anything in the event of a loss. Please contact your agent to see what it would take to properly cover you! 

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Understanding Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Coverage

This article will explain the significance of these coverages by discussing their functions, using likely scenarios for examples, and providing possible consequences of having too little coverage. It will discuss minimum state limits and how to avoid being an Underinsured Motorist yourself. It will also discuss what to look for when buying these coverages.

What is the Difference Between an Uninsured Motorist (UM) and an Underinsured Motorist (UIM)?

An Uninsured Motorist is just that: someone with no auto insurance. Statistics show that 1 out of every 7 drivers (14% of drivers) in the US does not have any insurance. That’s over 45 million uninsured drivers. Alarming as this is, your Uninsured Motorist coverage will step in and act like the other party’s insurer in the event of a collision with someone uninsured. So if the other party was at fault, your insurer will pay you, up to your Uninsured Motorist coverage limit, as if they were the other party’s insurer.

An Underinsured Motorist is someone driving with insufficient levels of liability/property coverage. The Underinsured Motorist coverage comes into play when the other party is at-fault for the accident, and their insurance policy limit isn't high enough to cover everything they’re liable for. Like the Uninsured Motorist coverage, Underinsured Motorist coverage then steps in to act like the other party's insurer to pay for the damages that the other party can't cover, up to your Underinsured Motorist coverage limit. 

While an Uninsured Motorist is easily defined, determining whether you are an Underinsured Motorist or not is a hard thing to do until you cause an accident. Determining if you have a sufficient amount of coverage is entirely dependent on the severity of the accident you cause. For example, if you cause a simple fender bender, you might only be liable for a few hundred dollars. That's to fix the bumper and for a chiropractic session for the person you hit. However, a serious accident involving multiple people could easily add up to be hundreds of thousands of dollars!

The Problem with Minimum State Limits

The state of Nebraska has a minimum limit of liability every driver must have to be considered an 'insured driver'. That requirement is a split limit of $25,000 of bodily injury per person, $50,000 total bodily injury, and $25,000 property damage liability (often notated as "25,000/50,000/25,000" or "25/50/25"). While those limits are all you need to be a state-approved 'insured driver', think of the risk you're taking with those low limits:

• You hit a Lexus: luxury cars take luxury parts, along with costly import or dealer service. Even a relatively minor accident might not be covered by the $25,000 for property damage.

• You hit a car with three people in it: Let’s say each one of the other car’s occupants receives $20,000 of medical care. That still leaves you with $10,000 out-of-pocket. ($50K of total body injury insured, with 3 people x $20K = $60K, leaving $10K uncovered) Now imagine a more severe accident with a small sedan that has five people stuffed into it!

• You get in a serious wreck with a sports car with only one person in it: You destroy their new Corvette, which leaves you out-of-pocket roughly $25,000 for the property. Their spinal surgery and physical therapy adds up to $150,000. That’s $125,000 of bodily injury that you’re still liable for. 

What Happens if I Do Not Have Enough Liability?

In the minimum state limit examples, the amounts not covered by your insurance would be completely up to you to cover. In most cases, you can expect a court date to determine negligence and how much you owe the other party. The amount you owe will most likely be taken in the form of garnished wages or other means until things are evened out.

But What If They Have Underinsured Motorist coverage?

If they do, their insurance company is going to step in and take care of all of their immediate bills on your behalf, since you were driving without proper coverage (at least, 'improper' for the accident you caused). The other party's insurance company will come back and sue you for everything you rightfully owe (this is called Subrogation), so refer to the previous section. (Note that in the opposite situation where you're not the one at fault, if your insurer pays you through UM or UIM, your insurer will sue the other party to make them pay for what they owe [Subrogate them])

What Should I Look for When Buying UM/UIM Coverage?

To protect yourself from a hit-and-run or not-at-fault accidents where the other driver doesn't have/doesn't have enough insurance, you'll need UM/UIM coverage. Typically, UM/UIM is sold as a single coverage, however, it often only covers your bodily injury. If you do not have Comprehensive and Collision coverage on your car, make sure UM/UIM for property damage is covered, or see if it can be endorsed to the basic UM/UIM coverage.  

How Do I Avoid Being an Underinsured Driver?

Accidents are accidents; they’re statistically going to happen to everyone. You never know if the accident is going to be a simple scuff in the parking lot, or a catastrophic event. Moreover, there is technically no way to know that you will or won't be an Underinsured Driver. However, you can take a few simple precautions that will severely limit your chances of being Underinsured: through higher limits on your auto policy, safe and defensive driving, and an umbrella policy covering excess damages, you can drive knowing you're protected for almost anything.  

What are These Precautions Going to Cost Me?

Defensive driving is free, saving you from accidents and maybe even traffic tickets along the way. Insurance wise, to bump up the liability limits from minimum level (25/50/25) to $300,000 across the board (300/300/300) is typically not very much, often costing and extra $100 or so per year. Likewise, a $1,000,000 Umbrella policy usually costs around $200 per year, and the Umbrella policy will give you additional liability coverage to your auto policy and your Home/Renter's policy! Excess liability is extremely cheap, especially when you consider what could happen without it!

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

A Debate: Replacement Cost vs Actual Cash Value

These two loss settlement options are given on almost every property-covering policy you’ll see. What’s the difference between Actual Cash Value and Replacement Cost though? How does it apply to your home or commercial building? How does it apply to your personal property? 

What are Actual Cash Value (ACV) and Replacement Cost (RC)?

There is a huge difference between ACV and RC. Starting with Actual Cash Value, it is commonly defined as the ‘fair market value’ of your property. With ACV, a rough estimate of what you will receive after a claim will be what the property could be sold for at auction/online. However,the actual insurance definition for ACV is: "Replacement Cost minus depreciation of the property." To work with the exact definition, we need to know what Replacement Cost is, and how it works.

Replacement Cost is the full cost to replace your property with like-kind and quality, without any deduction for depreciation. Here’s an example. You have a flat screen TV that you bought for $3,000 in 2010 and a fire completely destroys it. If you had it insured for RC, you would receive a brand new model of the exact same flat screen (if one could be found), or the modern equivalent of it, even if it costs more. If it were ACV insured, you would only get the current market value of the TV, which might be less than $1,000 now.

How Does Replacement Cost & Actual Cash Value Apply to My Home/Buildings?

An example of RC would be if your home was insured for replacement cost and suffered a total loss. For this example, (and for simplicity’s sake), let’s assume your house is worth $100K on the market. However, the cost of rebuilding a home, or any structure, is typically more expensive than the market value of the home (after a building is originally built, its market value and the value of the inputs have all changed. These changes in value are caused by inflation, increased costs of labor, increased costs of materials, different types of materials needed, new technology, shifts in housing market, different laws and ordinances governed on the erection of a building, etc.). So if you had a total loss, replacing the $100K home to its former condition might cost $200K. That’s $200K to rebuild your home in the exact same fashion it was before the loss. In this scenario, you would receive a completely new house, built for $200K, even though it was only worth $100K on the market.

Conversely, let’s say we had the same loss on the same house, but this time, it was insured for ACV. In the ACV example, you would only receive $100K (or $200K minus the depreciation). If you wanted your house repaired to what it formerly was, you would have to come up with $100K on your own, or you could have a smaller/less luxurious house built. 

The difference between ACV and RC is substantial come claim time, but is often overlooked because RC costs more. Make sure to discuss the true value of your home with your agent, and have them help you decide what the best option is for your situation.

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Newsletter Links

Our agency subscribes to four very helpful newsletters that we want to share with you! Down below, you will find links to each one. Note that each updates monthly.

Construction Insurance Bulletin: This newsletter provides excellent information for anyone in construction, real estate development, architects, and building related industries. It's articles pertain to the interests of small to medium-sized construction companies.

Business Protection Bulletin: The Business Protection Bulletin is a very popular newsletter with business owners and executives. It will cover topics in business and professional liability insurance, errors and omissions insurance, commercial auto, and miscellaneous related topics.

Personal Protection Bulletin: This is a great resource for consumers of personal line insurance. This will keep the reader up-to-date on auto insurance, homeowners/renters insurance, personal risk, and miscellaneous pertinent topics.

Workplace Safety Bulletin: The articles of the Workplace Safety Bulletin will help readers stay current on important topics for any business that buys worker's compensation insurance. It provides valuable insights on reducing exposures and maintaining an excellent modification factor.

We hope these will benefit you. Remember, knowledge is power!

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

The Confusion of Coinsurance

Coinsurance is a flexible term, as it applies to many different policies, all in different ways. This article specifically discusses how the coinsurance clause works in property insurance, and this article uses a Homeowner’s policy to illustrate exactly how the Coinsurance clause would affect you in the event of a claim involving your home.

A Coinsurance clause can be found in nearly every property-covering insurance policy you can find. Coinsurance was created to make sure the insured was properly valuing their building/property. Coinsurance applies to both Replacement Cost and Actual Cash Value loss settlements.

How does the Coinsurance clause require property to be properly valued? 

The Coinsurance clause will require the property to be insured for a certain percentage of its total Actual Cash Value/Replacement Cost value. Typically, the Coinsurance percentage will be 80%, but can be more or less than that. So if the Coinsurance percentage is 80%, but a piece of property is insured for less than 80%, there will be a penalty applied to the claim settlement. So let's say your home's full Replacement Cost value is $200K, you can have it insured for $160K and still have no penalty (200,000 x .8 = 160,000). Note that if you did only have it insured for $160K, you would only receive $160K, not the full $200K. The optimistic view of the Coinsurance percentage is that the 80% Coinsurance allows for a 20% 'buffer zone' for valuation errors, inflation, market shifts, and other factors. 

How exactly is the penalty calculated?

Typically, the penalty is calculated by taking the amount that the property was insured for and dividing it by what it should have been insured for. The resulting fraction is then multiplied to the total claim/loss amount. The number calculated is the amount you will be receiving. 

Example: Home w/RC value of $200K, subject to 80% Coinsurance, insured for $150K at RC.

Insured for: $150,000
Should have been insured for: $160,000
Loss amount: $50,000
Amount paid to insured: $46,875
Penalty Amount: $3,125


The Bottom Line

If you don't have your property properly insured, come claim time, you might not be able to fully rebuild your house using the insurance money, or you may be forced to rebuild smaller than what you previously had!

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Medical Payments—Not Always What You'd Expect

Everyone has seen the ‘Medical Payments’ section on their homeowners,  or Auto policy, but what does it really mean? Does it cover my medical expenses if I get in a car crash? Does it mean that I only have coverage for X amount of dollars for other people's medical expenses? Does it cover my family's medical expenses?

The Homeowner’s Policy & General Liability Policy:

The Medical Payments (also referred to as 'Medical Expenses') section of your homeowner’s or General Liability policy, is to cover medical expenses of someone who is accidentally injured. The caveat with it is that Medical Payments coverage does not apply to you or your family getting hurt, because that should be covered by your health insurer. For businesses, the Medical Payments coverage would not apply to you or your employees, as that should be covered by Workers' Compensation.

The Medical Payments coverage comes into play when there is no proof of negligence, but a visitor is hurt. In this situation, your insurer will pay the medical expenses required to fix up the injured person, hopefully keeping you out of court. This coverage can be substantial, as litigation can be very expensive, not to mention time consuming. However, if you had negligently hurt someone, your policy is going to pay for their medical expenses, and any litigation expenses that are incurred. Medical Payments is simply a tool to prevent you from going to court in the first place.

Here are two basic examples:

—Your  guest trips over a rug, fracturing their arm. It was completely accidental, but your insurer will pay up to your Medical Payments policy limit to fix them up in hopes of keeping you out of court.

—A pedestrian cuts through the corner or your yard and slips on a child’s toy. Once again, your insurer is going to pay up to the policy limits to fix that person up, and hopefully keep you out of the courtroom.

As you can see, this could play out a million different ways, but trying to establish blame in the courtroom is time consuming and costly for everyone involved. This small, yet potentially huge, coverage can save you time in court, and can keep a small accident from becoming a multi-thousand dollar claim on your record.

The Auto Policy:

The concept is almost reversed in auto insurance. Regardless of your negligence in an accident, your insurer is going to pay up to the Medical Payments limit for each person in the car. So when you're the driver and have an accident, it'll pay for the medical expenses of you and every passenger in the vehicle. This coverage also extends to when you are a passenger in someone else's car, or if you are hit by a vehicle while on-foot. 

The Auto policy's version can be very beneficial to have if you are the passenger during an accident or hit as a pedestrian. This is especially so if the driver doesn't have Medical Payments coverage (or auto coverage at all!). Alternatively, the driver might have an Auto policy, but they might not have high enough limits to fully cover your injuries!

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Why Are My Rates Increasing? I Haven't Had Any Claims!

Insurance companies use various factors to determine the rates they use, and rate increases often have very little to do with you, personally.

Everyone knows a bad driving record or a hail loss on your home is going to make your rates go up; that’s to be expected. But what happens when your rates increase even though you've been a perfect angel this year? That is not an easy question to answer, because it could be one or a combination of the many factors that decide your final insurance premium:

Inflation: 

Insurance, just like everything else, is subject to inflation. Insurance companies are just like any other business; they need to make a profit to stay afloat. So when the costs of things go up (rent, labor, utilities, etc.), the cost of your insurance has to go up as well.  

Location: 

Actuaries are the ladies and gentlemen behind the scenes who crunch the numbers and come up with rates. These folks use location specific data for part of the rate calculations, which create different rates for different areas. They compile the loss information from an area, such as how likely they are to be affected by certain perils (hail, wind, snow), and then they have to predict the losses for the coming year. From these calculations and predictions comes your location-specific rate.

Example:

Let’s compare Omaha, NE to Lincoln, NE. Omaha has been hit with far more severe storms over the past few years, costing Omaha-insurers millions of dollars to cover the wind and hail losses. So you’ll find insurance rates are higher there than in Lincoln, simply due to more severe weather. Similarly, Omaha has higher rates of crime (vandalism, insurance fraud, arson) which increase the chance of loss to property. They also have a significantly higher population than Lincoln, increasing the chance of auto accidents. All of these uncontrollable factors add up to their higher location rate for Omaha than Lincoln's. 

Demographics: 

Similarly, actuaries divide the population between males and females, ages, education levels, marital status, years licensed, etc. They have access to statistical data that provide an insight into each of the different demographic segments, and how risky insuring each is. A good example is this: knowing nothing else, would you rather loan your car out to a sixteen-year-old boy, or a thirty-year-old mother? 

Financial Score: 

A little known rating tool of insurance companies are your insurance-specific credit scores. They have found that using your credit history is a good indicator of how good of a risk you are. While it may not be true for everyone, they have found that the higher the credit score, the lower the risk.

Legal Expenses:

Having a lawyer isn't cheap. Having them defend you in court isn't cheap either. After attorney fees, court fees, bonds, rewards, and penalties, that leaves a hefty tab to pick up.  Everyone remembers McDonald’s Hot Coffee lawsuit of 1994 that was initially settled for 2.86 million dollars. Insanely high awards are becoming more common, and all of the fees leading up to the final decision are increasing as well.

Litigation Frequency: 

Compounding the problem with Legal Expenses is the frequency of law suits. The lawsuits keep coming, and keep getting more expensive. We've gone from suing over coffee to suing for baking neighbors cookies. With an overly litigious society comes an even larger tab left for the insurance industry to pick up. 

Insurance and the Law of Large Numbers:

Insurance itself is simply having a large amount of people pooling their money together, and having the insurance company use that money to pay off people's claims. With the Law of Large Numbers, actuaries can accurately measure how many claims they'll have and how severe those claims will be. Then, along with their other calculations, they use that information to determine how much everyone has to pay.

Medical Expenses: 

Another trend is the ever-increasing prices of medical care. Going in to get that cough looked at can easily cost one hundred dollars, plus a thirty dollar prescription. So you can imagine what it would cost to fix-up a house guest that accidentally slips and breaks their arm.

Rebuilding Expenses:

The market value of your home or office building and the amount it would cost to replace it after a claim are very different values. Replacing or repairing a building costs far more than it did when it was originally built. These increased costs increase your rates.

"Hardened Market": 

Nationally, the insurance market fluctuates, and it has periods of being “Hard” and being “Soft”. A soft market occurs when an insurance company builds up enough profit that they decide to take market share by aggressively advertising and cutting insurance rates. In order to keep up, the remaining companies start doing the same. Eventually, you have companies with extremely low rates and companies who accept anyone, regardless of their claim history. That type of operation ends up with too many claims and poor profit margins for the insurance companies, so then they'll be forced to increase their rates and restrict the types of people/operations that they'll insure. That type or market is a hard market. (We are currently in a hard market)

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Myths About Auto Insurance--And the Truth

Myths About Auto Insurance

Please check out this link to Cars.com to check out their excellent list of common auto insurance misconceptions and find out the truth!

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Welcome!

Hello everyone, and welcome to our blog!

We're excited to use Blogger to keep you updated on what's happening with Copple and the insurance industry! We also post helpful articles that can help you protect yourself and others. Please subscribe and tell your friends.

You can find all of our posts on the right, under 'Article Archive'. You can also search through our posts using the 'Search This Blog' bar. Type in a subject you are interested in to see if we have material posted about it! We hope you find some articles that interest you!

Additionally, at the bottom of each article, there are post tags that allow you to search through all the articles quickly. So if you click on the 'Homeowner's Insurance' tag, all articles that pertain to Homeowner's Insurance will come up.

We hope you enjoy our blog!

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.

Disclaimer

Credit

This document was created using a Contractology template available at http://www.freenetlaw.com.

No warranties

This website is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied.  Copple Insurance Agency, Inc. makes no representations or warranties in relation to this website or the information and materials provided on this website. 

Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, Copple Insurance Agency, Inc. does not warrant that:

l  this website will be constantly available, or available at all; or

l  the information on this website is complete, true, accurate or non-misleading.

Nothing on this website constitutes, or is meant to constitute, advice of any kind.  [If you require advice in relation to any [legal, financial or medical] matter you should consult an appropriate professional.]

Limitations of liability

Copple Insurance Agency, Inc. will not be liable to you (whether under the law of contact, the law of torts or otherwise) in relation to the contents of, or use of, or otherwise in connection with, this website:

l  [to the extent that the website is provided free-of-charge, for any direct loss;]

l  for any indirect, special or consequential loss; or

l  for any business losses, loss of revenue, income, profits or anticipated savings, loss of contracts or business relationships, loss of reputation or goodwill, or loss or corruption of information or data.

These limitations of liability apply even if Copple Insurance Agency, Inc. has been expressly advised of the potential loss.

Exceptions

Nothing in this website disclaimer will exclude or limit any warranty implied by law that it would be unlawful to exclude or limit; and nothing in this website disclaimer will exclude or limit Copple Insurance Agency, Inc.’s liability in respect of any:

l  death or personal injury caused by Copple Insurance Agency, Inc.’s negligence;

l  fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation on the part of Copple Insurance Agency, Inc.; or

l  matter which it would be illegal or unlawful for Copple Insurance Agency, Inc. to exclude or limit, or to attempt or purport to exclude or limit, its liability.

Reasonableness

By using this website, you agree that the exclusions and limitations of liability set out in this website disclaimer are reasonable. 

If you do not think they are reasonable, you must not use this website.

Other parties

[You accept that, as a limited liability entity, Copple Insurance Agency, Inc. has an interest in limiting the personal liability of its officers and employees.  You agree that you will not bring any claim personally against Copple Insurance Agency, Inc.’s officers or employees in respect of any losses you suffer in connection with the website.]

[Without prejudice to the foregoing paragraph,] you agree that the limitations of warranties and liability set out in this website disclaimer will protect Copple Insurance Agency, Inc.’s officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries, successors, assigns and sub-contractors as well as Copple Insurance Agency, Inc..

Unenforceable provisions

If any provision of this website disclaimer is, or is found to be, unenforceable under applicable law, that will not affect the enforceability of the other provisions of this website disclaimer.

Note from the Author (Nov. 14, 2014): After two years of work, we've entirely redesigned our website! Using SquareSpace, we were able to import this blog and we are continuing our blog there. To find the current version of this article and our new articles, click HERE.