Should you combine insurance policies after you get married?Most of the time- yes. We love "love stories" here at the St. Clair Insurance Agency. We are all for romance and marriage proposals and wedding engagements. It seems that every time we turn around, someone is tying the knot. So if you got engaged last Fall, or more recently around Valentine's Day, and you are getting married this Spring or Summer- call us! Yeah, we want to hear your love story (really, we do!). But more importantly, we want to help you save money and make sure you are properly insured now that everything is changing. You need to make important insurance changes when you get married. Combining your homeowners or renters policiesEvery new marriage brings unique insurance questions. Let's start with "should my fiance and I combine our property insurance after we get married?" If you both own a home, and one of you will be selling your home, and living in the other spouse's home, this should be easy. You may be able to keep your policies just the way they are for now. Of course you need to inform the insurance company about your change in marital status, and the change in "who is living where." Talk to us about the timing. Just remember that "what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine" works in the movies, but not always in this situation if you have separate policies. And your premiums may be higher while you do this. So call us and ask. If you both rent, you will want to combine policies as soon as possible. Just like the advice to homeowners, you need to let your insurance agent know before the wedding of the changes in martial status, and who will be living where. The good news is, in almost all cases, combining your homeowners or renters policies will save you both money. Combining auto insurance when you get marriedShould a married couple combine their auto insurance policies, or should they keep separate auto insurance policies? Here's where general advice doesn't always work. So we'll give you the generally accepted answer, and then bring up a few things that, if they apply to you, should make you call us. General advice: combine your auto insurance when you get married. Why? Because:
When does this get "not simple?" If your fiance has a lousy driving record, or bad credit, or too many accidents, adding them to your policy can get expensive. You will need a strategy to help lower your insurance costs that is unique to your situation. What can you do? You can (and should) call us to discuss all of your options. You can raise deductibles, or assign the higher cost driver to the cheaper car (if that is the car they will be normally driving), or make some lifestyle changes (buy less expensive cars or drive less miles by carpooling). Yeah. None of these are fun topics of discussion, but they are things that need talking about for some married couples in unique circumstances. Some people may even need separate car insurance policies (at least for a short time). Some states and some companies allow for a seldom used endorsement called the "named driver exclusion" which is a fancy way of saying... your spouse is not covered at all on your policy. Even if you have insurance with someone other than us (shudder)... we can help you with these tough questions. All of these options, or none of these options, may be helpful in your particular situation. Often, you aren't even sure if the questions you are asking are the right ones. If we haven't rained on your wedding yet...You have so much to celebrate. Go ahead. Get married. Let us do the worrying about insurance for you. Consider it our wedding gift.
St. Clair Insurance Agency: (951) 284-0400 (Photo courtesy Anthony Kelly, CC Licensed)
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Bald tires are bad news.
Old worn out shoes with little tread can be comfortable friends. But old worn out tires can be deadly. What’s the difference? Shoes keep your body upright and moving forward, just like tires keep your car upright and moving forward. But when it comes time to stop, your shoes have to stop roughly 100 to 200 pounds moving at 3 miles per hour. On the other hand, your tires need to stop approximately 3,000 pounds of sheet metal moving at speeds often in excess of 55 miles per hour. That’s no easy task. If you need new shoes, you can wait. If you need new tires, you can’t. Bare Facts Fact #1 There were over 1.3 million car motor vehicle crashes related to weather conditions between 2002 and 2012. Most of these were on wet, rainy, snow and sleet covered roads. In almost half of these accidents, passengers and drivers were injured. Worse, over 6,000 people died. Fact #2 Tires with not enough tread take longer to stop on wet or slushy roads. That means that bald tires keep on going- even when you tell them to stop. That contributes to the injury and death of people who didn’t know when they got up in the morning that bald tires might kill them that day. Fact #3 Nearly half of all vehicles on the road today have at least one tire with half-worn tread, and 10 percent have at least one bald tire, according to a recent NHTSA study. That means that nearly half of all vehicles on the road take longer to stop when they slam on the brakes than they should. And it means that 1 out of 10 cars on the road have bald tires. Bald Tires What is a bald tire? A tire is considered “bald” when it has less than 2/32 (1/16) of an inch tread depth. Most states have laws that require at least 1/16 of an inch of tread, and you can be subject to a ticket and fine if you have a bald tire. You should do a Google search to find your state requirement. Then more than 1/6th of an inch means I'm safe? Not always. If you are driving on wet roads, your tires should have at least 2/16 of an inch of tire tread remaining. And if you live in areas where there is snow and slush, you should have at least 3/16 of an inch of tread to bite into the snow. A new tire typically has about 5/16 of tread depth. Does it really make a difference? Yes! Balding tires are one of the biggest safety threats on the road today. As the tread on your tires shrinks, you will experience more hydroplaning and potential for spinning out on wet or slushy roads. Spin-outs and loss of control can result in death and injury. And spin-outs are not the only threat. Even with Automatic Braking Systems (ABS), your stopping distance is dramatically affected by the tread on your tires. According to a Good Morning America study, there is a frightening difference between “enough tread” and “not enough tread” in how long it takes to stop your car. Watch this short video to see the demonstration. In the video, Good Morning America tested 3 identical cars, all travelling the same speed on a wet road. The only difference was the depth of the tread on the tires. The vehicle with new tires (10/32 tread) stopped in 195 feet. When the difference was a “still legal but beginning to bald” tread depth of 2/16 (4/32) of an inch, the distance to stop was 290 feet. And when the tires were bald (1/16th of an inch of tread), the stopping distance was 379 feet! People die when tires wear out. George Washington How does George Washington help save lives? Simple. Pull a quarter out of your pocket, walk over to your car, and place the quarter upside down in the tread. If you can see all of George’s head, your tires are balding. It’s that simple. The Quarter Test If all of George Washington’s head is showing, that means the tread depth is less than 4/32, and it’s time to replace your tires. The Penny Test Place a penny upside down in the tread, and if all of Lincoln's head is showing, your tread depth is less than 2/32 of an inch, and your tires need to be replaced immediately. Of course there are wear bars on all modern tires that visually indicate the need for tire replacement, There are also depth gauges that your tire dealer can use to give an exact reading of the tread depth. But the basic “penny test” and the even better “quarter test” will give you a quick idea of whether or not you should call your automotive specialist. Check Your Tires. Now. If you have any concerns, call your local auto repair person. Thanks for following us here at Coverage For Your Toys. We are ready to help you with any auto insurance questions you may have. If you think this article can help a friend or family member, please feel free to forward it to them. |
Coverage For Your ToysSt. Clair Insurance Agency Thanks for stopping by. ~Jeff St. Clair
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October 2015
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