One of the most common questions agents get from customers is, “Do I need to buy the damage waiver when I rent a car?” The answer to that is almost always “Yes,” though you will find scores of media articles (including our own industry) that dangerously advise otherwise.
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Yesterday, a 7-year-old girl drowned in a pool that a homeowner reportedly rented, through Swimply, to a group that allegedly included about 15 children. I blogged about Swimply a couple of years ago when they appeared to not offer any liability coverage for renters. They apparently currently include $1,000,000 of coverage…but how much is the life of a 7-year-old child worth?
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I realize I’ve been remiss in the frequency of my blog posts recently. But it’s not because I haven’t been writing. In addition to the new book I’m working on about the history, evolution and meaning of CGL property damage exclusions, I continue to write a monthly column for Insurance Journal magazine….
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This week I’m presenting, as part of a conference panel, a session on underinsurance of residential and commercial properties, with a focus on pre-loss valuation as it impacts underwriting and policy limits. What has been your experience in this area? Is underinsurance as widespread as it appears to be? Are there many instances of OVERinsurance? Inquiring minds want to know.
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In a recent court case, the insurer failed to carefully consider the case law cited by the claimant’s attorney and, as a result, was found have denied a claim in bad faith. In my book “When Words Collide: Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes,” I explain why pertinent information from any source, especially case law, should be considered.
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Recently I read an article that cited a GEICO annual report that effectively expressed the philosophy that: (1) most consumers know what they need in an auto policy and (2) agents are “unnecessary and expensive” links in the distribution mechanism. Is this true? Can consumers distinguish the coverage subtleties between insurance policies and are agents largely unnecessary and expensive?
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Homeowners policies generally provide very broad worldwide liability coverage. However, among the exclusions are those pertaining to occurrences that take place on certain premises. These exclusions often have exceptions that grant coverage if the premises is an “insured location.” One common type of “insured location” is often vacant non-farm land. The question is, what is (or isn’t) “vacant” land?
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Many insurance policies cover a lot of loss exposures, but none cover EVERY loss exposure. Sometimes this is hard for a consumer or business owner to understand. Why did someone pay a lot of money for insurance that doesn’t cover what happened? This article is about a recent email I received from a consumer and how I explained the lack of coverage.
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BONUS! Purchasers of this book get a free PDF download of my book “QuoteNotes: The Ultimate Quotational Reference System and Authoring Tool for Professional Speakers and Writers” endorsed by Zig Ziglar and Brian Tracy. This is an indexed and cross-referenced compilation of my 1,500 favorite quotes and includes a section on how to use quotations in your speaking and writing.
To get BOTH books at a discounted price, click the book cover or CLICK HERE.