Following are a few considerations when mulling this important decision:

DAMAGE WAIVER & YOUR PERSONAL AUTO POLICY

First, the good news: In many cases, a personal auto insurance policy will cover damage to a rented vehicle. That said—don’t get too comfortable! There are other costs associated with damage to a rented vehicle that the policy will not cover. For this reason, careful consideration should be given to purchasing the damage waiver offered by the rental car company.

On your personal auto policy, “Collision” insurance covers your vehicle for damage resulting from a collision with another object. “Comprehensive” (sometimes called “Other Than Collision”) covers your vehicle for theft, vandalism, falling objects and other causes not resulting from a collision. If you have a car loan, your lender will require you to purchase both. If you pay the loan off, the choice to purchase collision or comprehensive—and both or neither—is up to you.

Your personal auto policy will only cover damage to the rental car if you have the appropriate coverage type on at least one vehicle you own. For example, if you damage the rental car in a collision, you must have “collision” coverage on at least one vehicle covered by your personal auto policy. But if the rental car is stolen, vandalized, or damaged in any way not resulting from a collision, you must have “comprehensive” coverage on at least one vehicle covered by your personal auto policy. The key point: If your personal auto policy excludes the coverage type that damages the rental car—and you reject or violate the damage waiver—you will become personally responsible for paying all costs related to the damaged rental car out of your own pocket!

In contrast, the damage waiver usually offered at the rental counter will cover the damaged rental car regardless of what’s covered by your personal auto policy.

LIMITATIONS IN YOUR PERSONAL AUTO POLICY

What else could you possibly owe the rental company following an event or crash? These include administrative fees and the depreciated value of the vehicle after repairs—neither expense is covered by your personal auto policy. In addition, most personal auto policies only pay up to the actual cash value (ACV) of the damaged vehicle. If the contract requires the damaged rental’s replacement, the ACV payout may not be sufficient to cover the entire expense.

Again, in contrast, the damage waiver will cover all such expenses.

Also, the rental contract likely will require you to pay the rental company’s “loss of use.” These are expenses they incur resulting from the inability to earn income from the damaged rental. This cost could be hundreds of dollars or more. Some personal auto policies will pay a limited amount for this expense (such as $20 per day or $600 total). Others will not cover it at all.

In contrast, the damage waiver will pay the full cost of the rental company’s loss of use.

NO CLAIM NECESSARY

If something happens to the rental car, purchasing the damage waiver gives the rental agency management of the process. This will allow you to avoid filing a claim and possibly help keep the cost of your insurance from going up. It also will keep your deductible in your pocket.

LIMITATIONS IN THE DAMAGE WAIVER

Don’t forget that the rental car company’s damage waiver is a contract. It will include a list of restrictions that, if violated, may terminate the waiver and leave you personally responsible for paying the costs associated with the damaged rental car. Examples of such restrictions may include:

• Damage to rental while driven by someone not specifically named on the contract.

• Damage to rental while driven on unpaved roads.

• Damage to rental while it’s being occupied by more passengers than available seatbelts.

• Damage that occurs while pushing or towing.

This list is only a sample; the typical damage waiver may include additional restrictions.

Moreover, the car rental company’s loss damage waiver covers “diminished value,” the economic reduction in value of a repaired auto due to it having been damaged. Almost all auto policies and many credit card coverages exclude diminished value. What’s the impact to you? If you don’t take the damage waiver, you could get hit with a diminished value claim of $1,500 or more, depending on your type of damaged rental car.

DAMAGE WAIVER COVERS VEHICLE DAMAGE ONLY

Perhaps the most important fact to remember is that the damage waiver only applies to damage to the rented vehicle. It is not a substitute for liability, medical payments, uninsured motorist, personal injury protection, and any other personal auto insurance coverage.

OTHER PRODUCTS OFFERED BY RENTAL COMPANY

In addition to the damage waiver, most rental car companies offer a few optional insurance-type products. For example, some may offer a liability enhancement that gives you the option to increase the liability limits you already carry on your personal auto insurance policy. Depending on your available auto liability insurance, this option may be worth consideration.

Others may offer options such as accidental death, trip cancellation, or damaged luggage insurance during the rental period. Such options vary by company and may provide insurance dollars you cannot get elsewhere. However, they should not be purchased without first reviewing your current home, health and auto insurance policies as there may be duplication.

CONCLUSION

In light of the information above, you should seriously consider—and probably buy—the damage waiver from the rental car company. Deciding whether to purchase other products from the rental firm, however, depends largely on the insurance already available to you from other sources. For assistance in determining coverage you already have and comparing it to the rental company’s options, call Jon Jepsen at SentryWest Insurance, your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent today.

Business Travel Note: When you rent a car on a business trip, that’s an entirely different set of decisions, so again please talk with your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent.

What is my home worth? Market value versus reconstruction costs.

Many homeowners equate the “worth” of a home to its market value, especially if the home was a recent purchase. While market value is a valid calculation of a home’s worth for buying and selling, it has little to do with the cost of rebuilding. The estimate you are providing is the amount to reconstruct the home at today’s costs.

Why is reconstruction cost more expensive than new construction?

Rebuilding a home includes many factors and expenses not considered in new construction.

• Economies of scale - It costs more for a contractor to build one home at a time because materials are not purchased in bulk. A single household item that matches the one that’s been destroyed will nearly always cost more than if it had been part of a larger purchase.
• Top-down versus bottom-up – Repair work for a partially destroyed home is done from the top of the home down.  This is more time consuming and labor-intensive.
• Demolition and debris removal – This step is necessary before reconstruction can begin and adds to the total cost.
• Use of labor  – When a builder constructs many homes at once, they can efficiently schedule labor for carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other workers. For a single rebuild, labor is not as efficient and contributes to higher costs. 
• Access to worksite – Worksite access is easier for brand new construction. For reconstruction, obstacles such as neighboring homes, trees, lawns, fences and other landscaping prevent easy site access. This makes it difficult to transport materials and can drive up labor costs.
• Building code changes  – Changes to building codes may require costly updating, even for undamaged parts of a home. This could include updating wiring or other utilities and is costly, especially for older homes.
• Natural disasters – After a natural disaster, the costs of building materials and labor rise because of increased demand. Over the past 20 years, there has been a significant increase in the frequency and severity of weather events, resulting in a high number of losses that require repairs.
• Protecting undamaged parts of the home and contents – Keeping a partially destroyed home from further damage until permanent repairs can be made adds to the overall cost. This could involve covering a damaged roof or holes in walls.  
• Specialized labor is more costly – Reconstruction is often completed by contractors who specialize in rebuilding as opposed to new construction contractors.  Their specialized labor tends to be more expensive.
• Replicating old construction methods and materials – A standard homeowners policy provides for replacement with like kind and quality, which means replicating a home as it stands today. In older homes, interior walls are often made of plaster instead of drywall and exterior brick walls are made of solid brick instead of modern brick veneer. Homes constructed prior to 1940 were built with full dimensional lumber, which is larger and more costly than typical modern lumber. Because of features and materials such as these, older homes, especially those built prior to 1940, cost more to replace. In addition, the rising cost of commodities contributes to higher reconstruction costs. For example, petroleum based materials such as shingles have increased in cost dramatically.

Contact Jon Jepsen or another qualified Trusted Choice®  insurance professional at SentyWest Insurance to find out if your property is adequately insured.

A directors and officers (D&O) insurance policy protects directors and officers from liability risks associated with working or volunteering on the board of an organization or company. These risks can include negligent acts or omissions, antitrust violations, wrongful termination, libel and slander, and misleading statements that result in a lawsuit against the company. Whether you’re working or volunteering as a director or officer, it’s important to make sure you’re protected from these risks with a D&O policy.

Directors and officers can be sued by the company or organization they work or volunteer for or by other current or former directors and officers, employees, shareholders, investors, lenders, vendors, customers, competitors, various government officials, such as state attorney generals, the IRS and state and federal labor departments, consumer groups and numerous other third parties.

While the entities that can sue a board member are numerous, the situations in which lawsuits can be filed are limitless. Here are just a few examples of real D&O claims from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America:

• A minority shareholder in a family-owned electrical contracting business sued the two major shareholders on behalf of the company, claiming they breached their fiduciary duties. The minority shareholder claimed that the majority shareholders, by drawing excessively large salaries and bonuses, caused the company to lose money. The court ruled in favor of the majority shareholders, but the defense costs amounted to six figures.

• A mid-sized manufacturing firm hired an employee away from one of its competitors, bringing the person on as an officer. A year later, that new officer’s ex-employer sued the officer and his new firm, alleging that the officer misappropriated trade secrets and violated certain provisions of his termination agreement.

• The plaintiff filed a complaint against their competitor alleging that a former employee, now working at the competition, engaged in unauthorized use of confidential and proprietary information and committed other acts of unfair competition. As a result, the plaintiff alleged it has suffered irreparable and immediate injury. In addition, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant has possession of its confidential information and intellectual property.

There are several types of D&O insurance that can protect individuals from these situations. These coverages include corporate reimbursement coverage, which protects directors and officers of a company or organization; side-A coverage for directors and officers who are not indemnified by a firm; and entity coverage for protection against claims made against a company.

D&O policies can also be written to include coverage for employment practices liability for protection against lawsuits for wrongfully terminating an employee or sexual harassment.

Before you start working or volunteering in a director or officer capacity, you should check with the company or organization to make sure it has a D&O insurance policy in place. If you’re serving on a board and you’re unsure about whether you’re protected, Jon Jepsen at SentryWest Insurance (a Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent) can answer any questions you have about coverage and risk exposure.

Association membership has its benefits. In return, members of the association are sometimes asked to contribute funds to help maintain the integrity/value of the common elements. Those common elements—a garage or clubhouse, for example—are those items of property commonly owned by all members. “Asked” may be too soft a word—such contributions usually are collected through mandatory assessments.

What are some things for which you as an association member can receive an assessment? Good question. The answer is typically found in association bylaws. In some states, laws will have something to say about the extent an assessment can be charged and for what it can be charged. However, such statutes do not exist everywhere.

Here’s another question: If you receive an assessment from your home or condo association, will your home or condo policy help you pay for it?

The answer, well, depends.

Most home and condo insurance policies have very similar language in how they address coverage for loss assessment. There are a few things you will need to know before coverage can be determined.

What Caused the Assessment?
The home or condo policy only will kick in to pay an assessment that is charged to you for a reason that would be covered by your insurance. For example, if the assessment were charged to help cover the cost of damage to the clubhouse caused by a fire, your policy would pay due to the fact that fire is a covered loss under your policy. However, if earth movement damaged the same building, your policy would not pay if earth movement is not a covered loss under your policy.

If an assessment is charged to cover the cost of painting the exterior of the clubhouse simply because the association decided it was time to paint, your coverage would not kick in due to the fact that there has been no covered loss.

Assessments are not only charged to cover claims of damage to common elements. Members also may be assessed for claims of bodily injury or property damage against the association’s master policy. For example:

A guest suffers a permanent head injury after slipping on a damaged walkway. The bodily injury claim against the association is $1.5 million. The association’s policy will cover the injury up to its policy limit of $1 million. The association assesses its members to cover the remaining $500,000.

In this example, your insurance policy would kick in to help pay the assessment. Why?  Bodily injury is covered by your policy.

Which Policy Covers the Assessment?
Your home/condo policy says that it will only pay the cost of assessments that are charged during the policy period. This is important to note because it’s possible that the actual assessment may not be charged until months after the loss causing the damage occurred. For example, say the hurricane happens in August, when Company X insures you. In September, you switch your coverage to Company Y. The assessment for the portion of the hurricane damage that isn’t covered by the association’s master policy arrives in October. Company Y’s policy would kick in as it was in effect when the assessment was charged.

How Much Will My Home or Condo Policy Pay?
Most policies are issued with a limit of $1,000 to cover loss assessments. This limit is the most your policy will pay for a single loss, regardless of how many assessments are charged for it. For example, if the clubhouse is damaged by a hurricane, it’s possible that members may be assessed first to cover the cost of the association master policy’s deductible—and again to cover the cost of the repair that exceeds that policy’s limit of insurance. Since both assessments are charged due to the same hurricane, the total paid by your insurance would not exceed $1,000.

That $1,000 Seems Too Low. Can I Increase My Assessment Coverage?
Yes. Most home and condo insurance companies offer you the opportunity to add more coverage for loss assessments. It’s important to know that while the dollar amount may be increased, the terms of the policy still apply (i.e. you will still need the assessment to be charged due to a covered loss).

If you choose to purchase additional assessment coverage, proceed with caution. Most loss assessment endorsements will still only allow you a maximum limit of $1,000 if the purpose of the assessment is to cover the master policy’s deductible.

Final Note
Loss assessments can be expensive. Having the right home or condo insurance policy to help cover some of the cost could save you big bucks. For more information, call Jon Jepsen at SentryWest Insurance (your Trusted Choice® insurance agent) today.

It’s a good question to ask about insurance, too. After all, Americans spend a lot of money on insurance for homes, autos and businesses. In 2008, American drivers spent $161 billion for personal automobile insurance, reported the A.M. Best Co., an insurance research and ratings firm.

This large market for auto insurance is highly competitive. Consumers play a large part in keeping insurance rates competitive by virtue of shopping—whether online, by telephone or on the World Wide Web. More than one of four (about 28 percent) of auto insurance buyers shopped around for car insurance in 2009, reported J.D. Power & Associates in its 2009 national auto insurance study.

But consumers aren’t the only ones shopping around for auto insurance. So too do independent insurance agents, including Trusted Choice® insurance professionals.

On average, Trusted Choice® insurance professionals provide consumers with property/casualty insurance options from eight different insurance carriers, reported the 2008 agency universe study conducted by Future One, a collaboration of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and leading independent agency companies. For automobile insurance, those agents may compare rates and coverages at even more insurance companies, through their use of software that allows them to compare multiple policies and multiple carriers.

For auto insurance buyers, research showed that independent agents rank most highly on the most important element of customer satisfaction. The J.D. Power study measures customer satisfaction with auto insurance companies across five factors (in order of importance): interaction, policy offerings, billing and payment, price and claims. Insurers who sell their auto insurance products through agents performed “stronger in the interaction factor than do direct insurers,” reported J.D. Power.

Overall, customer satisfaction with auto insurance companies reached a five-year high in 2009, reported the J.D. Power study. The biggest improvement in satisfaction among the five factors has been in price. Interestingly, 42 percent of customers in 2009 reported that their auto insurance premiums declined without switching insurers.

Are you overpaying for auto insurance? Thanks to a competitive market that includes Trusted Choice® insurance professionals, the answer probably is no. If you’re not sure, ask Jon Jepsen at SentryWest (a Trusted Choice® insurance professional) to review your options.