FAQs

Yes! This is another way to get discounts for all your insurance policies. When you combine, auto, home, life, renter’s, or other policies that your chosen insurer provides, they will usually reduce the overall cost of these policies.

If you want to shop around, you may find another insurer that will offer more policies or more discounts for these combinations.

.

Commercial or business insurance is insurance for your company vehicle or vehicles. Any transportation that’s used for business use can be considered for commercial insurance.

Consulting services that require driving to locations, door-to-door sales, newspaper delivery, catering, landscaping and construction, private snowplowing, day care transportation, real estate services, church vans, towing trailers like equestrian or equipment, and other like services.

Most commercial policies allow you have higher liability limits than a personal policy. Commercial policies take into account the higher average of mileage you have when doing business. You can also list any employees as needed that may need to drive your vehicle or rented vehicles. Plus, they will allow for towing trailers, and hiring or renting other vehicles when you need them.

Sometimes you need a rental car. When you pick up your car, you are asked if you want to buy insurance for your rental car. If you have an auto insurance policy, you usually don’t need the extra insurance through the rental company, or the extra expense. Your regular policy should cover any incidents you may have while driving a rental.

If in doubt, call your insurer before you get your rental car.

Each state has different laws pertaining to their auto insurance requirements. In general, these are very similar from state-to-state, but there are differences. The best place to check for the most recent list of requirements for New York State auto insurance is the New York State DMV.

The most basic New York State requirements are:

• Have liability insurance. New York is a no-fault state.
• Have an insurance coverage minimum of $25,000/50,000 for injury, $50,000/100,000 for death, and $10,000 for property damage caused by any one accident.
• Have coverage from a company licensed by the NYS Insurance Department.
• Have an electronic notice of insurance coverage filed with the DMV by the insurance company.

To help you save money on car insurance and to further entice you to a particular company while building up good customer relations, insurers started including discounts for certain criteria. You can qualify for discounts on your auto insurance.

Different insurance companies offer different discounts, but many of them are the same. The best thing to do is to look up the discounts each insurer offers, have your independent insurance agent compare discounts with your qualifications, or both. The most common discounts are:

• More than 1 car
• No accidents in 3 years
• No moving violations in 3 years
• Driver training courses
• Defensive driving courses
• Anti-theft devices
• Low annual mileage
• Air bags, anti-lock brakes, or daytime running lights
• Student drivers with good grades
• Auto and homeowners coverage with the same company
• College students away from home

Yes! This is another way to get discounts for all your insurance policies. When you combine, auto, home, life, renter’s, or other policies that your chosen insurer provides, they will usually reduce the overall cost of these policies.

If you want to shop around, you may find another insurer that will offer more policies or more discounts for these combinations.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP), sometimes referred to as Medical Payments, will pay for injury treatment to the driver and passengers of the policyholder’s car. PIP can be basic medical payment coverage or can include lost wages, and the cost of replacing services performed by someone injured in an auto accident. It may also cover funeral costs.

Property Damage Liability is the other part of Liability Coverage. When you’ve caused the accident, this will pay for damages to the other vehicles, as well as other material objects you may have damaged such as fences, posts, buildings, signs, and the like.

Bodily Injury is an aspect of Liability Coverage. This protects the other driver and their passengers. If you are in an accident and you’re at fault, this will pay for injuries for the people in other cars who are caught up in your accident.

Personal injury protection (PIP) or medical payments insurance help you pay for injuries to you and your passengers. Depending on your policy, these protections may also cover lost wages, the costs of replacing services for someone injured that you employ, and may also include funeral costs.

Most states require all drivers to possess an insurance policy, but not all people have insurance and some have inadequate insurance. In this case, their insurance or lack of insurance aren’t going to pay your hospital or vehicle repair bills. Uninsured and underinsured protections will help you cover costs when the other driver’s policies are nonexistent or inadequate.

Collision protects your vehicle, whether you are at fault or not. If another vehicle hits you, or you are in an accident by yourself, such as driving off the road, or unexpected objects damage your car, such as potholes or debris in the road, collision covers the damage.

Liability insurance comes in two basic forms: Bodily Injury and Property Damage. Both types protect the other driver, their passengers, and their property. These protections actually protect you from lawsuits and bills incurred if you are the reason for an accident.

Property Damage also covers other inanimate objects such as buildings, fences, lampposts, telephone poles, and other objects you accidently damage with your vehicle.

Comprehensive insurance covers you and your vehicle from things outside of accidents. Nature and Murphy’s Law have a way of making unexpected events complicate your life.

Comprehensive insurance insures you for natural events like earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, floods, windstorms, hail, tsunamis, and microbursts. It also protects against vandalism, riots, missiles, explosions, fire, falling objects, and collisions with unfortunate animals that may cross your path.