Is my road bicycle covered under my homeowners insurance policy?

One of my clients recently was riding his road bike and had a collision with a deer. Is the bike covered under his homeowners policy? Coverage for personal property is covered for many perils but not his one? It is covered against fire, theft, vandalism, water, wind, hail, etc. but not a deer? In hind site it could have been covered. Homeowners insurance policies offer optional coverage riders called Schedule Personal Property (SPP). When personal property is scheduled the perils are broadened to include things like hitting a deer, crashing, damage during shipping, and others.

Senate Bill 167 Utah Condo Insurance Changes

2011 SB167 changed the way Condo Homeowners Association must function. One area of change affects insurance. If you are a HOA board member the following are a few changes to consider. 1) Condo HOA policies prior to the 2011 bill may cover dwelling including tenant betterments inside of each unit or not. The new bill states (57-8-43.9(d)) "Property insurance shall include coverage for any fixture, improvement, or betterment installed by a unit owner to a unit or to a limited common area, including a floor covering, cabinet, light fixture, electrical fixture, heating or plumbing fixture, paint, wall covering, window, and any other item permanently part of or affixed to a unit or to a limited common element." It is suggested that you met with your current insurance agent and make arrangement to increase your Dwelling/Property Coverage to include the items listed above. Your current policy may already include this coverage but likely not. Most HOA Condo Association policies that I have read state that the Dwelling/Property coverage stops at sheet rock - meaning the unit owner is responsible for insuring from the sheet rock in. This new bill shifts the responsibility coverage for these items from the unit owner to the HOA insurance policy. 2) The HOA must have the deductible amount in a reserve fund up to $10,000. "(i) An association of unit owners shall set aside an amount equal to the amount of the association's property insurance policy deductible or $10,000, whichever is less." 3) You must give the unit owners notice if you change the deductible. 4) The unit owners policy is primary 5) If a loss occurs, and the HOA policy is necessary to cover the loss,  the HOA policy  deductible is divided among those unit owners whose units suffered the loss. "(ii) A unit owner who owns a unit that has suffered unit damage as part of a covered loss is responsible for an amount calculated by applying the unit damage percentage for that unit to the amount of the deductible under the property insurance policy of the association of unit owners." For example, if the HOA policy has a $5,000 deductible and three units suffer a loss in which 25% of the damage is in one unit 20% in another and 55% in the third, each unit owner must pay the respective percentage of the deductible.

Suggestion to the unit owner. Each unit own should have a personal unit owners policy to cover those items not covered by the HOA policy. Many of these individual polices offer a "loss assessment rider." This rider will help the condo owner cover the HOA deductible (or portion thereof) that may be assessed in the event of an HOA policy covered loss described above. Call Howard Burkholz 801-451-8880 for further questions.

Personal Injury Protect (PIP) Considerations When Selecting Limits

First, let me define Personal Injury Protection Limits(PIP) - This coverage pays for the treatment of injuries to the driver and passengers of the policyholder's car. At its broadest, PIP can cover medical payments, lost wages and the cost of replacing services normally performed by someone injured in an auto accident.

This coverage by definintion protects you the policy holder and the passengers of your car. If you and your family members are covered by major medical insurance you may feel comfortable with a PIP limit of $3000 the standard minimal coverage. In Utah PIP coverage is primary, major medical is secondary. If an accident occurs and the injuries to yourself or your family are, for example, $30,000 your PIP coverage will pay the first $3000 and then your major medical insurance will start paying the bills. Remember, your major medical coverage likely has deductibles and co-pays. In this example, you may have higher out-of-pocket because of your major medical co-pays and deductibles.

There are at least two reasons to carry $100,000 PIP limits even if you have good major medical coverage. First, PIP pays 100% of the covered loss. You don't have to pay co-pays or deductibles when PIP covers the loss. Second, there may be times when friends or extented family will ride in your car. You don't always know if the passangers in your car are covered by major medical insurance. Let's say, for example, you drive a group of scouts on activities and some of them are not insured by medical insurance. Should an accident occur a PIP limit of $3,000 will very possibly not be enough to cover all medical bills for all passengers especially when some don't have any major medical (secondary) coverage.  

Motorcycle Insurance Coverage

Motorcycle enthusiasts have long been known for their unique personalities, which are often evidenced by the after-market customizations they make to their rides. Crash bars ($450), custom seats ($810), sissy bars ($343) and saddle bags ($978) are optional equipment that can add up quickly in value, which makes it a good idea for riders to ensure they're fully protecting their investments. While a typical motorcycle policy with comprehensive coverage automatically includes some coverage ($1,000) for these types of add-ons, customers can purchase extra coverage that raises the limit up to $30,000. Increasing additional coveage is very affordable. "I just wish I had known how affordable the additional insurance was sooner," said a motorcycle customer during a recent claims survey. In fact, confusion surrounding optional equipment coverage is one of the biggest sources of frustration during the claims process. At a cost of about $15 per year for each additional $1,000 in optional equipment coverage, regularly incorporating this important add-on into motorcycle coverage is one of the smartest decisions you could ever make. Doing so can help ensure that you are truly protected and reduce any potential misunderstandings you may have about your coverage.

Warm weather and summer vacations make this a favorite time of year for riders to take their bikes on the open road-so alway incorporate optional equipment coverage into your motorcycle policy.

Car Rental Reimbursement - Do I need it?

Car rental reimbursement is an optional coverage available on your auto insurance policy. I'm often asked if it's important to purchase. First, let's clarify what it does. If you are hit by another driver they are liable for your damages. Their insurance (assume they have insurance) will pay for the repair to your car, medical bills, and pay for your rental car cost. If you, on the other hand, are the "at-fault" driver your insurance does the same for the other driver but does not pay for your rental car expense unless you have purchased this additional coverage called - rental car reimbursement. Should you purchase this coverage? Let me mention its cheap - about $20 for six months per vehicle. Still, money is money, don't spend it if you don't have too. Consider your situation. Ask yourself, if my car were in the shop for five or six days getting repaired how would I get to work? If you have access to another car during that time you won't need the coverage. Example, I have three cars in my household. I live one mile from my office, my wife doesn't commute to work, and my son just drives to high school about 4 miles. We could get by with two cars for a week while our car is at the body shop getting repaired. So, I don't purchase this extra coverage. It saves me $20 per vehicle - that's $120 per year savings. Not bad.
One final note, several years ago a client was out of town and rented a car from Hertz or Enterprise. They had an accident. Their insurance coverage extended protect the rental car damage. The rental car company charged for the "down time" they suffered because of lost income while their vehicle was in the body shop. This client did not have rental car reimbursement and therefore had to pay the lost income themselves. Their insurance did not cover it. Had they selected car rental reimbursement on their policy it would have extended to the lost income the rental car company suffered.
If you wish to purchase this coverage keep in mind you need to select coverage limits of $30, $40, $50 per day - usually up to 30 days maximum.

Boat Owners Beware

A typical boatowners policy will pay $100, $500, or $1000 toward emergency services to recover a boat in need of a tow or perhaps worse - a capsized vessel. When you purchase a boat owners policy these are the coverage limit you can select. The richer the limit the higher the premium. Last week a client called and said thier boat was capsized on Lake Powell, Utah. The cost to recover the boat and move it about 30 miles off the lake to the marina was $2,700. Tip - make sure you know what your boat owners policy covers and how much it will pay toward a boat towing/emergency recovery expense. Often the cost to upgrade from $100 limit to $1000 limit is only $10 or $20 per year. Note the policy paid $29,750 to the insured for the damaged boat so they made out ok on the boat but the emergency recovery was a hard expense to swallow.