It's hard to believe that's it's been a decade since the infamous Tiger Woods car accident. Today is the day, November 27, 2009. I wonder what Tiger is doing to mark this day in history? It's probably a good day to dodge calls from his ex-wife! It was such an odd auto accident where reality seemed so unreal. It was also a moment that entirely changed the perception of a hero and celebrity athlete.
For a long time golfers lived in a bubble separate from other athletes. They fell into the category of the "gentleman" sports. They played a game that the fancy people played at country clubs. These athletes aren't hard hitting football players, they aren't tobacco spitting baseball players and they definitely aren't the groupie followed basketball players. They are lone wolves traveling around the world on their own. Should we have been surprised that a celebrated family man maybe wasn't such the squeaky clean gentleman we thought he was?
I was reviewing stories about the accident to fill in my fuzzy memory. I found a New York Daily news story from 2013 that had some really great details involving the accident. It sounds like thing started going south when a National Enquirer story about his affair was about to be published. Tiger was trying to do damage control with his wife. Apparently she wasn't buying what he was selling. When Elin Nordegren Tiger's wife started snooping around she quickly found out her husbands text messages and numbers he had been calling. According to the Daily News story after Tiger took a sleeping pill Elin got on his phone and started texting one of the women she suspected him to be cheating with. When it was confirmed that he was in fact having an affair she confronted him.  Things got physical and a woozy half conscious Tiger went running from the house. He got in his black Cadillac Escalade and rushed out of the driveway. He didn't get too far rolling through a hedge and hitting a fire hydrant and finally ending up against a tree. He fell out onto the grass where he passed out. His wife showed up at the scene and was swinging a golf club and breaking several windows on the SUV.
And with that Tiger Woods life took a dramatic new course. Women that he had affairs with for years came out to tell their stories. Tiger's golf game never fully recovered and his wife left him. 
Now, what would have happened if you were to drive your car into a tree? Auto insurance is pretty clear on this one. If you are behind the wheel of a one car accident you will be found at fault. If you injure yourself in the accident it will also be considered a bodily injury accident. In this case Tiger would have ended up with a two point accident on his record. His auto insurance would have paid for the repairs after his deductible. And what per say about the smashed windows with a golf club? That would fall under the vandalism portion of your insurance. Your comprehensive deductible would apply. In this case Tiger would have paid two deductibles. One for the accident under Collision coverage and one for the shattered windows under Comprehensive. 
Before your ex runs after you with a golf club make sure you have good insurance in place. When you want to compare your auto insurance rates give me a call at 951-395-0754

Apparently April Fools' Day came in November this year. Tesla rolled out a prototype of its new ground breaking truck. It has a stainless steal body, can anyone say Delorian? It has no rounded corners, can you stay made in my home garage with no sheet metal shaping experience? It is a unibody truck can anyone say Honda Pilot. 
What could possibly come from all these unsuccessful design decisions? Yes the all new Tesla Cybertruck. Mad Max here we come minus the diesel belching tailpipes.
On a serious note if any other car manufacturer not named Tesla rolled this pile onto the stage people would have run laughing. But, because it's Tesla everyone stares in bewilderment. I'm bewildered because this makes no sense. 
The shape makes no sense. How can anyone get in the backseat with that triangular roofline? Unibody makes no sense unless you are a car company designing a truck. Stainless steel makes no sense, unless everyone likes the same shade of stainless steel. Well, I guess we all love our appliances. Oh and the bullet proof glass that couldn't stand up to a ball being thrown underhand makes no sense. Why are we highlighting "bullet proof" doors and windows? Just what a responsible mom needs for dropping the kids off at school.
I think our lovable genius Elon Musk has finally jumped the shark on this one. His stock fell dramatically today so I guess I'm not the only one questioning this choice. He however always seems to pull a rabbit out of a hat when I have given up on him. 
I actually talked with someone yesterday who has Tesla Auto Insurance. So, all these crazy concepts he tends to come up with tend to come to life. This Cybertruck may eventually hit the road but I really wonder what the market for this creature is. Check it out here on the CNN website. Did someone say modern Pontiac Aztek meet truck? 
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/22/cars/tesla-cybertruck-electric-pickup-truck/index.html

You know life insurance is just something people don’t really like discussing. I guess the whole idea of thinking about ones own death is a bit of a bummer. I get it but guess what. At this point we are all headed for the same ending and it is good to be prepared.
Maybe when you’re in your early twenties the idea of needing life insurance is far off thought. When you’re more concerned about going out with your friends or where to get a good burrito on a Friday night Life Insurance is pretty far down on the list of priorities. Funny thing is that’s totally the time you should start thinking about life insurance.
Why would a single unattached person worry about life insurance? There is one simple reason. It’s super cheap when you’re in your twenties! For the amount you pay for that burrito or two fish taco combo you could have yourself a few hundred thousand in Term Life Insurance. Yes, those are big boy words but it is true. The chances that one day you will either get married, have a kid or buy a house are pretty high. Yes, more and more people are getting married later and having fewer kids. But, that doesn’t take away the need to have a life insurance policy. If you are buying a house with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or you have a child you should already have life insurance.
As you get older the cost of getting life insurance goes up dramatically. By the time you reach fifty it’s five times more expensive than it is in your twenties. When you get to your sixties and seventies you might as well save your money. I mean I’ll take your money but it really does get cost prohibitive. Call today to start your life insurance. Every day you wait it gets more expensive. That’s good for me, bad for you. 951-395-0754

​Less than two weeks before the best day of the year! Yes, it’s not my birthday or even Christmas. It’s Thankgiving! Why do I love this day so much? Well, it’s simple. I don’t have to work on a Thursday. How often does that actually happen? It involves food, adult beverages and football is on. That’s a winning combination in my book.
I recently put out my inflatable turkey and added some lights to the neighboring bushes. Yup, I’m the only one in the neighborhood with Thanksgiving decorations and I’m pretty happy about that. Now that we have the house all decorated what can we do to make sure the crazy relatives and friends have a safe holiday?
The first thing to remember when you are having guests over is to make sure your Homeowners Insurance is up to date. It is extremely important to have our liability limits in place so that if someone were to have an accident while visiting you are protected. I’ve had customers where they had a party and on the way out the front door their guests lost their balance and fell. One person ended up hospitalized and they decided to sue the homeowner. Things happen and when you open your house to visitors you increase your liability exposures.
As a good host make sure you keep your house clear of tripping hazards. All the kids toys should be tucked away. Your dog’s bones should be picked up too. Trips and falls are one of the top liability claims insurance companies pay out on. The other one is animal liability. If you have a dog that you are concerned about make sure they are put away so that you don’t have any dog bite issues.
You also should keep an eye on your guests. Yes, we all have that uncle who will drink too much. Make sure crazy Uncle Fred has a safe way to get home.
Slander! What is slander anyways. That’s when you say something that damages someone’s reputation. So, don’t go taking pictures of Uncle Fred and posting them on social media saying he’s a nut job. Many policies will cover slander under your liability portion, but let’s just talk in private to our relatives about Uncle Fred and not tell the world about his bad behavior at Thanksgiving.
Overall, just be aware of your guests and make sure you keep the house as safe as possible. If you know you are having people over put the hose away. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Save me some turkey! 951-395-0754

I did the first set of insurance myths a few months back and I thought it was fun. I’m not sure if anyone else did but since this is my blog I thought I’d shatter another four insurance myths. Maybe I should call them more insurance questions or misunderstandings. But, myths is easier to write.
Myth #1 If you aren’t using a car you can just remove it from your auto insurance policy
I’ve been doing insurance long enough that this actually used to be true. Six or seven years ago I would have plenty of customers that would call and add their motorhomes when they wanted to take a road trip. The rest of the year they would park the motorhome and drop their coverage to just comprehensive coverage. The comprehensive coverage would cover the motorhome if it was stolen, burned up in a fire or a tree fell on it. It made sense and was a way to save a few bucks. Then along came the state. They were trying to cut down on uninsured drivers.  They came up with the idea that the insurance companies would be required to report to the state any cars that didn’t have auto insurance. The state would compare the insured cars with those registered in the state. If they found a car that didn’t have insured they would suspend the registrations making them illegal to be on the road. So, all those motorhomes or secondary vehicles now would risk having the registrations suspended if they were removed from their policies. The end result is that if you register a car, you must keep it insured.
Myth #2 You get a non smoker discount.
I’m not sure where this one came from but I suspect people sometimes confuse home and auto insurance.  There were a few home insurance carriers that would give their policy holders discounts for not smoking. But, on auto insurance there aren’t any companies that offer non smoking discounts. That still doesn’t stop a few people a year from asking me about it.
Myth #3 You need to buy insurance to drive in Canada
When you drive into Mexico you need to buy special insurance. But, good news here is that Canada recognizes your American auto insurance. Back when I first started doing insurance some companies were not approved by the Canadian government. When you planned on taking a road trip you needed to call your auto insurance company and request a special insurance card. I used to type these cards up for my customers and then would use them on their trips. Now, you can just use your standard insurance card and when you get to the border they will let you through.
Myth #4 If you rent a U-Haul you don’t need to buy the insurance
While many policies will cover you if you rent a car. Renting a truck is a different story. Many insurance companies don’t consider trucks to be a standard vehicle. And because your auto insurance is designed to cover personal vehicles not commercial vehicles you may not have coverage if you rent a truck. My advice is to buy the insurance from U-Haul or whatever company you are renting the truck from. You don’t want to hit a tree limb and dent the truck and then have your auto insurance company deny the claim. If you don’t want to buy the coverage from the rental company call your auto insurance companies claims department and ask how they would handle an accident in a truck. They will be able to tell you if you will be covered or not.
That wraps up another exciting episode of busting insurance myths. I hope you enjoyed them.  If you have any insurance questions feel free to contact me at 951-395-0754

In all my years of doing insurance I have never had anyone tell me that they aren't paying enough for their auto insurance. Strange I know. Maybe one day it will happen. The truth is that everyone wants to save money. Or at least get more coverage for the same price. So, how can you smartly save money on your car insurance? Here's a list with my top suggestions.
Bundle: Most often the best discounts you can get from an insurance company are their bundle prices. If you are calling because your home insurance rate went up you might as well check your auto insurance rates too. With that bundle discount you can save up to 20% off your price with some carriers. The same thing applies if you add renter's insurance to your auto insurance. I've seen many situations where the discount on the auto insurance pays for the renter's insurance. Free insurance anyone?
Professional Discounts: Some companies offer professional discounts. If you have a degree make sure you ask about any discounts that can apply. Nurses, Teachers, Engineers and many other fields get discounts from insurance companies. 
Shop: I have been doing insurance for many years and the one thing I can say is that insurance companies are always changing their rates. Rates don't change on a monthly basis but only on an annual basis. Auto insurance rates are regulated by the state insurance commissioner. Insurance companies have to file with the state and explain why they are seeking rate changes. Most often companies are increasing their rates based off the losses they incurred. The best thing you can do is shop your insurance every few years. I know it isn't fun but it is good to compare. Or, if you have an insurance agent like me you can ask them to re-shop your rates for you. If they find a better rate they can switch you over to a different company when the policy renews.
Deductibles: The one thing that impacts your rates the most are your deductibles. The lower the deductible the higher your rate is. If you want to save some money find out what a higher deductible will save you. Just know if you have an accident you will be paying more out of your pocket. I’ve seen several situation where going from a 500 deductible on a new car to a 1000 deductible will save a few hundred dollars. That is money back in your pocket and if you go two years without an accident you have basically paid yourself back. If you go even longer that is even more money you get to keep.
Miscellaneous Coverage: Look over your policy declaration and know what your coverage's do for you. Rental Car coverage gives you money to get a rental car if your car is in the shop because of an accident. If you have an extra car in the house maybe you remove that coverage and save some money. Road Assistance coverage gives you money if you need a tow. If you already have AAA or some other road assistance carrier you don’t need to have both. Medical Payment is for your injuries in an accident regardless of fault. If you have some pretty amazing health and dental coverage than maybe you can skip this coverage.
Tickets: Now, it sucks when you get a ticket. But, in California you can go to traffic school for most moving violations. Go to the traffic school people! You can do it online and in many counties you can take a test online too. Avoiding having tickets on your driving record is a major way to save money.
You might notice that I don’t recommend saving money by lowering your liability limits. Liability limits are those coverage's that pay for other people if you injure them and they also pay for other peoples property if you damage their cars. To me those are the most important aspects of your insurance.  If you are looking to get some auto insurance rates give us a call at 951-395-0754

Last week I got a call from a potential customer and she was trying to get renter's insurance so that she could move into a house the next day. Normally, this is an easy thing to do. It usually takes about 15 minutes and I'm able to email over all the documents for electronic signatures. But, as you might imagine from the headline we ran into a little issue when I asked if she had any dogs.
Now, I love dogs. I mentioned a few months back that I had waited my whole life to finally get a dog and I couldn't be happier with my furry buddy. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies love all dog breeds. There are several companies that will not offer home insurance if you own one of their excluded breeds. Pit Bulls are one of the breeds insurance companies don't like. Now, if you are confident your dog won't bike anyone. Or, if you are just willing to pay out any damages on your own you can pick a company that excludes coverage for your dog. What that means is that they will insure you and your property. They will cover if someone tripped over your hose or slipped on your wet floor. But, if your dog bites someone they will not cover any damages. You the dog owner would be fully responsible. 
Every so often I have someone call me and when I ask about dogs they tell me it is a mixed breed or they aren't really sure what kind of dog they have. Usually, when I press for what the mix the dog is I find out it is an excluded breed. A lot of companies will still excluded mixed breed dogs if one of those breeds is excluded. 
When you are looking for home or renter's insurance make sure you are honest with your insurance agent. They are there to help you and do what is best for you. I still have a company that will cover all breeds of dogs except if they have a bite history. It is a much better option to pay a little bit more and know your dog is covered. If you are unable to find a company that will cover the dog there are options online for a liability policy for dogs. They aren't cheap but they are available.
I was all ready to sign this person up with renter's insurance but when I went to bind the coverage I couldn't. Yes, there was a brush fire in the area and the company wouldn't let me bind because of the nearby fire.
So, here's the moral to the story. If you have a breed of dog that may be excluded from insurance don't wait until the last minute to get insurance. If this person had called a week or two before needing the insurance she would have had the policy in hand and been able to move in.  If you are signing a lease get your renter's insurance started the same day. We can future date most policies between 30 and 60 days. 951-395-0754 for your quotes.