It's the end of the year and it's a great time to buy a new car. I doubt Santa wants to deliver a new car to your driveway so do him a favor an pick one out for yourself and drive it home. You'll get a high five and a thank you from the old man for helping him out on that delivery.
Most dealers are in a hurry to get the old cars off their lots at the end of the year and that means a lot of incentives are available. Often you will see discounts from manufactures and low interest rates. Many times the dealers will include both!
If it's time to replace your old car now is a great time to buy. But, keep in mind if you are swapping out an old car with a new one that change will impact your Auto Insurance too. The impact may be small depending how old your car is. Or if you are replacing an old car that you've been carrying minimum auto insurance on with a new car that now needs added coverage you could see a major increase in your rates.
When you are going car shopping it's an important time to get a quote from your auto insurance carrier too. Customers will often call me with a few makes and models they are thinking about buying.  With that information we are able to give them a good estimate for their new auto insurance rate.
If  you are on a budget you will want to consider the insurance as part of your new car costs. Let's say you replace an old car that you carried minimal coverage on. That means you didn't carry comprehensive or collision. With all cars that are being financed you will need to include those two limits. The comprehensive which covers if the car is stolen is usually inexpensive. Unless we are talking about an exotic sports car. In that case if you have enough money to buy one of those cars you probably aren't going to sweat the expensive auto insurance. Now, if you haven't had collision on a car in awhile you are probably looking at doubling the cost of your insurance. If your driving record isn't spotless it could cost you even more. The collision coverage will pay to replace or repair your car if it's in an accident. That coverage is also required by lien holders. You don't have the option of leaving that coverage off unless you are paying cash for the car. Even if you are paying cash just keep in mind if you decline the collision you are on your own to fix the car if you have an accident.
Some people also ask if their insurance will cover them if they drive off the lot after buying the car. Many companies do cover you. If you have a company that covers you in your car or any other vehicle you drive than you are good to go. You just need to call the company over the next week and add the car on. There are auto insurance companies that only cover you on the car that is listed on your policy. In that case you will need to add the car on before you leave the dealer. Additionally, if you are replacing an old car that has minimum coverage you will want to add the new car on with comprehensive and collision before you leave the lot. If you are worried about not getting someone over the weekend you can call before you go down and buy the car. All your insurance company will need is the VIN and the odometer to add the coverage. If for some reason the purchase falls through you can always change the insurance back.
Just as you would shop the cost to buy a car at multiple dealers you will also want to get a quote on auto insurance. That's why it's good to call an agency like mine because I can shop over ten auto insurance carriers at one time and find you the best auto insurance rate. Enjoy the holidays by rolling around in a new car and don't forget to get some insurance quotes from me before you make the purchase. 951-395-0754

The joy of the holiday season has finally arrived. Well, at most places other than Popeye's where waiting for a chicken sandwich is still a extremely non festive experience. That's a story for another day however. I had a customer recently call because her purse had been stolen and she wanted to know if there was any coverage under her Home Insurance policy.
This is the time of the year where we spend a lot of time running around stores checking items off long lists. We are often distracted dealing with crowds and looking at shelves. This is an opportune time for thieves to take advantage of those distractions. If you leave your cart unattended with your purse you could easily become a victim.
Now, what happens if you have your purse stolen with your credit cards, ID, Social Security Number, and house keys? First of all if you are still walking around with your Social Security card take that thing out and put it away. This isn't 1960 people! Take a minute to learn your number and then put it away somewhere safe. 
Most credit card companies are great about cancelling a card and refunding your card if there is fraud. But, make sure you call them as soon as you can. Your ID will need to be replaced and that will require a trip to the dreaded DMV in California. They don't let you replace the ID over the phone or by mail. It requires a trip in.
Now, what will homeowners insurance cover. The first thing are keys. Many home policies will cover the cost of getting your house re-keyed. That's a nice little benefit most people don't think about. Just give the claims department a call and tell them your keys were stolen and they will send someone out to your house. 
Identity theft! Many home insurance policies have limits for ID theft. Basically, they will help reimburse you for any expenses related to getting your credit repaired.
Now you know how Home Insurance can help you get things back in order. The best thing to do however is avoid the hassle and keep an eye on your purse and or wallet so that you don't have to put all your valuable stuff back together. Call today to get a quote on Home Insurance 951-395-0754

Look at all those holiday shoppers milling around the stores. Shoving each other to get the best deals on TV's and gaming consoles. The joy of the holiday season is upon us people!
As we spend our weekends decorating the house with lights and seasonal decor it's good to keep in mind that it is also house fire season. This is the time of the year where home insurance fire claims have a seasonal flair. From tree lights igniting a dry Christmas tree, to decorative holiday candles falling over, ovens getting used for the first time in months, wood fires sending flying embers onto the carpet. There are a lot of seasonal hazards to be aware of.
The important thing to remember is that you can help limit the risks by just being careful. Once your tree is dry and crispy you can keep it up. But, just unplug the lights until you have time to remove the tree from the house. Make sure your smoke detectors are in working order and have new batteries. Have a fire extinguisher on hand and know where it is and how to use it.  If you haven't looked at the directions in awhile here's a website to check out. Not to mention I love the website name;
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/how-to-use-a-fire-extinguisher/
Ah, having a pine scented candle burning near your non piney tree can add a nice touch to your home. Just be aware what is near the flame. I'm not saying anyone would do this but... don't go putting your pine scented candle next to your tree. We can still get the effect by not lighting the tree on fire. Put the candles away from the stuffed Santa's. Don't sit it next to the Elf on a Shelf. Give the candles space to burn without lighting any neighboring decor on fire.
Having a nice wood fire in the fireplace this time of the year looks and feels great. Getting your toes warmed by the flame is always comforting. Just make sure you operate your fireplace safely. Use a fireplace grate to hold the wood in place. You don't want a stacked piece of wood rolling out of the fireplace. Use your metal mesh screen. That will help keep embers from flying out and if a log were to roll it would help stop it inside the fireplace not on the family room floor. If you haven't had the chimney cleaned in awhile you might want to get it checked out too to avoid chimney fires. Leave your embers in the fireplace until they are fully out. There have been many tragic fires from people putting still warm embers in the trash can that lead to a house fire.
Make sure your oven is clean and operating properly. Old grease dried out pieces of food can light on fire in the oven. 
Lets get through the holidays without needing to file a home insurance claim people. They are no fun and you don't want to move out during the holidays. If you need some home insurance give me a call at 951-395-0754

A few days ago in a jury trial a man was found guilty of causing an accident that resulted in serious injuries to a motorcyclist. The jury awarded the injured driver 21.5 million dollars!
Here's how we got to the trial and the huge award. On a February day in 2018 a motorcyclist was riding his bike in the HOV lane on the 405 in Los Angeles, Ca. As the motorcyclist tried to pass the Kia on its passenger side the Kia attempted to exit the lane. The car clipped the motorcycle and sent the bike and the driver across multiple lanes where the motorcyclist attempted to regain control. Unfortunately, he was unable to get control before hitting the side of a flatbed truck. The impact sent the driver flying off the bike and onto the freeway pavement.
The driver's injuries were very serious but not fatal. He spent several weeks in the hospital recovering. 
The reason this driver most likely survived the accident was because he was wearing full leathers and a helmet. The entire accident was caught on a camera by another motorcycle driver.
At the end of the day yes the driver of the Kia did make some errors. He was driving in the HOV lane alone, he exited the lane without signaling and he exited where there were double lines which is a violation.  If you drive around southern California you probably see people doing similar things on a daily basis. But, fortunately most of these infractions go without incident.
The judgement in this case is astronomical. One of the reasons the amount was so large was because the driver of the car was on the "job". He worked for a Kia dealership and he was taking the car out for a test drive after a recent repair. The attorneys in the trial were able to use the video footage and they had a large corporation to go after. That is a perfect mix for an injury attorney. 
Now how can an average person protect themselves? The number one thing you need to do is have proper auto insurance coverage to protect what you own. Have a policy large enough for a worst case accident. Liability coverage is not that expensive and for a few hundred dollars a year you can increase your limits substantially. It's an important reminder that you don't plan for accidents. And, if you do have an accident you need to protect yourself. Call 951-395-0754 to review your auto coverage limits.

Over the weekend a truck tire decided to let loose and explore the town on its own. There are good reasons to keep these things locked down with nuts and bolts people. Because, when they are allowed to venture off on their own they can cause mayhem!
A prime example of the damage and destruction these seemingly peaceful tires can cause happened in Houston. Trevor Bauer a baseball player for the Reds took his not too modest sports car in for service to the local Mclaren dealer. Yes, this multi hundred thousand dollar car was in getting a lube job. I wonder how much that costs at the dealership? Apparently, when you have a Mclaren it gets parked inside when awaiting service. I don't think my Ford gets the same treatment.
This fancy sports car was parked inside next to a large window at the dealership when a truck tire came flying across six lanes of traffic on a freeway. The tire crossed a parking lot, hit the side of the building and careened through the window next to the sports car and ended up crashing into the car and landing on the roof. It was quite the adventure for this rogue tire. Clearly it must have seen the car from the passing freeway and decided that the car stood for everything it wasn't. Yes, no truck tire would ever be able to grace a McLaren. This tire took its opportunity to get payback and it was sweet. The damage on the car was enough to total it. 
Now, the odds of this ever happening again are pretty much zero. I would guess that most tires that break free from either a truck or a car end up along the side of the road. How this one was able to travel so far and cause so much damage is pretty amazing. There are two parts of auto insurance that are coming into play here. One, the truck driver's insurance would cover Property Damage. That means any damage done by the insured's vehicle would be covered up to their policy limits. I'm pretty sure a commercial truck would have pretty high limits for damage to other peoples property. Trevor Bauer would also have insurance. If the truck didn't know it lost a tire and kept driving then Trevor's comprehensive coverage would pay to fix the car. Comprehensive covers random things that can happen to cars. Like fire, tree falling on the car, wind storm and random truck tires. Either way the car will get paid for by one or the other auto insurance company.
Here's a link the the story with pictures. It is pretty amazing.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/reds-trevor-bauer-has-300k-sports-car-destroyed-in-bizarre-accident-at-dealership/
If you want to protect your car from flying tires give me a call at 951-395-0754 and I'll get you flying tire insurance!