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December 2009 - AARP members welcomed!

In December 2009 The Burns Agency was one of the select agencies authorized to offer automobile coverage with Harford to AARP members.  Contact us to get your coverage review/quote today.

January 2009 - Insurance to Value: Homeowners Beware
Housing values have plummeted throughout the United States.

The pace of existing-home sales dropped more than 8 percent from January 2008 to January 2009, reported the National Association of Realtors. Home values declined for 76 percent of all U.S. homes during 2008, estimated Zillow.com. And housing prices have fallen in 70 percent of all metro areas over the past several years, according to Moody’s Economy.com. What’s more, the rate of new-home construction is now at its lowest in 50 years, noted the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

What’s not going down, though, is the cost of rebuilding and repairing houses. Construction costs rose by more than 4 percent between 2007 and 2008, according to a report in Best’s Review magazine citing Reed Construction Data figures.

Rising reconstruction prices are contrary to the economic news of recent months. And it’s contrary to consumers’ expectations that lower home values should mean lower homeowners coverage is needed.

What’s more, homeowners are already cutting back on insurance expenses. Nearly one in four households already have changed their insurance coverage in the past year to reduce costs, according to a recent survey by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and local Trusted Choice^® member agencies.

With these conflicting pressures, what should a homeowner do? The first thing: Recall what homeowners insurance is designed to do.

Insurance should “make whole” the policyholder after loss or damage to the home from an unforeseen event such as a fire, lightning strike or windstorm. In the case of rebuilding a home, “making whole” means rebuilding the same or similar structure.

When a home is damaged or destroyed, there are several issues that factor into its repair or replacement cost:

• Debris must be removed and discarded.

• Lumber, concrete, and other building materials are in demand on the worldwide market, even if demand is slumping in the United States.

• Building materials are purchased for just one home, not on a large-scale basis as for most housing developments.

• Fuel costs, a big part of construction costs, are higher than just a few years ago.

• Natural disasters in the U.S. have left a shortage of building materials and labor in certain areas.

• Homeowners want to get back into their home as quickly as possible, and speed drives up costs.

The second thing a homeowner should do: Check with your Trusted Choice^® insurance professional to see that your insurance program reflects current economic conditions. 

Trusted Choice^® insurance professionals use the term “insurance to value” to denote that the dwelling limit in the homeowners policy is tied to replacement cost (and not to resale value). Your insurance carrier may periodically analyze replacement-cost trends and suggest adjusting the insurance value of a home.

Check with your Trusted Choice^® independent insurance agent about keeping the coverage current. Your Trusted Choice^® agent is an advocate at time of claim. But the most important protection for  homeowners is to have the proper amount of homeowners insurance—not too high, not too low.

2009 Changes to the New York State Motor Vehicle Law Enforcement Fee
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The 2009 state budget includes a provision that increases the surcharge on auto insurance premiums to $10 per car - annually. This, after an increase from $1 to $5 was put into effect on 6/1/03. The fee is used to fund the motor vehicle theft and insurance fraud prevention fund and the state policy motor vehicle law enforcement account.

2008 Proposed changes for New York State Motor Vehicle Law Enforcement Fee
We won the fight in 2008, this was removed from the budget, but don't be surprised if it shows up again next year.
The 2008 state executive budget included a provision that would increase the surcharge on auto insurance premiums to $20 per car - annually. This, after an increase from $1 to $5 was put into effect on 6/1/03. Under the proposal, 50 percent of total proceeds (estimated at $193.5 million annually) from the fee would support auto-theft and fraud programs and state police. The remaining new revenues would be used to support NYS transportation including a new State and Local Bridge Preservation Program.

6/1/03 New York State Motor Vehicle Law Enforcement Fee
The purpose of this fee is to offset costs incurred by New York State Police and DMV in combating insurance-related frauds and crimes. Companies collect this fee on behalf of the State and remit it directly to New York State as required by law. Previously this fee had been $1.00 per registered vehicle and is now increasing to $5.00 as of 6/1/03. Your policy will be automatically updated to reflect this change.

Jan 2006 - Personal Watercraft

New NYS law effective 1/1/06 Increases Minimum Operator Age

Gov. George Pataki recently signed into law legislation that will increase safety on New York's waterways by increasing the minimum age of those allowed to operate personal watercraft (PWCs) to 14 years old. Current law requires any person between the ages 10 and 18 to possess a boating safety certificate to operate any mechanically powered vessel, including PWCs, meaning that operators as young as 10 years old are allowed to operate these vessels.

The bill signed into law by the Governor will restrict personal watercraft operation to those persons 14 years of age or older. Operators will still be required to possess a boating safety certificate. The new law will take effect Jan.1, 2006.

10/1/2005 - DMV Uninsured Vehicle Rule Changes

Fines increase, Grace period now shorter

If you have a lapse in insurance coverage of 90 days or less the law permits you to avoid a suspension of your registration by the payment of a civil penalty for each day or any portion thereof up to 90 days for which your insurance was not in effect. This civil penalty option applies only once during any 36-month period.  The civil penalties are:

• 1-30 day lapse - $8 per each day of lapse (previously $8 per day for days 1-90)
• 31-60 day lapse - $240 plus $10 per day for days 31 to 60
• 61-90 day lapse - $540 plus $12 per day for days 61-90

The commissioner of motor vehicles may withhold a suspension based on a lapse of required insurance coverage if the period of time during which the motor vehicle remained both registered and uninsured is not more than 7 days (previously 15 days). This provision shall apply only once during a 36-month period and shall not serve to reduce any penalty for a lapse of insurance which was greater than 7 days or prevent the issuance of a revocation for uninsured accident or uninsured operation. This provision shall not apply to a revocation issued in accordance with section 370 of the Vehicle & Traffic Law.

Spring 2005 - Watercraft Coverage

Purchase Proper Watercraft Coverage for Your New Boat

This is the time of year when many people start to consider purchasing a sailboat or powerboat. Many people, however, are unaware of the significant loss exposure this creates, and some people mistakenly believe that there is coverage available under their personal auto policy. The auto policy, however, does not provide any liability or physical damage coverage for boats. Other people may look to their homeowners policy for coverage. Most homeowners policies, however, only cover certain low-valued or low-powered boats. Thus, you should contact us before buying a boat to discuss the proper insurance protection for it. The following tips will assist you in this process.

• If you purchase a boat valued over $1,500, you probably lack proper coverage under your homeowners policy for physical damage losses to the boat itself. A separate watercraft or boatowners policy is necessary to cover boats over this value.
• If you are considering the purchase of a sailboat, inquire about its length. If the length is 26 feet or more, there is no liability coverage under your homeowners policy. For motorboats, there are severe horsepower restrictions for liability coverage. For example, only boats with outboard motors of 25 horsepower or less have liability coverage under most homeowners policies. Yet normally any type of powerboat will have a motor with horsepower way beyond this amount. This liability restriction also necessitates the purchase of separate watercraft insurance.
• Ask us about the types of boats you are considering. For example, some insurance companies decline to insure personal watercraft such as jet skis and wave runners, since some of these crafts can reach speeds of 60 mph. The U.S. Coast Guard reports that these crafts account for a disproportionately high number of accidents. Many insurance companies also refuse to cover houseboats, homemade or kit boats, competition bass boats, and speedboats. You may have to pay a steep premium through a specialty insurance company to insure these types of craft.
• Be wary of purchasing older watercraft. Many insurance companies reject boats over 15 or 20 years of age because they normally account for more losses than newer boats. You may have trouble finding insurance coverage for older boats or end up paying an extremely high premium.
• If you do purchase an older boat, consider ordering a marine survey or inspection of it prior to the sale. This survey will point out deficiencies in the boat that may cause you to reconsider the purchase or renegotiate its price.
• Ask us about procuring a personal umbrella policy in addition to a watercraft policy, particularly if you purchase a speedboat, a boat designed for water skiing, or some other craft with a higher potential to cause damage or loss of life. The personal umbrella policy provides excess liability limits above those offered by a watercraft policy. In addition, the watercraft liability limits should meet the underlying limits requirements of any applicable personal umbrella policy. It is usually best to use the same insurance company that writes your homeowners and personal auto policies for your personal umbrella policy.

9/1/03 Rental Vehicle Coverage

Previously the renter's insurer was only  liable for $100 in damage to a rental car under the general business law. The rental car company's insurer was responsible for the remainder. Under the revised law, the renter's insurers will now be held responsible for all damages to rental cars if their insured is found responsible. The endorsement on your policy will provide this increased coverage at no premium charge. In addition to the coverage provided under the rental vehicle endorsement, many credit cards also provide some protection for rental vehicles. Individuals will still need to make their own personal choice whether to purchase the optional "collision damage waiver" insurance from the rental car company at the time of rental.

1/1/03 Supplemental Spousal Liability Coverage (SSL)

This is an optional coverage which must be offered by the insurance companies but is not included on your policy unless you specifically request and pay for it. Supplemental spousal liability insurance provides bodily injury liability coverage under a motor vehicle insurance policy to cover the liability of an insured spouse because of the death of or injury to his or her spouse, even where the injured spouse must prove the culpable conduct of the insured spouse. This coverage is included within the policy's bodily injury liability limits and does not increase the amount of those limits.  For example: Insured's bodily injury policy coverage limit:   $100,000/$300,000; Insured's bodily injury damage claim paid to spouse: $75,000; Insured's bodily injury policy coverage limit available to all other claimants subject to a maximum of $100,00 per person: $225,000. This example assumes the spouse and other claimants involved in the accident have a right to sue the insured for economic loss or for non-economic loss (i.e., pain and suffering) sustained as a result of a "serious injury" as defined in Section 5102 (d) of the Insurance Law.  It must also have been shown that there was negligence on the part of the insured. The additional premium for SSL coverage is 5% of the liability premium per vehicle.  If you do not elect to purchase this coverage and do not remit the additional premium, SSL coverage is not included in your motor vehicle insurance policy.