These types of claims are still subject to your deductible and are considered a comprehensive claim. Our advice to your customers was to make sure the damage was over the deductible before they call and make a claim.  Please be patient with the insurance companies, there were many claims called in last week.  To the right you will see a map of Phoenix showing the areas that were hit the hardest.

If this were you, do you have enough coverage???

The state minimum for Arizona is 15,000/30,000/10,000. The property damage coverage is the $10,000 amount. Which would not cover the amount needed to fix the restaurant. The additional $30,000 would be up to the driver to compensate for the damages.This can include having the driver’s paycheck attached.

 The coverage that we suggest to our customers it to carry at least $100,000/$300,000/$100,000. Being legal is a very important reason to initially purchase the insurance for your auto and home. The next step is to make sure that your assets are covered. Take a look at your auto policy tonight, if you are only carrying the state minimum, give us a call. We will see what we can do to give you better liability coverage.

 Motor vehicle crashes is the leading cause of death for teenagers. With 16 year old teens having a higher crash rate than any other age. In 2008, 3,500 teens in the United States between 15-19 were killed.

 Hopefully technology like this can help reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents, not only among teens but all ages. Ford’s research for the MyKey program shows that 75% of parents like the idea where 72% of teens didn’t like it.

 For more information on the MyKey program : http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=29172

Why such a difference?

Louisiana had an explanation to the high cost of insurance. The court system will only see a case that has a claim that is greater than $50,000. This means that a lot of settlements will stop at $49,000 to avoid a jury trial.  This makes the amount that a claimant can get  much higher when there is an at fault accident. Michigan explains their high rates on the unlimited medical benefits when there is an accident. This will follow the injured party for life, no matter what. Because of this coverage, car insurance has become the main source for medical coverage. This  is what makes the rates so astronomical.

What is Maine’s explanation for the low low rates at more than half the rate of Louisiana? Less people and low miles driven. Also the people of Maine are not looking for that big settlement when there is an accident. So keep that in mind when you look at your renewal. It could be worse.

Top 10 Most Expensive States

1. Louisiana
2. Michigan
3. Oklahoma
4. Montana
5. California
6. South Dakota
7. Washington DC
8. Georgia
9. Illinois
10. Connecticut

A monsoon storm can range from a minor dust storm to a violent thunderstorm. Normally a monsoon in Arizona starts with a massive wall of dust that is generally hundreds of feet high. The dust storms are not alone, they normally come with thunder, lighting, and heavy rain. The rain accumulated during the monsoon season will account for 1/3 of our yearly rainfall!!

Although the monsoon season is something the Phoenicians tend to enjoy due to the cooler weather and rainfall, since it is during the hottest part of our year, it is very dangerous. Remember that serious damage can happen during these storms. Debris is being thrown around, trees are knocked down, streets are flooded and power lines taken out. So make sure that your roof is in good condition so that shingles have less of a chance to take off. Check around your yards for things that may be easily picked up, and may land in your neighbors yard.

More things that you can do to protect yourself:

On the roads:

1.  Follow all signage especially in washes.
2. When driving in rain remember to slow your speed.

At Home:

1. Turn off all unnecessary electrical equipment.
2. Keep battery powered flashlights ready to go, and candles ready.
3. Stay off the phone unless an emergency, electric shock can happen easily.
4. Keep clear of showers and baths, lightning can travel through metal pipes.
5. Keep your distance from windows.

If your home or auto is damaged from the storms, please call our office first with your claim information. We will be happy to help you with your claim, and discuss your options. AnCap Insurance has been around since 1975 and have been through many monsoon thunderstorms.

Be safe out there!

• Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake
• Legally Drunk: add 4 feet
• Reading an email/ text: add 36 feet
• Sending a text: add 70 feet

So how do you stop the curiosity??

Stop it from ever coming. Key2SafeDriving has designed a technology that will reroute all incoming texts (and phone calls if so desired) when in the car. Key2SafeDriving will also prohibit all outgoing texts and calls. They have created a slide key or push button that once the vehicle is started will disable the ability to get a text message. There are ways to personalize the system to add all phone calls in general leaving only 911 emergency access. There are also settings so that you can still use the blue tooth option on your phone.

What happens to the phone call/ text?

It goes directly to the voice mail and the caller gets a message that says “I am driving now. I will call you later when I arrive at my destination safely”. This technology can be particularly desirable to parents of new drivers. Since teens have the highest crash rating, this would take one more distracting item out of the car.

For more information go to: http://safedrivingsystems.com/