Tag: #independentagency

Revealing Truths about Full Coverage Auto Insurance

Don’t be fooled by the word “full.”

Full coverage does not mean everything is fully covered if you were to wreck your car or have an accident. It is a package term used to describe a combination of comprehensive, collision and liability coverage within one policy.

  • Comprehensive Coverage is also referred to as Other-than-Collision because it covers your vehicle if stolen, vandalized, set on fire, and other random things that don’t involve running into another object and are outside of the driver’s control.
  • Collision Coverage includes a fender bender or running into a telephone pole or fence. It helps pay for the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle up to the actual cash value if you run into another vehicle, a snowbank, or an object in or on the ground (such as a guard rail or roadkill).
  • Liability Insurance helps pay the expenses the other driver incurs if you are found at fault for an accident.

Full Coverage does not exist.

Tennessee requires that car insurance policies include, at a minimum, the following coverage limits:

  • Bodily injury liability: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident
  • Property damage liability: $15,000 per accident

REMEMBER:

  • Automobile liability insurance is financial protection for an at-fault driver who harms someone else or their property in a car accident.
  • Bodily injury liability helps cover medical expenses for those involved in the accident.
  • Property damage liability helps cover costs of repairing the vehicles of the other drivers involved in the accident.


Other important coverages to consider:

  • Medical Payments Coverage–regardless of who’s at fault, this covers medical bills for you and any passengers in your car if injured in an accident.
  • Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverages (UM/UIM)–designed to protect you and your vehicle if someone hits you and either doesn’t have insurance or not enough insurance to cover the costs.
  • Custom Parts & Equipment Coverage–protection for after-market upgrades to your car, including a sound system or custom grill. Your standard collision and comprehensive coverages may not cover upgrades that were not factory-installed.
  • Rental Car Coverage–this covers the cost of a rental car while yours is in the shop after a covered incident.
  • Loan/Lease Gap Coverage–this coverage can help cover the remaining balance you may owe on your loan or lease (up to an increase of 25% of your car’s actual cash value).
  • Emergency Roadside Assistance (Towing/Labor) Coverage–This coverage is there to help when your car breaks down, you have a flat tire, or you run out of gas. Emergency roadside assistance covers up to $75 per incident.

Speak with your agent to determine how much coverage you have and how much coverage you need.

We will make sure you aren’t fooled by full coverage claims.

Yes, there’s an App for that! Now what?

What to do with that new app on your phone or tablet?

Small, independent agencies like ourselves are launching apps for their customers’ convenience and to keep up with the big dogs, but figuring out how to effectively use them takes a little research and practice. It isn’t just a download and go situation. A little know-how is helpful.

A screenshot from the our app menu

Millennials and Gen Z’s aren’t the only generational groups using mobile technology every day.

More and more Boomers are using their phones and tablets to store information and manage accounts with apps.

Herron-Connell has made using an app to manage your insurance policies easy.

Okay, so you’ve downloaded the app from either Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for Apple devices. Well done! Now what?

The most sensible first step is to click on the tab labeled, “Getting Started,” and then read each instruction. However, if you’re like me, you wing it and only read the directions after you get lost. Which usually works out okay if you have plenty of time on your hands, but understanding the process before you need to submit a claim will help in the long run. You will probably be under enough stress at the time of an incident that struggling to post photos of the damage is the last thing you need.

We aren’t teaching old dogs new tricks. undefined

Our agents are happy to help every customer, but we are not so willing to add a new driver at midnight. Funny that those administrative tasks usually come to mind just as you lay your head on the pillow. The app is always awake and ready to make changes to your policy, so you can rest easy.

Here’s a link to a short video showing where to begin. https://www.loom.com/share/2406374d7e3b420c9f161e5ec3b25815