You’ve probably heard it from us before:
Yes, you DO need renter’s insurance. Your landlord’s policy will not replace your stuff.
No, your super-valuables are not covered by your general homeowner’s policy.
No, all insurance companies don’t offer the same thing.
No, life insurance is not “too expensive.”
No, the color of your vehicle doesn’t determine how much you pay for auto insurance. Certain colors of vehicles do put you more at risk for accidents during certain hours/weather conditions. And having an accident can cause your rates to go up. The insurance world is full of misconceptions and myths. Here, we’ll take you through a few of the more confounding ones. The ones we haven’t touched upon on this blog or on our Facebook page.
For instance:
I should always file a claim – Not necessarily. It depends on the degree of the damage. If the increase in your insurance cost after filing will cost you more than it would have to just get it fixed out of pocket. Or if the claim is less than your deductible. Or, perhaps you have an older vehicle and you’re going to be getting a new one sooner than later anyway.
Staying with one company for years will get me the best rates – Sure, there is something to be said for loyalty. But you don’t always get the best rates for loyalty to one company. And even if you did, why wait for it when you could potentially find something better, today!?
I’ll save money by having the minimum coverage – Remember “Murphy’s Law” which states if something can go wrong it will, expect the unexpected, all that? Sure, you’ll save money so long as anything you need to file a claim on costs less than the amount of coverage you have. But that’s what’s so crazy about “the unexpected.” It usually comes in larger quantities than you expect, on top of its annoying habit of inconvenient timing.
I will get the stated value of my scheduled items in the event of a loss, theft, damage, etc. – “Scheduled items” are those more valuable items that were mentioned in the opening arguments of this post. You give a “stated value” of an item of, let’s say $150,000. That amount becomes sort of the ceiling amount for reimbursement. You’re more likely to receive the replacement cost value of the item, which is not how much you paid for it but how much it was likely to be worth at the time of the loss.
I’m self-employed with no employees so I can’t get Workers Comp – You most certainly can, and it has a name. It’s called Sole Proprietor Workers Comp. As a sole proprietor you may not be required to have it, but there are many good reasons why you ought to. Just like any other worker, your income depends on your ability to work after all. How much more so if you’re the one and only person responsible for keeping your business afloat?
Obviously this is not an entirely comprehensive list. There are tons of misconceptions about insurance and any and all of them could really cost you. It behooves you to look into some of the notions you have about insurance. Talk about them with your agent for clarity.