Don't dial and drive

If you like dialing and driving, plan to dial without your hands next month. Beginning July 1 a new state law (Senate Bill 1613) prohibits the use of handheld mobile phones while driving.

Statistics show handheld cell phone use is a major contributing factor to preventable accidents. Using a hands-free device does not remove all distractions, but it does eliminate dialing, holding the phone, and hanging up, and it allows drivers to keep both hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.

Take the time now to buy a hands-free device for your cell phone. Or, you can pay for the privilege of holding your phone while driving and spend $20 for the first offense, and $50 for each subsequent offense.

Don't puff and drive

A new law in California now makes it an infraction to smoke a cigarette, pipe or cigar in a motor vehicle when a minor is present. The new law applies whether the vehicle is in motion or at rest, and is considered a "secondary offense," which means offenders can only be charged if they are pulled over for something else. Violators can expect the fine to be $100.00 or less.

15 for 15 pledge

We are a family business, and just like family we care about you, our customer.

That's why we introduced our 15-15 Pledge. We guarantee that every customer service call during office hours will be answered by one of our staff within 15 seconds or the caller will receive a $15 Starbucks gift card.

We are proud to report that during this first year of the program we have fulfilled our promise on 100% of our customer calls. Credit for this accomplishment goes to our dedicated staff members, who demonstrate their commitment to your satisfaction every day!

It's just one more reason we want to be your insurance agency of choice.

Tell a friend or relative Shepard Insurance Agency is committed to treating them, and you, like one of our family.

Shepard Insurance Agency
is proud to sponsor the
Michael Hoefflin
Foundation
for Children's Cancer
during 2008

June 2008

Why is umbrella insurance important?

Man with Umbrella Say you do decide to dial and drive. And say you cause a multi-car accident because you weren't paying attention. And say the damages and injuries exceed the limits of your auto insurance policy. What happens next?

Those other drivers might have a lien put on your house to cover their medical bills. Or, if you have an umbrella insurance policy, it kicks in and covers the additional costs.

Umbrella insurance protects you when the limits of your auto or home insurance have been exhausted and there are still damages to pay. So, if the liability limit on your car insurance policy is $250,000 of bodily injury protection per person and $500,000 per accident, but the other drivers have $750,000 in medical bills, your umbrella coverage pays the remaining $250,000. It works the same with homeowners' coverage.

Umbrella policies are available in differing amounts, so be sure to select coverage sufficient to protect your assets. If you have $1 million of assets (home, stocks, other investments) you should obtain at least a $1 million umbrella policy to protect those assets.

Because the majority of claim risk is paid by your primary auto or home policies, personal liability umbrellas are relatively inexpensive. Quotes are free, so it will be worth your while to call us at either (818) 508-9925 or (661) 295-4624 to ask about umbrella insurance. Just don't do it from the car (or if you do, use a hands-free device).

Do insurance companies appreciate fine wine?

Fine Wine If you have really expensive tastes like Singgih Gunawan of Singapore who recently set a wine auction record by dropping $242,000 on 12 bottles of 1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, then you might want to know whether your more extravagent purchases are protected by your homeowners' insurance policy.

Not likely. Insurance companies have limits on the amount of home insurance coverage they will provide for valuable items like jewelry, antiques, artwork, collectibles, furs, silverware, tools, firearms, home computers, oriental rugs, and yes, even wine.

To ensure those items are covered, you need to "schedule" them on your policy, or take out a separate rider. If you don't, you might not be fully covered for damage to your special belongings. If you have any one item or a collection of items worth more than $2,500, let us know. The threshold of value will differ from insurer to insurer and from policy to policy. Some carriers have limits as low as $1,500.

If you think you might need additional protection, or would like to share a bottle from your collection of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, call us at either (818) 508-9925 or (661) 295-4624 and we'll be happy to assist you.

Workers compensation insurance rates holding steady

Unlike the price of gas, it appears that workers' compensation insurance costs will not increase this year. Data collected by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) indicates that insurer pay-outs for workers' compensation benefit costs have been relatively level since 2005. Accordingly, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has recommended no change in workers' compensation insurance rates. Past reforms to the workers' compensation insurance system appear to be reigning in costs, as they were designed to do. Currently, insurers are expecting to pay out only 48 cents in claims for every dollar collected in premiums.