ECI Agency, Inc

Could You Be Over Insured?

Insurance is a valuable product to have and, in some cases, you might not be able to get enough for the actual potential expenses and risks you face. For instance, personal property and bodily injury liability limits in auto insurance policies might not be high enough to make you feel comfortable that your risk is adequately covered, and that may prompt you to look at an umbrella policy. But there are instances in which you can be over-insured if you aren’t careful to watch your policies.

Home insurance limits: Your home insurance policy pays for contents that are damaged or stolen as long as the events surrounding that are insurable incidents. But if the limits of your policy exceed the actual or replacement value of your property, then you are paying of insurance that you don’t need. Find out whether your home insurance policy pays for actual or replacement value, and then re-evaluate the number to ensure that it works with the corresponding value of your property.

As for the structure of your home, the insurance benefits you pay for are to defray the cost of rebuilding your home. They do not reimburse your for the value of your property, which is comprised of the structure along with land that you still own and that still has value after an insurable incident. If the limit on the dwelling coverage of your home insurance policy exceeds rebuilding costs, you need to re-evaluate your policy.

Auto insurance: Many portions of auto insurance policies are immune to over insurance, but there is one place that you might be putting too much value. Your comprehensive limits should never exceed the actual (or replacement, depending on your policy) value of your vehicle. If they do, then you aren’t going to get a check for the extra amount if your car is totaled, so you should adjust that.

Business insurance: Your business owns property and that property has a value. If your business insurance policy limits are set higher than the actual or replacement values of your business property then you are likely over-insured.

The purpose of insurance is to make you whole after an insurable incident, not to make you profit. Any time the limits of your insurance policies exceed the dollar values actually at risk of loss, you should talk to your insurance agent about possible readjustments.

Contact us at ECI Agency today to find out your best options for Oklahoma City Insurance policies!

The Importance of Self-Employed Disability Insurance

Disability insurance is an important insurance product for everyone—both self-employed and traditionally employed individuals can benefit greatly from its coverage. In the event that you have a disability that inhibits your ability to work according to the scope necessitated by the policy (which can range from total to partial disability for your job and all jobs), you can get a percentage of your former salary paid to you through the policy for a predetermined time limit.

If you are a self-employed individual, disability insurance is a vital protection to provide yourself with. As a self-employed person, you are responsible for creating and paying for your own benefits. If you want to give yourself maternity or sick leave, but still need to pay yourself a paycheck during the leave, then you need to have sufficient funds saved in order to do so. And because your business may suffer from your limited or non-accessibility, you also need to have enough funds saved to continue to pay payroll while you are back in the office drumming up business again. With disability insurance, you can receive payment through your policy and leave your business savings untouched.

But disability insurance for the self-employed isn’t just about ensuring that you get a paycheck without depleting business savings while you are ill or recovering from surgery, it is also about getting benefits for things like maternity leave or taking time off to care for a family member who is ill. And the impact of disability insurance for the self-employed can be even wider spread than that. Imagine if you were diagnosed with a chronic illness that had no cure, or were in an accident that impacted your ability to do your work and you actually had to close your business. Disability insurance can provide continuous benefits that keep you and your family afloat if you become unable to work or run your business on a permanent basis.

There are a lot of different responsibilities that you must face as a self-employed individual, but one of the most important is planning and implementing the current and future financial security of your family. As you grow your business and create more income, you are well on your way of doing that; disability insurance can step in to act as your safety net in the event that an accident or illness impacts your ability to continue to grow your business and get your family’s finances where you want them.

Let ECI Agency help you better understand Oklahoma City Health Insurance and ensure you're getting the best coverage posible!

Factors at Play in Commercial Auto Insurance Premium Quotes

If you are considering the purchase of a commercial auto insurance policy, then you may be concerned about how your premiums are going to be calculated. While there are many different factors that go into premium creation, here are a few of the more prominent:

Type of car: The type of car(s) you are insuring has a big effect on your insurance premium. Models that are expensive to repair and often targeted by thieves generally have a higher price tag attached to them when it comes to insurance.

Amount of weekly driving: The more you drive your company automobile, the more exposed you are to insurable risks. Your insurance company will ask for an approximate mileage each week, and that number will be integral in determining your rates.

Location: The location of your business can affect your premiums in terms of both crime rates and weather risks. Areas prone to flooding and hurricanes are likely to have higher premiums.

Storage: The location where you keep or park your vehicle when it isn’t in use will factor into your insurance rates. Parking the vehicle on the street offers more exposure to risk than garage or parking lot parking, and so on.

Deductibles: The higher your deductibles, the lower your car insurance premiums. Of course, the higher your deductibles, the more you must pay out of pocket when there is an incident. And remember—auto insurance deductibles are per incident, not per policy year.

Limits: The less money your insurer potentially must pay in claims, the lower your premiums will be. But if you choose a policy with limits that are extremely low, you could be underinsured and at risk for liabilities.

Antitheft devices: Commercial auto insurance premiums can be lowered if your automobile has antitheft devices in place as they reduce the risks that your insurance company will take on when insuring your vehicle.

The number of employees who drive: The more employees you have driving your vehicle for business purposes, the more your premiums are likely to be. Employees with poor driving records may send rates even higher.

While commercial auto insurance policies guard against different risks than personal policies, the factors affecting their premiums are not that different. Keep that in mind as you are shopping and don’t forget to ask for discounts that apply to personal auto insurance, since many of them apply to commercial insurance as well.

Contact us at ECI Agency today for your free quote on Oklahoma City Insurance coverage for your commercial vehicle.

Choosing the Right Term for You

Term life insurance policies offer insurance customers the coverage they need only during the years that they need it. Because term life insurance policies do not guarantee coverage for life, but for a little slice out of the life of the insured, they are generally priced affordably. In addition, term life policyholders are paying only the cost of insurance with their premiums, rather than paying an additional amount to help cash values accrue.

One of the most challenging aspects of buying a term life insurance policy is determining what term is right for you. Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself to help decide what policy term to buy.

1. When do you expect your debt to be paid off? Life insurance death benefit proceeds are often used by heirs to pay off the debt left behind when a household wage earner dies. If you expect your debt to be paid off in the next ten to fifteen years then you can choose a term that just covers you for that length of time.

2. How old are your children? Life insurance death benefit proceeds are often used to help give children a head start in life. They can be used to help your children pay for a wedding, adjust to the addition of a child in their own family, and buy their own home. But these head starts might not be as vital to you as making sure your young children have adequate resources for college tuition, the ability to seek counseling if dealing with your death as youngsters, and access to medical and other services for any special needs. The age of your children, and their respective needs for the next few years, can help you narrow down an appropriate term.

3. What are the special needs of your spouse? Not every family has two wage earners. When you have young children, you may have one spouse who stays home to raise the children; this can make the death of the wage earning spouse especially devastating. Additionally, if a non wage earning spouse passes, then the working spouse must hire someone to take care of the kids and household duties that they don’t have time to do. These special needs may only be temporary, but they should be considered when buying term life insurance.

Remember, the term of your policy is meant to help you focus your coverage on your most important and vulnerable financial years. You don’t have to use the above guidelines as your only rules of thumb for choosing the term; you can use anything that makes sense to you.

Make sure you're you have the best Oklahoma City Insurance that ECI Agency has to offer!

Personal Property Coverage and Intangible Electronic Property

When you think about the personal property coverage in your home insurance policy, you probably conjure images of your furniture, clothing and electronics. But did you know that many policies also consider your digital data to be personal property?

While this might have been unheard of 20 years ago, these days many people have digital data that costs money to buy and has value that can be reimbursed when lost in an insurable incident. This includes:

Downloaded Software- After buying the software your home insurance policy will likely consider its value as part of your claim against the personal property coverage in your policy. In order to prove purchase, be sure to keep all paper and electronic receipts in a place that will be protected from fire, water and other hazards. Examples of downloaded software include games, tax and accounting programs and word processing programs. And the software needn’t just be on your computer; items stored on discs, external hard drives or thumb drives can also be included as long as you have proof of the value.

MP3s- Many people purchase digital music files in the form of MP3s and download them directly to their computer, laptop or music player. While intangible as downloaded software, MP3s still have value and, since you paid for them, are still considered a possession. As with downloaded software, make sure that you retain some receipts for your MP3 purchases so that you can include them in insurance claims.

Software on discs- Not all software that is purchased is downloaded. Some of it is still bought in a store and has a tangible disc for installation. Be sure to keep records of these purchases as well so that you can include them in claims.

It’s a new day and age in digital purchasing, but the old fashioned advice to save your receipts still rings true. Luckily, many online companies are able to send you copies of receipts after an insurable incident. However, it’s never a bad idea to reach out now and start gathering these receipts together so that you don’t have the additional burden of tracking them down when you make a claim. Also, be sure to consider their value carefully as it might cause you to increase your limits.

Be sure you know what's covered with your Oklahoma City Insurance from ECI Agency today!

Be sure you know what's covered with your Oklahoma City Insurance from ECI Agency today!
http://ping.fm/5RhTd

Creating a distraction-free environment

 

There is no way any driver can completely protect him or herself from accidents. After all, you can’t control all the actions and reactions of the other drivers out there and many times they are responsible for accidents you are involved in. But one thing we do have within our control is our inner-car driving environment and with that control, we have the responsibility of creating a distraction-free zone.  

The following tips will help you keep your driving environment free of unnecessary distractions so you can focus on the road. 

1. Do not eat while driving: You know those mornings when you are running late and you grab something to eat behind the wheel? Well according to a 2009 article on NYDailyNews.com, that little maneuver is responsible for causing 80 percent of all the accidents on the road. Can you imagine how much cheaper auto insurance rates would be if there were 80 percent fewer accidents?

2. Don’t apply makeup or shave: At one time or another, on a busy Monday morning, we’ve all been behind the person who thinks their rear view mirror is a substitute for their bathroom mirror and, naturally, uses it for makeup application or shaving with an electric razor. Unfortunately, this kind of intense and inappropriate facial scrutiny is very distracting and can easily result in an accident, even when you are only driving at low speeds.

Click to read the full article. Learn more about Oklahoma City auto insurance  including types of coverage and factors that affect your insurance premium. Contact us to get free auto insurance quote at (405) 373-2977.

History of Fire Insurance in America

In 1666, the Great Fire of London was responsible for the destruction of over 13,000 homes and 87 churches. This massive blaze also caused the displacement of over 70,000 residents.  Since the death of the poor was not well documented at this time, the fate of an unknown number of individuals remains uncertain. And while it was mostly poverty stricken residents who were affected by the fire itself, the disaster had some major fall out that affected the entire country economically. After the fire, the number of homeless people climbed exponentially, businesses lost both workers and customers, and disputes arose over whose responsibility it was to pay for damages and rebuilding.

The Great Fire of London pointed out the need for some insurance to be made available to individuals to help recover from this type of disaster, and many different fire insurance schemes were attempted in the years that followed. They weren’t particularly well thought out and eventually, they failed. Marine insurance was the only real functioning type of insurance at this time, and it was used as a model to develop a successful and functional fire insurance company in England in 1681.

It wasn’t until 1732 that an insurance company in the United States issued a fire insurance policy—and it still didn’t really catch on. Click to read more about how fire insurance eventually became a part of a standard homeowners policy.

Contact us today at 405-373-2977 for a Free Oklahoma City home insurance quote.

Educational Video on Shopping for a Safe Car

The internet has created a world of opportunities for consumers who are interested in becoming educated about keeping their family safe. However, at times, it can be overwhelming to try and figure out which sources to listen to and which to disregard.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, is an independent, non-profit group that researches data that can help reduce highway accidents, injuries and crash deaths. The group is funded by auto insurers and provides a wealth of educational materials and videos to better educate consumers.

Today, I am going to discuss one of their videos, Shopping for a Safer Car. This video gives an overview of all the safety features that you should look for when you go to buy a new car.

1. Crash Avoidance Technologies
Certain vehicles are built with special crash avoidance technologies.  The first of these technologies is ‘Daytime Running Lights (DRL)’.  DRL can help others see your car from further away which lessens the chance of them running into you.  Another crash avoidance technology is called ‘Electronic Stability Control (ESC)’.  ESC auto engages to control your vehicle if you lose control after turning to sharply. Buying a vehicle with these technologies could be a great step to take in reducing your risk of accident.

2. Vehicle Size and Weight
Large, heavy vehicles offer more protection in crash because they have more structure with which to absorb the crash energy around you.  With that in mind, extra-large vehicle offer little additional protection and can actually will actually cause more harm to other vehicles when involved in an accident. Finding a happy medium in terms of size and weight will keep your family safe while not increasing the potential damage you could cause others.

Read more tips on Oklahoma City auto insurance from ECI Agency today.

5 Tips for Getting the Best Insurance Policy Quote

Insurance is a valuable asset within any financial plan, but that doesn't mean that the premiums can't hurt your budget if you aren't careful. Fortunately, there are several ways to save money on insurance premiums. Here are five suggestions to help you get the coverage you need at a price you can afford:

1. Stick with the same company: Everyday, insurance companies send out messages and commercials to vie for your business. To encourage customers to purchase all of their insurance in the same place, they will often provide discounts for people who hold multiple policies with them. Be sure to let your agent know of any existing coverage you have while you shop so he or she can help you take advantage of these multi-policy discounts.


2. Have your current policy on-hand: When switching insurance carriers, know what your current insurance limits, deductibles, coverage options and premiums are. This will help you avoid becoming over or under-insured with your new policy and will help you determine an appropriate premium for your budget.

Get your own Oklahoma City Insurance policy and read the rest of this article with ECI Agency today!