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Category: insurance coverages

If my car breaks down, will my car insurance cover a rental car?

If you vehicle is disabled due to an accident your insurance covers “rental reimbursement” coverage can help get you back on the road while your car is being repaired. Gone are the days when your auto repair shop will give you a loaner. Its important to make sure you can continue living life without disruption. Rental coverage can help with that.

Rental reimbursement coverage is very inexpensive and usually covers you for up to thirty days. There are different tiers of coverage which will reimburse you for $30 per day up to well over $100. Check the rental car rates in your area to verify the local pricing. Obviously renting a compact car is cheaper than an SUV, this is a comfort decision you will have to make. Check with us to see what adding rental coverage to your vehicle insurance will cost.

Will Rental Reimbursement coverage pay for you to rent a car whenever you need to? No. It is only designed to reimburse you for rental of a vehicle while your vehicle is being repaired as part of a covered loss.

By Aaron Wallrichinsurance 101, insurance coverages No comments yet

Will Rising Lumber Costs affect my Insurance

Insurance is an old industry. Through the many ups and downs of the Economy Insurance has been a way to balance risk within the real world. Lumber costs have recently seen a large increase due to demand, supply and transportation issues. You may look at your home’s replacement cost (rebuilding cost) and wonder if you are adequately covered in the event of a total loss.

Many policies these days have Extended Replacement Cost. Under a modern home policy form you should be covered up to the amount shown on your policy dec page. If you have an extended replacement cost endorsement you may be covered for 10%, 25% or 50% higher than your total replacement value. This is an additional protection in case you had added on to your home or building costs skyrocket. Check your current policy or ask your agent what your total replacement cost is.

When we write home policies we do initially calculate your homes replacement value with a replacement cost estimator. These estimators are built by companies who are always updating costs and pricing using market trends and forecasts. This means that even when hurricanes strike and create mass catastrophic losses we are prepared to rebuild the home you lost even if prices increase dramatically.

All this being said it is still a good idea to let your agent know when you add on that sun-room or remodel your kitchen. That helps your agent keep your policy current.

By Aaron Wallrichinsurance 101, insurance coverages No comments yet

What is Equipment Breakdown Coverage

Equipment Breakdown coverage is usually an add-on endorsement to a homeowners or Business Policy which affords you additional protection for household systems and appliances if they’re damaged due to a mechanical or electrical failure. These systems might include your HVAC unit, Water Heater possibly even your personal computer. As these types of systems become more complex and expensive it may be worth insuring against this additional peril.

If these systems or appliances are damaged due to a typically covered peril under your home policy like Fire, or Windstorm your policy will cover the damage however sometimes these systems become damaged due to electrical failures both on premise and off. Typical breakdowns could consist of mechanical breakdowns like a ruptured water heater, power surges, failures due to improper installation or pressure system breakdowns.

Some items will not be covered. Generally if the failure is due to normal wear-and-tear, molding or pest related damage this coverage will not apply.

Equipment breakdown coverage protects many different appliances and devices in your home when they break down because of a covered incident.

Here are some examples of covered equipment or systems:

  • Heating and air conditioning systems
  • Home security systems
  • Refrigerators
  • Freezers
  • Washers and dryers
  • Ovens and microwaves
  • Water heaters or tankless boilers
  • Computers and computer equipment
  • Back-up generators
  • Sump pumps
  • Jacuzzis or Hottubs (external or internal)
  • Boilers and furnaces
  • Electrical power panels

Equipment Breakdown endorsements read very differently across different companies so make sure to discuss this with your agent. Adding breakdown coverage is generally not expensive. Its also important to remember your normal home deductible will apply. Always remember many small claims can jeopardize your renewals with certain companies. Though, usually these breakdowns occur in tandem with larger events and losses.

By Aaron Wallrichinsurance coverages No comments yet

How Much Liability Coverage is Enough

When you think about insurance you usually look to what property you can lose due to a fire or accident. What will I do if my house burns down? How will I get to work if my car is involved in an accident and becomes undrivable? These are important things to worry about and insurance surely can address them but a larger problem could be your liability to others. If I cause an accident and inflict bodily injury onto another driver how will I pay their medical bills? If I am sued for a multiple vehicle accident will I lose my home? These are real scenarios that play out every day in our country.

Should you go out and buy a five million dollar umbrella policy just to be safe? Perhaps, but generally you can determine how much liability coverage you need by determining your net worth. If you don’t have a lot of assets then there isn’t much incentive to sue you for a high amount. Matching your net worth is a good first step and your underlying policies like your automobile or homeowners policy can usually cover that. If they max out then you can purchase an umbrella policy fairly inexpensively to meet that need.

In some states you can be sued and have your wages garnished in addition to the liquidation of your asserts, in this circumstance you may need to account for that in your coverage.

The last thing to consider is your risk tolerance. Are you willing to pay out more from your savings in the event you are found liable rather than paying higher insurance premiums for the coverage. This is a valid factor to consider and we do that everyday. You may be a person who has high deductibles because you are comfortable paying out more after the incident rather than ahead of time in premium dollars.

As you can see its important to think ahead of time about what you could lose if you are brought into a law suit and do your homework determining your net worth. Its better to be prepared and we can help you accomplish that task,

By Aaron Wallrichinsurance 101, insurance coverages No comments yet

Insurance Advice Lost to the Ages

These days most people get their insurance advice from TV or Radio Ads from direct insurance companies. These companies usually just tell you to shop for better rates because that’s the only thing they are paying ad money for so its self-serving at best. Does shopping for insurance hurt you? No, not unless you miss something important and open yourself up to unnecessary risk in the process. There are some time tested insurance tips that still apply in this modern world, I will spare you the obvious ones like: Don’t get violations or speed.

Be Selective with Claims

If you are concerned about artificially high rates, or high rates you can easily avoid its a good idea to not claim every incident. If you have a $500 deductible on a vehicle and you claim a fender bender that totals $600 will your automobile policy pay out? Yes, of course. Some people view this as their rightful money because they have paid their premiums faithfully for years, they aren’t wrong however this isn’t what any insurance policy was designed for. Many of the rate increases out there can be attributed to, at least in part, to many small losses. This is why insurance companies have increased their minimum deductibles. Its simply a numbers game. You will also lose a claim-free discount in the process. The old advice is still wise here, if you can afford to pay it out of pocket do so…if not put in your claim.

Plan to Add a Youthful Operator

Another pain point for clients is when their children come of age and get their drivers license. There can be sticker shock but you have to realize that adding an inexperienced driver to your policy multiplies your chances many fold. Forget about any old ideas like females are more expensive than males…its a numbers game pure and simple. Young inexperience operators will have accidents. In fact each year between their 16th and 25th birthday their added operating experience will show in their rates. Its a critical time. There are a few important things you can do to mitigate your premium increase however and they haven’t changed over time. If you just add a child and no additional vehicle your rates will be less. A household with 2 vehicles and 3 drivers pays less than a household with equal number of vehicles and drivers. Less total potential operating time.

This of course might not be a convenient option and in that case make sure the vehicle you get your young driver is a liability-only, older but safe vehicle. Many policies still allow us to rate a driver on a specific vehicle, are they rated on the others? Yes, however we can target them on the less expensive vehicle. Other great pieces of advice are make sure your youthful operator has good grades in order to obtain a discount, this is one even you cannot get so it makes sense to motivate your child.

The Best Place to Insure Toys

Lastly, on your homeowners policy. Many companies allow you to add all sorts of coverage to it. Boats, ATV’s Jewelry etc. These are risks that inherently have a greater chance of causing a claim. The very last place you will want a claim is on your homeowners insurance policy. It is a far better option to get a separate policy for those items and remove that risk on your home policy. Another benefit is these policies have additional coverage and lower deductibles.

So there you have it, even in modern times the old advice still holds up. Insurance is a very old industry with a simple premise – spread your personal risk to a larger pool. The more overall problems you cause that pool the higher your share will be. Please contact your agent or us if you have any questions about saving money on your insurance.

By Aaron Wallrichgeneral information, insurance 101, insurance coverages No comments yet

When to remove full coverage from an older vehicle

One of the most often asked questions we receive from clients is, when should i remove physical damage coverage from my vehicle. The answer to this question will vary from person to person but one number needs to be determined before you can make an informed decision, your blue book value. At the end of this post I will share links to several resources for you to make your decision.

Once you determine what your older vehicle is worth you will be close to the total amount an insurance company will pay out in the event of a “total loss” claim. They have other factors they will consider such as, what are the cost of parts in your area or availability of replacement vehicles in your area. Your next step is to determine what you pay for physical damage (comprehensive, collision) coverage. For this you can reference your declarations page or call your agent.

{blue book value} – {physical damage premium} – {deductible} = your potential payout

You have to understand you pay that physical damage premium every 6 months or 12 months so as the vehicle gets older your potential payout also decreases. As your vehicle gets older and has more mileage on it your other variable (blue book value) also decreases. At some point you have to make a decision that it is no longer feasible to have full coverage and you would then switch your vehicle to liability-only coverage. There is no sense in paying money out when you wont receive it back in the event of a loss.

Covering your vehicle at liability-only is one of three options you have however. Option two is raising your deductibles. This will lower the premium you pay for physical damage coverage but it will also mean taking less of a potential payout in the end. This is generally more of a decision you will make up front when determining how much you can afford to spend if an accident happens. That being said, if the accident is someone else’s fault you will likely not pay a deductible.

Option three is you can drop Collision coverage and only leave Comprehensive coverage. This means that if you have a vehicle-to-vehicle crash you will not have coverage but you will be covered for “Other than Collision” events such as deer-hits, vandalism, theft and hale. These are all extreme likelihoods in Shawano County and most of Wisconsin so you can hedge your decision but keeping that on while saving the premium by removing collision.

In the end its your choice. You can take the formula above and do what is in your best interest.

Kelly Blue Book

NADA Valuation

Consumer Reports Valuation

By Aaron Wallrichinsurance 101, insurance coverages No comments yet

Time to think about Wind

One of the main perils in every homeowners or commercial property policy is damage from “Wind”. Straight-line wind damage can be devastating to your property whether it blows branches and limbs onto your roof or rips off your siding. One of our most memorable claims was a roof that was completely ripped off a home…not by a tornado but just due to very strong winds. There isnt much we can do about mother nature or wind however we can take steps to protect our property from falling prey to wind damage.

Taking a good look at the trees on your property is a good start. Over the winter the weight of ice and snow may have damaged large limbs and that could be enough to allow a gust to detach it. There are many tree or limb removal companies in the area who can assist you with cleaning up these dead limbs. One tip when dealing with Tree Removal operations is to verify they have active insurance. Do NOT take the piece of paper they show you as proof of “active coverage” call the agent listed and verify their policy is in-force.

take a quick look at your siding. Is any of it loose or pulling out from the rest? A gap could allow wind a chance to do further damage. Do you have any attachments to your home that are loose or free? Antennas are less common these days but some people still have them, of course satellite dishes may come loose as well.

One final item is one I did not think about when i bought a trampoline for my children. Your trampoline is effectively a “sail” sitting next to your home. Wind will move that object and it will do it quickly. Purchase sandbags or tie-downs from your local hardware store…do not tie the trampoline to a tree or our house. It is also a great idea to check with your agent to see if trampolines are even covered by your home insurance company. There are many companies that do not mind trampolines so long as safety measures are in place but you don’t want to be in a situation where an accident or damage occurs and the claim is denied.

Spring is here, wind will happen. But we can all do our best to maintain our property ahead of time.

By Aaron Wallrichinsurance 101, insurance coverages No comments yet

Insurance Coverage Types

Auto Insurance – Coverage Types in Shawano
There are many insurance companies you could chose from in Shawano county to cover your vehicle.  We represent some companies who specialize in covering preferred drivers with no accidents and no violations.  This doesn’t mean they exclude drivers with a speeding ticket or two, it simply means they specialize in insuring safe drivers and rate accordingly.  We also have insurance companies who target their best rates to younger drivers with a less than spotless driving record.  It might seem odd but they target their desired customers because its easier to build policies and coverages to accommodate their target consumer.  The coverages are what you are paying for.  So if you are a person who is with a company that doesn\’t target you, you will pay more premium in the end and possibly miss out on the right coverage.  Lets talk about these coverages more:

Liability Insurance
Liability insurance coverage is triggered when you are at fault or deemed negligent in the event of an accident.  On typical insurance policies you will see Bodily Injury Liability and Property damage liability.  Bodily injury liability will pay for an injury you inflict on another party due to your negligence in an accident.  Property damage liability will separately pay for damage to a vehicle or other physical property if you cause an accident.  You may also see verbiage like “Per person bodily injury” and “per accident bodily injury”.  These are separate limits that we can taylor for your specific situation.

As we discussed above, if you are not the target consumer for an insurance company they may charge you more for these coverages than they would a different consumer.  We work with this on a daily basis and see these trends in real-time so we can best place you in the right insurance program.

Comprehensive Insurance
Comprehensive Insurance is a misleading term as it would seem to indicate a grander intention.  You may also see it listed as “Other than Collision” which is also somewhat misleading so lets discuss it.  Comprehensive insurance coverage protects damages to your car that are a direct result of items which are not related to a collision.  Comp-coverage can also be thought of as damages arising from something other than hitting another car.  Here are some very common comprehensive coverages:

  • Theft or Vandalism
  • Fire
  • Hurricane Tornado or other Wind-storm
  • Falling Objects
  • Damage done to your car by an animal (like a deer)
  • Civil Disturbance


You may also purchase Comprehensive coverage in addition to Liability to satisfy a Leinholder or Bank Loan as they will want to be compensated in the event of one of the above items.  Below we will discuss Collision coverage but keep in mind that you do not need Collision coverage in order to have Comprehensive coverage.  That is one way we save people money on older vehicles.

Collision Insurance
Collision Insurance covers damages to you car whether you are at fault or not if it strikes an object or more commonly another vehicle.

Not only will insurance companies target their rates for different types of drivers but they also target for different coverage options.  As an example in Shawano we see many drivers that carry collision coverage have a higher deductible than they may carry for comprehensive coverage.  This has always been a practice among agents.  We always check above and below these options because doubling your deductible will not always save you that much premium money.  In fact sometimes we even find that lowering the deductible only costs you a small amount.  Many of our clients are happy to see that they may save money overall while having lower deductibles.

This is the power of having a Wallrich Agency agent helping you rather than comparing on your own.

Read our next section on car insurance Company Types.

Check out our blog post on the different factors that go into determining your auto insurance premium.

By Aaron Wallrichinsurance 101, insurance coverages No comments yet