Self-driving, shmelf-driving

Some insurance companies are predicting that in ten years, all cars on the road will be self-driving. What does a world full of autonomous vehicles look like? Will families even own their own cars ten years from now? Or will we have public cars droning around waiting for their next passenger?

This all may seem like a long shot, but Honda says it has plans to roll out a fully electric self-driving car in Europe next year (http://carsoverviews.com/2019-honda-urban-ev/). Not only will the car be able to take you to work, but it will also have the ability to carry passengers around town for a fee while you’re at the office. That means that your car can earn you money while you work. All that and still charge itself, pick you up and have you home by dinner.

I’m sure you’ve thought about all of the things that could go wrong in that scenario. We won’t think about all the things strangers might do and spill in your shiny electric vehicle, but I think it’s worth thinking about what this might mean from a legal standpoint.

First of all, the technology isn’t quite ready yet. In tests, these types of cars haven’t been able to handle situations as simple as a pedestrian standing on a street-corner waving the car by because he doesn’t plan on crossing. If it fails that test, what other situations have we overlooked?

Also, as we’ve learned from laptops and smartphones, it’s not the times when it is working well that we have problems, but the times when there are delays, glitches and sometimes even crashes. What happens when your self-driving car’s computer crashes (pun intended)?

But perhaps the biggest question we are going to have to decide as a society is, who owns the liability for a car that drives itself? If Honda takes the liability, what stipulations would they put on it? That it must be serviced at a Honda dealership for its entire lifetime? And what about when the driver wants to use the car manually (the Honda Urban EV has that option)? Is the manufacturer still liable?

If insurance companies agree to assume liability, an entire new product will need to be created with laws to regulate it. If that day comes, we can only assume that premiums will be determined by how autonomous your car is (the experts say that computers are better at driving than humans: https://www.businessinsider.com/why-driverless-cars-will-be-safer-than-human-drivers-2016-11).  But will you need to tell your agent how often you will drive manually? Or even register every time you are about to drive, giving insurance a more a la carte feeling?

And what if we get all the laws and liability set in stone only to have hackers start taking over and crashing autonomous vehicles? Who would be liable then?

Honestly, we’re not sold on the idea that good ‘ol human-driven cars are on the way out. Technology is usually much slower to be adopted than it is ever predicted to be. And the day someone converts my ’70 Mustang to an autonomous car is the day I sell it.

 

-Rickey

6 Things You Must Do Immediately After an Accident

Photo by fourbyfourblazerLogistics and legal requirements are the last things anyone wants to deal with as soon as they are involved in a crash. But we’ve seen too many examples of hundreds of thousands of dollars being lost from not taking these steps.

  1. Stop and assist anyone injured. Make sure everyone is okay and out of harm’s way before any logistics are taken care of. Assessing the situation will also let you know what to tell the police when you call. However, unless you are a medical professional, do not provide medical assistance. That includes moving someone who may have injuries.
  2. Call the police. This seems like a no-brainer. But you may be tempted in minor incidents to trade information with the other driver and handle things without seeing a need for police involvement. But the position you might find yourself in is that there is no objective party involved. Facts can be misconstrued when it’s your word against someone else’s.
  3. Take pictures of the accident before moving vehicles. This will make sure facts can be backed up with visual evidence. It’s best to get shots of all vehicles involved from multiple angles as well as close-ups of the damage incurred.
  4. DO NOT admit fault (even if you are 100% sure you are guilty). The kindness that was instilled in us growing up will want us to respond to an accident with something like this: “I’m so sorry! This was completely my fault. I wasn’t paying enough attention.” The accident may be your fault, but don’t let your perception of the situation (or your abundant politeness) cloud your judgement.
  5. Get contact and insurance information from all drivers involved. Also, get tag number and make and model of the other vehicle(s). The easiest way to get most of this is to snap a picture of all licenses, tags and insurance IDs with your cell phone.
  6. Finally, call your agent. This doesn’t have to be done immediately afterwards. But don’t let it linger more than 24 hours. Of course, if you don’t have an agent, call your insurance company directly.

This is a time when we will point out the benefit of having an independent agent. Independent agents will advocate for you. We do not work for the insurance company. We can hold insurance companies accountable and follow up on your behalf. If they get something wrong, it won’t be up to you to call them to the table on it.

Independent Agencies are so different.

zebra-among-giraffes-irishwildcatI’m often asked what kind of work I do. When I reply I’m an insurance agent, the next question is “Who do you work for?”. Usually my answer is “I don’t work for any particular company, I’m independent.”

This always brings up the same question: “What does that mean?”. Since this question comes up so often, I thought I would share information today that explains how an independent agency works.

When I first entered the industry in 1980 I was an employee of an insurance company. The only insurance I could offer was their products. If it didn’t fit their appetite, I would have to tell the customer they would have to get their insurance from someone else. Or, if they had claims issues and their policy was cancelled, I didn’t have anything else to offer them.

After several years of this, I decided there had to be a better way. Surely there was a way to offer more than just what one company provided. I longed for the day I could say to my customer “If this company doesn’t want to do it, I have others that will.” That day came when I started an independent agency. As independent agents, we’re not employed by the insurance companies. We are contracted with numerous, well respected companies such as Travelers, Auto-Owners, Progressive, Safeco, Liberty Mutual, Foremost and others to represent them and offer their products, but they don’t dictate to us. You, our customer, along with our guidance decide which company best fits your situation.

Another area where independent agents are different is when you have a claim. We are your claims advocate. Since we are not employed by an insurance company, they can’t tell us to stay out of it in the event we feel they’re not handling your claim to the best of their ability. Most people don’t realize how huge this is. When you buy from an agent, you expect they will be there to assist you in the time you need them the most. Unfortunately, that’s usually no longer allowed unless you’re an independent agent. So, with that said, I’m proud we’re still able to do what I started twenty three years ago when I began our independent agency, and we look forward to providing this service to you for many more years to come.

Chipped windshield?

chipped-windshield-granadeWe receive many calls from our customers regarding chipped or cracked windshields on their vehicles. Usually this is due to a rock or some object from the road finding its way to your windshield while you are driving down the road. This is a good time to check and see if you have comprehensive coverage on that vehicle. What many people don’t know is that if you do have comprehensive coverage, many companies will repair your chipped windshield without you having to pay anything, not even a deductible. You want to make sure to call your agent as soon as you realize your windshield is damaged. If you don’t and the windshield becomes a larger crack, it may not be repairable anymore and may require a full windshield replacement. In this case, you will be responsible for paying your deductible, which in many cases is more than the cost of the entire windshield. Have you heard of ‘Full Glass‘ coverage? Your agent may have an option for this, as well.

Late last year we had a customer call that had two chips in their windshield that needed to be repaired at the same time. They did not have ‘Full Glass’ coverage at the time, so it was good that they called and got them repaired before the damage could get worse. Changes in weather may also cause a chip in your windshield to turn into a full replacement, as the chip can get worse and start to crack even more over time. Keep in mind that many chips in a windshield can be hard to see, so it is a good idea to look at your entire windshield from time to time to make sure there is no damage.

These chipped windshield occurrences happen more often than some people may think and we file claims fairly often for this. Some insurance companies offer some type of ‘Full Glass’ coverage so that whether your windshield is just chipped or even if it is severely damaged and needs to be replaced, your insurance will either pay for the full repair/replacement or may have a very small deductible so that you don’t have to pay for the entire repair. This is a good option for someone who travels a lot or someone that just wants that extra peace of mind. A windshield can be expensive to replace, so ask your agent for a quote on ‘Full Glass’ coverage.

Is your loan worth more than your vehicle?

car-in-flood-ikexPop Quiz: When insuring a new vehicle, does the insurance company insure what the vehicle is worth or how much the person owes on the vehicle loan?

Not everyone associates their vehicle loan with their vehicle insurance. Have you heard of loan/lease payoff coverage? Some companies may call it ‘gap’ coverage. This coverage is intended to help pay for a portion or possibly the entire difference between what you owe on a vehicle loan and what the vehicle is actually worth at the time of a covered loss. Surprisingly, this is usually a fairly inexpensive coverage that can be added to your policy when you carry comprehensive and collision coverage on the particular vehicle.

Here’s a good example: One of our customers in the Lake Martin area had purchased a new vehicle a few years back. They opted to take the loan/lease payoff coverage, and thankfully so. During a period of heavy rain, a flash flood occurred and totaled their new vehicle. After being examined by the adjuster, it appeared their vehicle was worth about $3,700 less than what they had left to pay off on their loan. But, with their loan/lease payoff coverage, the insurance company was able to cover that additional amount so that our insured did not have to take that money out of their pocket. So when taking out a loan or a lease on a vehicle, hopefully you will consider this coverage and decide to ask your agent about it.

 

 

Why would I insure my house for more than it's worth?

tornado-damage-us-army-corps-of-engineers-savannah-districtWhy should I have to insure my home for more than it’s valued? Often we in the insurance industry will come up with an amount that we feel the property should be insured for that is greater than the amount the owner recently paid for it or the amount of the appraisal. You would think insurance companies wouldn’t want to insure something for more than was paid for it. Wouldn’t this possibly be creating a situation where the property owner could profit from his/her loss?

Let’s pause for a moment and consider what we’re trying to accomplish here. Remember, we’re trying to arrive at an adequate amount to re-construct your property. There can be a big difference between construction cost or appraised value versus what it actually costs to re-construct.

As an example let’s look at the damage the tornados caused in Alabama a few years back. Not only were homes and businesses extensively damaged or destroyed, there were mountains of debris that had to be removed and disposed of before work could begin. Once that was removed, if there was property inside that could be salvaged, that had to be removed, cleaned and stored. Then the process of removing the building/s and disposing of the materials could begin. Only at that point can the lot be prepared for the foundation and re-construction begin.

So, you can see there can possibly be a much greater cost to re-construct than there would be to initially construct. That’s what’s figured into our replacement cost calculations and the reason our figures are higher than some might think they should be. If you only insure for the appraised value, you quite possibly will come up short and have to pay thousands of dollars out of your pocket.