Elkstone Insurance Group, Inc.

Your safety is most important. Stay put unless safety is a concern then take photos (if possible) of vehicles placement and then move vehicles to a safe spot out of traffic. Never stand “between” the two parked vehicles and, if you feel the need to take a photo between cars, keep an eye on traffic to find a safe moment.

Call the police and stay put, if safe, until they arrive. Cooperate with the police investigation Keep any conversation factual and don’t let emotions influence what you say. Don’t admit fault or assume responsibility for any damages or injuries caused in the accident.

Keep in mind, the police may not respond if the accident happened on private property or if it happened during severe weather conditions when the county or city is on “Accident Alert”. During an accident alert, police can respond if: 1. The car is undrivable, 2. It involves drugs or alcohol, 3. There are injuries or loss of life, 4. There is no insurance coverage, 5. hit and run, 6 Or public property, like a guardrail, is damaged.

• Get the name, phone number, driver license number and address of each driver and verify that information with their driver license.
• Get the name, phone number and address of each passenger and witness
• Get the license number of any other cars involved at the scene and take photos of the plate.
• Get the name of the insurance company and policy number for each vehicle involved. A photo is best.
• Get the name of the investigating officer.
• Take photos of the accident from all angles, showing the damage to each car. Take photos of license plates, driver’s licenses & insurance cards.
• Write down the details of the accident while they ‘re still fresh in you mind
• Draw a diagram of the accident scene, including stop signs, traffic lights, objects in the road, etc.
• If you car needs to be towed, try to get the name, address and phone number of where your vehicle will be located so the insurance company can find and/or gain authorization to inspect it.
• When calling the insurance company to report the claim, keep in mind, your call/statement will be recorded.
• Be sure to give the insurance company good contact information for you. Give them the best timeframe for each phone number you provide them.
• Make sure you write down your claims number and insurance claims adjusters name and phone number assigned by the insurance company. (The Adjusters may not be assigned on the first call)

If you follow up on a claim, try calling the insurance company’s main claims phone number and then get transferred to the adjuster assigned to your claim number, instead of calling your adjusters directly. The adjusters could change and by calling the main number, there should be a record of the time and date of your called on your claims file.

1. Check for Injuries
2. Call Local Police
3. Exchange Insurance, Driver, and License plate information
4. Photograph both cars

Information you will need to file a claim

1. Basic Description of what happened.
2. Estimated time/location of accident
3. Contact Information for witnesses
4. Photos of the damage and other car details

The Above Information is Courtesy of Elkstone Insurance Group, Inc. For a free no-obligation quote on your insurance from several insurance companies, please contact:

Martin A. Sajbel, Insurance Broker 303-716-0970 or visit: www.elkstoneinsurance.com

Liability coverage is the coverage on your policy that would pay toward a third party, on your behalf, if you were liable for their damage, injury or death as a result of an accident. Proper liability coverage will preserve all that you have worked for and future earnings via your wages being garnished if coverage and assets aren’t enough to indemnify the third party. Because of this, I believe, your liability coverage is the most important coverage on your policy. This is especially important if you are financially successful and have lots to lose.

The good news is liability coverage is relatively inexpensive. The more the cost is for liability, chances are, the more you need it. For example, adding a youthful driver to your policy can be costly, even with the limit of liability remaining the same. This is because the likelihood of being sued as a result of your inexperienced youthful driver getting into a serious accident causing injuries and possibly death to a third party has been dramatically increased.

What you can do to protect yourself from being sued is increase your liability limit (Bodily Injury, Property Damage) on your auto, home and any other policies (Boat, ATV, landlord policy) to more than your net worth. Some say you should have more liability coverage than your asset base. This might involve purchasing a “personal umbrella liability policy”. These umbrella polices are sold in increments of a million dollars and will usually cost around $200 a year for a one million dollar policy for a typical family with one home and two vehicles.

This umbrella liability policy will provide a blanket of extra liability coverage over and above all your other polices covered under the umbrella. If you own insurance on a boat, ATV, rental properties and more, they would all be protected under this umbrella and that would add a little more cost to the umbrella’s annual premium. There are also added cost for each vehicle you own and household driver under age 25. I usually recommend you purchase an umbrella policy if your net worth is over $250,000. Your net worth is all that you and your spouse own (your asset base) minus loans outstanding. This includes your retirement savings, home, vehicle values and all your personal property including rental properties and a business you own. Just because your rental property or business you own is an LLC or corporation with insurance on it, doesn’t escape you including it in your personal net worth calculation.

If you own it, and can sell it, its value needs to be included in your personal net worth. That can be hard to grasp, but trust me, it is better to be safe than sorry.

One of the added benefits of having higher liability limits on your auto insurance is that you can also have higher limits for UMBI (uninsured/underinsured bodily injury) for a low premium. Having higher UMBI coverage helps to indemnify you and passages if someone else hits you and has little or no liability insurance to pay for your injuries, pain and suffering, loss of wages or even death of a loved one.

If you have questions or concerns about how much liability coverage you need, contact Independent Insurance Agent Martin Sajbel for a free consultation.