Liability? Uninsured? Comp????? AHHHHH, help me please!!!

Buying the correct coverage for your car is more complicated than it seems. While some companies say it's all done in umm 15 minutes or you can simply point a game control and choose your lowest priced coverage, it's really not that simple.

One of the biggest mistakes folks make is simply comparing price. How many times have I heard " Well my friend Joe only pays $60  month for his insurance! "  Well nobody knows what coverage Joe has. Probably not even Joe.

If you don't know what coverage you have, then you are really in for a big surprise at claim time. Also, your current agent or online quote source doesn't care enough about your personal risks to take the time to advise you. Some quote systems that agents use are DEFAULTED to the lowest and minimum state requirements protection levels they have. Wanna know why? Because they are simply quoting price alone and you really don't understand anyway. They simply want to sell you a policy and move on to the next quote. 

Not at GlobalGreen Insurance Beene Insurance Agency of Chattanooga.

We will quote you but we'd like for you to understand basic coverage so let's look at the top 7:

1) Liability. You are driving to work. You reach for coffee and WHAM, you rear end the car ahead of you and unfortunately knock THAT car into the next car. You have minimum limits of liability. Think $25,000 bodily injury and $15,000 property damage. You just hit a new $35,000 SUV and a $20,000 Honda. Guess what? YOU are now responsible or LIABLE for the difference, $40,000 in Property damage!!! And to make matters worse you just caused bodily injury to one of the drivers and they sue you  for $100,000 plus their pain and suffering, lost wages, etc and now it's a $250,000 claim. You see those lawyer ads on TV as much as I do!!  Guess what? You bought that minimum coverage of $25,000 so do the math.Yep, $325,000.  They can and will garnish your wages to pay and get any cash liquid assets you have available. Some agents don't even quote you UM because it knocks a few bucks off the rate. And I do mean a very few dollars off!

2) Uninsured Under insured motorist. Just reverse the above. You are hurt and your car is totaled but you only carry $25,000 for UM and the dude that hit you just forgot to pay his bill so he has no insurance. He's uninsured. And YOU are under insured. You are on your own for the rest. Is that policy cheap now??? You have Dr visits, lost wages, and on and on...

3) Medical Payments-- this is first dollar coverage if you or someone in your car is hurt or injured. I've commonly seen policies that leave this out too. You can buy $1000 and more,  some as high as $100000!

4) Comprehensive-- think anything else that can happen-- hit a deer, tree falls on your car, hail damage, fire, theft, windshield glass and more. Oh, and so many agents and online quotes only quote you a $500 deductible. So especially with a cracked windshield, YOU are going to pay fully out of your pocket! Many of the policies we offer can offer you a ZERO deductible for glass! If you drive a new car there are many things such as lane departure, sensors etc in the windshield so $$$ for replacement. Our glass replacement companies are also qualified to re- calibrate your windshield.

5) Collision-- you hit something and yes that includes those big tire treads on the interstate! How much can you afford out of your own pocket? Can you really afford $1000? That is typical of someone just quoting you.

6)Rental Coverage-- ONLY pays if you are suffer a loss and you must have either collision and comp coverage. It's very inexpensive and again, if you buy by price, you might not even be offered it.

7) Roadside Assistance or Towing.-- This is a no brainer. For really pennies a day you can make sure you never change a flat, jump start a car, pay for a tow or pay a locksmith. The coverage follows you NATIONWIDE as well. Roadside is better than Towing because you won't see a bill with Roadside but with towing you have to pay and then file for reimbursement.

At Beene Insurance of Chattanooga, we are your ADVISERS!!! Call us today and know before you go!!!!

Mitchell Beene

Agency Owner