Business Development Program

To Pick a Roadside Assistance Package

You’re driving and your car suddenly breaks down. What do you do? It depends on a lot of factors, including what is wrong with your car, where you are, and what kind of roadside assistance package you’ve got.

Choosing a roadside assistance program should be a serious consideration, since, even if you decide not to opt for one, you’ll want a plan of action when you’re in the situation mentioned above.

Assess Your Current Options

You may be receiving various kinds of roadside already from one or more sources. If you know what you have, you can avoid costly overlaps.

Be extra mindful of holes where you are not covered at all.

For example, ambulance rides are probably already covered by your health insurance, so there’s likely no need for that from a roadside program. However, many highways do not legally allow some towing companies to operate on them, in which case you might be forced to call 911.

Car-based roadside assistance

If you have a relatively new or certified pre-owned vehicle, you may already be able to receive roadside assistance through your automaker. (Mercedes Benz offers free roadside assistance for the vehicle’s whole life, while others offer coverage through the length of the warranty. Toyota and Chrysler will give you roadside help if you own one of their certified pre-owned vehicles only.)

Beyond the manufacturer of the car, you may even be covered for towing if a specific part fails while it is under warranty. Always see what is covered when you replace items that can cripple your car’s driving ability and consider the reliability of these “outs.”

Credit Card or Phone roadside assistance plans

Some credit card companies and phone companies offer roadside assistance plans, but these can be confusing and include hidden costs. For example, some phone-based roadside plans require that you call from the phone on the plan in order to receive coverage. If there’s a chance you won’t have your phone, it may not be something to gamble on, especially if you need coverage for multiple drivers. Read the rest of this entry »

Homeowners insurance and natural disasters

Over the last week, the international headlines have been dominated by the disaster in Japan. First came the earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter Scale. This makes it one of the most severe earthquakes since accurate record-keeping began. Then came the tsunami. With only minutes, there was no evacuation. Instead, a wall of water some thirty feet high, swept everything in its path to destruction. Now we watch as Japan struggles with a nuclear disaster in one of its major power stations. At times like this, our hearts go out to the survivors. It’s one of the worst tragedies in a developed economy for the last ten years. But this is not just a time to reflect on how fragile the Earth is and how easily our civilization can be disrupted. We must also look to home and review the preparations we have made should there be local problems.

The West coast sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and, at some point, there may be a major quake affecting California. We should wonder whether the nuclear power plants in the areas most at risk will fare better than those in Japan. Southern California proudly boasts the design for the San Onofre Plant will survive a 7.0 quake. As a word of explanation, every change in a whole number, say from 7.0 to 8.0 means the quake is ten times as strong. It would not hurt to look carefully at the safety issues at all plants close to areas at risk of a quake.

Closer to home, we should take out our own insurance policies. Remember, the wording used by insurers is very precise. If it says something clearly, that is all it says. There is nothing more. Do not make the mistake of assuming the words will include everything you hope. So, for example, a reference to wind damage may cover the fall of a tree on to your home, but not a tornado that lifts off your roof. Sadly, tornadoes are rather specific events and more common in particular parts of America. They are always dealt with as a special endorsement. So what is included? In most policies, you are covered for accidental damage to contents, and damage to contents and structure by fire. You will be able to replace much of what has been taken in a burglary and “ordinary” wind damage is usually included. But after that, you are into formal additions to the policy. Read the rest of this entry »