Will my auto policy cover damages if someone else is driving my car?

Lending your car to a friend or relative seems like a nice thing to do. You may trust them completely, and believe that they are the ones who will be held responsible if there is an accident. Due to something called "vicarious liability," you are responsible for what the other operator does. If your friend or relative decides not to pay, you may be able to sue for damages, but you will be held responsible first as the vehicle owner.

At TruePoint Insurance, we can make sure you have a policy which will have limits which are capable of covering all the damages, including property damage and injuries. If the injuries were minor, there will likely be few problems, but you want to be protected in case of major problems. Especially if you want to lend your vehicle to other drivers, you need to make sure your policy covers other drivers. For instance, if you lend your car to your spouse, make sure your spouse is listed on your insurance policy as a driver at your home address.

Another problem could arise if your friend or relative does not have a driver’s license. In that case, you are still responsible for your friend’s actions. You may also have an auto insurance policy which specifically includes coverage of unlicensed drivers, which could leave you personally responsible for all resulting damages. 

The only time you can evade responsibility for the damages when someone else is driving your car is when you did not give that driver permission to operate your vehicle.  If you think you need more coverage, or just have questions, please call TruePoint Insurance and we will be happy to help you.

9 Ways to Prepare Your Boat for Winter Storage

Living in Fisherville, KY puts some of the most beautiful parts of the country right in your backyard. With winter starting, boat owners need to plan a storage strategy for their watercraft. Proper boat storage prolongs the life of your investment, it keeps it safe from damage and theft and ensures that it’s ready when you need it. Use these tips to make sure your watercraft is wrapped up tight before the winter weather stays.

Clean Everything

  • Empty and sanitize coolers and cooking equipment. Dry thoroughly before wrapping in plastic.
  • Sweep and mop floors, ceilings, windows, and walls. Use a wet-dry vacuum to remove all traces of moisture.
  • Remove rugs, curtains, and other fabric accessories. Take them to the cleaners or run them through the washer. Wrap in plastic for storage.
  • Go through all cabinets and cubbies. Remove anything that could spoil, leak, or cause a fire hazard.

Mechanical Matters

  • Flush the cooling system with water to remove dirt. Drain all water from the engine.
  • Empty the fuel tanks to prevent damage-causing condensation.
  • Use an aerosol cleaner to remove gunk and corrosion from the fuel system and other engine parts.
  • Change the oil and top off other fluids.
  • If you can, remove the starting batteries. Store them in a dry, warm place. Cold weather drains battery power and makes them unreliable even after charging.

Don’t forget to call your insurance company. Most boat insurance policies allow you to suspend coverage when your boat is laid up for the winter.

Need to know more about boat insurance? TruePoint Insurance serves the Fisherville, KY area with policies for all of your important possessions. Contact the agents at TruePoint Insurance to learn more about protecting your motorized toys.

 

Trucking Insurance: Trailer Interchange Coverage

Trailer interchange insurance provides Physical Damage coverage for non-owned trailers operating under the authority of a trailer interchange agreement. While coverage will vary from policy to policy, the intent of a trailer interchange policy is to cover losses stemming from accidents, theft, vandalism, fire, and explosion.
Understanding the covered causes of loss is essential prior to purchasing a policy. Understanding the amount of coverage, or limit, is essential before binding a policy. At the heart of this issue is the value of the trailer. After all, the entire purpose of this policy is to provide for a replacement trailer of equal value should damage occur under the drivers watch. Be that as it may, coverage limits are predominately a function of the trailer providers. Most providers have a set limit, which typically ranges between $20,000 and $25,000.  Before contracting drivers will be required to show proof of coverage which meets or exceeds their requirements.
Drivers and insurance agents alike, can at times confuse Trailer interchange insurance and Non-Owned trailer coverage. While similar in several ways, they are undeniably, not the same. A simple, two question test should be sufficient to determine which policy fits your needs:
1. Who is responsible for the trailer when it is not attached to your truck?
  • If YOU are, then a trailer interchange policy should fit as it will cover the trailer when not attached to a power unit. The non-owned trailer coverage will only cover the trailer while attached to your truck.
2. Will you be operating under a written trailer interchange agreement?
  • If NO, then a trailer interchange policy will not be the answer. Trailer interchange policies provide coverage only while operating under a Written Trailer Interchange Agreement.
For additional information feel free to visit our website at www.insuringky.com or contact us at (502) 410-5089.

USPS Contract Delivery Service Carriers

 

Neither Rain Nor Snow
The Greek historian Herodotus is credited with the saying, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” His words were describing the dedicated work ethic of the Angarium, Royal mounted couriers in ancient Persia.
 
Rural letter carriers often struggle to find auto insurance coverage.  However it's easy once you find the right agent.  TruePoint Insurance can help.
USPS Rural Letter Carriers can get Auto insurance at an affordable price. It’s not as difficult as you might think.
Two thousand years later the famous words of Herodotus are now used to accurately describe another group of couriers, the US Postal Service. Granted lots have changed over two thousand years. Technological advancements and modern transportation systems have simplified the process of accurate and timely delivery of mail. However, not all advancements have made the life of mail couriers easier.
 
For most of us, buying auto insurance is a rather simple process. However, for independent or rural mail carriers, obtaining auto insurance is much more complicated. Finding an agent or broker that is willing to offer mail carrier insurance is a significant challenge. It gets worse; many times those that think they have coverage for their USPS vehicle find out when attempting to file a claim, that they have purchased a policy that does not cover the vehicle while on their route. 
 
The personal cars of rural letter carriers must be covered by a commercial or business policy.   More specifically mail carrier insurance.  While that doesn’t sound like it would create a big problem, it is.
This guy doesn't worry about mail carrier insurance,  (rural letter carriers,  contract carriers, star routes, etc)  they do!
Reasonably prices auto insurance is available for Rural Letter Carriers.
The world we live in postal carriers must still brave the snow and rain.  But that’s not their biggest problem.  Getting through to an insurance agent that a standard personal auto policy will not provide coverage.  The same is true for the standard commercial auto insurance policy, USPS letter carries are not protected.
 
Still, the mail must go through. mail carrier insurance for USPS rural carriers presents a significant problem. However, the transfer of risk doesn’t have to be difficult, nor should rural delivery contractors worry if they have a policy that will provide adequate coverage in the event of an accident. Visit our website at www.insuringky.com or call and speak with a TruePoint agent for a quote that will provide you with USPS vehicle insurance.
 
 

TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC

6287 Taylorsville Rd. Fisherville, KY 40023

6287 Eagle Lake Dr Lawrenceburg, KY 40342

Pooler, Georgia Location to be announced soon

Kentucky and Indiana Rural Letter Carriers: (502) 410-5089

Georgia and South Carolina Rural Letter Carriers: (912) 330-1265

Are You Liable For Summer Fun?

Ready, Set, Summer!
Summer generally arrives with a huge surge in recreational activity. School ends and parents start searching for leisure and recreational activities for themselves and their children. The activities range from elaborate vacations or summer-long camps to simply buying play and sports equipment (or getting it out of storage) and renewing park and pool passes.
Summer Fun’s Dark Side
One thing to be aware of is that the simplest activities can go wrong. Using sports equipment such as tennis rackets, baseballs, baseball bats, Frisbee’s, lawn darts, or horseshoes has the potential to harm others. Danger accompanies the use of skateboards, bikes, mopeds, go-karts, and radio-controlled cars, helicopters and planes. A larger concern involves inviting friends over to use your driveway, play equipment or swimming pool. Potential liability comes from either you having fun at the expense of other persons or their property, or failing to take precautions that persons you’ve invited to your residence (or other places) are safe to enjoy themselves.
How to Preserve Your Fun
The easiest way to prepare for your summer liability is to ask the questions:
What can I do to keep other persons safe from my activities?Am I prepared to be responsible for people I hurt or property I damage?How do I make my home and yard safe for fun-seeking visitors?Am I keeping my guests to various events safe?
While accidents happen, many can be prevented by making sure that you and your children enjoy your activities responsibly. Operating bikes safely and in low traffic areas reduces the chance that others will be hurt. The proper use of games and equipment also make the likelihood of having someone injured more remote. In other words, it’s important that your family uses sports and game equipment safely and appropriately. Adult supervision is critical for potentially dangerous activities such as the use of motorized recreational equipment, trampolines, and swimming pools (including small wading pools). It’s also important to make certain that guests you invite for camping or hiking trips are watched after carefully. In many instances, you are responsible for the safety of your guests when you invite them to enjoy outdoor activities, particularly boating or other activities involving water-related equipment.
Home Inspection
Another way to reduce the chance of others being hurt is to do an inspection of your home and yard. Do you have an adequate fence (with secure or self-locking gate) to protect young children from a pool when you’re not around? Is your playground equipment well-maintained and strong enough to support the weight of the children using it? Is your yard and driveway free of tripping hazards? Are dangerous items such as tools, chemicals and lawn equipment kept out of reach of children? If you can answer “no” to any of these questions, you’re inviting trouble.
Insurance Plays a Role
When accidents happen, they may be followed by medical expenses and, more seriously, lawsuits. You must be protected against such financial consequences. Don’t assume you have coverage, especially when an activity involves motorized or powered equipment. You may have to add coverage to your homeowner policy or even buy special coverage for mini-bikes, mopeds, boats, all-terrain vehicles, etc.
So make safety a part of getting ready for summer fun. It’s also smart to include a visit or call to your insurance professional to make sure you have the right coverage to support a fun summer.
TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC
6287 Taylorsville Rd. Fisherville, KY 40023
1085 Eagle Lake Dr. Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
(502) 410-5089
COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 2016
All rights reserved. Production or distribution, whether in whole or in part, in any form of media or language; and no matter what country, state or territory, is expressly forbidden without written consent of Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc.

Enjoying the Great Outdoors

Campers love Kentucky! The Commonwealth has earned a reputation for summertime fun. Campground owners and operators have played a significant role in this by offering venues that are clean, fun and most important safe. Keeping all parts of your operation in good working is essential, but things don’t always go as planned. That’s when you find out how important it is to have a good insurance company behind you.

TruePoint specializes in campgrounds for tourist and tent camping, RV campgrounds, and camps for many types of organizations. TruePoint has the ability to provide coverage for campgrounds offering long term leases, seasonal operations, and facilities that are open year round. Need coverage for a marina or dock? No problem. Are you having problems with coverage do to activities (Horseback riding, rock climbing, archery, etc.) your facility offers? Give TruePoint a call!
Why TruePoint?
• The agency partners with the industries best carriers to provide coverages that are designed specifically for campground-related business.
• TruePoint Customer service; It’s like we work for you.

• Access to multiple carriers that provide your business with all lines of property/casualty coverages including Auto, Property, General Liability, Workers Comp, Crime, and Umbrella.
TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC
6287 Taylorsville Rd. Fisherville, KY 40023
1521 Field Stone Dr. Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
(502) 410-5089
TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC is not licensed to practice law, nor can it provide legal counsel. This summary is not intended as a legal opinion. We cannot warrant that the opinions and representations provided in this summary are accurate. TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC has provided this summary of the Virginia Graeme Baker Act for your awareness. The summary may or may not identify your requirements as a pool or spa owner. If you own a pool or spa you are advised by TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC to refer your specific situation to legal counsel.

Lawn Care & Landscaping

For lawn care and landscaping businesses in Kentucky, the winter months represent a time to play catch-up. During this period when it’s tough to find ways to make a buck, why not take the time to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table by getting a comparison quote on your business insurance. Even more important, take the time to do a complete and thorough review of your insurance coverage. While this may not have an immediate impact on your bottom line, it may someday have a very significant impact on the profitability of your operations. With that in mind we decided to take some time to share with you some of our thoughts regarding insurance and risk management for lawn care businesses.

Liability Coverage Can be purchased in various amounts. You are most likely to have a policy which provides liability limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate.

If you have anything less than this we would encourage you to reconsider. The savings associated with reducing coverage below these limits very seldom makes sense.

Property Coverage

Buildings Even if you don’t own a building you may still have exposure. Your policy should provide coverage for property that you rent from others.
Equipment Make sure that the limits for your property: mowers, trailers, etc. are in line with the current market, too low and you will pay the difference out of pocket, too high and you are already coming out of your pocket.
Scheduled Equipment Each insurance company has their own rules, but it’s worth checking to make sure that every item you want covered that has a value greater than $2,000 is scheduled and listed on your policy. This is opposed to having those items covered in the unscheduled portion. First off the rates for scheduled are lower than unscheduled. More importantly carriers have a limit which they use to cap unscheduled items, typically around $2,000.
EXAMPLE: Last year ABC Mowing purchased a used 72” Scag Turf Tiger for $12,000 The mower is being covered but is not specifically listed in their policy. The equipment was stolen and they are now dependent on the proceeds from their insurance claim to replace the lost mower. As unscheduled equipment, ABC Mowing will be limited to the $2,000 limit for unscheduled equipment, and before they get that they will be faced with whatever deductible is in place. In their case it was $1,000, leaving the company with only $1,000 to replace a $12,000 piece of equipment.
It would be one thing to find you had this coverage in place and although you are not happy about it, you were getting what you paid for. However in the scenario above ABC Mowing was actually underinsured and overpaid.

Commercial Auto Do you need a commercial auto policy or is your personal policy enough? Good luck at getting an answer on that one. Generally speaking, personal auto policies don’t cover autos while performing functions that relate to business. However commercial auto policies will cover autos while being driven for personal use.
Better Coverage Commercial auto policies generally have much higher limits than a personal policy. Given the litigious society that we live in, you must ask yourself, is my auto insurance putting my livelihood at risk?
The cost will most likely be less than you think We write a lot of first time commercial auto policies, replacing personal policies that just aren’t adequate. Almost always the customer has significantly better coverage and the prices only slightly higher or even less than where they started.

Caution: You may ask, “If I am in an accident how will anyone know I should have a commercial policy?” Do you have your business name, phone number, etc. on your vehicle? I’m not sure, but I am guessing that the attorney representing the other driver will notice that trailer with two mowers, five weed eaters, or whatever other tools you might be hauling. Maybe not! What I do know is, that unless you have actually considered a commercial quote you cannot make the decision.
TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC
6287 Taylorsville Rd.
Fisherville, KY 40023
(888) 706-5423
TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC is not licensed to practice law, nor can it provide legal counsel. This summary is not intended as a legal opinion. We cannot warrant that the opinions and representations provided in this summary are accurate. TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC has provided this summary of the Virginia Graeme Baker Act for your awareness. The summary may or may not identify your requirements as a pool or spa owner. If you own a pool or spa you are advised by TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC to refer your specific situation to legal counsel.

The FMCSA and Electronic Logging Devices

Already planning your New Year’s Eve Party for 2017? Consider converting your paper log books into confetti. In 2012, Congress passed legislation which forced the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to require all drivers to use Electronic Logging Devices (ELD). Beginning in December of 2017 drivers that have previously been required to maintain paper log books will be required to become compliant.
Below we have provided a quick summary and insights of some of the more important aspects of the changes:
If you’re a short haul driver you may be exempt: If you meet one of the short haul exemptions found in section 395.1(e) you can continue operating as before.
Location Monitoring (On Duty): Every 60 minutes and whenever a change of duty status occurs, ELD’s are required to capture the location within 1 mile.
Location Monitoring (Off Duty): ELD’s will continue to capture location data while off duty. However, in an effort to respect privacy, data will be captured within a 10 mile radius.
Electronic Data Transfer: Not only must logging devices capture data electronically; they must also have the ability to transfer data electronically via a wireless web service or by Bluetooth and or USB 2.0 transfer.
Editing your ELD: Drivers will be able to edit their electronic logs, however electronically captured data will remain and cannot be deleted. Employers will also be able to edit the log, but this may only be added to an electronic device after driver approval.
Older ELD like devices: Automatic On-Board Recording devices may continue to be used until December 2019.
Before You Buy: A list of approved manufacturers and certified devices is available. This list is provided by the FMCSA and should be consulted prior to purchasing your new ELD.
The information is not meant to be a complete review. Addition exemptions related to the age of your vehicle, the number of days worked in a month and others are available. For complete information on the ruling go to the FMCSA website at:

Online Insurance Quotes Have Arrived!

Relief; the single word accurately describes my feelings the first time I read the phrase “online insurance quotes” The promise of Insurance without the hassle of an agent: Sweet! Online insurance quotes have been around for some time now. But are these so called online quotes really what they’re advertised to be? NO!
Most sites that offer online insurance quotes are limited to personal lines, with the vast majority only capable of providing a quote for autos. Where’s the logic? Most insurance companies offer a substantial discount (up to 25%) if you insure both your home and auto with them. Online insurance quotes for autos only would be akin to a jeweler trying to sell a single ear ring, a shoe store that sold shoes for only your left foot, or a Chinese restaurant that provided dinners one chopstick.
If you’re looking for business insurance online you’re an underdog to find anything more than a glorified lead service. Does this sound familiar? You’ve taken the time to submit the requested information and…No Quote! Just give it sometime….it gets worse. It’s the phone and on the other end is …..Ugh….an insurance agent! Over the next two days, fourteen more agents all. What happened is simple; your information was gathered by a lead provider. They took your information and did the last thing you would want; they sold it. But not to just one insurance agent, multiple insurance agents and in the process made more money than they could if they sold you insurance. God Bless America!
But it doesn’t have to be that way……………………..Personal and Commercial Insurance
Online Quotes, in Real-Time, from a Real Agent
At TruePoint, we claim to be raising the bar regards customer service. While our efforts often go unnoticed, TruePoint’s commitment to customer service is often noticed when clients or prospects visit our Customer Portal. The Portal provides clients with 24/7 access to critical insurance and policy information. Our clients need not worry over not having an up-to-date insurance auto id card, it’s as close as your cell phone. Never dig through boxes looking for a copy of your policy, it’s much easier to find atwww.insuringky.com .
Unlike the online quoting described earlier, TruePoint’s online quotes are truly quotes. No waiting on someone to call back; our quotes are online, and in real time. Most importantly, we allow our online user to capture the multi-policy discounts by providing both home and auto quotes. Our online quotes are not limited to personal insurance. In many case commercial quotes can also be obtained in real-time on the company’s website.
Is it time for you to take control of your personal risk management process? Maybe you’re ready for insurance from the driver’s seat, or you might feel that you’d like a little more transparency. Whatever the case, TruePoint has developed a path for you.
Access quotes from up to twelve different insurance companies andBe the first to see your quotes, even before the agent. You decide when and if to bring an agent in. You will not be contacted until you request it.
Take a test drive today. You can try our online rater at www.insuringky.com .