Like many parents, my thoughts are turning to back-to-school and back-to-school shopping. You might find that your shopping list has a couple of new items this year; a car and insurance. As parents, we are aware that our role as daily chauffer may be ending once our kids reach 16 and become teen drivers. According to national averages, adding a teenager to your auto insurance policy, increases rates by a whopping 79%. Unfortunately, the Teen drivers have earned the increases through poor driving statistics.  Some others facts to keep in mind as a parent: Need some good news? As parents, we understand the risks associated with driving and probably understand why rates go up.  However, your Teen can save you cash by being a good student and staying clean of incidents. The hefty 16-year old increase tends to drop annually with a study showing the increase at only 58% by age 19.  Of course, this assumes a perfect driving record! If you want a strategy for lowering the costs to insure your teen driver, you may want to consider a “usage based” Auto Insurance policy. These programs allow companies to track your driving habits and can lead to significant discounts, especially if you’re a safe driver who doesn’t rack up too many miles. You can work with an advisor at Lifelong Insurance Agency to learn about all the ways to control the cost of insuring your teen driver and ways to instill good driving habits from Day One! We can’t avoid the teen driver increases, but we can make sure your insurance plan is with the best possible option for your teenager. Alternatively, it is never too late to teach them how to ride a bike. Call (469) 606-4590 for the Best Coverage Value Today.

Check your home insurance policy first! So what happens if all your cherished belongings are stolen, or there’s a wild party and the place gets trashed to somebody you rented it to on Airbnb? What happens if someone get hurt? Yes, it is true that Airbnb now provides liability insurance for up to a million dollars. Read the fine print before you list. Keep in mind that a lot of insurers don’t cover you on standard policies when  you start renting your home on airbnb. What’s more, even if your visitors are well behaved, if you haven’t informed your insurer you could be in trouble. Renting out all or part of your home without telling your insurer could void your home cover permanently. Before you even think about doing this, get the right protection in place. Purchasing coverage from well-known insurance carriers can be tricky. This is because insurance carriers class you as a greater risk as they think the chances of damage, robbery or things going missing increase. Call your home insurer and tell them what you’re planning to do. They may expand your existing coverage for an additional fee to your premium. Shop around and get an estimate and compare prices. The price you pay, and whether your insurer decides to cover you at all, will depend on whether it’s a spare room you’re letting out or the whole property, how often you’re planning on doing so, how many people are staying and your previous claims history. Your premiums are likely to increase if they agree. You can do this for standalone home or contents insurance, or for a combined policy. Yet even with an extension to your home insurance, many policies don’t cover theft or accidental damage by paying guests, which means a whole host of things won’t be covered– such as if your guests damage your wood floor or steal your 52” TV. Always check the small print. The alternative option to get insurance coverage is to contact an independent broker like us and we’ll customize an estimate for you. You can do this if your home insurer will not extend your coverage, or even if they do, so you can be sure you’re getting the best rate and coverage. Remember that the additional premium costs are tax deductible according to Jasmine DiLucci, CPA, EA. So although there are additional costs involved, there is also the prospect of extra revenue. CPA Advice Less than 15 days:If you rent out your personal residence for less than 15 days, then you do not need to report any of the rental income and do not deduct any expenses as rental expenses. More than 15 days:If you rent your personal residence for more than 15 days, then you can apportion your household expenses (insurance, utilities, interest etc) between the number of days your house was used for personal and used for rental. In the case of you renting out your house while you are still using it for personal, I would recommend staying on the conservative side and counting it as a personal use day when it comes to your expenses/deductions. I would still count it as one of the 15 days in calculating whether or not you need to report the rental income.

Check your boat insurance and your hitch before escaping our relentless heat and taking the boat to the lake. NEW SPEEDBOAT. . . $65,000 NEW PICKUP TRUCK. . . $55,000 NEW PAIR OF UNDERWEAR. . . $5 HEAVY DUTY TRAILER HITCH. . . LIFESAVING! ! ! Don’t get left hanging! Relying solely on your trailer hitch may not always be the best solution in avoiding catastrophe. Rely on boat insurance instead. Most homeowner’s insurance policies provide limited coverage for property damage for small boats such as canoes and small sailboats or small powerboats with less than 25 mile per hour horsepower. Larger and faster boats such as fishing boats with big engines, speedboats, jet boats, ski boats, yachts, and personal watercraft such as jet-skis, wave-runners, and Sea-Doo’s require a separate ‘Boat Insurance Policy’. Check with your independent insurance agent before you head out to the lake, and be safe out there.

Mark’s summer internship in the city was a dream come true for a 17-year-old — especially because he got to drive there in his very own car every day. TAKING THE WHEEL His parents made sure he bought the car with his own money and also paid for the insurance, so this job definitely helped. Mark carried state minimums since that was all he could afford.  TEEN DRIVING IS DANGEROUS While parallel parking early one morning, Mark accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake pedal while in reverse. Just then, Erica, age 32, stepped off the curb to cross the street between the parked cars and became pinned between them. The accident led to the amputation of Erica’s legs. She was flown to a nearby hospital to receive treatment and after her extensive inpatient care, she required a special amputee rehabilitation team to aid in her recovery process. Her post-acute treatment included physical rehabilitation, expert fitting and custom-manufacture of a prostheses to help her regain function and mobility and psychological services. HOW A PERSONAL UMBRELLA HELPED Mark’s minimum coverage for Erica’s medical bills was quickly exhausted since he was underinsured for this type of accident. Since Erica had a $2 MM standalone personal umbrella policy with $1 MM excess UM/UIM, it kicked in after the underinsured motorist on her auto was exhausted to take care of her outstanding medical bills. Claim: $1.5 MM The dangers of teen driving are obvious, but our standalone personal umbrella policy with limits up to $10 MM can help protect your insured. Call Diona at (469) 606-4590 to find out how affordable it is to keep those dreams alive and well.

Lifelong Insurance Agency specializes in collecting and insuring classic cars, so we know how special they are. We assembled a list of the top 10 classic car features we wish would come back. What classic car features do you miss? Car Fins They really need to come back! Imagine a new Toyota Prius with these for 2017. Rear Facing Third Seat With these, you could see that car about to rear end you and warn Dad. Chrome Bumpers Remember polishing these up on Sundays and the feel of solid metal? No more plastic bumpers! Wood Grain Side Panelling Cars just seemed more luxurious with wood side panelling. Vent Windows Who needs A/C when you have vent windows. Hubcaps Who doesn’t miss these, and the sound of them coming off on those sharp turns. Hood Ornaments Wood panelling was nothing compared to a classic hood ornament. Hand Crank Windows Crank up the music, crank down the windows and annoy the cranky neighbors. Full Sized Spares Full-sized spares are one feature we’d really like back. After all who wants to change a tire two times. LAST BUT NOT LEAST… ASHTRAYS Great, not only for smokers, but also for the kid’s gum and food disposal. Share with Lifelong Insurance, your classic car insurer, what your favorite classic features are!

Lighten Up! The RV Checklist of what Not to Pack Whether you are renting a vacation home in San Francisco or one near South Padre Island, you will want to avoid any vacation rental nightmares. It’s vacation time, and the whole extended family is renting a vacation home near the beach. Three people might be cooking dinner, and each of the three thinks the other two are watching the frying pan on the stove. In minutes, flames are shooting up out of the pan, scorching the walls and producing a good amount of smoke. Thankfully the fire is caught and put out before the whole vacation rentl burns down, but the damage is more than obvious. Clean up and repair work will be costly, and the house’s proprietor will not find this at all humorous. Everyone knows that an insurance company will have to get involved– but whose? Offering vacation rental homes is increasingly popular and easier than ever thanks to services like Air BNB. There are however risks for both the owner and the renter. These include: While Homeowners insurance policies are not exactly the same, nearly all provide Personal Liability Coverage. Most policies will cover fire, explosion or smoke damage to premises rented to or occupied by individuals insured, but not other types of damage. The vacation rental’s home owner may have legal responsibility for a condition in the house that injures a renter or visitor. If so, the owner’s liability insurance should cover related costs and medical expenses. It is wise to have an umbrella policy as this type of policy may cover gaps that a primary policy may not cover. Traveling with Expensive Toys and Bling Your homeowners or renters’ insurance probably has “off premises” coverage. This means that your personal belongings will be covered when you are outdoors- for example, possessions stolen from your car parked outside somewhere or from your vacation house rental. If you tend to travel with high-priced items, such as jewelry, extravagant sports gear or musical devices, you may wish to consider adding a floater insurance to your homeowners or rental policy. This addition to your policy will cover the cost of particular higher-value items, whether you are at your home or outdoors on a vacation. A floater may also take into account “mysterious disappearance,” which basically means that you might be covered in an event where you honestly misplace your belongings or lose that engagement ring in the sand. (Those guys trolling the beach with metal detectors live for those lost treasures.) Actual Cash Value, or Replacement Cost Your belongings will be protected by either an “actual cash value” or “replacement cost” basis. An actual cash value will cover the decreased value that is the depreciated value of the particular item and not what you paid for it initially or what it might cost to replace. On the other hand, replacement cost coverage will cover the cost of replacing the particular item with no depreciation subtracted. Regardless of type of coverage you have, you will still have to pay your deductible first, which will be out of your own pocket, before insurance kicks in. It’s best to bring all variables to our attention, or your agent, and discuss strategies on how you can narrow any insurance gaps that may exist in rental situations. Then all that will be left to do is pack the truck, head to the beach, and enjoy the vacation. Don’t forget the beach ball, and have a great 4th of July weekend!

Lighten Up! The RV Checklist of what Not to Pack Looking for the best RV checklist? They are abundant online, with lists available for everything from pre and post travel lists, to lists with or without pets. But this is the anti-list, this is the list of items you shouldn’t carry at all. These are the items that only contribute by taking up space, adding unnecessary weight, and simply have no real compelling reason to lug them around. Plan It, and Keep it Simple Planning meals ahead of time is the best way to avoid over packing on foodstuff. Remember, you can always buy more if you run out. Remember, you are camping! Cook pancakes instead of waffles, and think of meals that you can cook in a couple large pots and pans. Bring a place setting for every member of the family, and a handful of silverware. Water you carrying that for?  Keep a small level of liquids in those tanks (to prevent materials from sticking, for instance), as a rule less is definitely more. Unless the trip calls for a secluded, dry camping getaway in Death Valley, you can probably skimp on the fresh water tank by connecting to the campground’s water source. Storage Enhancers Use of extra carrying units such as a roof-mounted storage pod, an auxiliary trailer, or a receiver/hitch-mounted bin for extra items will only feed your over packing desires, worsen aerodynamics and/or gas economy, and make loading/off-loading that much more of a chore. Towing the line What is the point of towing a vehicle behind the motorhome that gets worse fuel mileage than the RV? Switching from that bulky Sport Utility Vehicle to a mid-size will save you countless money at the gas pump and reduce on the RV’s overtime towing duties. Wooden it be better to buy it? As someone who has been gauged more than a few times by that convenient, albeit overpriced stack of bundled firewood for sale at the campground office, the lure to transport my own supply is a constant mental tug of war. My friends, it isn’t worth it. Not only does a pile of fresh-cut lumber mess up storage compartments with grungy, wet splinters, it is too heavy for only a $4 savings. Tools & Tape Bring a basic tool kit and some duct tape. If it is a serious problem get help, if it’s minor ask for help to one of your stall buddies. Heavy Issues Remember, if there’s a lightweight substitute, favor that in its place. Opt for paperbacks over hard cover books, and paper plates instead of the usual dinnerware. Substitute cans instead of bottles, plastic instead of glass. Take items out of their cumbersome packaging and store them in zip-lock bags. You get the idea. Catching Up on Work Leave that “work” stuff back at the office? Turn email notifications off on your cell phone too, no sneak peaks at work emails from cell phones. The Other Lists Now that you know what to avoid bringing, you can check these lists out some of these lists. Drive safely and don’t forget to bring your proof of insurance for the RV with you. http://www.campertrails.com/travel-checklist-7-pet.html http://blog.goodsam.com/rv-travel-checklists http://blog.sunrvresorts.com/?p=83

You might assume that if your college student goes away to school and doesn’t have a car, that you can drop them from your car insurance policy and start saving some money. After all college is expensive enough without paying for extras. However, what if they come back for Holiday breaks and want the car to visit friends? Or, what if they are away at university or college and their friends ask them to be a “designated driver” one night? If your student doesn’t take a car or truck to school, we encourage that you keep car insurance for college students under your policy for a variety of reasons: If they take a vehicle to school, you should have car insurance for college students since it is usually much more expensive for young drivers and students to have their own policy. Be sure to notify us about the new garaging address. Not only do insurance companies prefer that, but it may also save you cash, especially if your student attends college in a less populated area of the state. Full-time college students can usually remain covered on their parents’ auto policy if their primary address is the parents’ house, even if they attend college and university out of state. Make sure that the policy meets the minimum auto liability requirements for that state. Important Note: They’ll need their own auto policy if your student owns the vehicle and holds the title. Remember, you can save on insurance by letting us know, or your insurance agent, if you have a student that will be living more that 100 miles away from home without a car. Even if they are going to have a car, let us know. We’ll gladly evaluate your situation and make sure all coverage is current and adequate.  Call 469-606-4590 to reduce your rates.