Tuesday, October 22, 2013

On the road again -- Frisky deer make for risky driving…

Seen more deer out and about while you’re driving these days? There’s a good reason – we’re reaching the peak of the deer mating season here in Franklin TN, and all of Middle Tennessee. Which reminds us that we need to watch out for these beautiful creatures while driving.

November is traditionally has the highest number of deer-related auto crashes in Williamson and Davidson counties. It’s a year-round issue, really. In fact, last year, Williamson County TN was tied for second of all Tennessee counties for the number of deer-auto crashes. Montgomery County had the highest number. These numbers are holding so far, this year, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

 

Stay safe with these tips:

-- Keep a sharp eye out for deer, especially during their busy mating season --  now.

-- When you see one deer crossing the road, there are likely more to follow soon, so go slow.

-- Dawn and dusk is prime time for deer to appear, coinciding with commuters’ drive times, so be especially aware at these hours.

-- Don’t swerve to avoid a deer; you could make it an even more serious accident.

It’s also a good idea not to stop in the middle of the road to take pictures of deer that you see as you drive, as I recently came upon someone doing exactly that, after I had come around a curve!

 

David Yates Insurance Agency

1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103

Franklin, TN 37067

Phone 615-778-1816 Fax 615-778-1817

 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Many more parents in Williamson County TN sleeping better tonight thanks to David Yates Insurance Agency’s community service giveaway…

Following a long-standing tradition, the David Yates Insurance Agency passed out over 175 free Child I.D. fingerprint kits to parents last Saturday at the Williamson County Soccer Association Picture Day event in Franklin, TN. Held at the Williamson County indoor soccer arena on Downs Boulevard, thousands of soccer players and their parents were there to take team pictures, as well as to compete in soccer matches.
Meet this season's David Yates Insurance Agency team -- they're undefeated!
It was also a tremendous privilege to meet the David Yates Insurance soccer team,  a great group of young ladies who are, so far, undefeated on the field! My agency has sponsored many WCSA soccer teams for eight straight years now, ever since our inception.
If you’d like one or more free Child I.D. fingerprint kits, please call me at 615-778-1816, and I’ll be more than happy to provide them to you.

David Yates Insurance Agency
1881 General George Patton Dr., Suite 103
Franklin TN 37067
Phone: 615-778-1816

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Free Child I.D. Fingerprint kits provided by David Yates Insurance Agency at Sept 28th soccer event

Help us keep our community’s kids safe. For the 8th straight year, the David Yates Insurance Agency is pleased to offer free Child I.D. Fingerprint kits at the Williamson County Soccer Association (WCSA) Picture Day on Saturday, September 28, 2013, at the county’s soccer facility at 1878 Downs Blvd, Franklin TN 37064. My agency is also proud to be long-term WCSA team sponsor. Child I.D. Fingerprint kit
The kits have everything you need to properly take and store your child’s fingerprints and personal information, and have ready in the event of an emergency.
The event starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 1:00 p.m. During that time, the league’s 2,000+ players, coaches, and parents will be at the facility to take their team photographs. While there, many of them will stop by my Farmers Insurance booth to get their free kits. Even if you don’t have a child or grandchild playing soccer in the league, you are also welcome to stop by and pick up your free Child I.D. kits. Look for my booth located at the entrance to the indoor soccer arena, where team pictures will be taken.
Of course, you are always welcome to call me or stop by my office located at 1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103, Franklin TN 37067 (in Cool Springs), and I’ll be glad to provide I.D. Kits to you free of charge.
Hope to see you on Saturday, September 28th!

David Yates Insurance Agency
1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103
Franklin TN 37067
Phone: 615-778-1816

Friday, August 9, 2013

Parents of teen drivers need to know this…

“But Dad, I only looked down for a second when I dropped my cell phone!” More than one parent has heard this excuse when their newly minted teen driver calls after plowing into the rear of another car. But all the safe driving lessons, all the lectures, and all the threats in the world aren’t always going to keep kids from crashing, nor keep lawyers from knocking on your door in the aftermath of a more serious accident.
Injuries and deaths in accidents are not only tragic and heartbreaking on a personal level, but can expose you to high-dollar lawsuits potentially affecting the rest of yours and your family’s life. Here in Franklin, Brentwood, and Nashville, we’ve all heard our share of local tragedies.
Is your auto insurance up to the task? I’m talking about your liability coverage. If you’re not one of my clients, your auto insurance liability limits may very well be way too low. I’ve seen it time and time again.
But high liability coverage limits aren’t always enough. Once you have a teen driver in your household, your risk of being sued jumps dramatically. You definitely need to consider adding an umbrella policy to your insurance plan. Umbrella policies are designed to protect your assets, and future earnings, which are at risk in a lawsuit.
An umbrella policy adds an additional layer of liability protection (you can choose $1M, $2M, $3M or more) on top of your existing liability limits of both your auto AND home insurance (think dog bites, or a trip and fall off your front steps).
So, for instance, if you currently have a $500,000 limit on your auto policy’s bodily injury liability coverage, and choose a $1M umbrella, you’ll have a total of $1,500,000 of asset protection for a high-dollar lawsuit.
Cost of an umbrella policy is around $150- $200 per year for $1M of extra liability protection here in Williamson and Davidson counties. When you have a higher potential for bad things happening, as you do with teen drivers, you need the extra protection an umbrella can provide, not to mention the peace of mind.
Give me a shout if you want to discuss umbrella policies or anything else on your mind!

David Yates Insurance Agency
1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103
Franklin, TN 37067
615-778-1816

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Refinance your home recently? Don’t forget to tell your insurance agent…

If you refinanced your home mortgage recently, congratulations. It’s a great feeling isn’t it? There has been more home refinancing in Franklin TN, Brentwood TN, and the rest of Williamson County than I ever remember.
But before you relax, there’s just one more item to check off. Don’t forget to let your insurance agent know about about your refinancing, so your homeowners policy can be updated with the new information, and your new mortgage company can be billed at renewal time.
“Doesn’t my mortgage broker give the insurance company this information when the refinancing is complete?”
Despite best intentions, this doesn’t always happen. And this sometimes causes problems when your homeowners insurance company, if unaware of the  change, sends the homeowners policy renewal invoice to your FORMER mortgage company. They don’t pay it, because they don’t hold your mortgage anymore. So, with the invoice unpaid, your insurance company begins to take legal steps (including legal notice to you) to eventually cancel the policy for non-payment. This causes you the unnecessary headaches of having to quickly provide the new mortgage company information to your insurance company, along with the payment, before you can have the policy reinstated.
You can avoid these hassles by simply making certain that your mortgage broker does communicate your new mortgage company information to your insurance agent, then following-up to make sure your agent has what he or she needs. The specific informational items an insurance company needs about your new mortgage are:
“Mortgagee Clause”:  This is the legal way the mortgage company requires its name and address to be listed on your homeowners policy. It’s not simply the mortgage company name and its customer service mailing address. The mortgagee clause usually consists of a slightly different wording of the mortgage company’s name, a different address, plus some specific legal language.
“Loan Number”:  Also known as your account number, the loan number is crucial for an insurance company to have because mortgage companies use loan numbers to find its customers (you) in their databases. A mortgage company also requires the loan number when an insurance company sends them an invoice requesting a homeowners policy renewal payment.
“Escrowed” or “Not Escrowed”:  Determined when you first take out or refinance a mortgage. Means whether you want your mortgage company to collect enough money from your mortgage payment every month, in order to have enough money “in escrow” to pay the annual homeowners insurance policy premium. If you elect to “not escrow”, you’re electing to pay the insurance company directly, and not through your mortgage company.
“Effective Date”:  The date your new mortgage is in effect.
I’m here to help if you have any questions about your insurance!

David Yates Insurance Agency
1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103
Franklin, TN 37067
615-778-1816

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Do you use your car for business? Nothing personal, but you may be at risk…

If you use your personal car for your occupation or business, and do more than just commute back and forth, you might need to consider adding “Business Usage” endorsement to your personal auto policy. I use the word “personal” because that’s what insurance companies call your everyday auto policy. There are also “business” or “commercial” auto policies out there protecting business owners when they or their employees are driving vehicles as part of their work.
What about the area between these two entities? These days, more folks use their cars, in the course of their occupations, for more than just driving back and forth to work. Here are just a few examples:
- Franklin TN Real estate agent, who uses her car to drive clients around to look at homes.
- Physical therapist who drives to patient homes throughout Williamson County during a typical workday.
- Salesperson driving to appointments all day in Brentwood TN, every day.
- Pizza delivery driver, who uses his own car to deliver for a local Mom-and-Pop pizza restaurant.
Would their own insurance policies cover them and others if they had an accident during their “business-related” driving?
I’m afraid many people just haven’t thought of this possibility, and still, others know it’s a gray area, and are just taking a calculated risk that nothing will happen.
Look at yours or any personal auto policy. You’ll see, in EVERY policy, wording to the effect that it covers personal use, and not “business usage”. But what is “business usage”? Sometimes the lines between business and personal are blurred. Your policy can’t possibly list all the scenarios that might, or might not, be covered, so it’s up to you, with your agent, to decide if you’re at risk.
There is help available, at least through some insurance companies. Some insurers offer their customers a “Business Usage endorsement”, which changes the policy to extend coverage to when you use your car for business. Of course, there is an extra fee charged to add this endorsement to a policy.
Before it extends you coverage, however, your insurance company will want to know what kind of business you’re in, and how you’ll use your vehicle. Insurance companies will stay away from the potentially more dangerous occupations. For instance, the real estate agent, physical therapist, and salesperson examples I gave above would likely be able to get extra coverage. Unfortunately, the pizza delivery driver will find it impossible to get his insurer to add business usage coverage to his regular auto policy (this is why the major pizza chains purchase their own commercial liability insurance for their drivers).
If your occupation requires more than just a back and forth commute, please don’t wait until you have an accident to see if you’ll be covered. Talk to your agent, and review your auto insurance policy. If you need it, I promise you it will be worth the small additional premium for that priceless peace of mind.

David Yates Insurance Agency
1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103
Franklin, TN 37067
615-778-1816

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Renting a car…ring is stolen…using my car for business… tree blew down – what’s covered by insurance – what’s not?

More answers to some of the most common insurance questions Tennessee car and home owners have:
Q: “If I rent a car to drive somewhere for a vacation, is it covered by my regular auto policy?” B.L. – Franklin TN 
A: Some policies do cover this, some don’t. It depends on the company you’re insured by. This is definitely a question to ask your agent before you turn down the car rental company’s insurance. Please note that we’re talking about renting a car to take a leisure trip, not if your car’s in the shop because of an insurance claim. That’s a totally different kind of coverage.
Q: “We have an expensive ring, worth over $10,000. Does our home policy cover it, no matter what?” B.K. – Nashville TN
A: No. Your policy fully covers it for fire, tornado, lightning, and lots of other events, but has strict limits on what it will pay for specific classes of items, if stolen. What kinds of items? The list includes jewelry, paintings, furs, money, paintings, guns, silverware, and more. You may only receive $1,000 for that $10,000-valued ring under your basic policy, if stolen. Remember, this restriction is for theft-only. If you lose it in a fire, for instance, you just need to provide reasonable proof of the ring and its value, and you’ll get the full reimbursement. Since theft is the most likely thing to happen to your expensive items, how can you protect them? With a scheduled personal articles endorsement (also known as a “floater”). It requires a receipt or appraisal, plus an extra premium, but will then fully cover your item(s) against theft and virtually everything else.

Q: “I use my car for business. Does my personal auto policy cover me if something happens?” J.S. – Franklin TN
A:Your personal auto policy is for just that, personal use. If you regularly use your car in yours or your employer’s business, you might be crossing the line. And, if something happened during that “business usage”, your insurance company MIGHT not cover it. Read your policy. I promise you it excludes coverage for anything except “personal usage”. So, if you’re a Realtor who drives clients around, or a home health nurse who visits clients’ homes, you need to add “Business Usage” to your policy. Doing so then takes away that “exclusionary language” from your policy. Can you do this for any business? Absolutely not! I don’t know of any personal insurance policy that covers you if you’re using your vehicle for pizza delivery or a paid-taxi service. It depends on what your business is, and what policy you have. Please talk with your agent and sleep better at night!
Q: “Last night’s windstorm blew down the Willow tree in my backyard, but it didn’t hit my house. Is this covered by my homeowners policy?” G.G. Franklin TN
A: Sorry, but no. Policies don’t cover trees for wind damage, but do for lightning, fire, theft, vandalism, and more. Now, if the wind blew your tree into your house, that’s a different story, and you would be covered.

David Yates Insurance Agency
1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103
Franklin, TN 37067
615-778-1816

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Millions of dollars spent to tell us not a darn thing…

Seems like every other insurance company commercial tells us, “People who switch to Company XYZ save an average of $468 on their car insurance!” 
This advertising refrain has been a pet peeve of mine over the years because it very cleverly tells you absolutely nothing! Why? Because EVERY insurance company can make that claim. They’re only counting the savings of people who DID switch to them, NOT everyone who received a quote. They don’t mention that many more potential customers decided not to switch because they would have paid an average of $468 more!
I majored in Advertising in college, and love to analyze ads in all media to see what makes them tick. And all these price-focused insurance ads really tick me off! They’d have us believe that buying insurance is just like buying a box of cereal, where flashy packaging and low price is all that matters.
As I’ve said in this blog before, insurance is not a commodity, and shouldn’t be purchased in 15 minutes online or with a 1-800 number.  Companies are different, coverages are varied, and it is essential to discuss your individual insurance needs with a competent insurance agent here in Williamson and Davidson counties who is familiar with, and who cares about, your specific situation. Like me, for instance!

David Yates Insurance Agency
1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103
Franklin, TN 37067
615-778-1816

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Know the answer before you have a problem…

Answers to the some of the most common insurance questions that you and other car owners and homeowners in Tennessee have:
Q: If my neighbor’s tree falls on my house, whose insurance pays?  R.F – Franklin TN
A: Your own insurance will apply. Of course, your insurance company will check to see if the tree that fell was diseased, and should have been cut down earlier. If that’s the case, your insurance company will seek payment from your neighbor and their insurance company. Same concept applies if your neighbor’s tree falls on your car.
Q: Do I call the police if I have a minor fender bender in the mall parking lot?  E.S. – Brentwood TN
A: You can try, but they won’t come. That’s because it happened on private property. This is sometimes a tricky situation, especially if both parties say the other was at fault. In these situations, if possible, it’s best for both parties to agree to pay for their own minor damage and not involve insurance and risk rate increases. However, if the situation is not amicable or there’s extensive damage, it’s best just to swap insurance and contact information and both parties ask their insurance companies to sort it out.
If there’s a small amount of damage, and one party readily admits to being at-fault, it’s usually better for that person to offer to pay to repair the other party’s vehicle, rather than risk a rate increase. For a repair costing more than, say, $1,000, it’s probably better to let insurance handle it.
Always try to get as much information as possible in the event of an accident including: Other driver’s name, phone #, address, drivers license #, license plate #, year/make/model of car, insurance company name, policy number, insurance company phone number, photos of the scene, names and numbers of any witnesses.
Q: Is the water line leading from my house to the street water line covered on my homeowners insurance, if there’s a leak?  L.Y. – Nashville TN
A: No. Once it leaves the “footprint” of your home and is snaking though the yard going toward the street, that water line is your responsibility.  If there’s a leak, the city won’t pay either. The good news is, since water lines are built to last for decades and decades, you’re unlikely to ever encounter a problem – unless, that is, you decide to put a tree in the front yard and start digging without checking…(oops!)
Q: When I buy a car, do I need to tell my insurance agent about it before I can even drive it?  D.M. – Thompsons Station TN
A: In Tennessee, you technically have 29 days to inform your insurance company of another car, assuming you already have one or more cars already insured with the company. If you did have an accident on the first day with the new car, it would be covered by the insurance you already have, even if you forgot to tell your insurance agent. Be careful, though, because this could come back to bite you. For example, if your current car is insured with only “Liability” (but no “Collision” coverage), and you decide to buy a new BMW, and wreck it (your fault), you won’t have the proper coverage to fix it.  You will have only the coverages and coverage limits you had just before the accident!  In other words, even though you have extra time to let your insurance company know about it, it’s best to talk with your agent ahead of time, and let them know of your plans, so they can advise you accordingly.

David Yates Insurance Agency
1881 General George Patton Dr, Suite 103
Franklin, TN 37067
Phone 615-778-1816

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Doh -- a deer!

We're nearing the peak of the deer-mating season, the time to be extra watchful for deer while you are driving.  In fact, about half of ...