What to Do About Dents and Dings in Your Car

Dents or dings are something that just about everyone who owns a car must face from time to time. Unless you've just driven your new car off the showroom floor, chances are that if you take a close look right now you'll find some damage in the form of a dent or a ding. These can be something like a body ding or chip in your windshield caused by a flying rock or pebble on the highway, damage in a door panel, the result of an errant shopping cart in a store parking lot, a dent caused by an overthrown baseball in the neighborhood or any of dozens of other types of accidental, minor damage.

Conventional wisdom says that one of the first things to do after being involved in an accident, even something minor, is to contact your insurer. As Greensboro Auto Insurance professionals, however, we teach our clients to consider situations where filing a claim might not be the correct course of action. Picking up a small dent or ding may be just such a situation. Making a claim against your Greensboro Auto Insurance policy to collect an amount that's the same or less than your deductible amount would be a losing proposition for a couple of reasons. Not only would you not come out ahead financially, but if your insurance rates increase because your insurer raises your premium amount, you could end up being penalized for years to come!

To File or Not to File

There are a few instances where it might make sense to not file an insurance accident claim, although filing an incident or police report is probably prudent, even if you won't be notifying your insurance company. Here are some considerations for not filing a claim:

• A single-car accident where you're either not injured or you can take care of your own medical costs.
• You're able to pay for your own vehicle repairs, especially if the costs are close to the amount of your deductible. There are many shops out there that can fix a dent or a ding for just a few hundred dollars, compared to a deductible amount on your policy that may be $500 or $1000.
• Little or no damage has occurred to a third party's vehicle or property.

Before filing a claim for minor damage, always get a repair estimate so you'll know what costs you could be facing.

RV Insurance: 3 Facts About Coverage

Owning an RV, (recreational vehicle) can be a fun and exciting way to see the country, but it can also represent a sizable investment and should be recognized as such. Besides the initial buying  and ongoing maintenance costs, you need to consider your RV insurance needs and costs. Here are some factors you should weigh when considering the purchase of RV insurance.

1. There are a variety of different RVs types which are required to be covered by RV insurance and can change from state to state. In North Carolina, basically all types of RVs are required by state law to be covered by at least minimum amounts of insurance protection. These include:

• Class A and Class C motor homes
• Class B camper vans
• Bus conversions
• Truck trailers
• Travel trailers
• Tent trailers
• Fifth wheel trailers
• Toy hauler trailers

2. Similar to car insurance in NC, RVs are required to have a minimum amount of liability protection. This is coverage “for the other guy,” in that it provides benefits to a third party involved in an accident for which you are held responsible. It pays nothing, however, toward your own injuries or property damages. Liability coverage minimum amounts in NC are $30K bodily injury per individual (per accident), $60K total bodily injury for all third party injuries per accident and $25K for property damage per accident. These are mandated minimums. Most experts agree that actual coverage amounts should be several times more than the minimums.

One other type of RV insurance required in the state of NC is uninsured motorist coverage. This is protection for you should you be involved in an accident deemed to be another driver's fault but they don't have the proper amount/type of coverage in force to cover your loss.

Other RV Insurance Options

3. Just as with car insurance, there's a list of additional insurance options available to RV owners, plus some that car owners don't have.

Collision coverage protects you from the financial loss accompanying an accident where your RV is damaged or destroyed, regardless of who is deemed to be at fault.

Comprehensive coverage adds protection against losses without being involved in a collision. This could include things like hail damage, vandalism, theft or fire damage.

Other special RV coverage can protect you from loss of your personal possessions and equipment both inside and outside your RV, such as a satellite dish or bicycle.

Condo Versus Homeowners Insurance: 2 Differences

If you find yourself in the market for condo insurance, you'll be pleased to learn that the cost of condo and townhouse insurance is typically less than what you'd have to pay for a similarly valued single family home. There are a few reasons for this, the main one being the amount of the residence you're required to cover in your policy.

Here are two things that differentiate standard homeowner's insurance from condo insurance:

1. Homeowner's insurance is designed to offer protection from losses occurring to your entire property, including outer structures unattached to the house proper. This could include a garage, shed, well house, fence, etc. Condo insurance is designed to cover your unit only, with the outside land, the building structure itself and common areas covered by a separate insurance policy that's cooperatively owned by all the residents in your facility and paid for by the HOA (homeowner's association).
2. Condo insurance only covers “from the sheet rock inward.” Your personal condo insurance doesn't cover the exterior walls or the roof, for example, which would fall under the coverage of the HOA policy.

Do You Need Insurance?

Just as with a standard homeowner's insurance policy, condo insurance will be required by your mortgage holder as a means of protecting their financial interest in your residence. Even if your condo is owned free and clear, however, there are a number of reasons you should have coverage in force. If a fire were to damage the inside of your residence, for example, your condo coverage would protect you from the financial loss of repairing your dwelling and replacing your personal property and other possessions.

Your condo insurance also provides loss of use benefits, which pays for temporary living facilities for the period of time your home is deemed unlivable. Another important benefit your condo insurance provides is liability coverage in the event that someone is injured or their property is damaged while they are in your home. This coverage not only pays toward medical expenses for dealing with their injuries but also legal aid in the event they take you to court to recover damages.

Finally, your condo insurance will provide you with reimbursement should you suffer a loss through vandalism or theft. This typically even pays for losses of personal property you suffer when you're at a location other than your home, such as when staying at a hotel.