Essentials to Pack for Your Road Trip This Summer

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Roadside Assistance Insurance Policy Salt Lake City, UTOh, the great American road trip. Whether you are driving across the country, making a trip to visit our beautiful National Parks or simply just exploring different areas in your state, it is important to pack the right items on your road trip.

Basic safety and materials to have:

While you should always store papers like a copy of your car insurance and license and registration in your vehicle, you should also carry a first aid kit and a roadside emergency kit.

Other items:

  • Flashlight
  • Spare tire with useful tools+ make sure someone in the car knows how to change it
  • Owner’s Manual

Personal Items to pack:

It’s really nice and sometimes imperative to have the following items packed.

  • Sunglasses
  • Sunscreen
  • Water bottle
  • Car Phone Charger
  • Hand sanitizer or wipes
  • Car cooler with snacks
  • Popular road trip snacks: sunflower seeds, trail mix, jerky, hard candy or suckers or granola bars. Mints and gum are great too.
  • Anti-inflammatory medication
  • UV window shade
  • Thermos
  • Blanket or pillow
  • Cash
  • Lip Balm/ChapStick
  • Notebook, pen or pencil
  • Napkins or a roll of paper towels. A roll of toilet paper doesn’t hurt either!

 Consider a Roadside Assistance Policy

Roadside Assistance can be added to your car insurance policy and is available from most insurance companies. It can also act as a standalone insurance policy. Roadside assistance can help you if you become stranded from a variety of things including but not limited to:

  1. Flat Tires
  2. Dead Battery
  3. Run Out of Gas
  4. Lock Yourself Out or Lose Your Keys
  5. Disabled Vehicle
  6. Towing if Vehicle Can’t Be Repaired Quickly
  7. Winching if stuck in mud, snow or sand

We hope your summer road trip is a blast and that this article helps you prepare for your trip as well as stay safe on the road. If you have questions about your insurance, contact us before you leave!

I’m planning on doing an AirBnB at my home. What do I need to know?

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Insurance for my AirBnB Salt Lake City, UTMore and more people are taking advantage of the extra income they can make by doing an AirBnB, VRBO or other rental out of their homes. This is a great way to save money for college, pay off your mortgage, pay for a remodel or just make extra money for your savings. But, before you commit and jump into it, consider the risks associated with being a landlord.

Short-term vacation rental properties such as AirBnB, VRBO, HomeAway and others require special insurance. Regardless of whether it is just a room in your house, a trailer or even a separate house, be sure you match your insurance policy to the risk you’re taking on. Believe it or not, you’re a landlord!

Doesn’t AirBnb or VRBO Provide Insurance?

Yes, they do provide liability and property damage protection for third-party claims when they are booked through the AirBnB website. However, you are only protected up to their liability limits. Like many types of insurance policies, there can be gaps that are created.

Example 1: You become chummy with a previous house guest that booked through AirBnB. You exchange numbers and they text you to book a stay instead of booking through the AirBnB website. During the stay, they’re injured. Because they didn’t book through the website, you’re on the hook for the liability.

Example 2: You use Craigslist to get renters into your short-term rental because there is a big local music festival and it will be easy to rent it out for more money during this time. The renter trashes your property and because of repairs, you can’t rent out the property for months. You lose out on income.

Example 3: An excessively bad bodily injury occurs on your property. The medical bills exceed what the short term vacation rental company provides in insurance coverage. You are stuck with the remaining balance of the medical bills.

It’s common to want to make some extra cash from your short-term vacation rental, but we want it to be a safe endeavor for you. By calling an agent in our office, we can help you eliminate the gaps that exist with insurance that may be provided and get you a policy that is the perfect match for you and your family.

Commercial Auto Insurance Salt Lake City

Don’t Settle For Cheap Boat Insurance – 3 Coverage Options to Consider

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Boat Insurance Salt Lake City, UTWith summer upon us, many of you will be getting your boats out or maybe even buying a new one. When it comes to insuring your boat, you don’t want a policy that is the least expensive – you want the right coverage. Boating season is so much fun and being on the water carries a certain risk. When you’re shopping for boat insurance, be sure that your policy includes three specific, and sometimes optional coverages:

  1. On-Water Towing: If you’re out on the water and you boat breaks down or runs out of gas, this coverage will cover the cost of: getting you gas, soft un-groundings, towing your boat back into shore, jump starts and more. Don’t go without this coverage. Getting your boat towed on the water can be expensive.
  2. Wreckage Removal: If your boat sinks, and it is required by law to remove it, this coverage pays up to the liability limits of your policy to bring your boat to the surface and remove it from the water.
  3. Fuel Spill Cleanup: If you boat sinks or simply leaks fuel into the water, this coverage pays to clean up the fuel. The amount paid depends on your liability limits on your policy. Be sure you get enough liability insurance.

Owning a boat is a great adventure and the memories built on them are second to none! Give yourself the peace of mind by purchasing a boat insurance policy that not only protects you, but also protects those around you and your passengers. Many optional coverages exist and we can assist you in understanding what each of them means and find the right insurance policy for you.

Can you name every valuable in your home? If not, you need to read this.

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Home Inventory List for your Salt Lake City, UT homeNobody wants to experience a home disaster & it’s not like you can predict when one will happen. If you were to experience a fire, flood, earthquake or other home disaster, would you be able to name every single valuable in your home? If not, you need to create a home inventory list of all your valuables.

Preparing a home inventory can be a large task, but taking the time to do so can make a difference of thousands of dollars when it comes to your claims settlement as well as simple ease of processing your claim.

For many of us, where we live symbolizes us and what is in that house symbolizes our lives. Our belongings represent our memories, personal style and even investments that hold significant value such as art.  When you add up how much all of your personal items are worth, it can be a substantial figure into the many 10s of thousands of dollars or more.

Home insurance claims from disasters such as flood or fire are traumatic. A home inventory checklist can help you remember quickly what items you had. Would you recall exactly how many pairs of jeans you had and what brand they were? Would you recall how many pairs of shoes you had or what brands they were? What about art? Could you recall the name of the artist and how much you paid for it?

The Easiest Way to Create Your List

Taking the time to inventory your home can be useful in the event of theft or damage to the contents of your home.

  1. Take pictures of every room in your home. Then, take pictures of each valuable in the room.
  2. Take a video of every room in your home.

Note: be sure to store these pictures or video in the cloud as a backup so you don’t lose it in the fire or flood too!

If you were to experience a home disaster, having this list will significantly cut down on how much time and stress you deal with when it comes to your claim settlement.

What Valuables in Your Home Need a Separate Endorsement?

Remember, valuables like art, furs, comic books, antiques and jewelry need an endorsement on your current home, condo or renters insurance policy.

The good news is your insurance agent likely gave you sufficient coverage for your personal property. If you feel like you need more, be sure to tell your agent. Home, renters and condo insurance policies typically come standard with this coverage but you might need more.

Do I Need Insurance on My Scooter or Moped?

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Scooter or Moped Insurance Salt Lake City, UTRiding a scooter or moped isn’t only fun, but you look great riding one. The benefits of using a scooter to get around aren’t only limited to fun, fuel economy and ease of parking. Insurance is cheap too!

There are many situations where you may wonder if you even need insurance on a moped – I mean, what is the worst that can happen, right? Well, the same risks that exist with driving a vehicle exist on scooters as well, so insurance is always required when riding one.

Here are three claims scenarios where having scooter or moped insurance policy would benefit you:

  1. You driving along with your scooter, it starts to rain and you lose control of your moped while going around a corner. While you fall off and manage to avoid injury, your scooter slides up onto the curb and hits a bystander. You would be liable for “failure to maintain control of your vehicle” and be liable for the injured parties medical bills. The same thing that happens in car accidents.
  2. You’re driving around a friend who is visiting you from out of town. The two of you pile onto your Vespa and cruise the town. After a stop at a pub, you think you’re okay to drive. On the way home, you’re driving and rear-end a stopped vehicle. You and your friend are injured and you’re now liable for your friend’s medical bills and potentially lost wages.
  3. You decide to take your moped on a cruise out to the countryside. Unbeknownst to you, you forget to fill up the tank and run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, you purchased a roadside assistance policy and call your insurance company for a fill-up.

Driving a scooter is fun and insuring one isn’t expensive when compared to an auto insurance policy. It is important not only for you to protect your financial future, but to protect those that are around you as well, including any passengers. Be smart, protect yourself with a scooter or moped insurance policy.