Price is not the only factor to consider when purchasing property and casualty insurance.  It is also important to consider what types of coverages you need as well as what level of coverages you need.  Auto, Home and Business insurances provide coverage for losses to property (things you own such as car, house, business and all personal possessions contained within them).  Also liability protection in the event that you or one of your family members (or employees) is found to have caused injuries or damage to property belonging to others.  Medical expenses, property repair and replacement costs continue to rise every year. If there is a claim made against you and your insurance coverage reaches its limit, your own personal assets and income become vulnerable to pay for that claim!  Liability insurance also provides for legal defense if you are sued as a result of a claim.

Full Coverage in auto insurance means that you are buying insurance to repair damage to your own vehicle.  Full Coverage is divided into Comprehensive and Collision.  Comprehensive means any type of damage to your car including weather, theft, and vandalism.  Collision means damage you cause to your car by colliding with something (another car, a tree, etc.).  “Liability Only “ means that if you cause an accident, your insurance will pay for medical and repair costs for the others involved but it does not cover your medical or repair costs.  Liability is broken down into medical expenses and property damage.  In Colorado, Bodily Injury coverages are listed per person and per accident for Medical Expenses.  Usually written like this $100/$300.  This means the insurance will pay up to $100,000 per person and up to $300,000 total per incident for medical expenses for others.  Property damage is usually written with one amount such as $50,000.  This means that your insurance will pay $50,000 for repair costs per incident for others.

Homeowners Insurance covers the cost of repairing/replacing your structures (such as your house), replacing your personal property (such as your jewelry, furniture, appliances, electronics and clothing), and covering liability claims against you for medical expenses and property damage of others (someone slips on your porch or your tree falls on your neighbor’s house).  Homeowners Insurance policies used to claim “guaranteed replacement” of your house.  That is no longer accurate.  Now homeowners insurance covers the estimated replacement cost of your house.  If rebuilding your home exceeds your estimated replacement cost, then it is out of pocket.  It is important, with construction costs growing rapidly, to make sure you have adequate coverage to fully pay for your house to be replaced if needed.  There are common options to boost your insurance coverage to pay the estimated replacement cost plus an additional amount if needed.  These boosts are reasonable in cost and are recommended.  It is also important to consider whether the Personal Property coverage in your Homeowners Policy would adequately cover your most valuable possessions (jewelry, fine art, firearms, collectables, etc.).  There are specified limits in insurance policies for how much will be paid for each of these categories of personal property.  However, it is easy and reasonable in cost to raise these limits or to specifically list your high value items so that adequate coverage can be acquired.

Commonly referred to as “Umbrella Insurance” it is extra liability coverage. This type of insurance protects you and your family from large claims or lawsuits that go above your liability coverage through your auto or home insurance. Umbrella insurance covers you for lawsuits and very expensive claims. You’ll have extra coverage in the following four areas: Bodily Injury, Injury to Reputation, Property Damages and Court Costs.  Umbrella Insurance does not cover your Personal Belongings, Criminal Acts, Flood Damage, or Contracted Worker Injuries.

Personal Injury coverage is different than Personal Injury Protection.  Personal Injury Insurance refers to emotional damage through spoken or written words.  Personal Injury Insurance can be obtained in two common ways.  It can be added to a Homeowners Insurance Policy or it can be covered through an Umbrella Liability policy.  Insurance companies do not provide Personal Injury Insurance as a stand-alone policy.  This type of insurance is also available to commercial clients.