When do I have to add my son to my auto insurance policy?

As soon as he or she gets his/her driver license.

Permit vs. license

Driving permits allow teens to drive, but under some restrictions: There must be a licensed driver in the vehicle and, in some states, teens with permits are confined to daytime driving only. In addition, a driver's permit generally expires after 60, 90 or 180 days.
Most states have some form of "graduated licensing" law, which phases in driving experience for younger drivers, allowing beginners to gain experience under lower-risk conditions first and then gradually increasing to more complex driving situations. In most states, the graduated period begins at age 15 or 16 and progresses to a full driver's license by the time the teens reach 17 years of age.
For graduated licensing details for your state, see State laws for teen drivers.
With a driver's license, on the other hand, teens can drive alone. Restrictions may include the type of vehicle and whether or not the driver must wear corrective lenses.
Some states allow insurance companies to require that you list a teen with a driving permit on your insurance policy. Many insurers generally do not charge insurance premiums for teens with driver's permits, opting to wait until they are licensed drivers, but you should still list them on your policy.
Insurance companies will look for a particular date — either your teen's 16th birthday or the date his or her learner's permit expires — to begin charging you for an additional driver. If your teen does not get his or her driver's license, notify your insurer so that your next car insurance bill isn't a shocker.
You should inform your insurance company when your teen attains a license. However, if you forget and your teen is involved in a crash, it's unlikely your insurer will deny your claim — assuming your teen obtained his or her license after the effective date of your policy. Still, your insurance company can charge you back premiums for your teen from the date he or she received a driver's license. But if your teen obtained his or her license before you renewed your policy and you failed to notify your insurer, the situation is less clear. Many jurisdictions could consider this a misrepresentation of a material fact and permit the insurer to deny coverage in the event of an accident. The safest course is to notify your insurer as soon as your teen starts to drive.

For more information please contact me.

Juan D. Espinosa
www.es-isnurance.com

Homeowner’s Guide to Elevation Certificates

An Elevation Certificate is an important tool that documents your building’s elevation. If you live in a high-risk flood zone, you should provide an Elevation Certificate to your insurance agent to obtain flood insurance and ensure that your premium accurately reflects your risk. Obtaining an Elevation Certificate also can help you make decisions about rebuilding and mitigation after a disaster. Comparing Your Building’s Elevation to a Potential Flood Level • Your insurance agent will use the Elevation Certificate to compare your building’s elevation to the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). • The base flood is a flood with a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year. The BFE identifies how high the water is likely to rise (also called water surface elevation) in a base flood. The land area of the base flood is called the Special Flood Hazard Area, floodplain, or high-risk zone. • Flood insurance rates in a high-risk zone (a zone beginning with the letter A or V) are based on a building’s elevation above, at, or below the BFE. Elevation and Flood Insurance Rates • Generally, in high-risk zones, the higher above the BFE a building is located, the lower the insurance premium will be for that property. The Elevation Certificate provides the documentation necessary to make that determination. • In moderate- to low-risk zones (zones beginning with letters B, C, or X), rates are not based on elevation, so an Elevation Certificate may not be necessary to determine the premium. If you need more information, contact me at: www.es-insurance.com

CHANGES TO FLOOD INSURANCE RATES

The National Flood Insurance Program is changing. The Biggert- Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12) reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and outlined reforms to make the program more sustainable, including the removal of long-standing subsidies. The first phase of rate increases (Section 100205) affects many policyholders who own homes built before the community adopted its first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). Many of these policyholders historically have paid subsidized rates that do not reflect the property’s true risk. Follow my next blog to find out WHO PAYS SUBSIDIZED RATES?