There are always questions circulating about how the pandemic will affect all aspects of our lives. Continuing to have personal insurance in place for your auto and home is still of the utmost importance. Some questions are difficult to get a straight forward answer online and that is where your trusted independent insurance agent comes in to play. You might need to make some adjustments to your coverage based on the current environment. Doing that online might not be so easy based on the fact that you want to ensure you are properly protected without overpaying. Independent insurance agents are able to give you the best advice in regards to your insurance coverages, and they won’t try to oversell or undersell you. They want ensure that you are properly protected so that your insurance coverage can help you through this difficult time.
Now, on to the most popular questions our agency has received from our customers.
Auto Insurance Questions
Should I cancel my auto coverage because I am not driving my car anymore? The recommendation would be no. Most states require you to have insurance coverage as long as you own a vehicle. Even if you are not driving your car and it is parked on your driveway, there could still be a chance of vandalism or damage from weather related instances.
I started working a job where I make food deliveries, does my personal auto insurance cover me? Some carriers have excluded food deliveries. Check with your insurance agent about this as many carriers are making special accommodations and have said they will most likely not deny a claim for the insured because food deliveries are essential goods being delivered on behalf of their employer. It is possible your employer’s business auto policy will cover you if they have added you to the policy. However, your personal auto policy would be primary if you got into an accident and the employer’s business auto policy would only come into effect if your limits on your personal auto policy became exhausted. The business auto policy would then provide excess coverage.
Homeowner’s Insurance Questions
Will my homeowner’s policy cover me if someone claims they got sick from COVID-19 after visiting my home? It most likely would depend on the source of the disease. Most homeowner’s policies do not cover bodily injury or property damage from transmission of a communicable disease. If the guest claimed that you transmitted the disease, your insurance would not cover the claim. But if the guest claims that they got sick from your neighbor the claim would cover you because your neighbor is not the named insured. It would be difficult to prove where the spread of the disease came from and they would have to prove that you were negligent and the guest suffered money damage from the contact of the disease. This would most likely be decided by the courts. However, it would be good to keep in mind to ask your insurance agent about an umbrella policy to provide you extra protection as an umbrella policy can provide additional liability and higher limits. Some carriers exclude communicable diseases form their umbrella policies but some do not so it would be beneficial to contact your agent.
Cyber Insurance Questions
Since I am working from home, is cyber-crime something I should be more aware of? Absolutely. Make sure that your internet is secure and that you are using a virtual private network (VPN) when connecting into your work server from home. Never click on links from email sources that you are not aware of. Always double check the source of the email if the address does not match the name on the email signature. Most employers will have a cyber-liability policy and/or data breach policy that will protect against loss and theft of information electronically. If you are starting a business from home or are currently self-employed, ask your agent about cyber liability and data breach coverage options.
Wedding Insurance Questions
Wedding insurance. Does it cover the coronavirus? Sadly, most do not cover pandemics. If you decided to plan a wedding now with a date in the next few months, any new policy would exclude a claim for coronavirus as it is foreseeable and/or under your control. Some policies issued before the pandemic may provide limited coverage for the coronavirus. If the venue decided to close because of the coronavirus, your claims may be covered. Most claims are decided on an individual basis so it would be best to check with your agent.
Aitken & Ormond Insurance is Here For You
These are just the surface level questions and answers that we thought we would share with you. There are so many more questions that our agents can answer for you if you have them. As we navigate through these difficult times, we want to assure our customers that we will be available to help. Our doors are currently not open to the public at this time and in the foreseeable future we may only be meeting with customers by appointment only. We will do everything possible to make sure that we can take care of our customers via phone, email, etc. to ensure that your insurance is up to date and that you and your family are properly protected. At Aitken & Ormond Insurance we do more than just sell insurance policies, we build relationships with our customers. We continue to strive to be your trusted independent insurance agent through the good times and the bad. We are only a phone call away when you need us most.