The United States Department of Transportation reports that ride-sharing programs are increasing. This is a good thing. Ride-sharing includes traditional carpooling, vanpooling, and taking turns with your neighbors picking up the kids from school. Ride-sharing also includes the innovative Internet-based car-sharing programs, such as BlaBlaCar, Lyft, and Uber.

Considerations for Ride-Sharing Programs

Before participating in any ride-sharing programs, the experts at the Insurance Center of Green Valley serving Green Valley, AZ, and the surrounding areas, say there are a few things to consider, which are:

• Lack of Flexibility – If you use ride-sharing to get to and from your work, you will have to be ready to go at the pre-scheduled times; otherwise, you will inconvenience others in the ride-sharing program with you. This may mean you have to get up earlier than you normally would in order to be ready and waiting when the carpool vehicle arrives at your home. It also means you will have to leave work at a certain time and cannot work late. If the boss asks you to stay at work to get something done, you may be stranded without a convenient way to get back home.
• Vehicle Maintenance – If it is your turn to drive, you must keep your vehicle properly maintained and clean.
• Extended work hours – Most people who commute with others find that the commuters begin talking about work almost automatically. The ride to work becomes a kind of casual business meeting.
• Vehicle insurance – When you are using your vehicle to transport others, your insurance coverage needs to be adjusted for the additional potential liability in the case of an accident. If you are receiving compensation, including from your company, you may need commercial insurance coverage for your vehicle.

Summary

If you use your vehicle for commuting to work and take passengers along with you or if you offer a ride for hire as part of the new social media ride-sharing services, you have special auto insurance needs.

Consult with your agent at Green Valley, AZ, Insurance Center of Green Valley. Even if you do not participate in ride sharing programs, it is always a good idea to conduct an annual review of your auto insurance coverage with your agent to make sure the coverage is adequate.

As you begin to shop for auto insurance plans, you may discover that some insurance plans are offered through an insurance agent, while others are offered through an insurance broker. This can leave you with many questions. Here are a few of the questions you have regarding auto insurance brokers.

What is an Auto Insurance Broker?

An auto insurance broker sells auto insurance plans. However, unlike an auto insurance agent who works solely for one auto insurance company, a broker works with a variety of companies.

What Are the Benefits of an Auto Insurance Broker?

When you work with an auto insurance broker, they are able to find you the best auto insurance policy for your needs. It may not be with the auto insurance company you think it is with. Unfortunately, many people make the mistake of working with an auto insurance agent, which limits their options to one insurance company. Unless you are loyal to one company, a broker can be beneficial.

Can An Auto Broker Help If You Need to File an Insurance Claim?

An auto broker typically sells the policy. They cannot file a claim on your behalf, and because they do not work for the insurance company, cannot help with the status of your claim. However, they can put in a call for you and work to obtain information on your claim or direct you to the right department if you need to file a claim or have questions about an existing claim.

Do you need a new auto insurance plan in the Greater Green Valley, AZ area? If so, Insurance Center of Green Valley can help. Give us a call today to discuss all of your auto insurance needs and let our auto insurance brokers find the right auto insurance plan for you.

In Green Valley, AZ the insurance agents at Insurance Center of Green Valley can provide certain features within a policy to cover certain expenses that may otherwise be overlooked. A good example of this is towing. There are times when the tow bill can be extravagantly high due to the distance the vehicle must be taken. When this is included as part of an auto insurance company, it can dramatically reduce the cost of an accident or breakdown.

To Tow or Not to Tow

Most auto insurance policies are very basic until the agent and owner discuss what they would like to have included. Coverage for towing is not part of a basic policy and must be added as a special feature, especially if it is not a full coverage policy. Many full coverage policies do include a tow package, although it may be limited as to when it can be used. States do not require insurance agencies to carry tow coverage. Clients, however, often ask for the coverage in case of an accident or breakdown. If a policy is being written for anything other than PL/PD, most insurance agents will recommend adding tow coverage in case of an emergency. This protects their client from spending hundreds of dollars on an unexpected to tow bill. 

The agents at the Insurance Center of Green Valley provide services to clients who live throughout the Green Valley, AZ area. They are able to answer questions and offer features that can be included in auto insurance policies that will protect their client from future financial loss. If you are unsure of what your insurance policy covers and what is excluded, call the agents at the Insurance Center of Green Valley to have all of your questions answered. 

Whether you travel in the Green Valley, AZ area or anywhere else in the country, your brakes are one of the most important parts of a safe trip.  You do not want to be driving along and suddenly need to stop to realize your brakes are not working properly.  It’s best to have them checked with your regular vehicle maintenance, but sometimes that is not enough.  You need to be aware of warning signs that there may be a problem with your brakes.  Here are some signs that your brakes need to be checked.

• Obvious signs are the brake warning light on the dashboard or your vehicle taking longer than normal to stop.
• Brake pads have sensors that will squeal when the brake pad gets low, and if you let them go, you will then start to hear a grinding noise.  Grinding means the pad is gone and it’s metal on metal.
• If your vehicle pulls hard to the right or left when stopping, then it could mean a caliper is stuck, and it causes it to pull to one side.  It could be other issues, like an unevenly worn tire, poor alignment, or another issue, but it’s a sign to have your car checked.
• When making an emergency stop with antilock brakes, the pedal pulses, and if this happens during regular stopping there could be a problem with the rotors.
• A mush pedal, meaning it goes close to the floor before engaging, there could be a problem with the pads or hydraulics.

Insurance Center of Green Valley

At the Insurance Center of Green Valley in the Green Valley, AZ area, we care as much about your safety as making sure you have the right amount of auto insurance coverage for your unique needs.

The State of Arizona requires that people drivers have auto insurance. These laws are in place to help people who suffer a loss. While many people take out a policy to just satisfy the minimum standards, that coverage may not fully protect you. At the Insurance Center of Green Valley, our professionals are committed working with people of the Green Valley, AZ community to create a policy that provides secure coverage.

Minimum Coverage Can Fall Short

In Arizona, drivers must carry a liability policy with limits of $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident and $10,000 for property damage. If you stop and think about today’s medical care costs, it’s quite obvious those numbers are insufficient. An injury that requires minor surgery alone would likely exceed the $15,000 minimum. A major head injury, for example, could result in complex surgery and months of rehabilitation. That could easily run into six figures of medical debt.

Consider the price of a new automobile. There isn’t a new car on the market today under the state’s minimum property damage. This year, the average price tag for a new vehicle exceeds $30,000. Once your minimum coverage has been exhausted, an injured party could file a civil lawsuit against you to recover the remainder of their losses.

Protect Yourself

The other problem with minimum coverage is that you may not be financially protected if injured. There are numerous scenarios in which you could suffer an irrecoverable loss. While everyone is supposed to carry insurance, some people shirk their responsibilities. If you are injured by an uninsured or underinsured motorist, you may not get fully compensated. If an accident is your fault, liability insurance may only protect the other party.

It’s important not to put yourself in a vulnerable position with by having only minimum coverage. At the Insurance Center of Green Valley, we’re happy to explore options that can provide you with adequate and secure insurance coverage. We are here to serve members of the Green Valley, AZ community and look forward to working with you.

Your car keeps getting you to work in Green Valley, AZ, even after all these years. But when was the last time you had it checked to make sure it is still safe to drive? Insurance Center of Green Valley offers up a few tips to help you avoid having your vehicle fall apart while operating, preventing costly and painful repair and medical bills.  Spending a few dollars on preventative maintenance can save you thousands in lost wages, expenses and deductibles.

• Penny Test Your Tires: Take a penny and insert it between the treads of your tires with Abraham Lincoln’s head pointed down.  If you see half of Lincoln’s head or more, it might be time to replace your tires before they fail on rough country roads.
• Jack It Up and Jiggle: Your ball joints keep your tires pointed in the right direction. Failure at high speed can cause a severe accident and you can’t see them to know when it’s time to replace them. Jack up the car so a wheel is off the ground. Try to wiggle the wheel–put a little effort into it.  If there is shifting and a thunking noise, you need new ball joints.
• Grinding and Squealing Noise: If you can feel grinding through the brake pedal or even the steering wheel when coming to a stop, that is a warning your brakes are close to failing.
• Check All Your Lights: It’s easy to miss when your tail lights have a bulb go out. Take one minute to walk around your vehicle and make sure high beam, low beam, brake lights and turn signals are working. It can help others avoid hitting you.

Check with your Green Valley, AZ auto repair shop and the Insurance Center of Green Valley for more inexpensive preventative maintenance tips and save your aging auto from a premature death.

One of the biggest accomplishments for teens is getting their driver’s license. This can be a very exciting time for them, but stressful for you. How do you keep your teen driver safe? While there is no 100% guaranteed solution, at the Insurance Center of Green Valley, we believe that good communication with your teen driver on safe driving plays a key role in how they react and respond on the open road.

Talking with Your Teen Driver

First, it is imperative that your teen driver knows how dangerous cell phone usage can be while driving. Texting while driving in Green Valley, AZ is against the law for everyone. While talking on the phone is not illegal, it is important to emphasize to your teen that it is still very dangerous, especially for the inexperienced driver.

Secondly, emphasize to your teen the importance of obeying speed limit signs.  Speeding is a major cause of teen fatalities in Green Valley, AZ and throughout the country. When teens speed, they need more distance to stop and have less time to avoid a collision. Even going 10 miles over the speed limit highly increases their chances of a crash.

Finally, talk to your teens about distracted driving. Because they are inexperienced, they do not always notice potential dangers on the road until it is too late. Even simple things like eating, drinking, or changing the radio station can be big distractions.

Communication is Key

Communicate regularly with your teens about safe driving and have a list of rules and expectations. Also, don’t forget to model the rules you set for them. They will be watching. For more information about auto insurance for your teen driver, contact one of the experienced agents at the Insurance Center of Green Valley.