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Colorado Insurance Blog

Why do I need to carry collision and comprehensive insurance

Denver, CO is a challenging city to drive in, there is no other way to describe it. With about 20 cities that make up the Denver metro area, you will have a lot of company anytime you are on the road which is a shame since the views of the mountains are quite spectacular. When it comes to why I need to carry collision and comprehensive insurance AFI Insurance is here to help you by answering any question you may have about your current coverage or coverage you are considering.

The most obvious answer to the question of do I need to carry collision and comprehensive insurance is yes if you have a loan on your vehicle or are leasing a vehicle. The DMV in Colorado only requires that you carry liability insurance to protect other drivers from you but they do not require that you protect your own vehicle. 

Collision insurance covers the repair and replacement of your vehicle damaged in an accident with another vehicle where you are at fault. If you are driving an old car with little value, then you probably don’t need to carry collision coverage. If however, repairing or replacing your vehicle would be a financial hardship for you, having collision coverage may be worthwhile. 

Comprehensive coverage is for damage that is caused by something other than a collision with another vehicle. Glass coverage is usually part of your comprehensive insurance and one of the main coverages is theft. If your vehicle has value and is stolen, there is no guarantee that it will ever be recovered. If it would be hard to replace your vehicle, you may want to consider getting this coverage. 

Whether you are a new driver or an experienced pro, we have the information that you need. Give AFI Insurance a call or stop by our Denver, CO office and let us give you a no-obligation quote.

3 Tips for Purchasing Mexican Specialty Insurance

Are you traveling to Mexico on vacation sometime soon? Unfortunately, your existing car insurance doesn’t cover you once you cross the border. Thankfully, you have a secondary option–a special kind of insurance designed specifically for international travel. Here are three tips from our AFI Insurance in Denver, CO team for purchasing Mexican specialty insurance.

Tip #1: Read Your Coverage Options Carefully

The insurance process in a foreign country like Mexico is much different than the one you are probably used to. That’s why it is so important to read your coverage options carefully. Make sure you select a high enough limit to cover you in the event of a serious incident and know whether your policy covers theft and vandalism, as not all do. Also, recognize that Mexican insurance deductibles are often listed as a percentage of the vehicle’s value instead of a set amount.

Tip #2: Consider Purchasing Legal Aid and Travel Assistance Coverage

Similar to purchasing car insurance in the United States, there are multiple different add-ons to consider buying. The two most important are legal aid and travel assistance coverage. Legal aid helps pay for any defense costs if you are arrested or detained while in Mexico. Travel assistance helps you continue the trip or return home if your vehicle is unrepairable or stolen.

Tip #3: Remember to Report Accidents Before Leaving Mexico

If you’ve encountered a situation that warrants using your policy, make sure you file a claim before leaving Mexico. An adjuster must see the damage before you return to the United States or it might void the policy.

Ready to learn more about Mexican specialty insurance or other types of coverage? Contact our AFI Insurance team today to schedule your appointment. We proudly serve the Denver, CO area.

How does financial planning insurance protect me?

Financial planners are very important professionals that help to ensure their customers are able to reach their financial goals. While financial planners do provide amazing service, the profession also comes with some risks. For those that are in the Denver, CO area, getting financial planner insurance is extremely helpful as it will protect you a number of different ways.

Liability Insurance 

When you get financial planner insurance it will provide you with extensive liability insurance. First, you will receive standard liability insurance that will provide you with protection for any accidents that occur on your premises. Additionally, you can receive professional liability insurance that could provide you with protection against any legal claims. This will prove to be very beneficial in the event you are found liable for any type of mistake or accident.

Property Protection 

A financial planner may also on a significant amount of business assets. Some common assets that can be owned by a financial planner can include computers and other electronics, office furniture, a company car, and a variety of other assets. Additionally, you will need to protect your place of business whether you own the property or lease it. A full financial planner insurance policy will provide you with coverage for all these business assets.

There are clearly many different benefits that come when you get a financial planner and insurance for your business. When you are looking for this type of insurance in the Denver, CO area, AFI Insurance is a great resource and organization to contact. When you reach out to AFI Insurance, the company will spend time with you to better explain the risks that come with being a financial planner. They will then get you into a policy that protects against these risks as much as possible.

Factors That Affect Teen-aged Drivers’ Insurance Rates in Colorado

When your Denver, CO teen drives with their instruction permit with a licensed adult’s supervision, they are not required to carry their own automobile insurance policy. However, once they start driving solo, they’ll need auto insurance, too. There are two main factors that weigh in on the cost of your teen’s insurance coverage that typically leads to a more expensive policy.  

Age of Teen Driver 

Due to the fact that the risk of being in a collision is significantly higher for teen drivers, policy premiums typically are as much as three times as expensive for teens than drivers in their mid-thirties. Even though they only account for 7 percent of all licensed drivers, drivers between 15 and 20 years of age were responsible for more than 10 percent of all fatal accidents, as well. Insurance providers have to charge more for insurance coverage for teens because they have to pay out more in claims to that age group. The good news is, with a clean driving record, and more experience under their belt, once your teen hits 25, their auto insurance premiums could drop by 30 percent. 

Auto is Owned and Licensed by Teen 

When the vehicle your teen is driving in Denver, CO is owned by them, they are on the car’s title, and they are paying for auto insurance, it is assumed that they are the main driver of the vehicle and their premiums are adjusted for their specific risks.  

How Can a Teen Driver’s Insurance Premiums Be Reduced? 

One of the ways to reduce your teen’s auto insurance premiums is to add them to your own policy. On average, it costs almost half as much to add a teen to your AFI Insurance policy than for them to start their own. Because you are taking on part of the risk, their premiums will be lower. Keep in mind that adding your teen to your existing policy will make your premiums significantly more expensive.  

For more information on factors that can reduce your teen driver’s auto insurance premiums, call the insurance experts at AFI Insurance today. 

Home Insurance Discounts to Be Aware Of

Denver, CO homeowners may be missing out on home insurance discounts they aren’t aware of. Each insurance company, including AFI Insurance, has its own set of discounts so you need to check with your agent to see what is offered and how you can qualify.

Bundling: It’s possible to get a discount for your home, auto, and other policies if you purchase them all from the same company. Since insurance companies like it when you buy more than one product, they will reward you with a discount.

Loyalty: Insurance companies also value loyal customers. If you stay with the same company long enough, you may get some savings.

Claims-Free: If you go a certain number of years without filing a claim on your home insurance, you may get a lower rate since you are considered low maintenance for the insurance company.

Burglar System: You may get a lower price on premiums if you have a monitored security system. These systems deter would-be thieves, which reduces your chances of a break-in. These security systems allow the police to respond faster, which helps increase the chance of catching any burglars.

Fire Safety Measures: The faster the fire department can get to your home, the less damage the home will suffer. This means claims to the insurance company will be smaller and why you may get a discount.

Impact-Resistant Roofing: Since roofs are expensive, anything you can do to lessen the chances of roof damage may result in a discount.

Home Improvements: Not every home improvement will qualify for a discount but if you make your home strong in terms of structure, longevity, or safety, you may qualify. Examples of these home improvements include new plumbing, wiring, and roofing.

Living in a Gated Community: Living in a gated community can save you money and there is less chance your home will be burglarized.

Contact AFI Insurance, serving Denver, CO, to get a quote on home insurance.

3 Interesting Examples of Specialty Insurance

Insurance can cover more than houses, boats, and cars in Denver, CO. If you can put a dollar value on your risk, you can insure it. Here are some interesting examples of specialty insurance:

Alien Abduction Insurance

A small insurance company in Orlando actually sells protection against alien abduction. You pay a one-time premium of just $9.95, and you’re protected for up to ten million dollars in damages and medical care. Of course, it’s a long shot that anyone’s going to file a claim, but if you’re worried about getting scooped up by a tractor beam, it’s nice to have options.

Lottery Insurance

Something you don’t really think about as a business owner: What if one of your employees wins the lottery and quits without notice? Well, a number of UK insurers have you covered for all of the expenses involved in restaffing the position.

Body Parts Insurance

You’ve probably heard of this one: More than a few celebrities have insured their trademark bodies parts, such as Heidi Klum covering her legs for $2.2 million and Gene Simmons covering his tongue for one million. It sounds silly, but it makes sense if you think about it. A celebrity has so much riding on their image, so Bruce Springsteen insuring his voice isn’t much different from a delivery driver insuring their car.

Specialty insurance doesn’t just cover "unusual" risks, it’s really about covering anything exceptional. In Denver, CO commercial buildings and homes that are worth well above typical market, values are often covered on specialty policies.

If you need something protected and your current provider won’t meet your needs, get in touch with AFI Insurance and see what we can do for you.

Fitting Insurance Into Your Financial Plan

Financial planning is the road map that we use to get through life. When to buy a new car, when to start that business, which house to buy in Denver, CO. It all comes down to the financial plan. Unfortunately, many people fail to work insurance into their financial plan.

A number of things need to be considered when working insurance into that plan, including the expense of insuring everything that needs to be insured, and consideration of the safety net that it provides.

Simply put: what can you not afford to not insure?

Certainly we need to cover the basics. Home, car and recreational vehicles like boats, RV’s and so on, health insurance, life insurance and so on. We also need to consider the special needs associated with the risks specific to our own lifestyles and careers. Someone with an expensive home may need to consider their higher-than-usual liability risks, for instance.

As a general rule, any time a significant amount of money is changing hands, whether we’re buying a summer home, getting that promotion or Christmas bonus at work or building an addition to the house, we need to take insurance into consideration: Does this need to be insured, will this require renegotiating our current insurance plan, and what are we putting at risk if we don’t? As we upgrade our lives, we also need to upgrade our insurance.

If you’re not sure of how to work insurance into your financial planning, get in touch with AFI Insurance. We can help to guide you to the right plan for your life, your career, your assets, and your risk.

Does Commercial Insurance Cover Flood?

Commercial insurance covers a great deal more than you might imagine. That being said, there are some things that commercial insurance simply does not cover. For those that live or work in the Denver, CO area, the agents with AFI Insurance can help you find the policy that is going to work best for you.

For the most part, your commercial policy is going to cover a great deal including some repairs to your commercial structure. For those that do have a commercial policy, you are not likely to get any sort of coverage for flood or for flood repairs on your commercial policy. Much like a home insurance policy, your commercial policy is not going to cover flood simply because it is not the norm and is not super common in any one area. This means that since flood is not something that all buildings are at risk of, flood is nearly never covered on a standard commercial policy.

You can, however, add flood coverage if you live in an area where flood is possible or where flood is common. If your business is located near a body of water, in a flood plain, or in any area where flooding is possible and likely to happen, you are going to want to have some sort of flood coverage in place. This being said, taking the time to find a great policy that is going to work well and one that is going to be tailored to your company is a must. You should take the time to consider extra flood coverage if it is needed and you should take the time to make sure your policy works for you. For those that live in the Denver, CO area, the agents with AFI Insurance can help you to get your policy figured out.  

Does Life Insurance Cover Alternative Burial Costs?

Life insurance is something that we can all benefit from. Being able to know that after we pass our loved ones are not going to struggle to pay final expenses can be very comforting. For those in the Denver, CO area, the agents with AFI Insurance can help you create your ideal policy.

Life insurance is not designated for one expense or other in most cases. When you take out a life insurance policy you are not naming what the money is to be spent on, but rather who the money is going to be paid out to and then they decide what to do with it. You can ask your family members to keep your final wishes in mind and can ask that they use the money to pay for a specific type of burial but there is no way that you personally can use your life insurance to pay for end of life expenses. A better way to go about it is to create a will that outlines what you want to be done with your body when you pass. You can then designate one person, or one beneficiary, to collect the life insurance and carry out those wishes.

You can also leave life insurance money to children, dependents, friends and more. The only stipulation is that if you are taking out a life insurance policy on another person, you have to have some sort of vested interest in them. This is to prevent people from taking policies out on strangers. The money from a life insurance policy can be used for any expense and is a great way to make sure that your family is well taken care of even after you pass. For those in the Denver, CO area, the agents with AFI Insurance can help you to get your perfect policy.

Considering Getting A Pool? What Denver Residents Need To Know

The sun, the heat- there’s no question that summer is well on it’s way. You might be thinking about installing an in-ground pool in the backyard of your Denver, CO home. At AFI Insurance, we want Denver residents to consider a few things before installing a pool. 

– If you decide to install a pool, be sure to take safety precautions. A fence around the pool with a latched gate is important for keeping kids safe. Even if you don’t have kids (or they’re grown and out of the house), little ones have a way of making their way to open pools to swim. Talk with your fencing company about your options- some people choose to have their entire property enclosed with a fence, while others choose to only have the fence go around the pool. 

– Consider your municipal code. Some municipalities have specific safety requirements that you’ll need to consider before having a pool installed. The last thing you want is to get hit with hefty fines and have to make modifications because your pool isn’t up to code.

– Talk with your insurance agent about the changes that installing a pool will mean for your homeowner’s insurance policy. Adding a pool to your policy can be a little bit tricky, as a pool can greatly increase the overall value of your property. 

At AFI Insurance, serving Denver, CO, we’re here to help you get the home insurance coverage that you need. Call us or stop into our office to talk with an agent about creating a policy that makes sense for you and your home.

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