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When discussing insured value and how a boat insurance policy will pay, most people think about a total loss. This is important but the majority of claims are partial losses. Depending on how your policy responds could cost you several thousand dollars above your deductible. A boat insurance policy has two different ways to pay in the event of a partial loss. One is to replace the damaged items new for old without deducting for depreciation. The second is to depreciate the damaged items in the event of a loss. Depreciated Value is defined as Replacement Cost less depreciation. Most boat insurance companies use a non published depreciation schedule that applies to partial losses. An example may be 7% depreciation per year on a stern drive or 15% depreciation per year on canvas. You will want a policy that pays replacement cost for a partial loss when available. Each insurance company will apply Replacement Cost and Depreciated Value differently. Read your policy carefully. Some boat insurance companies do not provide replacement cost coverage for partial losses. If the boat is insured on this policy form, then no matter the type of loss, the replacement parts are subject to depreciation. If the part costs $2,000 and is subject to 20% depreciation, you would be paid $2,000, less $400 depreciation, less your deductible. Some boat insurance companies provide replacement cost for partial losses until the boat reaches a certain age. The age will vary with each insurance company. Once a boat reaches that age, all partial losses are settled on an actual cash value. Most boat insurance companies that provide replacement cost for partial losses name specific items that are subject to depreciation. Canvas, sails, cloth, trailers, and plastics are examples of specifically named items. These items generally have a limited life span. They also specifically name items to be depreciated based on the item’s age. Outboards, stern drives and internal machinery are examples of items that change from replacement cost to depreciated value based on their age. Each insurance company has different specifically named items and different ages when items change from replacement cost to actual cash value. Review the specifics of your policy for details. Replacement Cost for a partial loss is what you want when available. A depreciated value can cost you several thousand dollars. Below are examples to help explain how replacement cost vs. depreciated value work. Example 1 is an 11 year old boat with a $250 hull deductible that hits a submerged object. The replacement cost of the damage to the prop, shaft and strut is $5000. Insurance company A provides replacement cost coverage until the vessel is three years old. The damaged prop, shaft and strut are 11 years old and subject to depreciation. Insurance company A will deduct 50% depreciation or $2500 from the $5000 replacement cost. You would be paid $2,250 ($5,000 replacement cost, less $2,500 depreciation, less your $250 deductible). Insurance company B provides replacement cost coverage with specific named items subject to depreciation. The prop, shaft and strut are not specifically named items and are therefore settled on a replacement cost. Insurance company B would pay $4750 ($5000 less your $250 deductible). Example 2 is an 8 year old stern drive boat with a $500 hull deductible that hits a submerged object. The replacement cost to the stern drive is $8000. Insurance company A provides replacement cost coverage until the stern drive is six years old. They will apply 60% depreciation (7.5% per year) to the $8000 replacement drive and then apply the $500 deductible. Insurance company A will pay $2700 ($8,000 less $4,800 depreciation, less $500 hull deductible). Insurance company B provides replacement cost coverage until the stern drive is 10 years of age. They will pay $7500 ($8000 less the $500 hull deductible). Example 3 is a boat with a $500 hull deductible that suffers wind damage to the fly bridge enclosure. The fly bridge enclosure is 2 years old and the replacement cost is $5000. Insurance company A provides replacement cost until the fly bridge enclosure is three years old. They will pay $4,500 ($5,000 less the $500 hull deductible). Insurance company B provides replacement cost but specifically names canvas as a depreciated item. Insurance company B will apply 20 percent depreciation to the replacement cost. They will pay $3,500 ($5000 replacement cost, less $1,000 depreciation, less the $500 hull deductible). There are other items to consider. For example, if the stern drive has to be replaced, most companies will apply a reduced depreciation if you agree to a remanufactured stern drive. This can save thousands of dollars in depreciation. We represent one insurance company that applies no depreciation for a remanufactured unit. Also, depreciation is only applied to parts (real property). Depreciation is not applied to labor, storage charges and other non real property items. In the case of a Total Loss, please review this article Yacht Boat Insurance and the Total Loss We know boats..let us find the best policy for you..We will shop and compare coverage Call 239-265-9577 or Email info@swflagency.com www.SWFLAgency.com

The Lack of a Third Nail could cause your Homeowners Premiums to increase without warning! Due to changes in the 2012 Florida Wind Mitigation form (OIR-B1-1802. Rev. 01/12), Homeowners insurance windstorm premium credits for homes having clips or straps with less than Three Nails for the roof truss to wall connection is not allowed. The previous Wind Mit form allowed credits for metal connectors with nails. For Homes constructed before 2002, you should contact us for a review of your Wind Mit form and Homeowners Policy. We will determine if you are receiving the proper credits and provide you with our best premium proposal. We have construction, wind mitigation and home inspection experience and are able to provide up to date information. If we determine that you can benefit from adding the “Third Nail”, We will determine your estimated Homeowners premiums savings. We will recommend a couple of licensed contractors to contact who can complete the required work. Typically the cost of adding the Third Nail for a 2500 SF home is about $ 800., one time. The typical windstorm premium savings is $ 600. to $ 1,000. every year going forward for this home. Typically, a new Wind Mit form is completed and included with the contractor’s work. Homes built prior to 1960 typically do not have metal straps or clips. Many times these homes can be retro fitted to install the metal connectors and nails required by the building code. Call us about a free evaluation. Call SWFL Insurance Agency today 239-265-9577. We will help you save money! Email us at Joshw@SWFLAgency.com

If you find that you have agitated another driver, whether the fault is truly yours or not, don’t react to or retaliate against the other driver on the road, according to SafeMotorist.com. Engaging with the other driver will only cause the situation to escalate. Remind yourself that the other driver is just bad at handling stress, avoid eye contact and continue to practice safe driving habits. All you can do is be a considerate, aware driver who follows the rules of the road. While it may be difficult in the heat of the moment, don’t give in to feelings of anger or rage on the road. Think twice before you honk the horn or flip that finger, because you never know what may set off the person in the cars around you. Getting home or to work safely is more important than teaching someone a dangerous lesson. Police say if you are involved in a road rage incident, stay in your car and call for help. If you can, drive to a well-lit area with people or to a local police or fire station. Ways to avoid road rage encounters Here are some additional pointers to help avoid road rage encounters: Don’t assume other drivers are evil. Sometimes, people make mistakes, or they might be driving more slowly for a reason. Do not assume that they are driving slowly just to annoy you. Put yourself in the other driver’s shoes. Don’t honk your horn insistently. It might make you feel better, but it’s really kind of silly. And when everyone does it in a traffic jam, it’s really annoying and increases everyone’s stress level. If someone is tailgating you, don’t aggravate yourself and the other driver by playing cat and mouse with your speed. Move out of the way and let the other driver pass you. Cranks some tunes, not the engine. Instead of listening to your own muttering, try listening to music as it can help keep you calm. Leave space to pull around the car in front of you. This seems simple, but in heavy traffic, people tend to drive bumper-to-bumper. Leaving some wiggle room can reduce vulnerability if the driver in front of you gets aggressive.Allow at least a two-second space between your vehicle and the one ahead of you. Try not to run late. When you’re in a hurry, your patience is short, and you’re much more likely to become aggravated. Try to give yourself a few extra minutes to get where you need to go. Avoid cutting other drivers off in traffic. Signal several hundred feet before you change lanes or make a turn. Avoid making any gestures or eye contact with another driver. Be courteous in the use of high-beam headlights. Obey speed limits. Drive in the right or middle lane; pass on the left. Stop at stop signs and red lights; don’t run yellow lights. Don’t block intersections. Report any aggressive driving incidents to the police immediately. Important note: Police and safety officials say drivers snapping pictures or videos of others is unsafe and could lead to dangerous road-rage incidents. If you are prone to road rage Get sufficient rest. Lack of sleep leads to loss of control. Limit alcohol Alcohol can make you rageful, not to mention impair your driving in other ways. Play soothing music. This can really help. Be aware of your driving. Leon James, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii and author of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare, recommends watching yourself—what makes you angry, how long do you stay angry. Tell yourself, “It was not their fault—it was the guy in front of them.” Put pictures of your loved ones on the dashboard. You want to come home to them. Remember, this behavior can cost you in more ways than one. Road rage can have a high price tag even if no one is hurt or killed: tickets, lawyers, court costs, damage to vehicles, and higher insurance rates. Don’t engage other drivers Avoid engaging other drivers, even if they have done something to make you angry or vice versa. Put as much distance between you and the other driver as possible and avoid making eye contact. Never pull off a roadway to confront another driver. Keep your doors locked and give yourself room at intersections to drive away. If possible, take down the license plate number of the vehicle and report the driver’s behavior to police so they won’t hurt themselves or someone else. Taken from By Jayleen R. Heft, PropertyCasualty360.com

Have you got a dog? Do you know if your Homeowner’s Insurance company will cover a dog bite incident? You should. Take a look at the article link below. It may surprise you. Need more answers. Need Animal Liability Coverage? Call SWFL Insurance Agency, we have the answers 239-265-9577. Dog Breeds Most Often Blacklisted

The Insured’s 18 year old son was driving the Insured’s car on a short trip to the store with his girlfriend, the Claimant. The car left the roadway and struck a tree. The Insured’s son told the police that a vehicle cut him off, but there were no witnesses and no evidence of any impact with another car. The Claimant has no recollection of the accident. The Claimant, a 19 year old college student, was hospitalized for over a month with multiple fractures and internal injuries. She was in a wheelchair but is now able to walk with crutches and continues with physical therapy. She has a right drop foot as a result of the injuries. The Insured’s personal auto bodily injury limit and the personal umbrella policy limit was paid.

The Claimant and Insured have been longtime friends, live on the same street, and the Claimant had been to the Insured’s home on many occasions. The Insured lives in a home with a brick patio which had been constructed in the 1960s. Bricks were replaced one year before the incident. An area of the patio is bordered by an 18 inch retaining wall with a flower bed between the wall and the brick patio. The Insured, Claimant, and another Friend met at a club, had a few drinks, and all returned to the Insured’s home where they sat on the patio in lawn chairs and continued drinking. At approximately 11:00 PM, the Insured went inside to the kitchen. The Friend also entered the house to call a cab. When the Friend went back outside, the Claimant was no longer on the patio. He found the Claimant unconscious on the ground on the other side of the patio retaining wall. The Claimant remembers falling, but does not remember how it happened. According to the Insured, on other occasions when the Claimant had been at the home, a patio table was in front of the retaining wall. The table had been removed, exposing an area of the wall. The Claimant, age 56, sustained a spinal cord injury which rendered him an incomplete quadriplegic. He underwent surgery and was on a feeding tube for several months. He was able to return home 6 months after the incident, but continues to suffer partial paralysis of his arms and legs. He uses an electric wheelchair to get around his house and requires assistance with some activities of daily living. The Claimant owned his own business and was married 1 month before the incident. His wife now cares for him at home. The settlement to the Claimant exhausted the underlying coverage limits and paymentwas made under the personal umbrella.

Claimant, age 2, was on the Insured’s property with his grandparents who were there to care for 2 horses owned by the Insured. The Insured were out of town on vacation. The Claimant was kicked by one of the horses, taken to the emergency room, and then life flighted to a larger hospital. The Claimant was given a 5% chance of survival and underwent surgery for a cracked skull (a piece of which was missing) with 30% damage to the right side of his brain. He survived and is residing in a neighboring state at a rehabilitation center. A large payment was made under the personal umbrella policy.

What Should Brokers/Agents Do To Protect Themselves From Liability? 1. The Brokerage can restrict their agents’ activities to those defined by the listing contract. The typical listing contract does not contain language that would obligate the listing agent to “oversee the property”, “close up/ open up the property”, “check periodically on the property”, or take on other non‐traditional real estate listing services. 2. If an agent does undertake any additional tasks which are not defined by the listing agreement,the listing agreement should be amended to clearly state what it is that the agent is undertaking. Vague statements such as “keeping an eye” on the property should be avoided. 3. Any contractual obligation for maintenance or repair should run from the owner to the service provider and not through the agent. The agent should not be a party to a contract with a service provider regardless of the owner’s assurance of reimbursement. 4. The brokerage should determine, before any non‐traditional tasks are undertaken, if there is appropriate insurance coverage to provide protection in the event of any claims. If the agent is performing actual property management, it is important that the agent understand that all payments for management services must be run through the brokerage. Any payments outside the brokerage may undermine insurance coverage and may be in violation of state licensing laws. 5. If the property requires work before it can be listed, the agent should confirm the work has been completed and done properly before the property is opened for showings. For example, if the agent was called upon by the seller to arrange for a repair to the property, the agent should determine that repair was made prior to the property being listed for sale especially if that repair, if not done properly, could injure people viewing the property. 6. Any knowledge the agent acquired because of their role in overseeing or arranging for repairs to the property is knowledge that will need to be disclosed by them as part of the real estate transaction. Specific state laws define the obligation of real estate agents to disclose material facts but knowledge acquired by the agent as a result of their taking on non‐traditional tasks is knowledge nonetheless that may need to be disclosed to potential buyers. Agents taking on non‐traditional tasks to aid sellers in maintaining and marketing property need to appreciate that all additional tasks that they undertake may expose them to potential liability. Such additional tasks should be undertaken with caution. If undertaken, the exact parameters of the task should be memorialized in writing. The agent should not be the contracting party for repairs with service providers. The agent should also make sure that insurance coverage is in place. Finally, any knowledge they acquire as a result of this additional work may need to be disclosed to potential buyers. Many real estate agents pride themselves on providing full service to their clients. But full service should not include full liability. An excerpt from the Real Risks Newsletter, Travelers. Not sure your E&O coverage would cover these situations. Travelers Real Estate Agents / Property Manager E&O provides professional liability protection for claims or suits resulting from real estate agent or broker professional services. Call SWFL Insurance Agency, Inc. for a review of your present coverage and a Competitive Premium proposal – 239-265-9577

Here is the Question? If I have Medicare or Health insurance, will it respond if I am injured in an auto accident? Do I need Uninsured Motorist coverage if I have Medicare or Health Insurance? In Florida, your auto insurance policy should include Personal Injury Protection (PIP-No Fault), Medical Payments, Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Coverage and Uninsured Motorist Coverage. If you or a family member were injured in the accident, the first coverage to respond is PIP, which will provide reimbursement for medical bills and lost wages up to a typical coverage amount of $ 10,000. (other options are available). Medical payments would reimburse medical expenses up to the purchased limit of coverage (typically- $ 5,000). You would then be able to submit claims to your Health Insurance carrier for medical bills ONLY. You would want to let your Health carrier know about the accident immediately so that they could co ordinate benefits going forward. So, yes your medical insurance will respond if you were injured in an auto accident……..However, medical bills are only a part of the TOTAL COSTS of being injured. The following is a list of costs actually incurred by a real person, who we will call Bill. Bill has Liability Limits of $ 50,000/$100,000., Basic PIP ($10,000.), Medical Payments ($5,000.) and UM of $ 50,000./$ 100,000. As a result of an accident the following expenses and losses were incurred by Bill. $75,000 for prior medical bills. $175,000 for future medical bills. $20,000 for prior lost wages. $300,000 for future lost wages. $1,000 for a wheelchair since Bill is unable to walk now. $10,000 for future wheelchairs. $30,000 for a special van to transport Bill and his wheel chair. $90,000 for future vans. $20,000 to retrofit the house to accommodate the wheel chair. $25,000 for a yard service for Bill’s remaining life expectancy, since he is unable to cut the yard now. $100,000 for future pain and suffering. $100,000 for the loss of “family comfort” with his wife. $100,000 for the loss of the ability to coach youth softball. $200,000 for future loss of the enjoyment of life. Bill is able to collect $ 65,000. from his auto carrier. So…..what choices does Bill now have. If he were not at fault in the accident, and did not purchase Uninsured Motorist coverage at adequate coverage limits, he will have to hire a lawyer, wait…..and share any recovery with the attorney. BUT…..what if he had purchased Liability Limits and Stacked UM coverage of $250k/$500k and he owned three cars with the same coverage? He would have $ 750,000 of Bodily Injury Liability Coverage available to pay his claim for damages. All of the items noted above could be paid by his carrier. The PROBLEM…….Remember, In Florida, a driver is not required to have or prove any auto insurance coverage in order to receive a driver’s license. Second, a driver in Florida is only required to have Personal Injury Protection (PIP-No Fault) and Property Damage Liability coverage to register a vehicle. He is not required to purchase or carry Bodily Injury Liability coverage until after he causes a serious loss. So, Let’s read that again……Florida Law does not require Bodily Injury Liability coverage on your vehicle until after you are at fault in an accident. This is why Uninsured Motorist Coverage exists…….It is estimated that about 24% of the vehicles and drivers on Florida’s roads are Uninsured, about 1 in 4. Protect your family, always purchase Uninsured Motorist at the same limits as your Bodily Injury limits….Always purchase Stacked UM limits…the cost is small, but the potential benefit is huge. Call SWFL Insurance Agency, Inc. for a complete review of your Personal Auto policy and a No Obligation premium proposal. 239-265-9577 www.SWFLAgency.com

For tenants in Fort Myers, FL, renters insurance includes a host of coverage, not the least of which is personal property coverage. Personal property coverage is the portion of a renters insurance policy that protects the policyholder’s belonging. It’s an important coverage to consider when you’re choosing a renters insurance policy, but it’s hardly the only one to look at. Here are some other coverage options you might want to look for in a renters insurance policy if you rent a place in Florida. Other Renters Insurance Coverage When looking at a renters insurance policy, you might notice any number of coverage choices that complement the policy’s personal property coverage. A few of the other protections you may come across include: medical payments coverage liability coverage property damage to others coverage additional living expenses coverage Because there’s no single set of coverage options that are included in every policy, you might find some policies that have several of these options and others that have very few. You’ll need to consider which ones you want and look for a policy that includes those. Renters Insurance Rates Renters insurance premiums generally correlate to the coverage that policy includes. Most of the time, policies that have more protections cost more than those that have less. There are exceptions to this rule of thumb, though. Sometimes people come across quite a few exceptions when they’re looking for renters insurance. The exceptions arise when different insurance companies assess different values to the above-listed coverages. Some companies price them higher than others, thus altering the cost of policies. At SWFL Insurance Agency, we have a team of independent insurance agents who can compare all of the different policies available from insurers in Florida. We’ll make sure to find you the lowest premiums on a renters insurance policy that includes the coverage you desire. To speak with an agent, contact us today.