• Things to have when you are looking for new insurance:
  • Current Declaration page
  • Personal information for those being insured or living with the insured
    • Drivers/Adults: full name, DOB, SS #, License #, Accidents, Violations
    • Children: full name, DOB
  • Value of property being insured: car, home, land, buildings, etc.
  • Dates of purchase: car, home, property, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, RV, boat, trailer, etc.
  • Vehicle information: year, make, model, type of alarm system, location where vehicle is stored, upgrades made to vehicles, average annual miles, use of vehicle, rideshare use
  • Home information: year built, square footage without basement, square footage of basement, structure of home, roofing material, number of floors, number of rooms, number of bathrooms, type of heating, plumbing material, year of updates (heating, wiring, plumbing, roof), floor materials, wall materials, number. of bay windows, number. of sliding doors, number of french doors, number of skylights, square footage of deck/patio/porch
  • Motorcycle information: year, make, model, volume of the engine (cc), type of use, location where stored, motorcycle license, date of motorcycle class
  • Recreational Vehicle information: year, make, model, type of use, location where stored, number of days used per year
  • RV information: year, make, model, length, location where stored, number of days used per year
  • Boat information: year, make, model, length, location where stored, number of days used per year, trailer information, years of experience driving a boat
  • Trailer information: year, make, model, length, use, location where stored, any permanent attachments
• Other things to know:
  • If you are buying a new car (as long as it is new to you, new or old) you must obtain insurance within 14 days of your purchase

• Your policy is made up of 5 parts:
  • Declarations page – this is an overview of your policy, giving a short review of your coverages
  • Insurance Agreements – this is the details of the policy; what the insurer will cover and won’t cover for how long and for what amount
  • Conditions – these are the rules governing the policy for both the insured and insurer
  • Endorsements – are add-ons that have been added to the policy to change the coverage of the original insurance agreement
  • Exclusions – list the things that will not be covered under the policy and insurance agreement
• What is a premium?
• What is a deductible?
• What is a peril?
• What is a hazard?

In the state of Colorado any person(s) must carry the state minimums of automobile insurance. Auto insurance covers four different parts that could be sustained during an accident. Your auto insurance covers yourself and spouse, family living in your home, and anyone you have given permission to drive your car. Your auto insurance follows the car!

The first part of your auto insurance is liability coverage. When speaking of liability coverage, insurers are referring to property damage and bodily injury of others. Split coverage allows for different limits of liability for property damage and bodily injury of others. Injury and damages are broken down into three parts: (1) amount per person for bodily injury during one accident (2) amount per accident for bodily injury total during one accident (3) amount per accident for property damage. Combined single limit coverage is one limit of liability for both property damage and bodily injury; one amount that covers all the bodily injury and property damages during one accident.

The second part of your auto insurance is medical payments coverage. This is the coverage that covers your injuries sustained or passenger’s injuries sustained during an accident that is deemed your fault; also known as an at-fault accident. When choosing the amount for your medical payments, you need to keep in mind that this is the amount paid out to per person present and injured in your vehicle.

The third part of your auto insurance is uninsured motorist coverage. Outside of protecting yourself during an accident caused due to your negligence, it is important to protect yourself against uninsured and underinsured motorists. An uninsured motorist is just that, they do not have any insurance to help cover the costs of property damage and/or bodily injury. An underinsured motorist has insurance but not enough to cover the costs of the property damage and/or bodily injury obtained during the accident.

The fourth part of your auto insurance is property damage or physical damage coverage. Collision coverage covers your car when it impacts another vehicle or object. It will also protect your car if you roll your car, whether that be a partial roll or multiple rolls in succession. Comprehensive coverage covers your car outside of a collision loss. Dependent on your insurer and policy things such as missiles, fire, theft, explosion, earthquake, windstorm, hail, water, flood, malicious mischief, vandalism, riot, contact with a bird or animal, and breakage of glass are covered under your comprehensive coverage. Any personal property lost or damaged in an auto accident is not covered by your auto insurance but is covered under your homeowner’s policy.

Being a homeowner can look different for anyone. One of the main differences in homeowner insurance, is the form you get based upon what you own. There are coverages for homes, condos, renters, special risks, open perils, broad perils, or a combination of these. Homeowners insurance is divided into two sections and six parts. Your homeowners policy protects your house, lot, personal property, and liability exposures for the policyholder, spouse, relatives that live in the house, full time students that live in the house under the age of 24, and others under the age of 21 in the household under the care of the policyholder.

The first section of your homeowners policy covers your property through four of the six parts. The first part of section one covers your dwelling. This is your physical house that is on your property. The second part of section one covers other structures on your property, such as sheds or detached garages. The third part of section one covers your personal property. Your personal property are the items you own inside your house. The fourth and final part of section one covers the loss of use. Loss of use are things you would need to reasonably pay for after your loss; these things could be hotel expenses, focused cleaning due to damage, anything that is not a normal expense you would pay to keep your household running.

The second section of your homeowners policy covers liability through the last two parts of the six. The fifth part of the policy under section two covers personal liability. Personal liability covers you for things that happen on your property like bodily injury or property damage. The sixth and final part of section two is coverage for medical payments. Medical payments cover things like hospital bills for people who have sustained an injury on your property or in your home.

There are other coverages and endorsements you can add to your policy to make it fit your exact needs. You can add coverages for things such as personal article floaters, daycares, earthquakes, businesses, scheduled personal property, debris removal, trees and shrubs, among other options.