Teenager Behind The Wheel? Keep Them Safe With These Tips

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Attention West Bloomfield, MI parents: keeping your teen safe behind the wheel is tough!

Even if you’ve already talked with your insurance agent at Agency Advantage Insurance to ensure that your teen is fully covered, it’s important to talk with your child about how to stay safe behind the wheel. Use these tips to help keep your pride and joy safe!

  • Talk to your teen about texting and driving. Let them know that you understand that sometimes they feel the need to respond urgently, and that’s ok! They just need to pull over in a safe place before pulling out the cell phone. Letting your teen know that it’s important to choose a well-lit, public location is crucial for their safety.
  • Offer incentives for your teen for avoiding speeding tickets. Set up a goal and reward with your child- for example, if they go a year without a ticket, you’ll pay for their car insurance for a month. 
  • Go with your teen to vehicle maintenance appointments. Many teens brush aside crucial maintenance issues. Your presence will ensure that their car is safe to drive. 
  • Only allow your teen to drive with one or two friends in the car. While a packed vehicle can make for a fun road trip, it also increases the number of distractions your teen will be facing while trying to make it safely to their destination. 

Agency Advantage Insurance has many insurance options that will protect your teen as they drive the streets of West Bloomfield, MI. Call today to speak with an agent about the best insurance plan for your family.

What Is A Video Inventory and How Is It Beneficial?

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Agency Advantage Insurance serves residents living in and around the West Bloomfield, MI area. Insurance agents understand that people want to save money whenever possible, so they offer simple ways to keep premiums affordable. A common way of accomplishing this is to verify your assets through a video inventory. 

What Is A Video Inventory?

A video inventory is an accurate and up to date list of all of your valuable possessions. You can create a video of your home that shows in detail the condition of your furniture and other valuable items. If you plan to take a video record of your electronics, make sure to include a small amount of footage that includes the serial number and model number if it has one. Taking a video of your home gives insurance agents an idea of the value of the contents of your home. This ensures you have the right amount of coverage in case of a fire or other type of emergency.

How Do Insurance Companies Use Them?

Insurance companies use video inventories to verify the condition of your property. In most cases, your insurance agent will ask you to update your video every two or three years, especially if you replace items or if the condition of an item has changed over time. Any new items should be added to your inventory as soon as possible to maintain accuracy.

The agents of Agency Advantage Insurance encourage the residents of West Bloomfield, MI to consider making a video recording of their home and the possessions they own. Verifying the value of your items with a video ensures that you have the right amount of coverage on your property. Reach out to our agents for more information.

Vintage Car Protection, Keeping Your Old Spirit on the Road

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Vintage cars can be extremely hard to insure because average insurance companies don’t know how to rate their value. However, Agency Advantage Insurance can help a West Bloomfield, MI car aficionado keep their beloved vehicle on the road and protected.

Old cars that become collectibles have two things working against them in the insurance world: they are not being sold on the regular car market anymore, and few people have them. That makes it extremely hard for insurance companies just to run standard charts and metrics on a vintage car because then the value becomes far more subjective, i.e., how much does a collector want for the car in replacement value versus what it’s worth in material value. Most insurance companies won’t take the owner’s estimate for a risk value, but they will acknowledge the valuation review of a licensed appraiser. Knowing how to secure one and then getting the right paperwork to the insurance provider is key to securing a protective policy for an older car.

Given it’s proximity to the car manufacturing capital of the world (Detroit), West Bloomfield, MI is a very likely place for older cars to be found. And that’s the reason why Agency Advantage Insurance has developed expert staff who are familiar with the vintage car appraisal process and how to develop the right documentation insurance providers will be comfortable with and provide a coverage policy for. Granted, people can try to strike out on their own with online options today, but many Internet evaluations will make it clear they will not consider cars older than the 1970s.

Why go through all that trouble? If you have a vintage car that needs insurance give the folks at Agency Advantage Insurance a call today.

Who Needs Additional Motorcycle Insurance in West Bloomfield MI?

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In Michigan, motorcycle insurance and car insurance basic requirements are similar. However, since the likelihood of an accident is far greater when riding a motorcycle, you’ll want to protect yourself, your passengers, and your bike in the event of a collision.

Your liability and collision policies cover other vehicles involved. So, you need to make sure that you take precautions for underinsured motorists and hit-and-run drivers. Your Agency Advantage Insurance agent in West Bloomfield, MI can help you understand the different types of motorcycle insurance available.

Michigan Mandatory Motorcycle Insurance

To meet the state’s mandatory motorcycle insurance law, you need the following types of coverage:

  • bodily injuries for other drivers in an accident you cause
  • bodily injuries for passengers in a vehicle you hit in an accident you cause
  • property damage to another vehicle in an accident you cause

Why Do You Need More Coverage?

When you are shopping around for insurance, make sure your agent knows the right questions to ask. The mandatory requirements do not cover you, your motorcycle, or passengers in an accident you didn’t cause. You can protect yourself by purchasing additional policies that do. Additional policies that protect you against uninsured or underinsured motors and hit-and-run drivers include:

  • personal injury insurance for you 
  • uninsured property damage for your motorcycle 
  • personal injury insurance for your passengers

Motorcycles aren’t protected by Michigan’s no-fault law, and if you are financing your motorcycle, the lender may require additional coverage. Contact your representative at Agency Advantage Insurance in West Bloomfield, MI today to find out more about your motorcycle insurance needs or to set up an appointment for a quote.

Umbrella Insurance: Worth The Investment?

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For some people, umbrella insurance is a necessity. For others, umbrella insurance is an expense that you don’t really need to worry about. Before you call Agency Advantage Insurance, it’s worth considering which camp you fall into.

Umbrella insurance provides additional coverage beyond what you have on the policy for any individual item, your home, your car, etc. With umbrella insurance, rather than buy additional coverage for your house in West Bloomfield, MI, and then also buy additional coverage for your business, and also additional coverage for your motorcycle, you simply buy one big plan, and you can dip into that should you need to make any claims that go beyond what is covered on those individual policies.

The question then is what you stand to lose without umbrella insurance, and what you need to cover. If your boat is worth close to seven figures, but your home isn’t worth anywhere near that, then you don’t really need an umbrella policy so much as you need additional boat coverage. If you know exactly where your risks lie, then you’ll want to do a little bit of number crunching and see if additional coverage or umbrella coverage would be more cost-effective.

On the other hand, if you’re juggling a lot of valuable assets, then umbrella coverage will almost always be the smart choice, offering you a safety net no matter where your risks lie. If you want to make sure that your home, your car, and everything else has a fallback plan, and you don’t want to go through the hassle of buying additional coverage for each item individually, then you should give Agency Advantage Insurance a call right away and see what they can do for you.

Take Care Of Your Insurance Needs With A Health Insurance Policy

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Everyone in the United States has a legal obligation to have health insurance. When you think that you do not need this insurance because you are young and never sick, you could become the victim of an accident or a devastating illness. Then you become everyone else’s burden. Health insurance is not only for the elderly, or those with existing illnesses, it is a responsibility for all. If you have a problem deciding what insurance plan is best for you, then you should contact the experts at the Agency Advantage Insurance in West Bloomfield, MI. They will advise you of all options available for you, with or without pre-existing issues.

Agency Advantage Insurance is not just an insurance company, but a network of different insurance providers, so there is always a policy and a plan for everyone. They will act as your advocate and will assess your risks, and give an analysis of the insurance market. The experienced agents will do all of the work, and investigative research of insurance carriers for you, but they let you make the final decision based on your needs. Agency Advantage Insurance is dedicated to rendering high-quality service to their clients. We go above and beyond the ordinary to maintain a positive relationship with customers as well as communities.

Whether you need health insurance for yourself or your family, you will find all available possibilities with Agency Advantage Insurance. It is better to have insurance and not need it for a while than to need insurance and not have it. If you live in West Bloomfield, MI, your insurance needs are in knowledgeable hands. Reach out to our agents to learn more.

What should you carry for Auto Accidents

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Being Prepared with Agency Advantage Insurance

Most of us will sustain an auto accident within the course of our driving history. An unexpected car accident can leave you feeling overwhelmed and disoriented. Preparation, even if nothing ever happens, will make your life less stressful. What should we carry and what should we do when it happens?

Prepare a kit for a possible accident.  

  • First-aid kit
  • Disposable Camera
  • Pen and paper
  • Backup copies of all appropriate paperwork

When you have an accident:

  • Move your car to a safe area (if you are able), then flip on your hazards to warn others.  
  • Stop your vehicle and get out
  • Check on others involved make sure everyone is ok
  • Call the police (and possibly an ambulance) to the scene

Even in minor accidents, a police accident report can prove to be valuable with helping your insurance company deal with the claims. This will help the West Bloomfield, MI police or those responding from surrounding areas.

Paperwork and gathering information

  • Keep important documents in the glove compartment (ID, insurance company contact information, vehicle registration, and health plan info)
  • Have your phone on you and charged

Write down as much information as possible:

  • Driver and passenger names (use IDs to verify)
  • Contact information for any eyewitnesses
  • Makes and models of all vehicles involved
  • License plate numbers
  • Location of the accident
  • Insurance info
  • Name and badge number of onsite police officers

Document the scene

  • If you have a disposable camera or smartphone take some photos of the accident scene.

File your insurance claim

  • File using your insurance app or call the number on your insurance ID card for your insurer’s contact information.

Though no one every wants an accident it’s good to know you have insurance. For more information contact Agency Advantage Insurance serving the West Bloomfield, MI area.

5 Mistakes To Avoid When Buying Home Insurance

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When buying coverage, making a mistake can be quite costly in the long run, particularly with home insurance. Moreover, a home is considered a prized possession for the residents of West Bloomfield, MI. On that note, it is best to plan cautiously to avoid the mistakes.

Opting to Go With Just The Basics

One could easily think that the basic home insurance policy will protect you from every risk that can potentially damage your house. It’s true that some of these policies will cover you to a great extent, but it’s wise to consider your overall situation like the possibility of natural hazards occurring.

Underinsuring Your Home

It’s possible to underestimate or overestimate the amount of content coverage required, or confusing the replacement cost of your home with its market value. To better determine how much dwelling coverage is sufficient for your policy, you’ll need to discuss the details of your home with an Agency Advantage Insurance agent in West Bloomfield, MI.

Not Shopping Around

There are a number of insurance providers that offer a wide array of policies which vary greatly when it comes to premiums and terms. It is therefore wise to inquire from many carriers so as to get a suitable home insurance which is tailor-made to suit your specific needs.

Not Updating Your Policy

Several people avoid informing their insurer about new adjustments made to their homes. Consequently, this can have detrimental effects on you as it can lead to a serious risk in the long run. To be on the safer side, it’s best to let the insurer know about every change you’ll make in your house. You can also hold an annual review with your agent to discuss any additions made to your home.

Thinking that a basic policy will insure against sewage problems or mold

It’s worth noting that a number of policies don’t offer cover against sewage backup or mold problems.

Call Agency Advantage Insurance today to find out more on how you can get the most out of your home insurance. Also, try our online rating tool for quotes on home and auto insurance from home.