Great money saving Tips for Insurance

Have you been carrying the same coverage amounts you've had for years? We can help, evaluate whether it's to your benefit to change them to reflect your current situation.
We may also be able to help save money with our discounts. Are you a safe driver? Does your teenager have good grades? The answers to these questions and others may save you money. Are your coverage limits outdated? Alaska requires we buy a certain minimum (50/100) but that's not enough for people with assets to protect. The policy should be large enough to cover the value of your home, investments, and some of your future earning power, so a big court judgment wouldn't end up crimping you for lifestyle.
Do you have occupational discount? Many jobs now offer up to 15% savings! What about short annual mileage? If one of your vehicles is driven less than 7,000 miles a day that will save $!
What about your coverage? Is your car 10 plus years old and worth less than $7,000 and the Insurance is $800 a year? making some adjustments will save $400 a year, just ask how.
Safe driver discount is up to an additional 20% to qualify would mean you've had continuous standard auto liability Insurance for the past three years (or more) with no accidents and no chargeable violations during this time.
Defensive driver discount, over 55 of age and a completed accident prevention course will save 5%.
Resident student discount and Good student discount are available for teen drivers under the age of 24, savings up to 30%.
Accident forgiveness is the insulation against your rates going up for having an accident. Not available with almost every company unless with the carrier for a minimum of five years, and we offer in our Gold and Platinum day one!
Deductible rewards reduces your deductible the day you sign up by $100 and an additional $100 ever year the policy goes accident free! (savings up to $500)
Safe Driving bonus is 5% reduction in your Insurance every six months the policy goes accident free! (Platinum) Wouldn't it be great to know your rates will go down every six months?
Sign up for auto draft and lock in the good payer discount 4%
Multiple policy discount 5-10% savings on each policy! The more policies with a carrier the more power a customer has.

Moose Accidents Rise

There were 236 Moose accidents reported to the Alaska State Troopers in 2006 including 2 fatalities. The average cost per Accident is $8355.92. The highest risk months are August and September when the cow comes into her breeding cycle, when the game of catch me if you can is well under way. With the large amount of movement comes the chance of finding moose on roadways where not commonly found. Statistics have increased year to year from 1996 with a total of 84 to last years staggering 236. Consider Comprehensive coverage. Usually very inexpensive and covers a broad number of perils including animals or moose. Commonly when a car reaches 10 years of age it is not worth keeping "full" coverage. There is an alternative, a middle of the road coverage, remove Collision only and keep the comprehensive for a minimal cost. Other covered items would be glass, falling object, theft, vandalism, fire, wind and hail. Call for more information.

Wildfire Risk

We are using stricter policies for inspecting wildfire risk before issuing new or renewed Homeowners Insurance.

Under the new standards, which took effect May 21, inspectors in Alaska will start measuring flammable vegetation around a home, examining fire protection and water sources in an area and requiring that certain flammable items, like wood piles, be moved away from insured structures.

We have inspected structures itself in the past, but this is the first time we are kind of turning our back to the structure and looking at the surrounding area.

The move is part of nationwide changes to increase inspection standards based on specific regional threats, like hurricanes in the Gulf coast, earthquakes in California and wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

Homeowners that cannot or will not remedy the situation will be denied coverage.
This is not a situation where we are actively looking to go and deny people Insurance, we are looking to better minimize our exposure. At the same time, it helps people take steps to mitigate and protect themselves from wildfire exposure.

The new standards are not unique to just Alaska. This program began in California almost a decade ago, and has similar programs in Arizona, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

Starting in 2000, a database was developed of wildfire activity in Alaska to help answer an increasing number of public inquiries about the likelihood and nature of fires in given areas around the state. According to those figures, a 2004 wildfire northeast of Fairbanks that burned almost 540,000 acres damaged 52 structures including 16 homes and 12 businesses, while a fire last summer along the Parks Highway that burned more than 130,000 acres damaged three homes and 14 outbuildings.

By comparison, a Georgia wildfire last month that burned 20,000 acres forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate the area and destroyed 13 homes, and a recent wildfire in Florida burned around 120,000 acres and forced 730 families to evacuate their homes.

Criteria being used:

1. Homes must have a 100-200 foot clearance dependant on the Fuel Hazard Rating (Low is sparse brush under two feet tall, Medium is under two feet tall brush or over two feet with little or no dead brush or trees, High is brush over two feet tall with large amounts of dead material)

2. Homes with wood shingles/shake would need to replace roof material prior to renewal or new business.

3. Homes can not be within 100 feet of a home with wood shingles/shake type roofing material.

Firewood must be stacked a minimum of 30 feet from the home. Firewood stacked under decks, eaves, canopies, overhangs etc are unacceptable.

4. Home must have access road/driveway with 16 foot or greater clearance.

So if building a home is your summer project, please ensure that the material for your roof is metal or composit rather than wood. Wood is typically costly and rarely used in Alaska so this is of little concern. Add to your summer projects to remove any fire wood piles near your home.

Here are some useful websites:

Division of Forestry: http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/forestry/fire/current.htm

NASA's Visible Earth: http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=6937

Alaska's Smokejumpers: http://www.alaskasmokejumpers.com/

NOAA: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2004/fire04.html

US Fish and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/fire/program_statistics/2004/wf_alaska.shtml