General Insurance Tips

• Read your insurance policy. Most policies are now written in plain-English for easy reading.
• Ask us about anything that you do not understand in your policy.
• Know the expiration dates of your policies.
• Renew your policy on time - coverage ceases once your policy expiration date passes. There is no grace period.
• Report all losses, or possible losses, to your insurance agent (us) right away.
• It is a condition of your policy that all matters that could give rise to a claim be reported to us right away.
• Where another party is involved or a crime has been committed, please report the matter to the police.

Car Insurance Tips

• Remember "Comprehensive" does not mean everything is covered.
• Protect your car from theft by:

keeping it locked at all times;

having an alarm or immobilizer installed;

parking in well lit areas;

using "The Club" or other anti-theft devices;

securing car keys - do not leave them with strangers (e.g. car cleaners.)

• Look out for salvaged vehicles being offered for sale.

These are vehicles that were previously wrecked and rebuilt. Check the Certificate of Title to ensure that it has a clean title (i.e. the vehicle is not shown as "salvage" or "junk").

• Run a Carfax on the vehicle to find out its history.

Remember, you could be buying a stolen vehicle.

• You need at least three months of motor insurance coverage left on your policy in order to licence your vehicle.
• Remember that if you decide to insure your vehicle, for example, in someone else's name, you transfer all rights under your policy to the other individual. You therefore, have no say in relation to the insurance policy on your vehicle. All premiums, credits or claims settlements will be made to the policyholder.
• Check the value of your vehicle.
• Speak with the authorized car dealer to get a determination of the market value.

Make sure that the market value is in line with the policy limit shown on your motor policy.

If the value shown on your policy is too high or low, ask your insurance agent to adjust the amount. There might be a charge for this change.

Home Insurance Tips

• You will not usually be allowed to reinstate Property policies (e.g. Home policy) once a hurricane warning is in effect.
• Insure your buildings and contents for the full Replacement cost.

If you under-insure, you will not get Replacement cost settlement.

If you under-insure, your claim settlement will be proportioned according to the % to which you are under-insured. e.g., if the replacement cost is $100,000 and you insure for $50,000 (50%), then for a claim amount of $10,000, you will get a settlement of $5,000 i.e. 50% of the loss amount.

• Maintain an inventory of your major purchases - keep a record of serial numbers, and, if possible, take photographs or video tape items; keep copies of purchase receipts etc. as these will assist in the quick settlement of your claims and will also help police in the recovery efforts of your items.
• Insure all property in the legal owner's name.
• Your insurance policy is a legal contract.
• The policyholder should have a financial interest in the property he/she is insuring.

This area of our site is dedicated to helping answer some common questions. Click on questions on the right to view our responses. If you need to ask a question that is not shown here, please click here.