The Personal Auto policy provides liability, medical payments, and uninsured motorists coverage for non-owned autos (rental vehicles) which is any private passenger auto, pickup, van, or trailer not owned by or furnished or available for the regular use of you or any family member while in the custody of or being operated by you or any family member.

The Rental Vehicle Coverage Endorsement – Maine attached to the Personal Auto policy provides coverage for damage, minus any applicable deductible shown in the Declarations, to the rental vehicle just as if it were your auto only if the Declarations indicate that Other Than Collision and Collision is provided for your covered auto. This coverage applies to any “non-owned auto” which is a private passenger auto, pickup, van or trailer rented to you or any family member for a term of 45 continuous days or less.

There are restrictions and limitations in the policy and this coverage should be discussed with your agent.

So, back to the question, “Do I buy Collision Damage Waiver?” If I have liabililty, other than collision, and collision coverage on my personal auto policy, why might I want to buy the collision damage waiver from the rental company?

Our position is not to influence you one way or the other. The decision is yours. We just want you to make an informed decision and will list reasons for purchasing and reasons against purchasing the CDW.

Reasons for: Convenience (no delay getting home from vacation because of a damaged vehicle); no deductible to pay; waives loss of use; no long distance claim handling for you; credit card protection; and replacement coverage versus ACV. Reasons against: Cost and duplication of some coverages.

Rental agreements and auto policies may differ. We encourage you to understand the rental agreement and your personal auto policy to help you make the best decision for you and your family.

OWNERSHIP CHANGE

Some residences, rental dwellings, or other types of property may be placed in a trust, estate, corporation, or other entity. It is extremely important that your insurance policy name the legal or registered owner(s) of any property. If you insure property that is deeded or registered in a name other than your personal name, please contact your agent right away. To avoid a claim denial, your insurance policy must name the legal owner or owners.

More and more property is being deeded into trusts, life estates, and/or deeded directly to children. Agents must be notified of any change in ownership.

Insureds are often unaware of how important the named insured portion of the policy is and how it can affect a claim settlement. An example: a liability loss due to a trip and fall - the property was insured in the name of an individual as the owner. Investigation of the claim revealed a change in ownership because the property had been deeded to a trust, not named on the policy, thus voiding defense and protection for the trust.

Coverage is jeopardized if the named insured is not the legal owner of the property.

A large number of trusts are being created and deeds transferred without any notification to the agent. Insureds have quitclaimed their property to their children or others and continue to insure the property in their names.

Please discuss any change in ownership with your insurance agent.

FRAUD AND IT’S RELATED COSTS

HOW FRAUD HURTS EVERYONE:

• Honest consumers in the form of higher insurance premiums.
• The community and society as a whole by drawing resources from business, law enforcement, the civil justice system, and regulatory agencies.
• The insurance company by increasing costs in the form of paying claims that aren’t legitimate and the expense of the investigation and prosecuting parties if they are caught.
• The insurance agent by increasing their loss ratio and employee time in handling these losses.

• Insurance fraud is now the second most costly white-collar crime in the country. It is second only to tax evasion.
• Based on 1977 statistics, the property/casualty industry pays about $20 billion a year in false claims.
• At least 10% of all property/casualty insurance claims contain some elements of fraud.
• Insurance companies more than tripled their spending on fraud detection and prevention between 1992 and 1996. These expenses are passed on as higher premiums.

For more on insurance fraud, see www.stopinsurancecheats.com

Excerpt from National Underwriter Magazine, September edition.

Did you know?

Maine law requires headlights be on when you are using your windshield wipers.General Motors has been installing in every car it makes a “black box” that gathers and stores information about where the car has been and when. With the inclusion of a global positioning system, General Motors could, in fact, know very precisely where you (or at least your car) are at all times.

And, think about this……….

Sixteen-year-old drivers crash three times more often than 18 year olds and 7 times more often than 25 year olds.Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people ages 1 to 24.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. An air bag in not a soft, billowy pillow. Rather, to work effectively, an air bag comes out of the dashboard at rates of up to 200 miles per hour - faster than a blink of an eye.

"It's nobody's business but my own, if I don't wear my seat belt." How many of us believe the decision to wear or not to wear a seat belt is a personal matter that has no impact on anyone else? Nothing could be further from the truth. It is our business because the decision of others not to buckle up hits us all right in the pocket book.

Think about this -- the inpatient hospital costs to treat an unbelted crash victim are at least 50 percent or higher than those for belted victims. And society pays 85 percent of those costs -- not the individual drivers involved.

Falls in the home account for 16,600 deaths per year and cause about 7.2 million visits to the emergency room. Falls are the leading cause of death in the home, taking the lives of 10,700 people in 1998 from 9,200 in 1996 -- a 9 percent increase. More than 86 percent of these people are 65 years old or older.

Each year more than 800 people die and an estimated 200,000-plus are injured in crashes that involve red light violations, according to a recent report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in Arlington, Va.

Red light running was reduced by 40% in 40 communities across the United States that use cameras to photograph vehicles that run red lights. Red light cameras are triggered by sensors located in the intersection. The cameras photograph the license plates of vehicles that cross an intersection after a traffic light has turned red.