KWS Insurance Associates Blog

KWS Insurance Associates Bloghttp://www.kwsins.com/blog/View KWS Insurance Associates's Website Blogen-uspostmaster@www.kwsins.comInsurance Website Builder - www.insurancewebsitebuilder.comurn:uuid:137c414b-d56e-417e-96ca-7046d4b7800curn:uuid:128a21eb-4158-4249-85e3-137aa180474fThanks A Million Referral ProgramRefer your friends and Family to Help Them Save HUNDREDS on their Insurance, and We'll give you a chance to Win a Million! Its as easy as 1... 2... 3! 1) Refer your friends & Family. 2) Have Them Mention Your Name When They Call. 3) KWS Insuran...Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:12:04 -0600Refer your friends and Family to Help Them Save HUNDREDS on their Insurance, and We'll give you a chance to Win a Million! Its as easy as 1... 2... 3! 1) Refer your friends & Family. 2) Have Them Mention Your Name When They Call. 3) KWS Insurance Associates Will Send You:     A) $3 worth of Wisconsin Lottery Tickets     B) We'll Enter You Into Our Monthly Drawing for a Restaurant Gift Certificate     C) We'll Enter You Into Our Annual Flat Screen TV Drawing Call us Today for Your Chance to WIN!!! 414-856-9004 greg@kwsins.com urn:uuid:23a45719-ee89-4cb1-a1ed-8ef4e5fbfc8cWindshield repair scamTHEY’RE HERE IN OUR AREA! Two weeks ago, our Area Sales Manager in Janesville, was notified by a local insurance agent in Milton Wisconsin, that a company was soliciting customers for windshield repairs at a local gas station . These companies...Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:08:46 -0500THEY’RE HERE IN OUR AREA! Two weeks ago, our Area Sales Manager in Janesville, was notified by a local insurance agent in Milton Wisconsin, that a company was soliciting customers for windshield repairs at a local gas station . These companies travel nationwide setting up temporary locations at local gas stations, car washes or business parking lots in your community. They normally leave the area within a few days. The agent was getting flooded with complaints and claims and contacted us. The above photos were taken in Milton 2 weeks ago and this past weekend in Eau Claire. We found them cleaning the windshields of the vehicles that were fueling and showing customers possible chip repair needs on the vehicle. Unfortunately, they were using pushy tactics and proposing repairs that were not repairable impacts. This type of repair might cause your insured out of pocket expense and might not be covered by the insurance company. If you get calls from your insured’s with these possible issues, please let me know so we can contact the National Insurance Crime Bureau, local insurance companies and agencies. Windshield bullies prey on innocent policyholders, using high-pressure tactics to coerce them into filing unnecessary glass claims. Their approach is typically pushy, and in some cases their actions are fraudulent. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), “questionable” vehicle glass claims increased 527% in the first half of 2010. Educate your policyholders on the importance of selecting a reputable provider. If you suspect insurance fraud, please contact the NICB by calling 800-TEL-NICB or visiting nicb.org urn:uuid:e0e2eae7-3244-4ca8-be84-4c0657226d0cDrawing for the 2 Packer Chairs and TableAnd the WINNER is: Dawn Mildebrandt of East Troy, WI Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:13:04 -0500And the WINNER is: Dawn Mildebrandt of East Troy, WI urn:uuid:0a415c38-0dcb-4e8d-9876-42d7f16157a6WISCONSIN LAW CHANGES TO INSURANCE This past summer, our State of Wisconsin Legislature passed into law a Wisconsin Budget Act 28 – Assembly Bill 75. In this budget they included multiple changes to the Statutes pertaining to insurance. The insurance industry as a whole warned these l...Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:13:01 -0600This past summer, our State of Wisconsin Legislature passed into law a Wisconsin Budget Act 28 – Assembly Bill 75. In this budget they included multiple changes to the Statutes pertaining to insurance. The insurance industry as a whole warned these legislatures that these changes would result in dramatic premium increases. Insurance Agents from all over the state begged these legislatures to NOT pass a budget including these changes. Governor Doyle and Democratic Leaders chose to adopt these insurance mandates, which will allow for higher damage awards on insurance claims. As a result, drivers across the state will now be faced with a 10% to 20% increase on their upcoming renewal policies. Insurance Companies are NOT to blame for these increases. They were directly caused by the actions of our Governor and Legislatures. The following is a summary of the upcoming changes that will apply to Personal and Commercial Auto Insurance Policies and includes: November 1, 2009 The “minimum” limit for Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage is now $100,000/$300,000 – this can NOT be rejected at this time. Uninsured and Underinsured coverage limits may now be “stacked” after an accident for up to 3 vehicles. The “minimum” limit for Medical coverage is now $10,000 – this Can however be rejected in writing by the customer. <h2 style="border: medium none; text-align: left; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="left"></h2> January 1, 2010 The “minimum” Bodily Injury Liability limit will now be $50,000/$100,000 The “minimum” Property Damage Liability will now be $15,000 The “minimum” Combined Liability limit will now be $125,000 These limits will increase further to 100/300/50 by the year 2016 June 1, 2010 It will become a “requirement” to carry Automobile insurance with the above limits. In the past we only had a “financial responsibility” requirement. The following is a summary of the upcoming changes that will apply to Personal and Commercial Umbrella Liability Policies and includes: November 1, 2009 Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage MUST be INCLUDED on all Personal and Commercial Umbrella Liability policies – this CAN however be rejected in writing by the customer. Every insurance company will phase these changes in different ways. Furthermore, this will affect different policy types in different ways. We encourage you to contact our office to discuss the exact changes as they will affect you. Obviously, those with lower coverage limits will be more drastically affected. However, EVERY driver in the state will be affected in one way or another. We will be making every effort to contact each of you as your Auto and Umbrella policies renew and these changes are made to comply with the new Mandated Requirements. If you have questions or concerns requiring immediate attention, please call our office at your convenience. We are here to help you. If you are upset about these increases, we encourage you to contact your State Representative and State Senator. When you call them, give them a specific example of how much your own premium changed. Ask them to revisit this issue and undo the wrongdoing. Follow the following link where you can enter your address and find your representatives. You can find their phone numbers and email addresses on the web at: <a href="http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx">http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx</a> In closing, we encourage you to educate your legislators of the practical consequences of their actions. At a minimum, by you taking just a few minutes of your time, you may prevent this kind of reckless action from repeating itself. 10 letters on a subject gets their attention, 50 letters gets them to talk seriously, 100 letters lets them know their job is on the line if they do not listen to the people. If enough of the voting public speaks out and gets the attention of these people in power, maybe we can convince them to revisit these costly mandates and eliminate them in the future. Sincerely, Gregory Kane Your Independent Insurance Agent KWS Insurance Associates urn:uuid:8eb5bbe0-2dde-4246-b5f0-0e66ba45bbc5Attempt to reverse some of the new State law ACT28We need your help generating cosponsors for a bill being circulated in the Legislature, LRB-3758/2, that will reverse the auto insurance mandates that were included in the state budget last summer. As you know, Wisconsin motorists are experiencin...Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:22:08 -0500We need your help generating cosponsors for a bill being circulated in the Legislature, LRB-3758/2, that will reverse the auto insurance mandates that were included in the state budget last summer. As you know, Wisconsin motorists are experiencing significant increases in their auto insurance premiums. These increases are a result of significant changes to insurance laws that occurred when the state budget was passed last summer. The Professional Insurance Agents of Wisconsin believe that it was not the intention of the Legislature to dramatically increase insurance premiums and that now is the appropriate time to review the need for many of these revisions. Many motorists are finding it difficult to afford these premium increases and are looking for immediate relief. LRB 3758/2, authored by Senator Ellis and Rep. Nygren, is a bill being circulated that will provide actual premium relief for motorists. We would encourage all agents to contact their legislators and urge them to agree to co-sponsor this legislation in an effort to minimize the financial impacts that motorists are currently experiencing due to the state budget provisions. Please encourage your customers to contact their legislators as well. The Professional Insurance Agents will support any and all legislative efforts, no matter the author, that will provide motorists relief from the dramatic insurance premium increases currently being experienced. The bottom line is: something needs to be done now for the best interest of Wisconsin motorists. LRB 3758/2 is the best option currently available and should be supported by every Wisconsin legislator. Please note that the sponsorship deadline is Monday, November 2nd. We need agents to contact their legislators immediately to encourage them to support, through their sponsorship, a fix to this pressing problem. Please feel free to personalize the messages and include actual examples of premium increases. Brief Summary of LRB 3758/2 LRB 3758/2, will repeal most of the provisions related to motor vehicle insurance that were included in the state budget. These provisions include: · Returning to the pre-budget minimum limits required for liability · Returning to pre-budget minimum limits for uninsured drivers: · Returning to pre-budget requirement that insurers provide written notice of the availability of coverage for underinsured motorists, but that does not require policies to include underinsured motorist coverage. · Returning to pre-budget provisions that allow insurers to include anti-stacking provisions in policies. LRB 3758/2 does not repeal the following two motor vehicle insurance-related provisions in the budget: <ul style="list-style-type: disc;"> <ul style="list-style-type: circle;"> <li style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The requirement that motorists must carry insurance. </li> <li style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">A provision that allows claims in uninsured motorist policies in hit-and-run accidents where actual contact of the vehicles did not occur (such as being run off the road without actual contact) if it can be verified by an independent third party. </li> </ul> </ul> <div> </div> Click the link below to log in and send your message: <a href="http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/piawi37686225.aspx">http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/piawi37686225.aspx </a> <div style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt;">You have received this message because you have subscribed to a mailing list of Professional Insurance Agents of Wisconsin. If you do not wish to receive periodic emails from this source, please click below to unsubscribe.</div> urn:uuid:41a16764-bc56-4155-b6dc-11b5d524162bWI ACT 28 as it relates to your Auto InsuranceBecause of the recent changes in state law(WI Act 28), which may affect your premium at the time of renewal. The new information and effective date are listed below. Effective November 1, 2009   · Medical Payment m...Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:58:57 -0500Because of the recent changes in state law(WI Act 28), which may affect your premium at the time of renewal. The new information and effective date are listed below. Effective November 1, 2009   · Medical Payment minimum will be $ 10,000 or you can reject that coverage on your auto policy · Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM) limit liability to $100,000 each person and $ 300,000 each accident · Stacking allows Uninsured Motorist & Underinsured Motorist coverage’s to be combined from multiple policies if the at-fault driver insures more than one car. Medical payment limits may also be stacked if the injured person or persons were not occupying a vehicle when injured. Stacking under the new laws will be limited to the combined coverage of up to the maximum of three vehicles. Effective January 1, 2010 The new state minimum liability limits will increase from 25/50/10 to 50/100/15, we never wrote the liability at the state minimum, the lowest we would write is 25/50/25 and the new minimum that we will write is 50/100/50, basically we feel the 15,000 for the property damage coverage is still way too low and the difference in premium is minimal. Effective June 1, 2010 The new law mandates that everyone have Auto Insurance in force on every car that hits the road. Please take a moment to review these changes, and contact us immediately if you have any questions or feel there are any discrepancies. We would be happy to discuss your POLICY in detail at your convenience. Feel free to call our office anytime at (414) 856-9004. These changes are as a result of the state legislatures approving these state mandates and Governor Doyle signing them into law. Wisconsin has now gone from one of the lowest insurance rate states to possibly being in the top ten. Please contact your state representative and/or state senator.     Again, our goal is to offer the best insurance policy services at the most competitive rates in the market. We welcome the opportunity to continue serving all your insurance needs.   Sincerely,     urn:uuid:5f3acde2-9dd9-423b-b219-f5dee0479a6bHow to file a Homeowner's Claim From www.iii.org How do I file a homeowners claim? If someone has become injured on your property or if a violent storm destroys your home, you will need to file a claim with your insurance company. Remember, a homeowners policy is a contract bet...Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:15:33 -0500 <h1 class="article">From <a href="http://www.iii.org">www.iii.org</a></h1> <h1 class="article"></h1> <h1 class="article">How do I file a homeowners claim? </h1> <div class="pagination"> If someone has become injured on your property or if a violent storm destroys your home, you will need to file a claim with your insurance company. Remember, a homeowners policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. And there are rules and procedures that you and your insurer must follow. Read your insurance policy to see what your responsibilities are. Report any crime to the police If you are the victim of a theft or your home has been vandalized or burglarized, report it to the police. Get a police report and the names of all law enforcement officers that you speak with. Phone your agent or company immediately Insurance policies place a time limit on filing claims. Find out what the time limit is. Ask questions: Am I covered? Does my claim exceed my deductible? (Your deductible is the amount of loss you agree to pay yourself when you buy a policy.) How long will it take to process my claim? Will I need to obtain estimates for repairs to structural damage? Make temporary repairs Take reasonable steps to protect your property from further damage. Save receipts for what you spend and submit them to your insurance company for reimbursement. Prepare a list of lost or damaged articles You are going to need to substantiate your loss. Avoid throwing out damaged items until the adjuster has visited your home. You should also consider photographing or videotaping the damage. Prepare a home inventory, make a copy for your adjuster and supply him or her with copies of receipts from damaged items. If you need to relocate, keep your receipts If your home is severely damaged and you need to find other accommodations while repairs are being made, keep records of all additional expenses incurred. Most homeowners insurance policies provide coverage for the “loss of use” of your home. Get claim forms Once your insurance company has been notified of your claim, the company is required to send you the necessary claim forms to you by the end of a specified time period. (The time period varies from state to state.) Return the properly filled out forms as soon as possible in order to avoid delays. Have an adjuster inspect the damage to your home Your insurance company will probably arrange for an adjuster to come and inspect your home. Once you and your insurance company agree on the terms of your settlement, state laws require that you be sent payment promptly. In most cases, your claim will be processed quickly. If you have any questions about the claim filing laws in your state, call your insurance agent or your <a href="http://www2.iii.org/StateOrganizations/">state department of insurance</a>. </div> urn:uuid:f61efc65-91f2-4597-a2cf-7c65181f8e5cIdentity Theft prevention Not A Joke!! Even If you dislike attorneys..You will love them for these tips. Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all t...Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:10:56 -0500<table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border: rgb(240,240,240); padding-bottom: 1.5pt; background-color: transparent; padding-left: 1.5pt; width: 100%; padding-right: 1.5pt; padding-top: 1.5pt;"> Not A Joke!! Even If you dislike attorneys..You will love them for these tips. Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company: 1..... Do not sign the back of your credit cards.. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.' 2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line.. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it. 3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it. 4.Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.... Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards. Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month... Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more. But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know: 5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them. 6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.) 7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the intern et in my name.. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.. Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen: 1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 1-800-525-6285 2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 1-888- 397-3742 3.) Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289 1-800-680 7289 4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271 1-800-269-0271 We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything. If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about. <div></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border: rgb(240,240,240); padding-bottom: 1.5pt; background-color: transparent; padding-left: 1.5pt; width: 100%; padding-right: 1.5pt; padding-top: 1.5pt;"> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border: rgb(240,240,240); padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: transparent; padding-left: 0in; width: 100%; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">   <div></div> </td> <td style="border: rgb(240,240,240); padding-bottom: 0in; background-color: transparent; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="bottom"> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>