Auto and Home Coverage at Fortman Insurance

Auto Insurance

For most people, auto insurance details can seem tedious or even confusing.  But being sufficiently protected while you're behind the wheel is one of the most important insurance insurance decisions you make.  Repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle can be very expensive, with potential medical and liability costs if people are injured.

Auto policies are usually broken down into several different coverage areas.  Some of them are required by law, such as Bodily Injury Liability, while others are optional.

Here's a brief rundown of the most common coverages:

• Bodily Injury Liability pays for injury to other people for which you are liable and is legally required in Ohio and many other states.
• Property Damage Liability pays for damage to the property of others for which you are liable. This is also mandatory in Ohio and most other states.
• Medical Payments, an optional coverage, pays medical, surgical, and/or funeral expenses incurred by you and/or passengers in your auto in the event of an accident.
• Physical damage, an optional coverage, pays for damage to your auto in either "collision" situations or "comprehensive" damage due to other circumstances (a tree limb falling on your car, for example). It usually has a deductible.
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist, an optional coverage, pays for bodily injury to you, and in some cases damage to your auto, caused by a motorist who is uninsured or underinsured (does not carry enough insurance).
• Rental Reimbursement, an optional coverage, pays for your rental car expenses while your car is being repaired for a covered loss.
• Towing and Labor, an optional coverage, reimburses you for specific roadside assistance and towing expenses.
• Extended Non-owned Auto Liability, an optional coverage, pays for specified coverage gaps that exist when operating a non-owned vehicle (such as an employer-provided car).

Save Money on Auto Insurance

We'll help you find ways to minimize your premiums.  For example, you may qualify for a discount because your driving record is good, your premium is paid in full, or you have multiple vehicles on the policy.  We'll also help you identify areas where you may have duplicate or unnecessary coverage’s.  Our goal is to save you money but without sacrificing protection where you need it.

Homeowner Insurance

Your home is a valued possession.  Whether you live in a house, condominium or apartment, your home is a vital asset to you and your family that you want to adequately protect it and it’s contents.

Homeowners insurance includes two areas of protection—property and liability.  The property protection includes your home, other structures on the premises, and your personal property.  The liability insurance protects you for accidental bodily injury to others that is attributed to the actions of you or your family members.  Ask us about limitations of this coverage.

Protection Options

While the basic Homeowners Policy offers broad protection, insurers place necessary limits on that protection to make the policy affordable.  If your protection needs exceed the limits of the policy, you can tailor-make the policy with protection options.  These include:

• Personal Umbrella - gives you extra liability coverage under your home and auto.  You can obtain extra coverage up to one million or more of liability protection.
• Back-Up of Sewers and Drains pays to repair damage to your home and replace contents damaged from the back up of sewers and drains.
• Home Based Business protects your business property and/or business liability for your business operations from your home.
• Earthquake protection for earthquake damage to your home is an affordably priced option in Ohio.
• Expanded Replacement Cost pays to replace your home for up to 25 to 50 percent beyond your policy limits, in the event of a covered loss. (The percentage varies by policy.)  This valuable extension comes in handy when widespread regional damage drives the cost of materials up and contractors are paying overtime wages.
• Identity Theft offers services to help protect your family, finances and future if you ever become a victim of identity theft.
• Inland Marine Protection broadens the causes of loss or increases the amount that ould otherwise be paid for certain types of personal property.
  • Bicycles
  • Coins and stamps
  • Firearms
  • Jewelry
  • Boats
  • Computers
  • Fine arts, antiques
  • Musical instruments
  • Cameras
  • Farm equipment
  • Hearing aids
• Loss Assessment pays your share of a property association members assessment levied against all members due to direct loss to property collectively owned by the members, liability for which your personal liability applies, or liability for acts of volunteer directors, officers, or trustees on behalf of the association.
• Personal Injury Liability protects you against claims of libel, slander and false arrest.
• Replacement Cost pays the full cost of repair or replacement of your home and contents without deduction for depreciation in the event of a covered loss up to the policy limits subject to policy terms.
• Special Personal Property broadens the protection on your personal property from a specified list of 16 to 18 causes of loss to any direct physical damage to personal property that is not otherwise excluded in the policy.

Save Money on Home Insurance

Insurers will reward you for efforts to reduce the likelihood of a loss by offering discounts.  Since these vary considerably from one insurer to the next, ask us what discounts you are eligible for and if there are other ways to reduce your premium.  This is a sampling of the discounts:

• Smoke, fire and burglar alarms
• Newer home
• Sprinkler system
• High deductible
• Home/auto
• New roof
• Prime of Life (age related)
• Longevity discount
• Loss free
• Deadbolt locks
• Good credit