Chapter 10 Home and Automobile Insurance McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Insurance and Risk Management Insurance is protection against possible financial loss; it gives you peace of mind. An insurance company, or insurer, is a risk- sharing firm that assumes financial responsibility for losses from an insured risk. People purchase a policy and the firm assumes a risk for a fee called the premium, which the insured policyholder pays periodically. 10-2

Types of Risk Risk: Uncertainty or lack of predictability, such as to loss that a person or property, covered by insurance, faces. Peril is the cause of a possible loss, such as fire, windstorm, robbery, disease, or death. Hazard increases the likelihood of a loss, such as driving drunk, or defective house wiring. Risk management: Organized, planned strategy to protect your assets and family. 10-3

Coverage and Type of Risk Pure Risk.  Personal risks, property risks, and liability risks are types of pure risk.  Insurable, chance of loss, not gain.  Accidental, unintentional.  Nature and financial loss of the risk can be predicted. Speculative Risk.  Chance of loss or gain, such as starting a business.  Uninsurable. 10-4

Risk Avoidance Risk Shifting Risk Assumption Risk Reduction Ways to Manage Risk 10-5

Planning an Insurance Program To put your risk management plan to work ask yourself…  What should be insured?  For how much?  What kind of insurance?  From whom?  Set your insurance goals and prioritize them.  Develop a plan to reach your goals.  Put plan into action.  Review results. 10-6

Property and Liability Insurance In recent years there have been major losses from things such as fires in the west, floods and tornadoes in the midwest, and hurricanes in Florida and Hawaii. Potential physical damage and loss of use.  Home, automobiles, furniture, clothing, and personal belongings. 10-7

Property and Liability Insurance Liability: legal responsibility for cost of another person’s losses or injuries. Liability due to negligence.  Failure to take ordinary, reasonable care, such as failure to supervise children in a pool. Vicarious Liability.  When you are held responsible for the actions of another person, such as your child throwing a ball through a neighbor’s window (continued)

Homeowner’s Insurance Coverages Homeowners insurance is coverage for a place of residence & associated financial risks.  Damage to or destruction of your house and other structures, plus trees, shrubs and plants,  Additional living expenses.  Personal property in or away from home.  Personal property floater - high value items.  Household inventory with documentation.  Endorsements add coverage for things such as earthquake damage, or damage from floods. 10-9

Homeowner’s Insurance Coverages Medical coverage payments for minor injuries caused by you, your family members, or pets, occurring on your property or away from home. Personal liability- $100,000 or more.  Umbrella policy - also called a personal catastrophe policy-supplements basic personal liability coverage.  $1,000,000 or more in liability coverage (continued)

Items Covered by Renter’s Insurance Personal property loss or damage. Additional living expenses. Personal liability. A building owner’s insurance usually won’t cover renter’s personal property. Many renters do not have insurance

Home Insurance Policy Forms Basic form (HO-1) Broad form (HO-2) Special form (HO-3), All-risk Tenant’s form (HO-4) Condominium owner (HO-6) Modified coverage form (HO-8), Older homes. Other items covered: Credit card fraud, check forgery, temporary repairs and fire department charges in areas with such fees

Home Insurance Cost Factors Two-thirds of homes in the United States are either not insured or are underinsured. Billions of dollars of damage occur each year from fire, theft, wind and other risks. Determine the amount of coverage you need by considering…  Replacement value of your home.  Value of your home’s contents.  Protection for specific items like jewelry.  Liability coverage you need

Policy Provisions Look for a policy with full coverage rather than a coinsurance clause, where you have to pay for part of a loss. Which type of claim settlement method is used?  Actual cash value - cost less depreciation.  Replacement cost - cost to repair or replace the damaged or lost item, without considering depreciation of the item. May limit replacement cost to 400% of actual cash value of item. Costs 10-20% more than actual cash value coverage

Factors That Affect Home Insurance Costs Location of residence. Type and age of the structure. Amount of coverage, policy type, and deductibles. Discounts - alarm system, smoke detector, if you insure your car with the same company. Company differences.  Compare costs and coverages at sites such as  Customer satisfaction index information is available at

Automobile Insurance Coverages Financial responsibility law.  State legislation. Forty-five states have compulsory automobile liability insurance laws as of  see Exhibit 10-8 to see the minimum limits for financial responsibility (liability) in your state. Requires drivers to prove their ability to cover the cost of damage or injury caused by them in an automobile accident

Motor Vehicle Liability Coverages bodily injury liability property damage liability

Motor Vehicle Insurance Coverages Bodily injury  Bodily injury liability covers the risk of financial loss due to legal expenses, medical expenses, lost wages and other expenses associated with injuries caused by an accident for which you were responsible.  Medical payments covers the cost of health care for persons injured in your automobile, including yourself

Motor Vehicle Insurance Coverages Property damage liability covers damage to others person’s car when you are at fault. It also includes damage to such things as street signs and buildings.  Covers you when driving another person’s with permission 

Auto Insurance Coverages Uninsured motorist.  Pays for the cost of injuries to you and your family if your vehicle is hit by a person without insurance. However, it does not cover property damages. Underinsured motorist  Pays costs if your car is hit by a person who doesn’t have enough insurance to cover the damage they did to you and your car

No-Fault Insurance Each driver collects from their own insurance company for medical expenses, lost wages, and related injury costs. Thirty states have some variation of the system. Intended to provide fast and smooth methods of paying for damages without taking the legal action frequently necessary to determine fault. Time and cost is not always reduced since problems arise because systems vary among states

Collision Coverage When your car is in an accident, collision coverage pays for damage to your automobile, regardless of who is at fault. However, if you are not at fault, your insurer will try and collect from the other driver’s property damage liability first. Coverage is limited to the retail value of your vehicle

Comprehensive Physical Damage Covers damage to your vehicle that is not caused by a collision, such as...  Fire, theft or vandalism.  Glass breakage.  Hail, sand, or wind storm.  Falling objects or hitting an animal.  Some things in your car, like some radios and stereo equipment are not covered

Amount of Coverage Legal concerns include having enough coverage if you were sued.  $100,000/$300,000 is recommended for bodily injury liability,with an additional $1,000,000 or more umbrella liability policy recommended. Property values of vehicles have gone up.  $50,000-$100,000 is usually suggested for property damage liability

Auto Insurance Premium Factors Automobile type.  Year, make, model, and theft rate. Rating territory.  Accident, auto theft, and vandalism rates in the area where you live. Driver classification.  Age, sex, marital status, credit history, driving record, and driving habits. Assigned risk pool for people who are unable to obtain insurance

Reducing Automobile Insurance Premiums Find out how much it will cost to insure a car before you buy it. Compare companies Have larger deductibles. Look for discounts.  Establish and maintain a good driving record.  Non-smoker.  Install security devices such as a car alarm.  If you have more than one vehicle, insure them both with the same company

Class Activity Bring your automobile insurance policy to class. Pair off with another student and compare your policies. Discuss the similarities and differences of your policies