How do you determine value? Some people determine value based on how much they paid for an object. Some determine value based on how much personal meaning they attach to the object, and others determine value based on how much an insurance company is willing to cover the object for.

You have undoubtedly heard that Mariah Carey has her legs (yes, her legs) insured for $1 billion. Now, most of us would think that was crazy. What kind of premiums have to be paid to get an amount that high? But are a pair of legs the only random items to be insured for large amounts of money?

No way. Celebrities have been insuring their body parts for years. But that’s not all. Check out some of these other insured items from around the world:

• Betty Davis had her waistline insured for $28,000 in the 30’s
• Jimmy Durante’s nose was insured for $442,000
• Lloyd’s of London has insured a cigar that is over 12 feet long
• A whisky company offered $1.5 million for catching the Loch Ness Monster, then took out insurance for paying the prize (just in case)
• You can take out insurance against being abducted by aliens
• Wedding insurance coverage is a new trend
• Pet insurance is also a new trend

Most of us would never insure our body parts, or seek coverage against alien abduction. Even if we wanted to, most of us wouldn’t want to pay the premiums. But do you ever think about the things you already own?

How much did you pay for you tv? Your furniture? Your computer? What would it cost you to replace those items?

If you have not done so recently, we would highly suggest that you take the time to study your home owner’s insurance policy. What is included in that policy? If you were to be robbed or your belongings destroyed in a fire or flood, would your insurance policy cover those items?

Insurance is great for protecting you, your family, and your belongings. Unfortunately, not enough people take interest in their policies. They end up paying high premiums and not covering everything they own.

Don’t go crazy, insuring your fingernails or earwax. But do take some time to make sure everything you consider valuable is adequately covered by your policies. Not sure? Give us a call at Arizona Capital Insurance today and see if we can get you great coverage at a great rate.

Remember last week when we shared stories about people who were glad they had insurance? Well, this blog post was inspired by one of the stories we mentioned.

Maybe you remember the details. One woman has had her car stolen twice, her car stereo stolen once, and recently became the victim of a hit and run. So what does her story have to do with insurance? And how does any of this relate to you?

As it turns out, this woman has a $500 deductible on her car. This was the third time she’s had to shell out $500 for other people’s actions. But, without her auto insurance, she would have ended up purchasing two new cars, a stereo system, and a new bumper and tail light.

When most of us purchase insurance, we think in terms of, “In case I ever get myself in an accident.” But the truth of the matter is, auto insurance and home insurance work both ways. Your insurance policies are there to protect you from mistakes you might make. They are also there to protect you against the world.

Consider this: 22% of Arizona drivers are uninsured. In a car accident you’ll likely end up paying for your repairs, even if you’re not the one to cause the accident.

Home insurance is important to help you recover from fires, floods, storm damage, and of course, burglaries.

Life is full of unexpected and unfair events. Although you may be fully prepared to take responsibility for your actions, you need to be prepared to take responsibility for the actions of others.

Do you know what your auto and home insurance policies cover? What can you expect if someone else’s actions affect your property? Maybe now would be a good time to read your policies and make sure you’re ready for anything.

Not sure what’s included in your policies? Maybe it’s time to talk to the best agents by calling Arizona Capital Insurance.

Yesterday, a black pick-up truck cruised down one of the roads in San Tan Valley. He was going fast… too fast. And it soon became apparent why. Following close on his heels were 6 police cars. Yep, San Tan Valley may have experienced its very first high speed chase last night.

Reports of the incident have not been posted yet. But it doesn’t appear as though any other cars or drivers were affected by the chase. That’s pretty lucky when you consider the narrower streets of San Tan Valley. It caused us to think about how important it is to be a defensive driver.

When you have car insurance, it makes you feel a little bit more comfortable about getting out on the road. But the very best car insurance is the kind you never have to use. Unfortunately, it’s not just you that needs to be careful. All around you, other people are putting you at risk. Surely you know how to drive defensively, but below are some tips to refresh your memory and keep you safe.

1)      Be aware of your surroundings. It’s easy to get lost in a daydream or become so captivated by the radio that you almost forget you’re driving. Be sure to pay attention. Look in your rearview mirror every couple of seconds. Look at the cars on either side of you. Pay attention to the road and always know who’s around you, how fast their approaching, and where your easiest “escape” is.

2)      Let the crazy drivers go around you. We all suffer from a little bit of road rage. When someone comes up close behind you, trying to make you move, you might be tempted to stay where you are. It serves them right after all. But is it worth risking your life and the life of your passengers to “teach that other guy a lesson?”

3)      Keep a safe distance. How often do you see near misses from a blind spot being overlooked? If you ever notice yourself driving in a blind spot, back up a little bit. Stay a few seconds behind the driver in front of you. That way they can see you. And when it comes to distance, remember this: rear ending someone is nearly always your fault, even if they stop suddenly. So keep some space between you and the person ahead of you.

4)      Proceed when you’re comfortable. When pulling out of parking lots or crossing traffic, some drivers try to be generous and let you go. But more often than not, you’re dealing with multiple lanes of traffic and the generous driver may not see everyone. Don’t feel like you have to go because they’re waving you on. Proceed when you feel ready.

Defensive driving doesn’t sound fun. Why should you have to worry about what other drivers are doing? But let’s put it this way, best case scenario, you get in an accident and your rates go up. Worst case scenario, you get in an accident and someone loses their life. We guarantee you the man in the black truck yesterday did not have your life on his mind, and he presented a real danger to everyone around him.

At Arizona Capital Insurance, we’re not just here to get you the best insurance policies in Arizona, we’re here to keep you protected. We’d love to chauffeur you all around and keep you all safe, but that part is up to you.

From everything we’ve heard on the news, the Wallow Fire is starting to get under control. Hopefully, you were one of those allowed to return to your home, and with any luck, you will return to a perfect situation.

However, many folks will not. Even though your home may not have been touched by fire, the smoky air undoubtedly left smells and greasy substances on your possessions. So let’s talk about when and how to get the help you need to restore your home and furnishings to perfect order.

Call restoration companies immediately. You’re going to need them. If nothing else, you need them to check your ducts, plumbing, air and heating units, and any other hidden potential sources of damage. Get someone in immediately to survey the damage and give you quotes on how much the repairs may cost.

Talk to your insurance company. They will likely recommend restorations companies to you. But beware, the restoration companies they suggest may have a previously established relationship with the insurance company, so they are likely to offer a quote in favor of the insurance company, not you.

Ask others for their opinion. The saddest thing about this fire is that so many lives have been affected by it. You and all your neighbors will be looking for help right now. Ask around. Find out which companies your friends are getting quotes from. They may be able to point you in the right direction.

Even if fire damage is something you understand or have experienced before, don’t think you can bypass this important step. Get some help. Your insurance company will foot the bill if you need someone to come in and look for things you may not have noticed.

That being said, you can get a start on restoring your home. Open the windows and get some air circulating. Look for furnishings that appear to be untouched and don’t smell. Cover those with plastic so that the restoration process will not affect those things that are in perfect condition. Let anything that is wet dry before you touch it.

This will be a lengthy process, but you don’t want to permanently damage things that can be restored.

As always, if you need help or have questions, please give us a call at Arizona Capital Insurance We are hopeful that you can soon put this whole experience behind you.

First of all, our thoughts and sympathy go out to all those who have been evacuated from their homes due to the Wallow Fire. Many of our clients live in Greer, Springville, and the surrounding areas that have been evacuated by fire. It breaks our hearts to think about  it, and we’re doing what we can to help you as neighbors and insurance agents.

We want to give you some advice about how to deal with fire damage once you are allowed to return to your homes. Now, even though we are hopeful that your homes have not been touched by flames, you may likely deal with smoke damage from the proximity of the flame.

In today’s post we’re going to focus on the first steps you should take when returning home. In later posts, we’ll help you with how to effectively get your home insurance to cover damages, and when it’s time to call in experts for some help. But for now, let’s focus on first things first.

Step #1: Open your windows and doors to clear out the smoke. Chances are, smoke has settled into every crevice of your home – the carpets, the walls, your furniture, and even your clothes. That smoke can be damaging to your health, so get the air flow back into your home as quickly as possible.

Step #2: Walk through your home and assess the damage. Smell everything from the curtains to the floors. If it smells like smoke, it needs to be restored. Make a list of all your belongings and note what damage each has experienced. Do they smell like smoke? Are they covered in soot? Write it down. Keep strong notes. You may even want to film your walk through.

Step #3: Decide what needs to be cleaned or aired out, but don’t start cleaning until you know what you are doing. Soot is a greasy, sticky substance and typical cleaning processes can actually cause more damage. Carpets need to be vacuumed with a special vacuum cleaner to get the soot out. Special chemical cleaners should be used on furniture and carpets. Even your clothes may need special chemical treatments. Scrubbing and water use can spread the mess.

Step #4: Throw out what food you can. Smoke damage can affect even the food in your refrigerator. If you have any question about contamination, throw it out. Consuming smoke damage can affect your health, so go through your cupboards and fridge and get rid of open containers.

Step #5: Call in a restoration specialist. Even if everything looks okay, there may be damage in your walls, ducts, and other areas you don’t see. We highly recommend you have a specialist come in to check your home. We’ll give you more details about that tomorrow, but realize that when it comes to keeping your home safe for you and your family (and sellable in the future), you will want to have someone come in for a professional inspection.

This is good information for anyone to know. After all, no one can predict when a catastrophe like a fire may hit. Our clients whose homes are at risk naturally have questions. Please feel free to give us a call and talk to your agent about any concerns or questions you may have.

If you know of any other steps that homeowners should take when returning to fire or smoke damaged homes, please let us know by leaving comments below.

As a smart consumer, you pay attention to what’s going on in the world. You know that higher gas prices mean higher food prices. You know that when the stock market drops your investment values go down, and you’ve probably realized that when natural disasters strike, prices on insurance tend to go up.

Maybe you already have a solid understanding of how insurance works. If you read our post about the history of insurance, you may have learned some new information.

Bottom line: insurance companies work with a pool of funds. When those funds get depleted (due to hundreds, even thousands of claims) they have to increase their rates, and all the company’s clients pay the price.

Over the last few weeks, our country has experienced an abnormally high volume of natural disasters. The tornadoes, the flooding…it’s starting to add up, and lots of insured individuals are at risk for price hikes or changes in their policies.

If you are a client of Arizona Capital Insurance (formerly OMNI Insurance), this is what we can promise you:

• We will keep an eye on your policies to make sure you’re getting the best rates for your needs
• Every time we renew your policy, we will double check to make sure you’re still getting the best deal
• We will only work with companies we trust, saving you from random price jumps and policy changes

If you’re not a current Arizona Capital Insurance client, know that we will offer the same incredible services.

Even if you were not directly affected by the catastrophes that hit our country, you may feel the long-term effects. Let us see what we can do to minimize your risks.

As you already know, the State of Arizona requires you to have car insurance before you’re allowed to drive your vehicle. Most, if not all, financial institutions require home insurance in order to give you a mortgage. Even if we wanted to skip the insurance (which none of us who know better would ever do, right?) we simply can’t. Insurance is wrapped up in our homes, cars, life, health, etc.

But where did it come from? How did we get to the point that we can’t (or at least shouldn’t) live without it?

Here are some fun things you may not know about the history of insurance:

-Chinese and Babylonians traders from the 2^nd and 3^rd millennium BC would distribute their goods to several vessels to minimize risk.

-The Code of Hummurabi was developed around 1750 BC by King Hummurabi and was meant to discharge the loan of traders/sailing merchants if their goods were stolen or lost.

-Rome was perhaps the first to use life insurance. Burial “clubs” would work together to pay funeral expenses and sometimes help families with payments after a death.

-In the 1600’s a man named Edward Lloyd came up with the idea for insurance after listening to several business man talk about their struggles in a coffee house. Lloyd’s of London is still in business today.

-It took over 100 years for insurance to take hold in America, possibly because of the large numbers of colonists that died and/or lost everything they had during the first few years.

-Benjamin Franklin played a key role in the insurance movement in the United States.

-In 1837, Massachusetts was the first state to require companies to carry enough money to cover damages.

Obviously this doesn’t cover everything leading up to the insurance policies/practices we use today, but aren’t those details kind of fun? Below you will find several links to sites where we researched this information.

The Insurance Movement has seen all kinds of milestones over the last few thousand years. At Arizona Capital Insurance (formerly OMNI Insurance), we are creating new milestones for insurance in the State of Arizona. You see, unlike the fun details we shared above, insurance is not really a fun topic. Paying for insurance makes us mad and then we scream and shout when we don’t get what we’re expecting from the insurance companies.

Our goal is to help you get the right policy at the right price. We want to change the way you view insurance (and insurance companies) forever. If you aren’t currently insured by us, take a minute to check out our site, then give us a call and see what we can do for you. You might find it a milestone in your insurance history.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance
http://insurance.kotak.com/omkm3/insuranceguide/originoflife.htm
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5106068_origin-insurance.html
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070202091824AAAcYvO

Okay, so you don’t think about insurance every day, and you may not read an insurance blog every week. We get it. You probably only think about your policy every six months. Maybe not even that often.

A good friend of ours has a very unusual “problem.” Every time she watches a movie where buildings get destroyed, or cars get wrecked, she thinks about the cost to replace the damaged property. She hopes the owners have insurance. Like we said, it’s an unusual “problem.”

However, it got us thinking. Which movies make you grateful you have insurance? We created a list of our own and hope you add a few in the comments section below.

Our list includes:

• Money Pit with Tom Hanks, because a “new” house falls apart
• Armageddon and Independence Day, for the same destructive reasons
• Gone in 60 Seconds, if you own a luxury car
• Wizard of Oz, just in case your house leaves Kansas
• Titanic, if you own a really big ship or priceless necklace
• Meet the Parents, if you tend to be accident prone (or your future son-in-law is)
• Jurassic Park, if you plan to bring dinosaurs back to life

Reality check? Few insurance companies would pay for the catastrophes stated above, but we still think it’s kind of fun to think about.

So, what do you think? What movies make you appreciate your insurance policies? Leave your comments below and let’s see how many great ideas we come up with!