INSURANCE SERVICES

Auto Insurance

While the Personal Auto Policy (P.A.P.) has eight different parts to it (coverages A through F, including all the coverage options as well as the duties after an accident and general provisions), it might actually be easier for most of us to think of it in two separate basic sections for coverage categories.

The first includes the Liability coverage that the state requires all vehicles used on public roads to have, the optional Med Pay coverage (or alternatively Personal Injury Protection, "PIP", as some policies include), and the Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist coverages.

*Liability is often called "third-party" insurance because it indemnifies other parties you might be responsible for causing bodily injury or property damage to, in an accident where you are at fault.

*Medical Payments (or "Med Pay") provides whatever limit of coverage is shown in the policy declarations (if this optional coverage is purchased) for medical expenses resulting from an accident involving a covered auto, for the named insured and any family member, plus any other person while occupying the vehicle involved in the accident, regardless of fault.

*Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverages could be viewed as "reverse liability" in the sense that they provide coverage to indemnify you, the policy holder, for damages or injury from an auto accident that another party is responsible for, when the other party has either no insurance or not enough insurance coverage.

The second section of the policy concerns physical damage to your own vehicle. This would include Comprehensive (sometimes called "Other Than Collision," i.e. a tree falls on the vehicle for example, or it is stolen, or an animal collides with it, etc.), and Collision coverages, and these will include a deductible amount, which would be the amount you as the policy holder agree to be responsible for should a covered loss to your vehicle occur. These "physical damage" coverages are optional, but if there is a loan on a vehicle normally the lender will require your policy to include them, to protect their interests.

Other coverage options normally offered include Towing and Loss of Use.

Home Insurance

A Homeowner's policy can be a valuable tool for protecting one's assets. Not only does it cover the home itself against a myriad of common perils, but it also provides insurance coverage for detached "other structures" on the property such as pole buildings, garden sheds, fences, etc., plus coverage for personal effects like furniture, TVs, computers, clothing, tools, and so on. And the policy also contains coverage for personal liability in case the home owner is sued for harm to others he or she may have accidentally caused or could be legally liable for. So the Homeowner's policy is a package of coverages designed to protect the biggest investment most people will ever make.

"Jim Ballou has been our insurance agent going on 18 years now and we could not be happier with the service he has provided. Jim has been very helpful in finding the best policies and affordability for our needs; For Home, Vehicles, and Watercraft. If there were questions he always made himself available to get the answers for them and he has become not only our agent, but also one of our close friends."

"We would highly recommend his services to anyone. We are glad we chose him."

- Glen and Maureen Shafer