NY Insurance Hub Agency

Auto Glass is actually covered under your Comprehensive coverage and provides for repair or replacement of your windshield or any other vehicle glass such as back window, front, passenger, or back seat windows. Your comprehensive deductible will apply, but most insurers allow a separate deductible for glass or no deductible at all. The “Full Glass” option means that your glass will be repaired or replaced with no deductible or out of pocket expense. Always be sure to ask your agent if Full Glass applies to your policy as it’s relatively inexpensive and most people prefer it.

Comprehensive and Collision coverages are both provided for protection against damage to your vehicle. Collision: This is provided to pay for damage to your vehicle from a collision with another vehicle where you are deemed at fault, or in some instances where your vehicle is hit while you are driving and the offending driver takes off (hit and run). It also pertains to an accident with an inanimate object such as a guard rail, fence, pole, etc. Or for a single car roll-over incident. Collision is usually required to be carried if you are financing or leasing your vehicle. Comprehensive: It is sometimes referred to as “other than collision” because it provides coverage for perils such as fire, hitting an animal, natural disasters such as hail damage, falling objects such as a tree falling on your car, vandalism, and theft. Keep in mind that with both comprehensive and collision there is a separate deductible for each coverage.

Generally speaking, although some companies differ slightly, you will need to have a photo inspection done for all vehicles covered if they are 7 years old or newer. Once your new coverage is active, the same rule applies for any vehicle added to your policy up to 7 years old, with the only exception being a brand new car. Photo inspections are waived for new vehicles. Our agency is an approved photo inspection site for our customers so anyone in the area can come to our office for the inspection, which is actually a very quick process. For those folks outside of our area, anywhere in NY, we refer you to the nearest approved photo inspection site. Also, there is no charge to an insured for a photo inspection.

Cancelling your current coverage before the term expiration is perfectly fine, no penalties will be assessed. You’ll actually get a pro-rated refund back from your prior insurer for the number of days coverage that you paid for and did not use. For instance, if you had a 6-month policy and paid for it in full at the inception with a premium of $1,000 and cancel at the end of 3 months, you’ve paid for 180 days and only used 90 days of protection. Therefore, you would receive a refund back in the amount of $500 for the 90 days you paid for but did not use.

We use building reconstruction cost estimators inputting your house’s characteristics that we obtain from our conversation with you and also from our research of the online property data and records for your house. Items such as construction type, build model, exterior features, roof type, basement, along with multiple interior features of the kitchen, cabinets, floors, doors, wall structures, etc. The data input is run through a calculator that takes the area’s cost of materials and labor into account and derives a final estimated cost of reconstruction for your house including an amount for demolition and debris removal. The estimated cost of reconstruction is the figure we use as your dwelling limit. From here, and depending on the NY insurance company we are using, an additional amount, or extension is added to your limit. “Guaranteed” replacement cost is also available with select carriers.

Yes. Your new company will simply replace the old one.

When folks refer to liability protection on a NY homeowners policy, they are referring to Personal Liability protection. Simply put, it protects you if someone is injured on your property or inside your house and sues you for their injuries. Say for instance someone is walking up your driveway in the winter and slips and falls on a patch of black ice. That person now sues you for $500,000. If you carry a $500,000 limit on your personal liability protection, you’ll be safe from having to pay out of your pocket if the ultimate award amount comes in at $500,000. It’s one of the most important coverages on a homeowners policy.

There is no “one” best company as it depends upon your specific qualifying scenario. Factors such as house age, location, dwelling limit amount, credit rating, number of prior claims, alarm systems, fire zone rating, and bundle discounts all figure into the final quote premium amount. Company A may be great with monoline policies for older houses in unprotected fire zones, while Company B may be the best for newer high value houses for people with an excellent credit rating. Company C may be the best for average age residences when the bundle discount is applied and on and on.

When folks refer to liability protection on a NY auto policy, they are referring to Bodily Injury Liability. Simply put, it protects you if you’re driving and cause an accident where you’re deemed at-fault and one or more people are injured and sue you for their injuries. NYS requires that you carry a minimum amount of at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident (termed 25/50) which is not much financial protection. Say for instance, you’re driving on the highway, encounter a patch of black ice and hit the car in front of you causing a severe injury to a person in that car. You are now sued for $500,000. Your insurer will pay $25,000 to the injured party and you can be on the hook for $475,000, and may ruin your financial life. Bodily Injury Liability can be carried at levels from 25/50 all the way up to $1 million on your base policy. If extra coverage is desired, individuals can add a $1 million to $5 million Umbrella Policy for an added layer of liability protection.

Every business is unique and we can work with you to customize the limit amounts that are right for your company. Keep in mind that if you plan to work as a subcontractor under a general contractor (GC), the GC will most likely require at a minimum $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate annual limits.

Commercial general liability insurance is required by most counties for businesses operating in New York State. That being said, without it, you can be putting your company at great risk. Judgments, settlements, legal defense fees and court costs can be extremely expensive totally hundreds of thousands of dollars or even more.

The cost is different for each insured and varies depending on certain qualifying factors such as the type of operations/industry, size and condition of the business, level of experience, and location.

It protects against being sued for bodily injury and associated medical costs and property damage to third party property. It also covers the defense costs of attorney fees, court costs and administration fees and settlements. Libel and slander coverage is commonly included as well. Depending on the industry, electronic data liability protection may also be included.

Landlords can require renter to secure their own policy as a term of a new lease or lease renewal and we advise our clients require their tenants to carry a renters policy because it mitigates the threat of a lawsuit against the property owner. For instance, if a tenant’s property is damaged and they don’t have a renter’s policy, they may claim the owner is responsible for the damage. Or, maybe the tenant has a party and a guest is injured and files a claim against the landlord because the tenant does not have a policy.

We recommend a limit of protection high enough to help you replace all of your personal property items if they are stolen, lost or damaged. Your personal property is all of your stuff, like your furniture, electronics, clothing, watch, phone, instruments, housewares, etc. The best way to determine your limit amount is to take an inventory of all your possessions and go online to find out how much it would cost to replace all those items. Keep in mind that there are normally special lower limits of reimbursement for certain personal items such as expensive jewelry, fine art, collectibles or collections, goldware, silverware, platinum, firearms, and furs. In this instance you might consider scheduling those types of items on your policy or even getting a separate stand-alone policy.

You’d be surprised at how many water issues occur from clogged gutters, so regularly cleaning them out is advisable. Also make sure to run your sump pump every couple months to make sure it’s ready for any sudden overflow. Raising appliances and electrical equipment up off the floor can help to keep overflow water from damaging them. Simply using waterproof storage containers can protect items stored in your basement. There are also new smart home devices that can detect leaks in pipes, allow for remote water shut off if you’re away from your house, and some that can alert you to any changes in the temperature and humidity of your dwelling.

A COI is typically a one-page document that exhibits the policy details of your liability coverage. It is used to verify that you have the business insurance you claim to have. It displays the types and limits of coverage, the issuing insurer, your policy number, the named insured, and the effective and expiration dates. When requested, it will also include the name and address of the required certificate holder or additional insured party.

An additional insured refers to anyone other than the policyholder who is covered by the policy. It might be limited to a single event or it could last for the policy's lifetime. The additional insured has the same coverage and is on the same policy as the named insured. Construction agreements frequently require contractors to add other parties to their liability policies as additional insureds.

Many people assume that GL covers the insured’s own business property against theft, considered a first party loss, but it typically only protects against third party losses due to the insured’s negligence. It would not extend to insured’s own business property. But, if the insured carries property coverage on their own tools and equipment, theft is normally a covered peril and would provide protection against the theft of their tools and equipment.

There are normally three different levels of named perils for commercial coverage that can be applied to your policy. Basic, Broad, and Special. Basic contains the least number of perils, Broad includes more perils, and Special has the most perils. Basic: Includes common perils such as vandalism, fire, lightning, wind, explosions, vehicle collision, and even volcanic activity. Broad: Includes additional protection for falling objects that damage the exterior of your structure, frozen pipes, ice and snow damage, theft, and accidental water damage. Special: Usually includes all perils except for specific perils that are excluded in the policy such as earthquakes, floods, neglect, war, nuclear hazard, and intentional acts. Special: Usually includes all perils except for specific perils that are excluded in the policy such as earthquakes, floods, neglect, war, nuclear hazard, and intentional acts.

This is liability insurance that provides coverage to contractors and building professionals for construction errors. It protects both types of professionals in case construction errors occur during construction of a building project. Errors and omissions associated with performing professional services can result in costly time delays, budget overruns, rework, and third-party bodily injury and/or property damage. Such liability can result from services performed by the contractor or by parties for whom they are legally liable, such as design and engineering firms. This protection can be invaluable, particularly for those companies that construct and provide services off of others designs and blueprints. Say a masonry company is hired by a GC to construct a loading dock and doesn't follow the blueprint resulting in a loading dock that's structurally unsound and has to be rebuilt. The masonry company is now required to have the loading dock demolished, removed and rebuilt.

Common commercial projects include apartment and condominium structures over 4-units along with office buildings, stores, strip malls and the like. Also eligible are municipal properties, warehouses, stadiums, institutional properties and many more.

It includes general liability, property, and loss of income due to business interruption. Coverages vary among insurance providers, and you can often opt-in for additional protections, such as crime, spoilage of merchandise, professional liability (certain classes), fidelity, liquor liability, hired and non-owned auto, and more.

No. The main difference between general liability and professional liability is in the types of risks they each cover. General liability covers physical risks, such as bodily injuries and property damage. Professional liability insurance is also called errors and omissions insurance or malpractice insurance, depending on the industry. Its coverage focuses specifically on lawsuits that stem from professional services. For instance for things such as providing negligent professional services, failing to uphold contractual promises, substandard work, or making mistakes or omissions in work for a client. Some insurers do offer professional liability as an endorsement on a BOP, but its for a very small class of business types. Most companies that require professional liability insurance will need to obtain a separate policy.

In most cases, no. Some insurers offer relatively small limit cyber liability protection endorsements. Most companies will need to obtain a separate cyber policy. Cyber liability insurance is a policy that provides insureds with a combination of coverage options to help protect the company from data breaches and other cyber security issues.

The flood damage peril is excluded under commercial plans. You’ll have to buy a separate flood policy to protect your office space or owned structure from the costs of flood damage.

It includes general liability, property, and loss of income due to business interruption. Coverages vary among insurers, and you can often opt-in for additional protections, such as crime, spoilage of merchandise, professional liability (certain classes), fidelity, liquor liability, hired and non-owned auto, and more.

Adding the Supplemental Spousal Liability (SSL) endorsement on your auto policy provides bodily injury liability protection to cover the liability of an insured spouse due to their injury or death. It protects both the insured and the insured’s spouse in the event the insured is sued by his or her spouse due to the insured’s negligence. Married couples should always make sure that SSL is added to their car protection because if you don’t and you are harmed because of negligent driving by your husband or wife, you will likely not be able to receive compensation. Depending on the extent of your injuries and the liability limit on the policy, you could be giving up hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, money that you could need to live on, money that is rightfully due to you. If you are married, make sure to check your policy to be certain you have this very important coverage.

For most personal lines products such as auto, home, motorcycle, boat, renters, umbrella, and RV's, it’s same day service and we can even issue that policy same day. For commercial risks, depending on the scenario we can provide results same day or it may take up to a few days.

Yes, we can help you get coverage with some of our non-standard companies and also have the ability to move you to an A-rated standard company once your policy has been in-force for 6 months.

The number of discounts and percentage you take advantage of every available offering with each company we quote you with. Typical discounts include safe driving, accident free, multiple vehicle, multiple policy, safe vehicle, passive restraints, daylights, defensive driving, driver training, good student, student away, affinity, anti-theft, paperless, and automatic EFT payment plans. Types of discounts and premium reduction percentages differ by carrier.

Yes. In fact, we place a large percentage of our customers in to bundles that include auto, home, umbrella, renters, and motorcycle products to take advantage of the significant bundle discounts available.

At present, we only work with New York State residents but are looking to expand into other States.

You never have to come to the office. In fact, most of our interactions are done over the phone, although we love meeting people in-person if convenient for you.

There is no one best company. It all depends on your specific qualifying factors. Factors such as consumer credit rating, claims history, age, location, type of policy, and many more come into play when searching for your top options.