Spencer Insurance Blog

In a recent blog I suggested to everyone that you should be outraged at the fact that Pennsylvania does not have stricter teen driver safety laws.

Now an organization has been formed to target distracted drivers.   As U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood states “Every single time you take your eyes off the road or talk on the phone while you’re driving – even for just a few seconds – you put your life in danger.  And you put others in danger too.  This kind of behavior is irresponsible and the consequences are devastating.”

The new advocacy group will help raise awareness and support victims of distracted driving.  The program designed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the National Safety Council is called FocusDriven.    There are two websites that will give you more information on this topic.  Visit them at http://www.focusdriven.org/why_cell_free.aspx and   http://www.distraction.gov/ .  Check them out today and get actively involved in getting cell phone and texting bans in Pennsylvania.  For more information on how to help your teen driver become a safer driver visit our website at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer.

Tragically car accidents continue to be the primary cause of teenager deaths.  In our area we had three accidents that caused the death of 6 teen drivers in two months. 

I have teamed up with  the Society of Family Insurance Specialists (SFIS) in striving to reduce that statistic by  providing parents a free online 16 step ‘Teach My Teen to Drive’ home study driving course.  This is a tool, available on our Parents of Teen Driver Website  that will allow parents to structure their time with their teen driving to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible in a variety of situations.  The SFIS is a national organization of insurance agents committed to reducing the number of teen driver related accidents and fatalities by providing tools to promote teen driver safety.

Although Pennsylvania only requires 50 hours, driving school experts recommend 100 hours of behind-the-wheel experience before a teen drives unsupervised. By following the step by step online ‘Teach My Teen to Drive’ course with practice exercises for each lesson, parents can not only teach their teens driving skills, but give them the much needed experience. Ret. Police Officer James Poer, who has investigated numerous teen driver accidents during his 30 years as an accident investigator says, “Teens are most likely to cause accidents because they just don’t have the practical experience that mature drivers have to avoid dangerous situations. This course gives parents tools that can help their teens gain this experience and learn the most important skills to safe driving”.

“We at Spencer Insurance are  proud to offer an easy and no-cost way for parents to give this education to their kids.”  “We know that driving schools are important but, they just can’t give new drivers adequate experience. By following our step by step program, parents can take control of and responsibility for their teens’ driver education.”

Members of the SFIS offer many tools including GPS teen driver monitoring systems, Parent/ Teen Driver Contract, 101 Safety Tips for Teen Drivers and much more.

The “Teach My Teen to Drive” online course is available through Charlie’s agency website at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer.  Or parents can contact them directly at 215-885-2200.

Let us help you by getting the most of the 50 hours or more you spend with your teen driver when they are learning how to drive.

In December there were three fatal accidents in our area taking the lives of six teen passengers.

 In 41 states there are Teen Driver Laws that limit the number of passengers that can be in a teen driver’s car.  Sadly, Pennsylvania is one of nine states without a law limiting the number of passengers in a car operated by a teen driver.  What additional motivation does the PA Legislature need to pass safer Teen Driver Laws?

It is time to call our State Representatives and Senators and tell them to pass safer Teen Driver Laws.

There are several laws pending to make Teen Driving safer.  Banning texting and limiting the number of passengers in a car driven by a Teen Driver are no brainers yet they continually get defeated when they come up for a vote.

As a parent my heart goes out to the parents of these teens.  A Johns Hopkins University study stated that the chances of a 16 year old dying in a car while a teen driver increased 39 percent with a single passenger, 86 percent with two passengers and 182 percent with three or more passengers.  In the December accidents that claimed lives of the six teen passengers two of the cars had six passengers and the other had three passengers.

Car accidents are the number one cause of death of teenagers.

As parents we are responsible for our children’s safety.  Even if the Pennsylvania legislature will not help us out we should enforce our own laws with our children. 

Number 1: No one is allowed in our vehicles unless they wear a seat belt (even back seat passengers)

Number 2: Outside of your household members, there should be no more than one other passenger in the car driven by your teen driver.

Number 3: No texting or using a cell phone while driving unless you are calling 911!  Parents, be aware that children learn by your example.  Practice what you preach.  Pull over to talk on the phone. At the very least use a hand held device.

Lastly, have your teen driver sign a contract that lists the consequences to any actions breaking your laws.

Visit our website at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer for a copy of a parent/teen contract and more tips on how to help your teen driver become a safer driver.  His or her life may depend on you!

AND, call your state rep and senator today and tell them to pass laws designed to help keep your teen driver safe.

Don’t Take that chance! Don’t drop your auto insurance on a seasonal vehicle unless you have surrendered your tag to PennDOT and talked to me.  Pennsylvania allows you to drop your auto insurance on a seasonal vehicle as long as it is not registered. 

 If you do not surrender the tag you could have severe consequences.  Pennsylvania law states that if you do not have auto insurance on a registered vehicle you can be fined, however that could be the least of your worries.

 Pennsylvania courts have ruled that if you have an uninsured registered vehicle and you are involved in an accident you do not have any first party benefits.  First party benefits include medical, work loss and funeral expenses.  This applies NOT ONLY to the uninsured car but any insured cars you own.

 If you are in an accident with a car you have insured and registered your insurance company can deny you first party benefits if they find out you have another car that is registered but not insured.  You can go online and get details of a case, Progressive v. Anthony Kennedy.

 This is why I do not recommend dropping your auto insurance on a seasonal vehicle.  The penalty is too severe.  You may have good intentions but if you forget to return the tag you put yourself in a very vulnerable position.

 It is not unusual for clients with antique and classic cars to store their cars for the winter.  The snow and salt is not good for the vehicle so they keep it in the garage. However, then  a beautiful sunny and warm January Saturday comes along and they can not resist the temptation to drive the classic car with its top down, UNINSURED and EXPOSED to a lawsuit!

  Another risk you run, even if you return the tag to PennDOT, is that your classic or antique car could be destroyed by a fire in the garage or someone could hit your car on your property.  Your homeowner’s insurance will not cover the car in the event it is destroyed by a fire, vandalized or stolen.

 
Give me a call to discuss your options on how to properly cover a vehicle that is seasonal or out of commission for a short period of time.  I will discuss your situation and tell you the best way to reduce your risk.  There may be some very affordable options for you. You may be able to get an Antique car policy which would reduce your premium substantially.  

 Another reason to reconsider dropping your coverage: You may be getting a multi car discount. You could lose the discount, causing the premium on your other cars to increase and you might not save as much money as you expected.

 If you decide to surrender your tag and drop your insurance, go to our website at www.spencerinsurance.com and check out our Resources page and Links to get the information and form you need to surrender your tag properly or get a seasonal registration from the state.

 Many times the premium savings you receive by dropping your insurance on a vehicle is small compared to the risk you take of being sued without insurance.  Then the “True Cost of Insurance” becomes much greater!  Call me today to make sure you are not being penny wise and pound foolish!

Many factors will play into your decision, but you should be aware of a recent study.

 On September 25, 2009 MSNBC.com had an article titled “1 in 4 teens with own car has been in a crash.”

 The research was based on a nationally representative survey of more than 5500 teens in grades nine through 11.  More than 2000 teens reported driving on their own where they had their own car or were the main driver of the car they used.  The author found this an alarming statistic.

 Of these 2000 teens, 1 in 4 reported being in an accident versus 1 in 10 of those who did not have their own car.  The author stated that freedom can lead to a sense of entitlement about driving that makes them less cautious.

 What can you do as a parent to protect your teen?  The study found that parents need to be involved with their teens. The study states “Compared with teens whose parents were uninvolved, kids who said their parents set clear rules and monitored their whereabouts without being overly controlling had half as many crashes and much better driving habits.”

 Parents need to be proactive with their teen drivers.  Asking your teen to sign a driving contract helps.  Working on driving skills above the usual drivers training is important.

 Our agency has all these tools in a website designed for the parents of teen drivers.  Check it out at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer. You can print out a teen contract and consequences form to be used with your teen driver.  If you have any questions give our office a call.

 I wish you the best in staying vigilant with your teen driver’s driving habits.

Fall is “Back to School” time.  This means more traffic on the roads especially in the morning as parents take their children to school.  It is also a time when more teen drivers are on the road and we need to be more alert.

 This is a great time to remind your teen drivers that driving is a “Privilege” not a “Right.”  Every state gives us the privilege to drive, and can take it away if we abuse this privilege.  As parents of a young driver, you also have the ability to take away this privilege.

 Just as every city and state has driving laws that your young driver needs to follow, you too should lay down some household laws that your young driver needs to follow or risk loosing their license.

 Simply discussing rules and the consequences of breaking a rule is one thing.  Putting it in writing gives you much more power.  You can download a “Teenager/Parent Driving Contract” and “Careless Driving Consequences” directly from our Teen Driver website at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer.  Just click the Resources tab at the top when you get to this website.

 Get the new school year off on the right foot by setting up guidelines with your teen drivers.

 We have a monthly email newsletter that is designed to help parents teach their children to be safe drivers.  To receive our newsletter email me at cspencer@spencerinsurance.com and ask me to send you our email newsletter called “Driver Seat”.

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. 

Please take some time and read “Rachel’s Story.”  Rachel was kind enough to share her story with me so I could stress the importance of buying life insurance before it is too late.  Just like many things in life, we do not truly appreciate something until we can’t have it. Listen to Rachel’s message: BE PREPARED!!!

Rachel’s Story

My name is Rachel and I would really love to share my story with you in hopes that you will see the importance of Life Insurance, even at a time when you still think you are invincible.

I was 28 yrs old and got married in September of 1999.  While on my Honeymoon in St. Thomas my wisdom teeth became abscessed and I had just switched jobs so I was in between health insurance, you know I was 28 who cares about the 3 month waiting period I didn’t need COBRA.  So I bought some time with over the counter aids, and then in October I woke up and my neck felt stiff, so I rubbed it and found a lump on the right side just below my ear.  I went to my family doctor who said that it was a swollen lymph node to fight the inflamed wisdom teeth and sent me for CAT scan just to be safe.  The Cat scan came back negative and as soon as January hit, I had my teeth pulled and my doctor said that it would take about 30 days for the lymph node to go back to normal, after 30 days it was still there.  He sent me to an ENT specialist, and he treated me for 2 months on antibiotics and when it had still not gone away and another lump showed on the left side he decided it was time to remove the “dead lymph node”.  So into surgery I went, the next day the doctor called and told me I had Stage 3 cancer.

Long and short, I survived, but in the mean time my husband and I had bought a house and then after I got better decided to start having a baby. After 3 years we decided to adopt, and that is when I found out at 33 yrs of age, that I was going to have difficulty getting life insurance because of my past.  I filled out the paper work and told the truth when the question came up and thank God the paper work I was presented when we applied was all that was needed to proceed with the adoption because my Daughter was born the next month.  About a month after she was born, I was denied life insurance after they received my medical history from my primary doctor, and thankfully for us, all the papers were filed with the courts so it did not affect our adoption of Faith.

I tell you this story as detailed as I felt necessary because you can see the time in between getting married to the time of my diagnoses  I could have applied and gotten life insurance. Then I would have had the life insurance I needed for an actual event, other than death, the adoption of my daughter  that actually required life insurance be present to become a Mother.  I too was young and invincible, but now I am a 38 yr old cancer survivor, waiting out the paperwork time limit of 10yrs, so I can get Life Insurance at an affordable rate, and an amount that would actually benefit my family and not be turned down because I am High Risk.

So please, don’t view Life Insurance as morbid conversation at a young age. Realize that you have no idea what life has in store for you. Hopefully you will survive all that is thrown at you and come out with such a great reward as I did, my Life and my Daughter (my Angel), but for whatever the outcome may be:

BE PREPARED!!!!!!

Thank you for listening to my story, God Bless you in your new life, and may you have nothing but happiness and health, and a piece of paper in your filing cabinet to take care of all you acquire and create! 

   Rachel

When I talk to clients about life insurance I hear many reasons for procrastinating.  “I don’t have the money”; “I don’t want to think about death”; “I’ll call you after baseball, soccer, or basketball season.” Stop procrastinating and just do it.  Call us today and ask us for a life insurance review.  We will discuss why you need life insurance and help you determine how much you need. Then we will show you an affordable way to meet that need.

 I urge you to share Rachel’s story with your friends and family.  It is tough enough emotionally to lose a spouse. Don’t compound the problem by not having any life insurance to help the surviving spouse with the loss of an income.  Protect your family today!

We at Spencer Insurance Agency are very excited today as we found out that the readers once again for 2009 voted Spencer Insurance Agency the #1 Insurance Agency and the #1 Life Insurance Agent in the 2009 Montgomery Newspaper’s Readers Choice Awards.

We appreciate the trust that you put in our agency.  We are always looking for better ways to service your needs and provide you protection.  If you have any suggestions email Charlie at cspencer@spencerinsurance.com.

I would like to ask you a favor.  I am trying to find out what you did as parents to help your teen driver become a safer driver.  Tell us ways you helped them other than the traditional Drivers Training course and 6 or 8 hours of driving.  Go to our Facebook page  at http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=11646&uid=57428502925 and give us your comments.

Thank you,

Charlie