Do you really need an insurance agent?

Posted on by Mike Posted in Blog

If you’ve never had an insurance agent to manage your personal & commercial policies, you may be wondering why you would need one. An independent agency & brokerage (like us!) only benefits you, so don’t miss out on the benefits of having one.

What are the advantages of having an independent insurance agent?

  1. Choices. An independent agent can offer you a policy from a number of different carriers. We represent only the best, A-rated personal & commercial carriers in New York. If you’re not happy with your coverage or your premium is too high, we simply shop around to find you the right policy from a carrier that would suit you better.
  2. Savings. Since independent agencies like us represent a variety of carriers, we can shop around to find the best policy at the lowest price. A good agent knows what coverage you need for your family or business so you don’t pay more than you have to. Since your agent works for you, they don’t waste time trying to sell you a policy you don’t need.
  3. Personal Service. Your agent knows your insurance needs inside and out. We develop a relationship with you so we can anticipate opportunities for savings and manage your risk better. Best of all, when you need to make a claim, your agent is there to help you.

Experience the difference an insurance agent can make

If you’re in New York, call us at (516) 484-5200 or send us an email at info@ccpinsurance.com to learn how we can help you lower your insurance premiums and manage your risk better.

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Keep yourself informed: hurricane & windstorm deductibles

Posted on by Mike Posted in Blog

Do you know what your home insurance hurricane deductible is? Most top insurance companies have mandatory hurricane deductibles, which are percentage or dollar deductibles higher than for other causes of loss. They are often calculated as a percentage of the dollar amount of your dwelling coverage and come into effect after a specified storm event (“the trigger”).

A hurricane appearing on a radar

Make sure you know what your hurricane deductible is

Deductibles vary depending on your carrier, the type of storm (“trigger”), and location of your home. In New York State, for example, a deductible for a home within 1,000 feet of the South Shore on Long Island may be different than for a home within 2,500 feet of the North Shore.

Many triggers only go into effect when the National Weather Service issues a hurricane watch or warning that remains in effect for 24 to 48 hours after the storm has passed. Triggers are also affected by hurricane intensity, which is classified on a scale from 1 to 5.

If a policy has mandatory deductibles, then the insurance company will not sell homeowners coverage without a hurricane deductible. When the deductible is optional, you can choose a lower deductible in exchange for a higher premium (a “buyback”) or a higher deductible for a lower premium (a premium credit).

If you’re a homeowner in New York State, you can find hurricane deductibles by company at the New York State Department of Insurance website. Check out the “Windstorm Deductibles” link at the bottom. Knowing all of your policy information is an important part of making sure you recover completely in case of a disastrous loss. Don’t be left unprepared!

If you have any questions about your property insurance or hurricane deductibles, be sure to give us a call at (516) 484-5200 today, or email me at patti@ccpinsurance.com.

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Save money on your auto policy with an online defensive driving course

Posted on by Mike Posted in Blog
Save 10% on auto insurance by taking a defensive driving course online

The easiest way to save 10% on your auto premium is to take a defensive driving course online

If you’re a driver in New York, you can save 10% on your auto insurance premium and remove violation points from your driving record by taking a defensive driving course. But like most drivers, you live a busy life and don’t necessarily have the time to sit through a course.

Certified online defensive driving courses offer the convenience of allowing you to complete the course on your own schedule from the comfort of your own home, while still reaping the benefits of having a defensive driving certificate. It will reduce your premium and remove up to 4 violation points from your record. You can pause and resume the course whenever you have time, and there’s no exam at the end.

If you have your auto insurance policy with us, all you have to do is send us your certificate once you complete an online defensive driving course and we’ll take care of the rest. (Don’t have us as your agent? Call us today at (516) 484-5200 to find out how we can manage your insurance policies.)

Our affiliates at the American Safety Council offer a New York DMV-approved online course for $24.95. Register for the course on their website, or call us at (516) 484-5200 to speak with a personal insurance agent. You can also visit www.ccpinsurance.com/defensive-driving to learn more.

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Why your business needs Cyber Liability coverage

Posted on by Joseph Posted in Blog
Any business that collects customer information faces cyber liability exposure

Any business that collects and stores customer information faces cyber liability exposure

Would you buy and live in a home without purchasing insurance? A home is often a family’s biggest single asset, and it would be crazy to leave it unprotected. The same goes for any business that collects and stores information about its customers. Cyber liability is a huge issue for companies in 2011, but typical business insurance policies don’t protect against cyber losses. Does your business have cyber liability exposures? You might be surprised at the answer.

Your business does not have to be web-based to have cyber liability exposures. Almost every business collects some form of private or personal information about its customers, such as credit card or Social Security numbers. If that information is lost, stolen, improperly shared with a third party, your business can face legal liability and regulatory action.

Is Cyber Liability a serious threat?

Sony recently experienced a major breach of their Playstation Network that exposed data of more than 77 million customers. The New York Yankees accidentally leaked personal information about season-ticketholders, while a data breach at Epsilon exposed information about customers of several large businesses. Information security is a serious issue, but you might think it only affects large or internet-based companies.

Does your business accept credit cards? Do you have any kind of customer database? Businesses of all sizes benefit from collecting and using customer information, but that information can also put you at risk of cyber liability losses. All kinds of businesses may have cyber exposures, whether you operate a small retail shop with only a Point-of-Sale computer or a multi-office company with advanced network infrastructure.

How much can a data breach cost your business?

According to the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach is $202 per customer record compromised. It takes as little as 30 seconds to download or transfer 10,000 records of information—that’s more than $2 million of liability in 30 seconds.

When you hear “data breach,” you may automatically think of hackers and assume your business isn’t at risk—after all, hackers tend to target large organizations with highly sensitive information. In reality, cyber liability losses are triggered by a variety of events, including the theft of business laptops, hard-drives, or tape backups, an employee’s improper disposal of private customer information, or software glitches that expose sensitive information on the internet.

Learn more about how cyber liability may affect your business

Keep in mind that typical business insurance policies do not cover losses due to cyber exposures. To learn more and receive free advice, give me a call at (516) 484-5200 or email me at joe@ccpinsurance.com.

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Pictures are worth a thousand words

Posted on by Mike Posted in Blog

Pictures—worth a thousand dollars

With the cost of materials and equipment constantly rising and falling, insureds hoping to have a claim for damaged property settled quickly and hassle-free should consider one word: photographs.

Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. In insurance, a picture may be worth a thousand dollars or more when it comes to disputes on make, model, and condition/depreciation of contents. Ask yourself: When was the last time you took photos or video of your personal property or business inventory?

Photos may be a priceless tool for you to avoid a claims dispute with an adjuster who needs to assess your loss accurately. If damage is widespread, the adjuster may also be dealing with a backlog associated with limited supply and vendor availability.

Photos are not necessarily required by every insurance company as a prerequisite to obtaining insurance. They do, however, play an important role in the proper valuation of damaged property, as well as in satisfying a policy condition that requires that you do everything in your power to assist the company in adjusting your claim.

Furthermore, a home inventory is an essential part of ensuring that any potential claim is settled quickly and properly. The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) has made free software available on its website,

www.iii.org, that allows homeowners to keep records of belongings in room-by-room files. For more information about how to protect yourself, give our office a call today.

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