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Information and ideas for customers of John F. McBride Insurance Agency • Fall 2016

?Test YourInsurance

I.Q.Q. John, do I need to informyou when I pay off my car loan?

A.Yes, please notify us immedi-ately. When you finance a large purchase such as a car, boat, RV orhome, your lender must be listed onyour insurance to protect their invest-ment. When you have paid off theloan, the lender should be removedfrom your insurance as they nolonger hold a lien on your property.

We invite you to submit questions for this regular column. Email or call us.

By John McBride, Jr.

© 2016 John F. McBride Insurance Agency, One Treble Cove Road, North Billerica, MA 01862 • Home • Auto • Business • LifeCall: 978-663-3301 • Fax 978-670-9194 • www.mcbrideinsuranceagency.com

Personal TouchThe

I n s u r a n c e

Personal service at your side, that’s McBride!

• Basic woodstove safety steps. Check for creosote buildup in yourstovepipe and chimney. Install a fire-retar-dant hearth rug. Dispose of ashes in metalcontainer with a tight-fitting lid. Makesure ashes are cool when disposed.

• Planning a fall trip by auto toCanada? You will need proof of auto in-surance. Not a problem. Stop by our officeand we will issue you a Canadian proof ofinsurance card. No charge.

• This winter, clear snow off entirevehicle. Flying chunks of snow and icefrom the roof, hood or trunk could cause aserious accident for the driver behind you.

• Optional oil tank leak insurance.We offer both “first-party” and “thirdparty” liability coverage for clean-up anddamages should you have a tank or pipeoil leak. This is a low-cost homeownerspolicy endorsement for a serious and ex-pensive problem should it occur. For moreinformation, call us.

• Planning some fall or spring con-struction? Make sure all your home repairor new construction contractors have properworkers comp and liability insurance. Askthem to show you a Certificate of Insurancefrom their insurance agent.

• Avoid water backups this winter.Every year we have clients who suffersevere property losses due to damagescaused by snow and ice dams at the roofline and melting. Care to remove snowand ice accumulations with roof rakesand ice melt tablets can help preventbackups.

• Are helmets required for ATV operators? We get this question oftenat this time of year. In Massachusetts,the answer is yes. The helmet require-ment applies to off-road motorcyclistand snowmobile operators too.

• Thanks for recommending us to your relatives, friends and associates!

Birds-eye view of drones and your insurance protection

injury or invasion of privacy. The personalinjury section of homeowners insurance or apersonal umbrella policy could protect you.

We’ll stay tuned with all the buzzWithout a doubt, there will be more andmore news about drones and their usescoming fast and furious, especially aboutcommercial uses and regulations. The Mas-sachusetts legislature is presently consider-ing drone use issues, along with the FAAand other federal agencies. We’ll keep youposted about any insurance issues that areinvolved.

Insuring for recreational use Personal drones are simple to insure. Thatis, if you only want to use yours for recre-ational purposes. Most home insurancepolicies cover personal property. Personaldrones, as “model or hobby aircraft not de-signed to fly people or cargo”, would comeunder this coverage provision. However, li-ability exposure is a bigger concern, ac-cording to the insure.com article.

Liabilities include an accident that causesphysical property damage or personal

Registrations for outdoor flyingAccording to www.faa.gov,registration is required priorto operating a personal usedrone outdoors. If the ownerof the drone is less than 13years of age, then a person 13or older is required to registerthe drone. Registration re-newal will be required everythree years and costs $5.

There are some interesting new technolo-gies that your insurance company and ouragency need to stay current with when itcomes to automobile and home insurancepolicies. To name several: so-called au-tonomous cars (self-driven); Uber andLyft type ride services; and drones (Un-manned Aircraft Systems or UAS).

Flying off the shelfGoogle Trends lists drones as one of thetop four items when people type in “I want to buy.” With prices starting at lessthan $300, drones are expected to beone of the hot Christmas purchases thisyear. These forecasts and a few inquiresfrom clients prompted us to include somebasic information about the insuranceimplications in this issue.

Drones legal for personal useAs a recent article on drones atinsure.com pointed out, kids and hobby-ists have been flying model airplanes –the original drones – since the earliestdays of aviation. Today, anyone can fly adrone within his or her field of vision andat a height of no more than 400 feetabove ground. There is one importantcaveat: you cannot fly drones in restrictedareas such as airports or governmentinstallations.

THANK YOU FOR REFERRING US TO A FRIEND!About 60% of our new customers are the result of referrals from loyal clients like you. When you refersomeone, ask him or her to mention your name when they contact us. We’d like to thank you personally!

It is understood that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional service. If legal orother expert advice is required, the services of a professional should be sought. Insurance information is general in nature;for specific coverage provisions, review contractual policy provisions.

We do annual reviews. Not everyone does.McBride Insurance Insights

Did You Know?

John F. McBrideInsurance Agency

One Treble Cove Road North Billerica, MA 01862

FACTS OF LIFE

CALL OR E-MAIL US ANYTIME YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT YOURINSURANCE OR INSURANCE ISSUES. THAT’S WHY WE ARE HERE! You will be seeing our new “Big M” logo

on our stationery, website, emails, informa-tion and service letters and on your copy ofInsight in the days ahead. It joins our famil-iar promise line, Personal service at yourside, that’s McBride.

LIKE us onFacebook!

We have anew look!

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Quakes and Shakes!!!RISK MANAGEMENT

Quick review tomake sureyour HOpolicy isup to date

Review your policy’s declaration page.It summarizes your coverages along withyour personal and home information. Information included on the declarationpage:• Policy number• Policy period – the period of time yourpolicy covers

• Your name and address of the policyowner

• Address of the insured premises• Name of mortgagee – usually yourmortgage company

• Coverage types and policy limits that apply to your policy

• Deductible amount for the policy• Home-rating information• Discounts received• Premium amount

Review the personal information for er-rors or changes, and check that the decla-ration page reflects the proper coveragelevels, as well as any additional riders youmay have added. Please call us if youhave questions or would like to increaseor decrease any coverages.

The difference between Replacement Cost and Actual Cash Value insurance coverage

Here’s an example. Your 3-year old TV set, whichcost $1000 originally, is stolen. If you have pur-chased replacement cost coverage, it will be re-placed with a similar quality new TV set. If youhave chosen to purchase actual cash value cover-age, your $1000 TV set may be valued at $400 as a“used” item. You will be paid a claim settlement atthat depreciated value.

IN THIS ISSUE

•Birdseye view of drone insurance

• Replacement cost/cash value difference

• Millennial breadwinners underinsured

• We have a new look

Millennials, who are now in their 20s andearly 30s, are particularly likely to be under-insured. A recently released LIMRA (a finan-cial services association) survey found that ifthe primary breadwinner were to die, six inten Gen X and Gen Y Americans said theirhouseholds would suffer severe financial con-sequences, versus just over one in three BabyBoomer households. The survey, based on6,000 respondents, found that Gen Y is also less likely to have life insurance compared toolder generations. Just one-third have individual life insurance policies, compared toabout half of Baby Boomers.

For more information about how life insurance might work for you and your family,call John McBride. We represent Ohio National Life Insurance Company, nationalleader in whole life insurance.

Massachusetts and many parts of the northeast are considered asbeing in a “moderate” earthquake zone. True, over the years wehaven’t had the same frequency or severity of quakes as those experi-enced on the west coast, but the risk is there.

The basic homeowners policy does not cover earthquakes. To protect against losses causedby earthquake a special endorsement is needed. It can be added for an average cost of $150a year. If you’d like more information about earthquake loss coverage, call us.

Millennial breadwinners underinsured...