We have all seen the commercials about how you can “save thousands” on your auto Insurance. While this is true, most companies do not tell you that those savings often come at the sacrifice of accepting less coverage.
How do you make sure you and your family are properly protected without spending more than you should? That’s a great question. The answer starts at East & Greenwell, where we will always look out for your best interests. Our efforts begin with our insurance agents in Naples, FL, scouting out the coverage you need at the best value we can find. Whether you are in Fort Myers, Naples, Estero, Bonita Springs, or elsewhere in Florida’s beautiful state, you can count on us to have you covered when something happens.
Below, you will find a list of options available with our Florida auto insurance policies, along with what they can do for you:
After a serious accident, you often end up with a rental car as your original vehicle undergoes service and repairs, but not all insurance packages cover those costs. Wouldn’t it be nice if your policy covered everything, including rental reimbursements? Our customers sure do. JD Power has determined that this coverage has the greatest impact on customer satisfaction during a claim. That is why East & Greenwell offers this optional coverage. Breathe easy as you receive reimbursements for the costs associated with renting a car while your vehicle is being repaired or serviced due to an accident.
You never realize just how costly towing and labor can be until you are unexpectedly stuck on the side of the road dialing numbers for a tow service. Towing and Labor Costs Coverage is just what it sounds like: an option that reimburses you up to a certain point for necessary towing and other service charges (battery jump, keys locked in the car, etc.) should your car become disabled.
Unfortunately, yes. There is no guarantee that you can keep your policy after a claim. That’s why we always suggest accident forgiveness. Accident forgiveness prevents this from happening should a claim occur.
There are several reasons why certain cars cost more to insure than others. However, it usually comes down to the amount of safety features incorporated into your car’s model, as well as how much it would cost to repair the vehicle should it become damaged in an accident.
The typical rule of thumb is to have liability protection that is at least equal to your net worth. We suggest doing a review with your agent to make sure your protection is up to date.
Not in the State of Florida. You would pay zero out-of-pocket thanks to Florida State Law as long as you carry comprehensive coverage.
We always suggest you buy Medical Payments coverage. Because of the way No Fault works in the State of Florida, you could still have out-of-pocket medical expenses even if you have Health Insurance.
Rental reimbursement covers the cost of a rental if your car is in the shop because of an accident. We have found that this coverage is critical in a customer being satisfied in regards to a claim.
It will with us! As long as you give the person permission to drive your car, they are covered.
You should consider a renters policy to cover his personal items along with liability. You should also contact your Auto Insurance agent to make sure that your son or daughter is rated as a Resident Student if he or she will not have a car on campus. This will provide additional discounts.
Hopefully, no one is injured. In that case you can file the claim through your Insurance Company for the damages to your car. Should there be injuries, you would always want to make sure you have Uninsured Motorist coverage. We always suggest you carry as much coverage on Uninsured Motorist as you carry for Liability.
You sure can! It doesn’t seem to work with all of the companies out there but this is a great feature that we offer. It works well for our seasonal folks.
Absolutely. This is the most important coverage in Florida as it protects you and your family even if the other person(s) involved in the accident do not have insurance. It’s more common than you may think, too. In fact, 1 out of every 4 people in Florida do not have Auto Insurance.
This is the State required No Fault coverage. It pays for 80% or up to $10,000 in medical should you be involved in an auto accident and need medical attention.
Gap Insurance pays for the difference in the amount the car is worth at the time of the loss and the amount you currently owe on the vehicle.
Collision coverage is coverage for an accident. You should review all of the deductible options and be comfortable with the one you choose as that will be the amount you will have to pay out-of-pocket should you have an accident.
Comprehensive covers fire, theft, vandalism, hit an animal or anything that can happen to the vehicle outside of a wreck.
Bodily Injury is protection for the other person that protects your assets. Property Damage is the coverage for the other person’s property that you may damage in an accident.
You can get quotes online but we always suggest reviewing your options with an agent. Online quotes typically default to the least expensive options, which will include the least amount of coverage.
While they’re good to have on-hand, we can get a really good estimate without these items.
Call us! You want to make sure you do not take the State minimum in coverage. The minimum coverage is not always the least expensive as it can be considered high risk. This will put you into a category with all of the other people that carry lower limits and you will not get the best value on your rates in the long term. Price is important, but the right coverage is equally important.
Auto insurance premiums change for the same reasons that the price of other goods and services you buy change.
Insurance companies incur the same costs you do in buying goods and services, and these costs can ultimately affect your insurance premium. Costs affecting the ultimate price of auto insurance include:
Auto insurance rates are on the rise nationally, but especially in the state of Florida. The main factors contributing to this increase are the increased frequency of claims and the increased cost of claims. For more information about the industry issue, please read our article: The Truth About Why Auto Insurance Rates Are On The Rise In Florida
You will first need to log in (or create an account) at . Once you’re logged into your account, you’ll have the option to “Go Paperless” or enroll in ePolicy. Keep in mind, if you enroll in ePolicy, you won’t receive ID cards in the mail anymore. You’ll only receive them electronically. But you WILL receive about a 3% discount for going paperless.
developed Drive Wise in order to give a discount to drivers who meet certain driving criteria. If you ask your agent to enroll you in Drive Wise, will mail you a device to plug in to your vehicle. The device looks at four things: time of day the vehicle is being driven, how often the vehicle is going over 80 mph, how many “hard brakes” occur, and how many miles are being driven. Everyone who tries out Drive Wise receives the same enrollment discount of about 8% for the first 6 months.
AFTER the first 6 months, your Drive Wise discount will be re-calculated based on your score. Your discount could go all the way up to 25%. Worst case scenario, if you don’t receive a “good score”, your 8% enrollment discount will fall down to a 0% discount after the first 6 months. As you can see, the Drive Wise discount can’t go into the negative and cost you more, as it is only designed to be an additional discount you can receive.
Please refer to the ‘Company Code’ found on your auto insurance ID card. If you’re still unsure, please contact the agency at 239-434-7877.
If you have any questions about your rate, it is always best to call East & Greenwell or stop by the office. Our entire staff are licensed agents and can review your policy with you to help determine possible savings. We truly believe our customer service is what sets us apart from other local agencies. We are here to help in any way we can.
If you or anyone riding in your car is injured in an accident and the driver who is liable for the injuries either doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance, your own policy can pay for your medical expenses, lost income, and long term pain and suffering under your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. In the state of Florida, you have to choose between “stacked” or “non-stacked” uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
Let’s say for example that you have 2 vehicles: a Ford F150 and a Ford Mustang. If you carry NON-STACKED uninsured motorist coverage at a limit of 100/300, that means that if you’re injured in the Ford F150, the most your uninsured motorist coverage will pay out is $100,000 per person or a maximum of $300,000 per accident. If you exhaust those limits, there is no additional coverage available. This is why non-stacked Uninsured Motorist (or UM) coverage is less expensive than stacked.
If you carried STACKED UM coverage, and you were injured in the Ford F150, you could pull additional UM coverage from the Mustang, even though you weren’t driving the Mustang at the time of the accident. Therefore, you essentially have double the UM coverage than if you carry the non-stacked version.
If you opt for non-stacked UM, reject UM altogether, OR if you choose a UM limit that is less than your bodily injury limit, the state of FL requires us to keep a signed form on file to ensure you understand which type of coverage you are choosing.
Get medical attention if needed. Notify the police immediately.
Obtain names, addresses, phone numbers and license plate numbers of all personals involved, including passengers and witnesses.
Call our agency at 239-434-7877 if it’s during business hours or (1-800-255-7828) if it’s outside of business hours.
You will need to insure the vehicle before you can register it in the state of Florida, since proof of auto insurance is one of the requirements to register a vehicle. Be sure to check out our 3 Easy Steps to Register a Vehicle in Florida.
In the state of Florida, if you’re injured in an auto accident, the first $10,000 of medical expenses is to be placed on your own policy, regardless of who was at fault. PIP (Personal Injury Protection) pays 80% of that first $10,000. This is why we recommend carrying an optional coverage called “Medical Payments” of at least $2,000 (per person). That way if you’re injured in an accident, you don’t have to pay anything out of pocket for the first $10,000 of expenses.
There is no black and white answer to this question. The truth is, no one knows what could happen. The best thing to do is to protect yourself, your family, and your assets as best you can.
Many times what you will find is that the savings resulting from decreasing your liability coverage really doesn’t justify the greater risk you’re taking by reducing coverage. Keep in mind that if you are liable for an accident and your policy limit is exhausted, you are responsible for the remainder out of pocket.
offers a wonderful “vacation program” that allows you to temporarily suspend the coverage while the car is garaged. We maintain only the coverage that is required by the state of Florida as well as comprehensive coverage for fire and theft. As long as your vehicle is suspended for at least 30 consecutive days, you will see a significant savings by using our vacation program. The best part is that suspending or reinstating your coverage is as easy as a phone call or email to one of our caring East & Greenwell employees.
There are so many factors that determine your auto insurance rate, including your coverage, how long you were insured with your prior carrier, your credit score, whether or not you own a home, whether or not you are married, and your driving records. As you can see, rates are naturally going to be different person to person. The best thing to do is to contact East & Greenwell to review your insurance and discuss possible savings.
You aren’t required to add your teenager as a driver to your policy until they receive their driver’s license. He or she is covered on your policy while driving with his/her learner’s permit. Once he/she receives his/her license, contact your agent immediately to add him/her to the policy.
Yes, any licensed driver that you give permission to operate your vehicle would be covered on your policy if something happened. The only time a driver needs to be added to your policy is if he/she is living in your household, if he or she is a co-owner of the vehicle, or if you are financially responsible for the individual (such as a teenage son/daughter who is away at school but does not yet have his/her own insurance yet).
If you’re ever unsure if an individual needs to be added to your policy, please contact East & Greenwell for more information.
It depends on the situation. As a general rule of thumb, if you are renting a car in your personal name for personal use, the coverage on your policy transfers to the rental car.
However, we recommend contacting an agent at East & Greenwell to discuss the specific scenario. For example, if you don’t carry collision coverage on your own auto policy, no collision coverage will transfer from your policy to the rental car. In that case, you’d want to purchase the coverage from the rental car company.
If you carry full coverage on your personal auto policy, it may not be necessary to purchase additional coverage from the rental car company.
Also, it is important to note that the coverage from your personal auto policy does NOT transfer to the rental car if you are renting it in a business name or paying for the rental car with a corporate credit card.
