Why add comprehensive and collision to the state minimum required insurance?

When you purchase your state minimum auto insurance from Linda Dugan Insurance, you protect yourself from liability if you cause an accident on the road. But we want Astoria, OR residents to understand why they need the elective coverages, too, like comprehensive and collision.

When you add comprehensive and collision coverage to your policy, you protect your vehicle and your investment. The state requires you to carry insurance that protects the other people on the road, but comprehensive and collision insurance protects you. It pays you to repair or replace your vehicle when it incurs damage.

Let’s say your vehicle gets struck by lightning. Your comprehensive coverage pays for that as an act of God. Many of the named perils in insurance policies are called “acts of God.” It simply means occurrences for which the insured could not have planned. Since you cannot sue the lightning as you could if someone had struck your vehicle, the insurance pays for the repairs needed. Other perils typically included in this type of coverage include hail, wind, hurricane, wildfire, and earthquake.

Collision covers repair or replacement of your vehicle if you hit a mailbox, fence, etc. Although it was your error in driving, the insurance still pays.
Adding these two types of policy coverage typically constitutes full coverage. You might also want to add a few other coverages though. Underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage, personal injury protection  (PIP), and rental car coverage all prove very useful if you have an accident.

Underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage helps you pay for repairs or replacement of your vehicle if the person at fault for the accident did not have insurance or had too little coverage.

PIP coverage helps pay your medical bills if the person at fault for the accident did not have insurance or if you caused an accident in which you or your vehicle’s passengers incurred injuries. If you hit a tree, your collision covers the damage to the car, but not your medical bills. PIP covers medical bills.

Rental car coverage pays for your rental car while your vehicle undergoes repairs or you wait for the insurance money to purchase a new vehicle. The coverage usually includes a time limit, such as a week, but you can increase that by adding coverage. This does increase the premium.

Contact Linda Dugan Insurance serving Astoria, OR for more information on the importance of full coverage auto insurance. Let us help you create the auto insurance policy that serves all of your needs.

What Are Toy Insurance Options?

When many people think of toy insurance, they think of the type of insurance policy that will cover collections of toys that are worth some amount of money but there is actually a more common and more widely used form of toy insurance that covers recreational vehicles that many people have purchased. Those types of toys include motorcycles, four-wheelers, all-terrain vehicles, and even boats. If you have invested money in one of these fun toys, you will definitely want to protect your investment by obtaining a toy insurance policy.

What Does It Cover?

For your recreational and fun toys, you can obtain liability coverage in the case of an accident happening. This type of policy will cover not only any bodily injuries sustained by others involved in the accident but also property damage that may be caused by a crash. You can also obtain collision insurance, which means if you hit an object, such as a pole or building, or another vehicle, this policy will cover the damages. A comprehensive policy will replace or repair your toy if it is damaged in a fire, by vandalism, or stolen in a theft incident. This type of policy also covers your boat, ATV, or other toys is it is damaged in a natural disaster, such as a hailstorm or tornado. It is also a good idea to obtain a policy, referred to as an underinsured or uninsured motorist policy, that will cover your toy if it is damaged by another driver who does not have an insurance policy at all or not enough coverage to replace or repair your toy when it is damaged.

The Need For Toy Insurance

You will want to obtain a toy insurance policy to cover the items you hold dear to you and have fun with. You have spent time and money to purchase your toy and you deserve the peace of mind that is provided when you have an insurance policy to cover it.

To create the best toy insurance policy for you and your situation, contact the toy insurance agents at Linda Dugan Insurance in Astoria, OR today for an appointment to set up your policy.

How to Implement Better Boat Safety in Astoria, OR

Getting out on the water in Astoria, OR is not exactly difficult. Your proximity makes it nearly impossible not to have some sort of watercraft available, so you can really make the most of your beautiful location. But water can be one of the most dangerous things on the planet if you’re not careful. Linda Dugan Insurance wants you to know more about how you can improve your boat safety long before you set out for an adventure. 

Think It Through 

Boat safety starts with really going through every scenario. From life preservers to escape routes to emergency services, you really need to think about the resources you have and how they can be applied in any given situation. Someone who can’t swim very well may need a very different plan than someone who was a former lifeguard. 

Repetition Works 

In an extreme situation, repetition is the best way to combat panic. The more people are afraid, the more likely they are to forget the plan. Going over the safety plan should be done regularly, ideally to the point where people can do it in their sleep. The more comfortable people feel with each scenario, the more likely it is that they’ll go into autopilot rather than overthinking every possible danger in front of them. 

Boat insurance can’t prevent every dangerous situation in Astoria, OR, but it can go a long way toward restoring your boat after something occurs. With the right help, you can get the repairs you need to keep your boat safe when it’s on the water. If you have questions about boat insurance, call Linda Dugan Insurance today to find out more about what kinds of policies are available to you and your watercraft. 

What Kind of RV Coverage Do You Need?

As an RV owner in Astoria OR, you know you need RV insurance to protect your valuable investment. You may not know, however, what kind of RV coverage to obtain. At Linda Dugan Insurance, we can guide you in making good RV insurance choices to suit your lifestyle. Here are a few tips for choosing the RV coverage you need.

Protection for Your RV

Whether you’ve taken out a loan for your RV or own it outright, you’ll want coverage to protect your investment. This is where collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist coverage comes into play.

Collision covers the cost of repairing your RV if it’s damaged in a crash. Comprehensive protects you against RV theft and covers damage caused by inclement weather, animal strikes, vandalism, and other non-collision events. Uninsured motorist protects you against uninsured and hit and run drivers.

Protection for Others

RV liability insurance covers damage to others in RV accidents that are your fault. It covers others’ medical injuries and property damage, so these funds don’t have to come from your own pocket. A serious RV accident could cause a lot of damage to others. That’s why it’s important not to skimp on liability coverage. Liability coverage is also the only type of RV insurance required by Oregon law.

Specialized Coverage

If you live in your RV year-round or travel extensively, you’re at greater risk of theft, damage, or loss. You may want extra coverage like:

  • Personal property & attachment to protect personal items in or attached to your RV
  • Vacation liability to cover accidents in or around your RV when you’re at a campground
  • Replacement cost coverage to cover the cost of replacing your RV if it’s totaled in a crash.

To purchase RV coverage in Astoria, OR, call or visit Linda Dugan Insurance today.

How to prepare your home for a flood

Everyone hopes that no storm will be so severe as to flood one’s home. However, hope is not a plan. Linda Dugan Insurance, serving Astoria, OR would like to give some helpful suggestions to at least mitigate the damage that a flood might cause.

You should check FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center to see how much at risk your neighborhood is for flooding.

You should be on the lookout for flooding threats, such as heavy storms, paying attention to media reports.

Check the elevation of your house from the street level. If you have the funds, consider elevating your home higher. Even an extra foot or two may make all the difference. Raise your electrical outlets higher from the floor. Apply sealants to parts of the house that might admit water, such as windows and doors. Make sure that your gutters and drains are clear of leaves and other obstructions so that water can flow through them freely.

Place all important documents in a waterproof container, and place the container in a secure part of the house.

If a flood is imminent, move valuables, especially electronics such as computers and televisions, to higher levels of the house. Unplug everything to avoid shorts and possible fire hazards. If floodwaters are about to enter the house, turn off the electricity at the breaker. Consider using sandbags to block the entry of floodwaters.

And, finally, make sure that your flood insurance is current. Remember, your regular home insurance does not cover damage from flooding. Flood damage can cost thousands of dollars to repair. 

For more answers to questions concerning flooding and flood insurance feel free to contact Linda Dugan Insurance, serving Astoria, OR.

What is Umbrella Insurance and How Can it Help Protect Your Business?

If you are a business owner in the greater Astoria, OR area, it’s time to find out more about umbrella insurance and how it can help protect your business. Linda Dugan Insurance is here to answer all of your questions and help you determine if an umbrella policy makes sense for your company. Owning a business takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and it’s important to protect all of your efforts. 

Umbrella Insurance Basics

Primary commercial policies have limits that once met render the coverage exhausted. If your company suffers a covered event that maxes out your policy maximums, you or your business can be held liable for any excess damage.

Depending on the ownership structure of your company, both your and business and your personal assets can be affected. It makes sense to have the necessary protection in place, should the primary policy be exhausted. This type of coverage is especially important for public-facing companies that may have to deal with slip and fall suits, or that have the potential for business-related liability. Don’t wait until it’s too late to find out that the policy limits on your property insurance policy are insufficient to meet all of your liability and coverage needs. 

Umbrella insurance is an effective tool to protect all of your hard work and to ensure that your company can weather the storms that come its way. Find out more about the benefits of commercial umbrella policies today, and rest easy knowing you have the protection you need.

Ready to learn more about umbrella insurance and how it can help protect your Astoria, OR area business? Give Linda Dugan Insurance a call today and set up a consultation to learn more. We are here to help!

Is Health Insurance Legally Required?

While the Affordable Care Act did a lot of good for a lot of people, the fees that we had to pay for not having health insurance, when health insurance wasn’t always affordable, was one of the less popular features of the Act. That fee has been removed at a federal level, but where does that leave mandatory health insurance in Astoria, OR?

Long story short: You’re not required to carry any health insurance whatsoever on an individual level. Mandatory health insurance was never mandatory in the same way as, say, auto insurance, where you’re simply not allowed out on the street without it. Rather, you had to pay an extra tax as an incentive to get covered. Many states still have some form of taxation in place for people who do not carry health insurance, but Oregon is not one of those states. If you live in Astoria, OR and you don’t want health insurance, you don’t have to buy it.

But, it’s a different story for employers.

With under fifty employees, you can offer health coverage to your employees at your discretion. With fifty employees or more, working full-time or equivalent hours, you are required to provide health insurance for your team.

In short: On an individual level, nobody in Oregon is going to be required to buy health insurance. But employers with fifty full-time staff members or more will need to get their team covered.

That said, it’s not a great idea to go without health insurance. Get in touch with us at Linda Dugan Insurance and we’ll compare quotes to get you the coverage that you need. You want to make sure that you’re covered if something happens, so call us or go to the Linda Dugan Insurance website and let’s see what we can do for you.

Will my Oregon business benefit from commercial insurance?

The state of Oregon continues to be known as one of the best places in the country to start a small business. One city in this state that offers a lot of opportunities in Astoria, OR. If you are going to start a business here, there are a lot of opportunities for success. However, it is still important that you take the right steps to protect your business. One way that you can protect your business is by getting commercial insurance as it could protect your company in several different ways.

Ensures Business Assets are Protected

One of the reasons to get a commercial insurance policy is that it can protect your business assets. Businesses today require a lot of assets to grow and succeed. This can include making sure that your inventory, office equipment, capital items, and other assets. When you have commercial insurance, you will have the ability to repair or replace these items if you incur a loss due to theft or damage.

Liability Protection

When you have a commercial insurance policy, you will also get coverage for liability. If your business causes an illness or injury to someone, you could be held liable for the damages. With a commercial insurance policy, it will ensure you have the liability protection you need. 

As you are looking for a new commercial insurance policy in the Astoria, OR area, taking all important factors into consideration is very important. To ensure that you are making the right choices for your company, you should reach out to the team at Linda Dugan Insurance. When you speak with the team at Linda Dugan Insurance, you can be assured that you are going to receive the guidance you need to pick the right policy to protect your company. 

Linda Dugan Insurance Explains Why Having Life Insurance Is So Important To Your Future

Located in Astoria, OR, Linda Dugan Insurance is committed to helping people find the insurance coverage that they are looking for. As an independent insurance agency, we have established successful partnerships with multiple insurance carriers in the Pacific Northwest. That allows us to serve our clients and help them receive the coverage that they are looking for, regardless of their situation. We want to make sure that our clients make informed decisions.

Life Insurance

Linda Dugan Insurance believes that everyone should analyze how beneficial life insurance is. Life insurance covers your loved ones so that they do not have to worry about your affairs after you have passed away.

Life insurance allows you to create an inheritance. If you are a parent, this is a great way to help ensure that your children have a solid foundation as they become adults. It also provides protection so that no matter what circumstances arise in the future, you will be prepared.

Whole life policies will provide extensive coverage over the course of your life. Term life policies last for a specific period of time. Once the term expires, you can renew your policy or choose another option.

If you are a business owner, a life insurance policy will also protect your business. The policy will cover your business after you pass away so that it can continue operating. Without the policy, your business could suffer losses that eventually lead to its closure.

Linda Dugan Insurance Can Assist You

We will sit down with you and discuss the advantages of each life insurance policy so that you can make the best decision for you and your loved ones. Stop by our office in Astoria, OR today!

How a home inventory can help you

Astoria is the oldest city in the state of Oregon and one of the most charming places to own a home. Owning a home is part of the American dream and when you purchase a home, home insurance will help to give you peace of mind knowing that you are protected against some of the unfortunate things that life can throw at you. Choosing your home insurance policy is one of the most important things that you can do to protect your investment and the team at Linda Dugan Insurance in Astoria, OR will be happy to help create the perfect policy for your needs and wallet. 

As a homeowner, you have many responsibilities, keeping your home in good repair, paying your taxes, and making a home inventory. Why should you make a home inventory and how can it help you?  If you have ever filed a claim with your insurer you know that they are going to want to know what was lost by the damage your home sustained. Most homeowners own a lot more personal property than they realize. Try to think of all the clothing that you own, that might be a little overwhelming. 

A home inventory is a record of what you have in every individual room of your home. It can be a written record, a video record, or a digital record. It should be accompanied by as many additional records as possible. Things like receipts, invoices, and appraisals can make it much easier to prove what needs to be replaced. Your inventory also needs to be stored in a safe place and in today’s world, online might be the way to go. 

At Linda Dugan Insurance in Astoria, OR the experienced staff is available to sit down and discuss your home insurance needs and give you a no-obligation quote. Give the office a call or stop by.