When insuring your boat in the El Centro, CA area, it’s essential to understand the different policy options available. Two common types of boat insurance policies are agreed value and actual cash value. Each policy type offers different benefits to consider. 

Agreed Value Policy 

An agreed value policy establishes the boat’s value upfront between the owner and the insurance provider. In the event of a total loss or irreparable damage, the insurer agrees to pay the predetermined amount. This value is typically based on factors such as the boat’s age, condition, and market value when the policy is written.

Benefits of Agreed Value Policies 

Agreed value policies offer several advantages. First, they provide a clear and settled value for the boat, eliminating uncertainties and potential disputes during the claims process. Second, owners of older or unique boats benefit from the financial certainty provided by agreed-value policies. The predetermined value ensures they are adequately compensated, regardless of market fluctuations. 

Actual Cash Value Policy 

An actual cash value policy determines the payout based on the boat’s depreciated value at the time of the loss or damage. This value considers age, wear and tear, and market value.

Benefits of Actual Cash Value Policies 

Actual cash value policies offer lower premiums compared to agreed value policies. The lower premiums are attributed to the fact that the insurer pays out based on the depreciated value of the boat. This makes actual cash value policies more suitable for older boats with a lower market value.

How Armorcrest Insurance Services Can Help You

At Armorcrest Insurance Services, we can answer all your questions concerning boat insurance coverage and discuss if the agreed value or the actual cash value policy is your best choice. We assist the El Centro, CA region. Contact us today.

Why do insurance agents offer you umbrella policies consistently after you’ve reached the age of 40? AtArmorcrest Insurance Services, we want you to protect your financial future and understand that an accident in which you incur liability could wipe out your savings without umbrella coverage.

Accident Liability Example

Accident liability doesn’t just refer to auto accidents that you cause in El Centro, CA. It also refers to when an individual or group gets injured at your home or while using your equipment. If you libel someone, you incur liability for the damage you did to their reputation.

For example, if a child drowned at your swimming pool party in your backyard, you would be liable for their medical bills and funeral if they died, as about 5,400 US residents do yearly. You’d pay for their medical bills and recovery therapy if they survived. This medical emergency could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Existing Liability Coverage

Typical homeowners insurance policies include a small liability component equal to between 10 and 20 percent of the home’s value. If your home value at the time of insuring was $250,000, your policy includes between $25,000 and $50,000. Here’s some scary math; one night’s stay in a hospital costs about $8,000. You can see how your home liability coverage would quickly pay out its full amount.

Out-of-Pocket Expenses Can Decimate Your Savings

The remainder you must pay out of pocket. The injured can take you to court to force an immediate payment. If you have yet to reach the age of 40 years, you have enough time to replace the money you use from savings and investment or retirement accounts by working more.

Once you reach the age of 40, you’ve surpassed the point that you can easily replace those funds. Those past 50 years of age would need to replace 30 years of savings and investment in 15 years. It wouldn’t be impossible, but it wouldn’t be fun either.

Contact Armorcrest Insurance Services Today

Once you reach 40, your insurance agent offers you umbrella insurance to help protect you against this happening. Umbrella policies offer additional liability coverage that only costs a few dollars per month. Once the main policy – the home policy in the drowning example – pays out, the umbrella policy automatically kicks in and pays for the rest of the bills up to its policy cap.

Umbrella policies typically provide $1 million of coverage or more, so the chance of going over the cap remains slim. Contact Armorcrest Insurance Services today to protect your liability in El Centro, CA, and abroad.

Making your El Centro, CA area condo energy efficient can be an effective way to help lower your monthly utility bills and increase the sustainability of your home. Here are some ideas from us at Armorcrest Insurance Services you can use to make your condo more energy efficient:

1. Switch out outdated appliances for more efficient models – Appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, and dryers account for up to 20% of your annual energy use. Investing in newer, Energy Star-rated models will help you save money in the long run. 

2. Install smart thermostats – Smart thermostats are designed to keep track of when you’re at home and when you’re away, so they can automatically adjust the temperature when needed. This leads to significant energy savings over time. 

3. Change all lightbulbs to LED bulbs – LED bulbs are much more energy efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs and last much longer! It’s a simple swap that can yield significant savings over time. 

4. Insulate windows and doors – Sealing off any drafts around your windows and doors is vital for keeping air from escaping outside and wasting energy. 

5. Unplug unnecessary electronics – Electronics such as microwaves, TVs, computers, chargers, etc., all draw phantom power even when turned off but still plugged into an outlet. Unplugging these devices when not in use can add up over time! 

By following these steps, you can help make your condo more energy efficient while saving money in the process! For more tips, give us at Armorcrest Insurance Services a call today. We proudly serve the El Centro, CA area and would happily help you find a policy that suits your needs.

California law doesn’t require watercraft/boat owners to carry insurance. However, this doesn’t mean that insurance won’t be required for some other reason. Our El Centro, CA team at Armorcrest Insurance Services is committed to helping boat owners understand the benefits of insurance and situations where boat insurance may be required. 

What is Boat Insurance?

Boat insurance provides liability protection and coverage to help repair or replace your boat if it’s damaged. Watercraft liability coverage, like auto liability, provides coverage for repairing or replacing someone else’s boat if you damage it. Watercraft liability coverage also provides coverage for personal injuries you may cause to others due to an accident or situation where you’re found at fault. Watercraft insurance generally covers boating accidents and situations on both land and water. Although boat insurance isn’t required in California, you may still be required to carry it if you are financing your boat.

My boat is old. Is boat insurance worth it?

Although your boat may be old, investing in it to dock at some marinas, storing it, or using the marina facilities may still be a good idea. Typically, some form of liability coverage is required. Liability coverage covers any property damage or injuries you may cause to others or the marina. Although the monetary value of your boat may not be substantial, watercraft liability insurance can provide financial and legal protection if you’re deemed at fault for an accident. If you have more questions about boat insurance, call us. We’d be happy to answer all of your questions.

If you recently purchased a motorcycle and are excited to hit the highway, there is one thing you need to do first, and that is to ensure that you have an appropriate amount of motorcycle insurance in place. The agents at Armorcrest Insurance Services serving the El Centro, CA area know and understand the importance of motorcycle insurance.

Motorcycle Requirements in California

Like most of the 50 states, California requires all riders and drivers to be financially responsible if they cause an accident. Most motorcycle owners accomplish this by obtaining motorcycle liability insurance. This type of policy will assist you in paying for any damage you cause or injuries better sustained by another driver that you become involved in an accident with, and it is determined to be your fault.

There are several other types of motorcycle insurance available. Read on for more information.

Types of Motorcycle Insurance Coverage Options

Comprehensive and Collision Insurance

Comprehensive insurance will assist you in paying for any damage to your bike if it is the victim of a natural disaster, fire, or vandalism. This type of coverage will also assist you in replacing your motorcycle if it is stolen.

Collision insurance is essential to have in place if you collide with another vehicle or an inanimate object. This is because it will help you pay for any damage caused by a collision.

A lender might require both collision and comprehensive insurance if you borrowed the money to pay for your motorcycle.  

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorcycle Insurance

If you are involved in an accident that is the fault of another driver and that person does not have any insurance or not enough insurance to cover the damages they caused to your bike or injuries you have suffered, this type of insurance will help you recover financially from the crash.

Contact Armorcrest Insurance Services

To create the best motorcycle insurance policy for you and your situation, contact the motorcycle agents at Armorcrest Insurance Services, serving El Centro, CA, today!

Owning a boat is exciting and fun for many people. However, having a watercraft requires some planning and responsibility on the owner’s part. Individuals living in and around the El Centro, CA area can count on ArmorCrest Insurance Services to help them get the required insurance products necessary to operate their boat in the water.

Boat Insurance Options

Boat insurance is only a legal requirement in Arkansas and in Utah. Individuals owning about may take the boat out on the water without coverage. If they don’t live in these two states, boat insurance is a wonderful product to purchase anyway because it protects the owner and prevents losses while being very affordable.

Boat insurance works very much like auto insurance. It protects the operator from liability and protects them if there is a collision in the water. The insurance may also cover injuries and damage to others’ personal property. Depending on the circumstances, some boat insurance may cover a vessel in dry storage. However, most boat storage facilities carry their own insurance, which protects owners against complete loss if there is to be a fire or other similar event.

Reach Out Today

ArmorCrest Insurance Services is proud to offer high-quality insurance protection for El Centro, CA, individuals. Our team of experts is ready to provide expert support and customer service to ensure each individual gets insurance products that offer protection to suit their lifestyle. 

Call or stop by the office today to speak to one of her knowledgeable and friendly agents. We can sit down and associate current and future needs and recommend insurance policy options that meet those needs. Be sure to get the affordable and flexible protection boat insurance offers. We are ready to help you today. 

Buying condo insurance from Armorcrest Insurance Services to protect your El Centro, CA condo doesn’t mean purchasing a cookie-cutter policy. You can customize your condo policy to protect it and its contents with the coverage you need. You do this by adding riders to the main policy.

Rider Options for Condo Policies

Like other types of home insurance coverage, condo insurance lets you add riders to your policy, meaning a clause that covers specific situations or property. Condo insurance offers six common riders:

• Identity theft rider: If your identity gets coopted by a criminal, this rider pays for the legal fees and experts to rectify the damage and restore your identity solely to yourself.
• Earthquake/Hurricane coverage: If you live on any of the three coasts of the US, you may need one of these coverage riders or both. The US Gulf and the East coast get hit with annual hurricanes, and the West coast undergoes major annual earthquakes. Although Pacific hurricanes prove rare, they occur. This coverage protects you from personal property loss from these high-risk.
• Scheduled property rider: Sometimes called a jewelry rider, this coverage affords you replacement costs for expensive jewelry and other items, such as an engagement ring.
• Replacement cost rider: Also add a replacement cost rider if you need to recoup the cost to purchase new items if you lost them to theft, fire, etc. Condo insurance policies usually start with actual cash value, but since that pays you a depreciated value, people often want to add this rider. With it, you’d get the cost to purchase new items.
• Pet damage rider: Many people have pets, but this insurance protects you if you run a home business involving pet sitting or walking animals. If these animals damage your condo, insurance covers the cost of repairing it.
• At-home business rider: Rather than purchasing business insurance separately, many business owners with a condo choose to add the rider for home-based businesses. You qualify if your business generates more than $2,000 of annual income. The rider covers business equipment, including cell phones, tablets, computers, etc.

You can customize the coverage further by setting policy maximums and deductibles.

Contact Armorcrest Insurance Services

Contact Armorcrest Insurance Services for more information on condo insurance for your El Centro, CA condo. Let us help you customize a condo policy that fully covers your personal property.

Commercial property insurance includes contents coverage for your business inventory. But how do you effectively create and manage a content inventory? Armorcrest Insurance Services offers our El Centro, CA customers a quick guide to help you get started. 

Document

• Start with a walkthrough. Make a note of everything you find. Inventory apps make this easier. Some are free, but the best come with a cost. 
• There are three primary categories for business content. Categorize your inventory.
  • Inventory (what you sell to customers) 
  • Equipment (what you use to create your products)
  • Business Contents (terminals, furniture, and office equipment)
• Take photos, record videos, and save receipts whenever you acquire new items. 
• Once your inventory is created, maintain it by adding items to the list as they come in. 

Determine Value

When estimating the replacement value for items that fluctuate throughout the year, base it on your highest inventory month, never your lowest. Consider any renovations or improvements you’ve made to a building you rent. Ensure they are listed in your inventory. 

Understand the difference between replacement cost coverage (which pays out the value to replace with new items) and actual cash value coverage (which pays out the cost at current value, including depreciation). Actual cash value will have lower premiums, but you’ll need to make up the difference in the event of a loss. 

Redundancy 

Make sure you keep a backup off-site. If you use a digital app, many of them allow you to store backups in the cloud. 

Repeat

Review and update your content inventory seasonally. The more accurate it is, the better protected you’ll be during a loss. 

Armorcrest Insurance Services wants our El Centro, CA to be prepared. If you have questions about commercial insurance, call today to get answers from our knowledgeable and friendly staff. 

Do you rent your home? If so, it’s vital that you have a renters’ insurance policy. These policies offer several types of coverage that are all in one policy. All these coverage types are important for renters, and it’s never a good idea to go without them. In most cases, you are required to have it by your landlord. If you don’t have this coverage yet, getting it as soon as possible is important. Call us at Armorcrest Insurance Services in El Centro, CA to get started with a policy.

Coverage for Your Possessions

When you are a renter, your possessions encompass much of your investment. The many items you have in your rental are important, and they would be expensive to replace. So, what would happen if a serious incident happened that destroyed or ruined many of them? If you didn’t have this insurance, you would have to pay to replace them. But with renters’ insurance, you can have everything replaced with the help of the policy. It’s essential to keep this coverage for as long as you rent your home. 

Liability Coverage

Several coverage types are included in your policy if you have renters’ insurance. One of these is liability coverage. This protects you in case someone else gets injured in your home. It may also cover your liability related to your pets in case of an injury. This coverage can be extremely valuable because of the high cost of medical bills today. 

Get Your Renters’ Insurance

You are vulnerable to many expensive risks if you don’t have renters’ insurance. Call us now at Armorcrest Insurance Services in El Centro, CA for more information about renter’s insurance.