Protect your vehicle - Don’t be at the mercy of bandits and burglars

Whether you are out shopping, attending an outdoor event or visiting friends anyone can break into your vehicle and take whatever valuables they find inside.

Generally people are sure to lock their car doors and close their windows when they are no longer in the safety of their own neighborhood, and thereby stopping access to potential car thieves. But as soon as they get home, to their white-picket fences filled with neighbors that they trust, all their safety habits fly out the window. They leave their doors unlocked, leave windows rolled down low enough to twist an arm through, and use their automobile like it’s another room of their home.

You should never underestimate the safety of your surrounding environments, whether you live in a secure access apartment block, a condo in the heart of the city or on a farm in the middle of nowhere. Crime is possible everywhere you go, even the most sheltered areas could be susceptible to criminal activity.

Your vehicle is one of the most exposed places to store expensive belongings like MP3 players, laptops, shoes and other items. It is the last place you should leave open to the mercy of thugs and thieves.

Hot Tips:

• It doesn’t matter how secure you think it might be, you should always strive keep your automobile locked and remove any unnecessary expensive items.
• If you are unable to extract your valuables, you can just as easily put them in your trunk. While a single-minded burglar could still get into your trunk, it’s unlikely they will risk it if they don’t know if there’s anything in there worth stealing. Rest assured a passing pilferer will take advantage if valuable items are in plain view inside a car.
• Tinted windows can help reduce visibility but its best not to take the risk, just bring those items into your house with you each evening.

You never know what could be lying in wait around the corner. That’s why buying Columbus auto insurance is so important. The more you can do to prevent these disastrous events from happening, the cheaper your premiums and the less worry for you to replace your lost valuable items. Call us today to discuss your options at (614) 221-1500.

How to Shop for a Safer Car

The internet has become one of our main sources of information and it is great for consumers who are interested in learning about keeping their family safe. However, at times, it can be overwhelming to try and figure out which sources to listen to and which to disregard.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, is an independent, non-profit group that researches data that can help reduce highway accidents, injuries and crash deaths. The group is funded by auto insurers and provides a good educational materials and videos to better educate consumers.

Today, I am going to discuss one of their videos, Shopping for a Safer Car. This video gives an overview of all the safety features that you should look for when you go to buy a new automobile.

Size and Weight

Large, heavy vehicles offer more protection in crash because they have more structure with which to absorb the crash energy around you.  With that in mind, extra-large vehicle offer little additional protection and can actually cause more harm to other vehicles when involved in a crash. Finding a happy medium in terms of size and weight will keep your family safe while not increasing the potential damage you could cause others.

Structure and Restraint Systems

Automobiles with a strong safety cage and crumple zones are safer for you and your family. Automobiles with lap belts in addition to side and front airbags will do more to protect your body from injury.  It is also good to consider adjustable head restraints for whiplash prevention...

Continue reading "How to Shop for a Safer Car" or contact us at 614-221-1500 to learn more about Columbus auto insurance.

What can Affect the Price of your Home insurance?

Your personalized quote for home insurance is not found on a standard diagram that matches your age, home value and deductible information to a set price. Home insurance quotes are explicitly developed for each applicant and are based on the very personal details of your lifestyle and living space. Here’s a taste of some of the factors that are involved in your premium pricing:

The age of the home: Older homes are less fortified against natural disasters than newer homes, and are also more expensive to repair. Newer homes are built to new safety standards and with more durable materials. What does this mean to you? If you have an older home, you can expect a more expensive home insurance quote.

The construction of the home: Wood frame houses are susceptible to fire in a way that concrete block and brick homes are not. Concrete homes can also stand up to harsher environmental elements. That makes wood frame houses more expensive to insure.

Fire protection options: Many times, smaller towns do not have their own fire department. Instead, they may have a volunteer force to fight small blazes and a force from a bigger city stepping in to control larger fires.

Continue reading "What can Affect the Price of your Home insurance?" or contact us at 614-221-1500 to learn more about Columbus home insurance.

Columbus Auto Insurance - Ohio

What is Auto Insurance?

Ohio Auto insurance protects the policyholder against financial loss if you have an accident. It is a contract between the policyholder and the insurance company. The policyholder agrees to pay the premium and the insurance company agrees to pay his or her losses as defined in your policy.

Auto insurance provides typically three types of coverage:

• Property coverage pays for damage to or theft of the car.
• Liability coverage pays for your legal responsibility to others for property damage or bodily injury.
• Medical coverage pays for the cost of treating injuries, rehabilitation and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses.

An auto insurance policy is comprised of six different kinds of coverage. Most states require you to buy some, but not all, of these coverages. If you're financing a car, your lender may also have requirements.

Most auto policies are for six months or a year. Your insurance company should notify you by mail when it's time to renew the policy and to pay your premium.

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cincinnati and Cleveland. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city in the United States of America. It is the county seat of Franklin County, yet the city has expanded and annexed portions of adjoining Delaware County and Fairfield County. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. The city has a diverse economy based on education, government, insurance, banking, fashion, defense, aviation, food, clothes, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology. Modern Columbus has emerged as a technologically sophisticated city. It is home to the world's largest private research and development foundation, the Battelle Memorial Institute; CAS, or Chemical Abstracts Service, the world's largest clearinghouse of chemical information; NetJets, the world's largest fractional ownership jet aircraft fleet; and The Ohio State University, the nation's largest campus.

In 2009, BusinessWeek named the city as the best place in the country to raise a family. Forbes Magazine in 2008 ranked the city as the no. 1 up-and-coming tech city in the nation, and the city was ranked a top ten city by Relocate America in 2010. In 2007, fDi Magazine ranked the city no. 3 in the U.S. for cities of the future, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was rated no. 1 in 2009 by USA Travel Guide.

In 2008, MarketWatch named Columbus as the 7th best place to do business in the nation. In 2011, the city had five corporations named to the U.S. Fortune 500 list including Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, Limited Brands, Momentive Specialty Chemicals, and Big Lots. Major foreign corporations operating or with divisions in the city include Germany-based Siemens and Roxane Laboratories, Finland-based Vaisala, Japan-based Techneglas, Inc., Tomasco Mulciber Inc., and A Y Manufacturing, as well as Switzerland-based ABB Group and Mettler Toledo.

The population of the city was 787,033 at the 2010 census. Although Columbus is the most populous city in Ohio, this is due to the city's relatively large territory (over 212 square miles (550 km2)), and not due to a high density rate. This explains why the Columbus metropolitan area has a relatively small population, and is smaller than both the Cleveland and Cincinnati metro areas. In 2008, Columbus was the 16th largest city in the United States, with 754,885 residents, but has only the 32nd largest metropolitan area, and the third most populous state capital in the U.S. 2008 estimates indicate that roughly 116,000 of the city's residents are foreign-born, accounting for 82% of the new residents between 2000-2006. According to the U.S. Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 1,773,120, and the Combined Statistical Area (which also includes Marion and Chillicothe) has a population of 2,031,229. Columbus is located within 550 miles (890 km) of half of the population of the United States.

(Source: Wikipedia.org)

Gardiner Allen DeRoberts Insurance

Gardiner Insurance began operations in 1928 and Insurance Associates, founded by Bruce Allen, was formed in 1949. Gardiner Allen DeRoberts Insurance specializes in Columbus auto insurance as well as home, car, business insurance and employee benefits in Upper Arlington, Grand View, Ohio. Contact us at (614) 221-1500 for a free Ohio auto insurance quote.