I am selling my condo in Rhode Island and the buyers need to have flood insurance. I currently have flood insurance on my building and contents. The buyers have told me that their insurance company says I need an elevation plan before they will issue a policy. This surprises me because I did not need such a plan to purchase my flood insurance, but I've been told it's now a federal law. The survey will cost me $500.


Answer: Most lawyers will give you ½ hour of free advice. I’d check if this is truly “federal law" regarding flood insurance. I'm not aware of it. However, if this is new legislation and it's in force, you may be stuck with doing an elevation plan before you can sell. As for why you wouldn't have had to do a plan when you bought, it may be because your insurance was already in place before new legislation took effect. It’s true that insurance companies may continue to honor a policy that has already been issued, but may enforce new rules when a property changes hands.

If it is not federal law, it may be worthwhile to have the buyers do some shopping around for other insurance companies. Each insurance company will have its own unique underwriting guidelines, and some guidelines may be less stringent than others. Clearly their current insurer is not going to meet their needs if they want your home.

I am inquiring about Liability Insurance. I own a mobile Hair Dressing Company, in Canada. We are about to sign a contract with a Condominium complex and one of their requirements is that we have Third Party Liability Insurance. Can you please let me know what I need to do to get a quote for this coverage? Or, if your company provides this coverage, can you supply a quote to me?


Answer:  We can't give you a quote, but we certainly can start you in the right direction to get one! Third party liability insurance is important in any service business. If you could accidentally injure a client, you need to be covered in the case of a lawsuit. If you go to our business insurance page, you will find links to trusted sponsors who provide business-oriented insurance products, including third party liability. In most cases, you can get quotes from prospective insurers onlne.

In order to get multiple quotes, you should consider one of the sites that actually allow you to get and compare multiple quotes.

Another option? Talk to an insurance broker who deals with small business. You can also get quotes this way, and someone else will do the legwork for you. But be aware: a broker doesn't necessarily work with every  possible insurer. If you don't like the quote you get from a broker, either get more quotes yourself or talk to another broker.

I’m trying to research which vehicle overall has the best rate for auto insurance. I am looking to buy a new vehicle and would like something economical. I currently have a van and I do have 2 small children, both in car/booster seats at the moment. My preference is American-made. Could you advise me on this topic?


Answer:  This is a great way to ensure that the car you buy won't cost you a mint to insure. However, the insurance ratings on brand new models can only be based on crash safety. It won't include any factor for whether the car is a preferred target of thieves. If cars are easy to steal or are prime targets for theft, it can also affect your insurance premiums.

For crash safety ratings of new cars, you can go to the site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. You can also check out the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

If you live in Canada, the Insurance Bureau of Canada actually produces a booklet on cars and their claims history. The booklet looks at all types of claims including liability claims or damage claims.  It covers only the most frequently purchased models of the standard vehicles, from cars to trucks and SUVs.

I live in a 4-unit detached condo, in California. Each unit is owner-occupied. The HOA is self-managed. We are looking for property and liability insurance that will provide full coverage for the individual units as well as the common areas. How do I go about finding an agent specializing in condo corporation insurance in my area?


Answer: The best way to find a really good agent is word of mouth. Talk to folks from other condo complexes. You might even want to call a couple property management companies (who deal in condo complexes) and see if they’d be willing to give you a recommendation.

California just changed some of its flood insurance zones. How do I find out what those new zones are? I recently paid $450.00/year of insurance I don't think I need.

Answer:  I’d suggest that you contact the California Department of Insurance. These folks should be able to help you with up-to-date information. You can find them on the Internet, or you can call their consumer help line at 800-927-HELP (4357). They should know if the flood zones in the state have changed. Remember that flood zones can change and it’s not in the best interest of your insurance company to tell you that.

If you find you don’t need flood insurance, you can always cancel it and get a certain percentage of your premiums back, assuming that you still have some time on the policy.

I am looking into creating a community car group, where many people all share one car, each driving it infrequently and only when really necessary. Do you know of any very cheap ways to insure many people for one car? Maybe a family plan?

Answer: Great idea! I’ve heard of just such groups operating in a number of large cities now. Usually, these groups have a number of vehicles shared among a large collective

You could go a couple of ways. If all the people share ownership, then they could all be listed as drivers. I don’t know if you can get a “family plan” for unrelated drivers. You’d have to do some footwork. Remember that you are proposing a unique situation and that makes predicting what will work best a bit tricky.

You could also have the vehicle registered to a group. In this case, the organization (who owns and runs the car) will have to get the insurance. In other words, whatever your community car group is called, it will have to get the insurance, rather than the individuals. If you went with this approach, each driver could be listed as an occasional driver on the insurance policy. This, of course, assumes that you will be limiting the number of drivers and that you will know exactly who will be driving.

As for costs, I can’t comment. This is a unique situation. I suspect that any insurance company will want to know a lot about your group and likely specific information on the individuals who will be covered under the policy.

My son was pulling a boat on a trailer out of a friend’s yard and hit the neighbor’s truck. Would I be covered on any of my auto or home policies?

Answer:  It’s possible that you might have coverage. It depends on your son’s age, whether he is on your auto insurance policy or whether he would fall under the guidelines for your policy, as an occasional driver. I’m not sure that a home policy would come into play, unless you are in need of liability coverage.

However, this is a complicated situation. If it took place completely on private property, there may be some sticky legal implications. I’d recommend checking with a legal professional and then checking with an insurance specialist who is willing to speak to you “off the record” before you file a claim.

Our community will be celebrating our fire department’s 50th Anniversary in May. We plan to have a week long community event for this occasion. The event will include a smoke detector drive, car seat/seat belt safety, chimney/wood stove safety, fire safety, evacuation plans, home safety, child safety, home health and more.

We are a farm community and many of our fires each year are barn fires, usually at the result of faulty wiring or ignited hay. We have also had many tragic and fatal accidents involving farm equipment. Anything you may have (brochures etc.) that could be useful information for farming safety would be great. Or, if you have any ideas for things to make the community aware of, as far as farming safety, that input would be appreciated.

Is there any way that you think your company could help us with this community event?

Answer: We provide all our information direct to the Internet. As a result, we don’t have any printed materials. If there is anything on our pages that might be useful, why not refer your attendees to our site to check it out? Insurance is an important part of any plan – whether for the individual, a business, or the community – to deal with catastrophic events like fires.