This new law prohibits all Maryland drivers from using a Cell Phone with a Hands Free Device while operating a motor vehicle. In addition, the new law prohibit’s “a holder of a learner’s instructional permit or provisional driver’s license who is 18 years of age or older from driving a motor vehicle while using a handheld telephone”. The fine for the first offense is $$40 and subsequent offenses would be $100. The new law is a secondary offense, meaning that a driver must first be committing a primary offense such as speeding or reckless driving before they could be ticketed for a Cell Phone offense.
Tag Archives: auto insurance
ATTENTION DRIVERS!!!
New Maryland traffic ticket process begins January 1, 2011. On January 1, 2011, a new law goes into effect, and drivers who get a payable traffic ticket in Maryland will no longer be given an automatic trial date to appear in court.
Here’s how the new Maryland traffic ticket process works: Drivers have three choices when they get a payable traffic ticket, and they must comply within 30 days or risk having their driver’s license suspended by the Motor Vehicle Administration.
The three choices:
1. Pay the traffic ticket fine.
2. Ask for a waiver hearing instead of a trial. Waiver hearings are for drivers who don’t dispute the ticket, but want to have a judge hear an explanation before being sentenced.
3. Ask for a court date for a trial.
Personal Insurance
There are many different forms of personal insurance. The reason for the wide variety of offerings is that each type of personal insurance insures a different thing. Homeowners insurance insures a persons home and valuable possessions that are kept within that home. Life insurance covers the person for the possibility of his death. Health insurance insures that if the person happens to get into an accident or develop an illness, he will be able to afford the treatment that is necessary to treat the condition. Auto insurance insures that the person will be able to pay for any damages he may cause in the event of an automobile. These are the most common types of personal insurance. The reason that these personal insurance policies exist is that the expenses that can arise from these various situations can be unexpected and incredibly expensive.
Homeowners Insurance
Homeowners insurance is a personal insurance policy that covers the expense to repair or replace a home and the property that is kept inside. These policies protect the holders from damage that may be caused by vandalism, natural disasters, and the like. One thing that people should keep in mind when they are considering purchasing homeowners insurance is that many of these homeowners insurance policies do not cover damage that is caused by flooding. People who live in areas that are prone to flooding will usually have to purchase an additional policy to cover themselves for those possibilities. One interesting thing that is covered by most homeowners insurance policies is liability. This means that if a guest is injured while inside of one’s home due to negligence or something that can be blamed on the house, such as slipping on a wet floor, that person has the legal right to sue the owner of the house for the damages that occurred to his person. However, these damages that would be awarded to the injured guest would be covered by the homeowner’s homeowners insurance policy. This can save a great deal of stress and hardship and is very valuable for people who entertain company often.
Auto Insurance
Auto insurance protects a person in the evident that he has an accident i his car. these accidents can cause a great deal of harm. That is why it is so important to have automobile insurance.
Life Insurance
Life insurance covers a person in the event that he dies. These policies pay out money to people who were dependent on the person. When the provider for a family dies, it can be a huge blow to a family. Life insurance softens this blow.
Health Insurance
Health insurance pays for medical bills that a person incurs. Medical bills can be very expensive. Health insurance makes these costs manageable.
By purchasing the right personal insurance policies, a person can greatly reduce the impact that disasters will have on his life.
Stay Safe If Your Car Breaks Down
If you are in an accident or your car breaks down, safety should be your first concern. Getting out of the car at a busy intersection or on a highway to change a tire or check damage from a fender bender is probably one of the worst things you can do. The Insurance Information Institute recommends the following precautions when your car breaks down:
1. Never get out of the vehicle to make a repair or examine the damage on a busy highway. Get the vehicle to a safe place before getting out. If you’ve been involved in an accident, motion the other driver to pull up to a safe spot ahead.
2. If you can’t drive the vehicle, it may be safer to stay in the vehicle and wait for help or use a cell phone to summon help. Under most circumstances standing outside the vehicle in the flow of traffic is a bad idea.
3. Carry flares or triangles to use to mark your location once you get to the side of the road. Marking your vehicle’s location to give other drivers advance warning can be critical. Remember to put on your hazard lights!
4. In the case of a blowout or a flat tire, move the vehicle to a safer place before attempting a repair—even if it means destroying the wheel getting there. The cost of a tire, rim or wheel is minor compared to endangering your safety.
Watch Out For Those Deer!
Maryland is classified as a high risk state for vehicle collisions with deer, which if you drive and live in our area doesn’t come as a big surprise to you! The same holds true for most of our neighboring states including West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Though not in the top ten, statistics show that in Maryland, 1 in every 141 motorists will have a collision with a deer in the next 12 months. For the third year in a row, West Virginia tops the list of states where a collision is most likely to occur at 1 in 39 with Pennsylvania 1 in 94, and Virginia rounding out the top 10.
The fall, when deer are mating and in many rural areas drawn out of their habitat by hunters, is the time of year when the most deer-vehicle incidents are reported. While Maryland has seen a 27% increase in deer-vehicle collisions in the past few years along with increases in other states, there are things you can do to help minimize your chances of being one of these statistics.
Defensive driving tips to avoid hitting a deer:
- Be especially attentive from sunset to midnight and during the hours shortly before and after sunrise. These are the highest risk times for deer-vehicle collisions.
- Drive with caution when moving through deer-crossing zones, in areas known to have a large deer population and in areas where roads divide agricultural fields from forestland. Deer seldom run alone. If you see one deer, others may be nearby.
- When driving at night, use high beam headlights when there is no oncoming traffic. The high beams will better illuminate the eyes of deer on or near the roadway.
- Slow down and blow your horn with one long blast to frighten the deer away.
- Brake firmly when you notice a deer in or near your path, but stay in your lane. Many serious crashes occur when drivers swerve to avoid a deer and hit another vehicle or lose control of their cars.
- Always wear your seat belt. Most people injured in car/deer crashes were not wearing their seat belt.
- Do not rely on devices such as deer whistles, deer fences and reflectors to deter deer. These devices have not been proven to reduce deer-vehicle collisions.
If your vehicle strikes a deer, do not touch the animal. A frightened and wounded deer can hurt you or further injure itself. The best procedure is to get your car off the road, if possible, and call the police.
Contact your insurance agent (Rossmann-Hurt-Hoffman, Inc. of course!) to report any damage to your car. Collision with an animal is usually covered under the comprehensive portion of your auto insurance policy if you carry that coverage. http://www.iii.org/individuals/auto/lifesaving/deercar/
MD Insurance coverage for children in college
A question parents and their college-aged children don’t ask, but we need to ask, is, “Will these college students be covered under their parents’ Homeowners and Personal Auto policies while they’re living away from home and attending school?” The answer may be, “Yes.” However, the answer may be, “No.” And, sometimes the answer could be, “Maybe.”
The Millers’ 21-year old son, Buster, and their 18-year old daughter, Princess, have loaded their cars and are headed to college. Buster is entering his junior year, and Princess will be a freshman. Buster is sharing an apartment with three of his fraternity brothers, and Princess will live in the dormitory. Will their “stuff” – clothes, computers, TVs, music systems, books, etc. – be covered under their parents’ Homeowners policy? Will they have liability coverage if they cause injury or damage to another person? The Homeowners definition of “insured” includes “a student enrolled in school full-time, as defined by the school, who was a resident of your household before moving out to attend school, provided the student is under the age of 24 and your relative.” Therefore, as long as Buster and Princess satisfy three requirements – full-time student, resided at home before attending school, and under the age of 24 – they’re considered an insured under their parents’ Homeowners policy.
If Buster and Princess are considered insureds, their “stuff” will be covered for the same perils as the personal property located in their parents’ home. However, it could be limited. The Homeowners policy’s limit of liability for “personal property usually located at an ‘insureds’ residence, other than the ‘residence premises’, is 10 percent of the limit of liability for personal property, or $1,000, whichever is greater.” Therefore, if the Millers’ home is insured for $200,000 and they have a personal property limit of $100,000, the “stuff” belonging to Buster and Princess is limited to $10,000. This may be enough for Buster, but probably not for Princess. (I’ve raised a son and a daughter!). Again, there is an endorsement to address this problem.
One last comment on Homeowners coverage for college students. If they’re living in an apartment rather than a dormitory or a fraternity or sorority house, and qualify, purchase a Tenant Homeowners policy (HO-4). It’s worth the few extra dollars. I’ve been there too!
Buster and Princess probably have their own cars. After all it would be un-American to send a child off to college today without their own automobile. Are there any concerns here? Could be.
Who owns the cars? If titled in the kids’ names, then they need their own Personal Auto policies. What limits will they buy? Probably minimum. Since they’re “family members”, will they have any coverage under their parent’s Personal Auto policy? No. The Personal Auto policy excludes liability for “the ownership, maintenance or use of any vehicle, other than ‘your covered auto’, which is owned by any ‘family member’.” What if the cars driven by Buster and Princess are owned by the parents? No problem as long as they keep those cars listed on the Millers’ Personal Auto policy. Too often parents of college kids think if they transfer the auto insurance to the kids, they’re getting rid of the exposure. Not true. In order to transfer the auto risk, you have to transfer the title.
Let’s wrap this up…
• Make sure your insureds’ children who are away at college are still considered “insureds” in the Homeowners policies you write.
• Increase the 10 percent of Coverage C limitation on the student’s personal property, if necessary.
• Write a Tenant Homeowners policy for the student, if possible.
• If the parents still own the car being driven by the student, that car should be insured under the parents’ Personal Auto policy.
• If the parents want to take the student off of their Personal Auto policy to save money and have the student purchase the insurance, they should transfer the car to the student.
Will those college students be covered under their parents’ policies? That’s up to you!
Jerry Milton, CIC, contributed this resource. The legal profession recognizes him as an expert on insurance coverages. He is also an education consultant for IA&B, working with CISR, CIC and continuing education programs.
CNA Loss Control Seminar | RHH Insurance
Rossmann-Hurt-Hoffman, Inc. will be teaming up with CNA Loss Control to offer a new seminar this fall. The date and time will be announced soon. Check our website and Blog often for more updates and information!
