Sunday, December 9, 2012

if I drove someone elses car am I covered on their insurance?

Q. Im 15 and just got my license. So will I get a fine or get in trouble for driving my moms car even if she says it's ok? Will I be covered on their insurance?

A. well, your mom should call and ask her insurance company, or look in her policy.

most insurance policies require that every licensed driver in the household (so if you live in the same house as your mom) be listed on the policy. so, your mom will have to call and add you as a driver. if she doesn't, and this is the category her insurance falls into, and you get into an accident, they will not cover it. and your mom could get into trouble with the insurance company for not listing you.

some companies will cover any licensed driver operate the vehicle. not very many do this.

others cover any licensed driver over the age of 25 operate the vehicle.

and a few do cover anyone who is not listed on the policy.


Do I need business insurance for my small cleaning jobs?
Q. I'm looking to start a VERY small residential cleaning business. I would be the sole worker, just looking to make a little extra money. I'm not planning to hire any employees and I'm hoping for just maybe 2 or 3 houses a week. Do I need a business license as well as Property and Casualty insurance for something this small? Can anybody offer any advice? Bonding, insuring and licensing can be costly and if I can put this off until my business grows, that would be excellent. ANY advice is extremely helpful :)

A. In terms of whether you need a business license that would be dependent on where your business will be located so I cannot give you information about that. In the principle jurisdiction where I am located most businesses need a specific license geared toward their business or if they don't fall into any of those categories they are required to obtain a basic business license and to register with the department of taxation.

For insurance purposes the cost will range from $600 to $800 per year for a $500,000 occurrence/ $1,000,000 aggregate limit of Commercial General Liability and even though you are new in business can usually be set up in an installment plan by giving 25% down and then up to 8 payments -- with a small fee or finance charge. In terms of the bond, a janitorial services bond for $5,000 with less than 5 employees will generally cost about $100 for the year. The bond protects the homeowner in case you or someone you employ were to steal something from their home -- in your case it would be primarily a marketing tool to put prospective clients at ease. You might also want to consider letting your automobile insurance carrier know that you will be using the vehicle to transport yourself and your cleaning paraphenelia to these homes as failure to do so could result in a subsequent claim being denied. As long as you do not hire any employees and your auto carrier accepts the use of the vehicle, the CGL and the bond should be all you need from an insurance standpoint. The only exception would be if you invest a great deal in equipment or supplies and want to have those covered for theft and or other damages.

I suggest that you find a good local insurance agent that specializes in commercial insurance for further assistance. You can go to the website for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America to assist you in this search by entering your city or town, state and zip code only you will be able to pull up all local agents, see their websites and specialties and the companies they represent, and obtain their contact information so that you can speak with two or three and choose the one you feel most comfortable with. Note that your information will not be stored or used in any other matter except to conduct a search for an agent serving your community -- the website is: http://www.iiaba.net/agentlocator/findagent.aspx.

**Ultimately it is your choice whether to go without insurance or bonding -- however, note that if you decide against insurance and you end up with a claim you can subject yourself to ruined credit, loss of a client, loss of your reputation and still jeopardize your assets -- home, bank account, future income, etc. No one is judgment proof even bankruptcy will not offer you full protection and can ruin your credit for years to come.

I hope this information helps. Good Luck on your new business.


What are the differences in the types of motor oil?
Q. What is the differnce in 5W-30, 10W-30, 10W40. is one used for certain cars or for certain cars/trucks with certain gas mileage. How do you know which is the best for your vehicle? Also what is synthetic oil?

A. Virtually all new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. use either 5W30 or 10W30 oil. The difference between the two is that the 5W30 flows better when cold, so if you live in a cold climate or operate your vehicle in a cold climate during the winter months, you should use 5W30 if it is the preferred oil for your vehicle. If you live in a sub-tropical climate and don't operate your vehicle in cold climates, then 10W30 is acceptable as long as the manufacturer specifies that it is permissible to use it.

Is there a disadvantage to using an oil that flows better when cold, i.e. 5W30 versus 10W30?
Sometimes, but usually not. The crux of the issue is this: the bigger the difference between the cold oil viscosity and the hot oil viscosity, the more the volume of viscosity modifiers and the less the volume of base stock. If you are good about following the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval then stick with the 5W30 if that is the preferred oil for your vehicle, even if 10W30 is acceptable in warmer climates. Older cars may specify 10W30 only. This is because they need a little more viscosity when cold to keep a protective film on the cylinder walls. There have been instances where the larger amount of viscosity modifiers that are present in 5W30 have broken down due to excessive heat and have left carbon deposits on the valves, but this is extremely rare. The proper fix would be to reduce the excessive heat, but the workaround was to use an oil with less viscosity modifiers.

Synthetic oil was originally developed for high performance racing engines. Mobil tried to popularize synthetic oil for passenger vehicles back in the early 1970's. At the time, Mobil was promoting 20K or 25K oil changes with synthetic, but they soon backed down from this. Synthetic oil is a good choice if you have a vehicle with a high performance engine (in fact synthetic is required for many of these engines). It is also a good choice if your vehicle is operated in extremely cold climates. It has higher resistance to breakdown caused by heat and it flows better in extreme cold. Unfortunately for the synthetic oil industry there is virtually no advantage to using synthetic oil in a non-high performance engine that is operated in moderate climates. You probably could go a bit longer between oil changes with a synthetic, i.e. following the normal service schedule even if you fall into the severe service category, but I wouldn't advise this. In short, synthetic may give you the peace of mind of knowing that you are using an oil that is far better than necessary for your vehicle, but it won't reduce wear or extend the life of the engine. The mistake some people make it to wrongly extrapolate these benefits onto normal engines operated in mild climates, with the ultimate lack of any knowledge being manifested with statements such as "synthetics provide 'Peace of Mind,' or 'Cheap Insurance,'" or other such nonsense.


When renting a house what kind of stipulations can the owner make?
Q. Say i want to rent a house but i have children, and when i go to see the house the owner says "sorry, no kids" is that allowed? are they allowed to make any stipulations they want when it comes to choosing someone to rent to or is something like that considered discrimination? I know that they can say no pets and whatnot because of damage to the property or odors or whatever but do kids fall in that same category?

A. No kids allowed only flies if the rental is in a Senior citizens only place. Anywhere else it is discrimination.

Here are some thing the property owner can stipulate.

No smoking inside of the dwelling.

You cannot run any business out of the home, period.

Guests who stay more than 3 nights have to pay a fee of $10 per day. I used to have a rental agreement that had that clause.

Only the people listed on the lease or rental agreement can occupy the dwelling.

You can't park derelict autos in the driveway. All vehicles must be current on their tags and insured.

No water beds.

You must carry renter's insurance and keep it current.





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