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The Shay Agency

1147 Hwy 315 Blvd
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702

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Insurance Blog

Who needs to get a full motorcycle insurance policy?

Anyone that is in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area will need to have a mode of transportation. One great option to consider would be to get a motorcycle. If you do decide to get a motorcycle, you should spend time thinking about all of your insurance needs. There are several situations when someone will need to get a full insurance policy for their motorcycle. 

One reason that you should get motorcycle insurance is that it can ensure you stay in compliance with a loan. Taking out a loan to buy a motorcycle is quite common. If you do have a loan against it, you will need to understand and follow the insurance rules. Most of the time, you will need to have a collision and comprehensive policy that offers full coverage with a reasonable deductible level.

Another situation when someone will want to get a full motorcycle policy is when they intend to drive it on a public road. Anyone that wants to use a public road will need to comply with the state law regarding liability insurance. If you do not have the necessary liability coverage, you could face penalization and even lose your license. 

Getting a motorcycle in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area can be a great option for those that want to have an efficient mode of transportation. When you are searching for your next policy, you should call The Shay Agency to discuss your options. There are a lot of important factors that need to be considered as you are shopping for a new policy. When you call The Shay Agency, you can get the help you need to better understand your options and manage the complexities. 

Why you Need Flood Insurance in Wilkes-Barre, PA

Pennsylvania is home to some of the most gorgeous mountain ranges. It is perhaps why flood insurance is mostly overlooked in the state. Unfortunately for most residents of the beautiful landscape, there is a high likelihood of experiencing massive flooding from the Susquehanna River among other large rivers across the state. In fact, during tropical storm Lee, the Susquehanna River water levels had risen to above 42 feet! Luckily, the newly built Wyoming Valley levee saved thousands of homes from complete destruction during the floods. However, there was substantial damage to many houses from the raging waters.

Importance of Insuring against Floods in Wilkes-Barre, PA

Much of the Wilkes-Barre, PA area is considered in a high flood risk region. The area experienced considerable flooding back in 2011. Since then, there haven’t been any government-sponsored improvements made on the embankment. The area is, therefore, one of the most susceptible to significant flooding events in the state.

There are currently no rules requiring residents of Pennsylvania to obtain flood insurance to cover their houses. Moreover, homeowner’s insurance does not offer cover for flood damages on homes. It is easy to be ignorant of the likelihood of storms but the unthinkable can happen, and you don’t want to find yourself in a fix when your house is ruined.

At The Shay Agency, we offer residents of Wilkes-Barre PA with flood insurance to protect their valuable assets and provide the funding required for the restoration of their property. We take flood insurance as seriously as we do fire insurance; since they are equally disastrous. We work hard to build our homes, and to have peace of mind, we have to protect them.

The Shay Agency is your best bet to protect your home from a disastrous nightmare. Contact us today via phone, or give us a visit at our offices in Wilkes-Barre, PA and get the right plan for you home.

Life Insurance Is Useful At All Stages of Life

Life insurance is one of those things you do not think much about. It is not a legal requirement, you hope your family never needs to use it, and it rarely affects you directly. It is one of those things that is often a mental requirement to be considered a responsible adult and parent, but aside from that its simply there in the background forgotten in a file. There are many reasons to purchase life insurance even if you have not reached the stage in your life where you have a lot of dependants or health risks. The Shay Agency provided quality life insurance policies for people in all stages in life. We serve the community of Wilkes-Barre, PA and the surrounding area with reliable service. 

Reasons Life Insurance Is Important Through All Life’s Stages:

  • Early Adulthood: Young adults often do not think too much about life insurance for decent reasons. However, if you buy an insurance policy in your early twenties and keep it up you will often find your premiums lower for higher coverage as you reach the next stage of your life. 
  • The early Thirties: At this stage, humans often have dependents, mortgages, and even companies that rely on their vitality. Life insurance brings peace of mind in an uncertain world, and if you purchased while you were young it is likely an easy transition to add dependants and increase coverage as needed. 
  • Middle-Ages: People often purchase their first policy in their late forties. It is certainly not too late, but again the earlier the better as a general rule. 
  • Senior Citizen: Many senior citizens have had life insurance for several years and simply keep up their coverage so they know that their passing will not put a financial burden on their children or spouses. 
  • Golden Years: It may be more difficult to get a policy that has comparable coverage to a policy that was purchased decades ago if insurance is allowed to lapse but funeral policies are common to cover funeral expenses. 
  • Other: Many grandparents choose to purchase life insurance policies for their young grandchildren, in some cases, these policies can have greater coverage than death benefits. 

Contact us at The Shay Agency for more information about a life insurance policy that can grow with you throughout all the stages of your life. We proudly serve the community of Wilkes-Barre, PA and the surrounding areas. 

Unique Auto Insurance Facts Pennsylvania Drivers May Not Be Aware Of

The Shay Agency is an independent insurance agency that strives to help people find the insurance that they need. We are located in Wilkes-Barre, PA. We offer multiple insurance policies to our clients so that they are covered regardless of the situation.

Auto Insurance

It’s important that every driver have auto insurance. Auto insurance not only protects your vehicle if you are involved in an accident, but it also covers you in the event that you sustain any injuries in the accident. The Shay Agency will help you analyze different types of coverage so that you can make the best decision for your situation. While you are doing research, here are some unique auto insurance facts that you may not be aware of.

Your Credit Score Is Important

In some cases, your credit score may impact your auto insurance policy. So while it may not be weighted as heavily as your driving record for example, having good credit can make a difference.

Pay Attention To The ISO Ratings

The ISO ratings are determined by looking at a vehicle’s model, make, and safety ratings. Primarily, the ISO ratings determine how risky it is to insure your vehicle.

Accessories May Require Special Coverage

If your vehicle has a number of special accessories, you may have to look into an additional policy to ensure that all of the accessories are covered in the event that they are damaged or stolen.

The Differentiation Between Personal Usage and Business Usage

If you are using your vehicle primarily for business purposes, you may need to look into a separate policy compared to if you were using your vehicle primarily for personal usage. Make sure that you inquire about the differences before choosing a policy.

Consult With The Shay Agency

Providing good customer service is very important to us. To learn more information about different auto insurance policies, stop by our office in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

What is included with a Pennsylvania home insurance policy?

When you live in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area, there are a lot of opportunities to enjoy appreciation if you own your own property. Due to this, owning a home in this area can be a great long-term financial decision as it also gives you a stable place to live. If you are going to purchase a home in this town, it is important that you properly insure it with a home insurance policy. There are several forms of coverage that are included with your home insurance. 

Property Protection

One type of coverage that is included with your home insurance policy is property protection. When you own your own home, you are going to have a major asset that will require a lot of personal investments. Further, under the roof of your home will be all of your personal assets. When you get an insurance policy for your property, you will receive coverage for all of these assets.

Liability Protection

Another advantage of getting a home insurance policy here is that it can provide you with liability protection. Anyone that owns a property in this state is going to take on risk. If you have guests over, you could be held liable for damages if they are injured. When you get a home insurance policy, you are going to receive some personal liability coverage.

Whenever you are ready to start looking for a home insurance policy in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area, you should contact The Shay Agency. At The Shay Agency, you can be treated very well by a team of insurance professionals that will keep your best interests in mind. This team of professionals can assess your situation to figure out what form of coverage is right for you and properly covers you and your property. 

Understanding the Basics of Two Types of Life Insurance

No one likes to think about the end of life care, but it is a subject that needs to be talked about by families. The cost of a funeral keeps going up each year. Not to mention there is a financial burden of the loss of income after someone passes away. These issues are why some people have chosen to buy life insurance in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This is one way that you can protect your family from having a major financial burden if something was to happen to you. Here are some things about life insurance that you will want to know.

Understanding Term-Life Insurance

Term-life insurance is the most basic and easy to understand life insurance policy. It is also the least expensive to buy. As a customer, you have a choice to make as to how much the life insurance policy should be. This kind of policy will be in force for a set period of time. If you pass away in that time frame, then the policy will payout. If the policy expires, you will have to renew the term in order to have the coverage.

Understanding Whole-Life Insurance

This type of insurance policy does not expire unless you cancel the policy. It also builds a cash value the longer you own it. What makes this policy unique is that you can borrow against the accrued value of the policy. You then pay back the money plus interest. This is a great policy in that it can be used when life throws a financial curveball your way. The premium for this policy is higher than that of a term-life policy, but it does not expire. 

There are a lot of questions that you may have about life insurance. Please call us today at The Shay Agency. We can answer those questions and help get you the policy that you need to cover your family with.

How Does Auto Insurance Work When a Car Is Stolen?

Plenty of people appreciate life in Wilkes-Barre, PA, but it is not immune to the problems that afflict every town and city in the world. Sometimes, bad things happen. Sometimes, that bad thing is car theft. If your car is stolen, it will feel like the world fell out from under your feet, but there is help available. Knowing more about the process can be great for peace of mind, so The Shay Agency wants to walk you through a stolen vehicle claim.

Is It Covered?

The process starts by knowing the answer to this question. If you have liability-only coverage, you aren’t protected from theft. Only policies that specify theft coverage will offer financial assistance in this case. The good news is that most comprehensive plans do cover theft, and your insurance agent took the time to explain this to you. So, assuming you’re covered, you go to the next step.

Making a Claim

The very first thing you should do is contact the police. A police investigation is pivotal to everything else. When the police are on their way, you can go ahead and call the insurance company. They’re going to walk you through important steps to help you with your claim process.

What happens next is different in every scenario, but there are basically two possibilities. Either the vehicle will be recovered, or it won’t. If the vehicle is recovered and undamaged, then you may be eligible for rental reimbursement or another small claim (it all depends on the specific policy), but things are usually pretty simple. 

If the vehicle isn’t recovered, or if it is significantly damaged, you might be looking at a total loss claim. It’s a bit of a process, but the general idea is that the insurance company will write you a check to help you get a replacement vehicle. Every policy has a deductible, so don’t forget that. Also, the size of your payout depends on the value of the vehicle you lost and the details of your policy. It’s best not to have any expectations, good or bad, unless you remember the details of your coverage.

At any point before, during or after the process, you can speak with The Shay Agency. An agent will make sure you understand the important details of your policy so you know what to expect, and you won’t be stuck as a pedestrian in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Home Insurance in Pennsylvania

In order to make an informed decision about home insurance, the first step is to get educated about home insurance.  A licensed and registered insurance agency such as The Shay Agency serving Wilkes-Barre, PA can not only educate you about home insurance but also guide you with the best policy that fits your needs and preferences. Usually, the biggest mistake people make is to not understand what their policy covers and what it doesn’t cover. Also, most people have no idea what sort of maximums should they get in order to sufficiently protest.

The insurance agents need to go into details with their customers on what the policy entails. The customer needs to have a basic understanding so they are able to actively listen and understand the differences in each policy. Going for higher deductibles can save money in the premium payments but that also means in a situation where insurance is needed, the amount of the deductible has to be met before the insurance kicks in.

It is also important to understand that your home insurance doesn’t protect against anything that happens to the home. For example, typically home insurance doesn’t cover for flood damage. Even though your home was damaged in a flood, home insurance will not cover that. You will need to get separate flood insurance coverage to provide protection. It’s not all about policy, the customer service of an insurance agency is as important as the policy itself. Make sure you go with an agency that has a track record of good customer service. One such company is The Shay Agency. In order to get in touch with The Shay Agency serving Wilkes-Barre, PA, use the contact information provided on the website. The staff at the agency will be glad to assist you.

What Coverage Is Included With Commercial Insurance?

Commercial insurance is a broad term that covers a lot. However, to put it in the simplest form, commercial insurance is a type of insurance meant to protect businesses against losses from injury to employees and damage to facilities/properties. Since businesses and their processes vary widely, commercial insurance protects different organizations from different types of risks.

However, according to the Shay Agency, whose serving city is Wilkes-Barre, PA, despite the variances, all commercial insurance policies have some typical coverage, which are:

  • Public liability
  • Professional indemnity
  • Employers’ liability

Public Liability

This aspect of commercial insurance protects businesses that receive visitors to their premises or work on client locations. If suppliers, clients, of members of the public suffer property damage or personal injury caused by the policyholder’s business, public liability insurance will cover the legal expenses and compensations.

For example, if you have a painting company and while one of your painters is painting the exterior of a building, his brush drops on the windshield of a Ferrari and breaks it. This insurance policy will bear most of the claim settlement costs.

Professional indemnity

If your business causes a client some financial losses or professional losses, this insurance policy will cover the payment of compensation and legal fees. Here are some examples of how your business can cause losses to your clients:

  1. You inadvertently publish a reputation-damaging statement about someone or an organization that happens to be false.
  2. A client’s data or document gets lost in your care/custody.
  3. You mistakenly share someone’s sensitive or confidential information without the person’s express permission.
  4. You violate someone’s or an organization’s copyright.
  5. A client incurs a loss because he acted on your wrong or misleading advice.

Employers’ liability

This policy will cover your legal fees and compensation if your existing or former employee files a lawsuit against your company because of an injury or illness caused by your work.

For more information, contact The Shay Agency in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

 

Why carry comprehensive and collision insurance on your car

In the state of Pennsylvania, if you are a car owner you are required to carry liability insurance. This protects other drivers on the road from you, which is very good for them but does nothing for you. The question of why carry comprehensive and collision insurance on your car deals with you and your property. If you have a loan on your vehicle, the lender will require that you carry collision and comprehensive but once your loan is paid off, you may be tempted to just carry basic liability insurance. At The Shay Agency in Wilkes-Barre, PA. we are happy to discuss this issue with you. 

Does your car have value

The best way to know how much your car is actually worth is to check the Kelly Blue Book value. In the life of every vehicle, it gets to the point where paying the additional amount for collision and comprehensive is not cost-effective. If the value is so low that it would automatically be totaled in any sort of accident then perhaps you don’t need the coverage. If however, your car is still worth thousands of collars then carrying both collision and comprehensive offers valuable coverage. 

Can you pay to repair or replace

Collision coverage pays to replace or repair your vehicle in the case of an accident where you are at fault. Comprehensive coverage protects you from other damage and from theft and vandalism.  If you can afford to repair or to replace your vehicle with your own money, then you don’t need this coverage. If you are like most people and would find repair or replacement a burden, then this coverage can be a lifesaver and even a job saver.   

If you own a car and live on Wilkes-Barre, PA the team at The Shay Agency would be happy to talk to you about the kind of coverage that is best for you. We invite you to stop by our office or give us a call to get a no-obligation quote and to get any questions you may have answered.