Valley West Insurance

09/01/2026

Before your kids head out the door, make sure they know how to get to school safely, no matter how they are getting there. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

🔵Walking to school? Stick to sidewalks, cross only at crosswalks, make eye contact with drivers before stepping into the street, and always walk in a group when possible.

🔵Riding a bike? A properly fitted helmet is non-negotiable. Remind students to ride on the right side of the road with traffic, come to a complete stop before crossing, and choose a route with minimal intersections and light traffic.

🔵Taking the bus? Students should stand at least 6 feet back from the curb when waiting for a bus, wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before boarding, and never walk behind or in front of a bus without making eye contact with the driver first.

🔵Getting dropped off? If you drive your child to school, obey school zone speed limits, follow your school's drop-off procedure, and never pass a bus that is loading or unloading children.

🔵Teen drivers? Review the basics of safe driving. This includes, but is not limited to, having all passengers wear seatbelts, putting devices away while driving, and driving the speed limit.

We hope you find these tips helpful as students transition back to school. As always, if you have any needs or questions, do not hesitate to reach out to our team. We are happy to help.

08/29/2026

🛻 If you run a business in Las Vegas and the truck is in your name, there is a gap most owners do not find until a claim is being examined.

A personal auto policy is written for personal use. Once a vehicle is being used for the business, that use can be looked at and the loss can fall outside what the policy was written to cover.

Where this usually shows up:

🔹 A truck with the company name on the door, which reads as business use on its face
🔹 Tools, materials or equipment carried for jobs, which a personal auto policy is not written to cover
🔹 An employee driving your vehicle, or you driving theirs for work
🔹 Deliveries and service calls, or anything where the driving itself is the work
🔹 A vehicle titled to the business rather than to you personally, which a personal policy generally will not cover at all

📌 The confusing part is that nothing looks wrong until something goes wrong. The policy renews, the payments clear, and the gap stays invisible right up until the day it matters.

⚠️ The fix is not always a full commercial policy. Sometimes it is an endorsement, sometimes it is hired and non-owned coverage for employees using their own vehicles, and sometimes it genuinely is commercial auto. Which one depends on who owns the vehicle, who drives it, and what it carries.

📞 Worth ten minutes: tell us how the vehicle is titled, who drives it, and what is in the back. That is usually enough to say whether you are covered the way you think you are.

🔗 If you have employees, the other half of this is workers comp, and Nevada is strict about it: https://valleywestinsurance.services/workers-compensation-insurance-nevada

Valley West Insurance is an independent Nevada agency, not an insurer, and places coverage with licensed carriers. Coverage varies by carrier and policy form and is subject to underwriting, eligibility and exclusions. Not a quote, a binding offer, or legal advice. Your own limits and terms are set by your policy, so read it or ask us to read it with you. NV DOI #1021906.

Nevada requires workers compensation at one employee. Who counts, who can opt out, what going uninsured costs, and the payroll cap change October 1, 2026.

08/28/2026

🛺 In a lot of Las Vegas neighborhoods the golf cart is a second car. It runs to the clubhouse, the mailbox, a neighbor's driveway, sometimes the corner store. Most owners assume the home policy has it handled.

That assumption usually holds in one place only, and it is the driveway.

🔹 A home policy may offer limited help for a cart used on your own property
🔹 That help commonly narrows or disappears once the cart leaves the property
🔹 Motorized vehicles are one of the standard exclusion areas on a home policy, which is exactly why cars are covered somewhere else

📌 There is also a distinction that decides most of this, and it is not the one people expect. A golf cart and a street legal low speed vehicle are not the same thing. The street legal version gets titled and registered, and registration is the point where the coverage question changes, because a home policy was never written to answer for a registered vehicle. What Nevada requires once that happens is a question for the DMV. What your own policy does about it is a question for your declarations page.

🏌️ So the question is not really whether you own a golf cart. It is where you actually drive it, and whether it is registered.

Worth asking about, in plain terms:

🔹 Does anything follow the cart off the property
🔹 What happens if a passenger is hurt, and passengers are the common claim
🔹 Whether it is registered as a low speed vehicle, because that answer changes which policy has to respond
🔹 Whether a teenager or a guest driving it changes anything

⚠️ Nobody sends a notice when a cart crosses from one category into the other. It happens quietly, the first time it is driven on a public street.

📞 You do not need the paperwork in front of you to start. Call us at (702) 262-9900 and we can talk through how the cart is actually used, or pull your declarations page and send it over and we will read it with you. It is a short conversation, and the bad time to find out is after someone is hurt.

🔗 What bodily injury liability actually covers in Nevada, in plain English: https://valleywestinsurance.services/bodily-injury-liability-coverage-nevada

Valley West Insurance is an independent Nevada agency, not an insurer, and places coverage with licensed carriers. Coverage varies by carrier and policy form and is subject to underwriting, eligibility and exclusions. Not a quote, a binding offer, or legal advice. Your own limits and terms are set by your policy, so read it or ask us to read it with you. NV DOI #1021906.

Bodily injury liability pays other people when you are at fault. Nevada requires $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash under NRS 485.185. What that covers and how to choose a limit.

08/27/2026

🏊 Pool season runs long in Las Vegas, and a pool quietly changes one number on your policy that most owners have never actually looked at.

It is not the dwelling limit. It is personal liability, the coverage that answers when someone is hurt on your property and you are legally responsible for it.

What personal liability actually does:

🔹 Helps pay for another person's injury or property damage when the fault is yours
🔹 Can cover the cost of defending the claim, up to your limit
🔹 Sits on renters, condo and homeowners policies alike

Two pieces almost everyone merges into one:

🔹 Medical payments is a smaller amount that pays a guest's medical bills regardless of fault
🔹 Personal liability is the larger protection that responds when fault is actually yours

📍 Here is the part worth knowing before the next pool party. Nevada sets a minimum for the liability on your car. It sets none for your home. Nobody picks that number for you, which also means nobody has been raising it for you as the years went by.

So the limit sitting on your policy today is most likely the one somebody handed you when you bought it, and it has been quietly carried forward ever since.

📞 Pull your declarations page and read the personal liability line. If you cannot find the page, your agent or carrier can send it over in about a minute. If that number is still the original one, it is worth a second look.

🔗 What liability coverage does, in plain English: https://valleywestinsurance.services/liability-coverage-explained

Valley West Insurance is an independent Nevada agency, not an insurer, and places coverage with licensed carriers. Coverage varies by carrier and policy form and is subject to underwriting, eligibility and exclusions. Not a quote, a binding offer, or legal advice. Your own limits and terms are set by your policy, so read it or ask us to read it with you. NV DOI #1021906.

08/26/2026

🏠 The day a tenant moves into your old house, your homeowners policy stops fitting. Most Las Vegas landlords find that out at claim time.

A standard homeowners policy is written for a home you live in. A rental needs its own policy, usually a rental dwelling policy called a DP-3, and the differences are exactly the ones that matter when something goes wrong.

📋 What a Las Vegas landlord policy is built to carry:
🔹 The building itself, covered at replacement cost
🔹 Your liability as the property owner
🔹 Loss of rents when a covered loss makes the unit unlivable

⭐ And if there is a loan on the property, expect the lender to ask for it. Most investor lenders in the valley require a landlord policy naming them as mortgagee before closing, not after.

🛡️ If you converted a home into a rental and never touched the policy, that is the quiet gap worth closing this week. You do not have to sort it out alone.

🔗 What the coverage includes, item by item: https://valleywestinsurance.services/landlord-rental-property-insurance-las-vegas

📞 Own a rental in the valley? Message us and we will review what you have against what the property actually needs.

📤 Send this to a friend who just became a landlord.

Valley West Insurance. Licensed Nevada insurance agency, not an insurer. NV DOI #1021906. Coverage placed through licensed carriers. Educational information only, not a quote or a binding of coverage. Coverage is subject to policy terms, underwriting, exclusions and limits.

08/25/2026

Telematics insurance promises lower premiums for safe drivers, and in many cases, it delivers. But whether it is worth signing up for depends on more than just your driving record. Swipe through to get a clearer sense of what these programs involve and what to weigh before you decide.

If you have questions about your auto insurance policy or if a telematics policy fits your needs, give us a call today. We are here to help.

08/23/2026

🏠 Your homeowners policy is written for the people who live in the home. Your landlord policy is written for tenants on a lease. Neither one is written for a guest who stays three nights and pays for it.

That is the whole problem with short-term rental coverage, and it has nothing to do with whether you are licensed.

⚠️ Both policy types commonly exclude transient occupancy. So an Airbnb or Vrbo stay can end in a denied claim on a policy that is fully paid up and in force.

📋 Two Clark County dates are on the calendar as of today, and both can move:
🔹 A new ordinance making booking platforms responsible for unlicensed listings is set to take effect September 2, 2026
🔹 The Ninth Circuit is currently scheduled to hear the county appeal of a federal injunction on September 14, 2026

⚠️ Here is the part worth sitting with. The licensing question is genuinely unsettled and a court may still change it. The coverage gap is not unsettled, and it does not move with the court calendar. An exclusion for transient occupancy is a contract term between you and your carrier. No county ruling repairs it, in either direction.

🤔 So the two questions are separate, and people keep merging them:
🔹 Am I allowed to rent it out? That is a county and courtroom question, and it is live
🔹 Would a claim actually pay? That is a policy language question, and it is answerable today

📍 Pull out your declarations page and look for the occupancy it names. That one line answers the second question, and you can do it tonight without calling anybody.

📞 If it is unclear, or it says something you did not expect, the page below explains what to look for and has a form that reaches a licensed agent here.

🔗 What the 2026 rules change, and what they do not: https://valleywestinsurance.services/short-term-rental-insurance-las-vegas

💾 Save this if you host, or if you are thinking about it.

Valley West Insurance is an independent Nevada agency, not an insurer, and places coverage with licensed carriers. Coverage descriptions are general, vary by carrier and policy form, and are subject to underwriting, eligibility, exclusions and availability. This is not a quote, a binding offer, or legal advice. Short-term rental rules in Clark County are the subject of active litigation and are changing. Confirm current requirements with the county and your own attorney before acting. NV DOI #1021906.

08/22/2026

🚗 "I have full coverage, I do not need theirs." That sentence at the rental counter is right about the big risk and wrong about the expensive one.

Your personal auto policy usually does follow you into a rental car for personal use. Same liability limits, same comprehensive and collision, same deductible. That part is true.

📋 Here is the part the counter is actually charging you for:
🔹 Loss of use. The days the damaged car sits in their shop instead of earning. Many personal policies limit this or do not pay it at all
🔹 Administrative fees for processing the claim
🔹 Diminished value, the resale hit on a car that now has an accident on its record
🔹 Towing and storage

⚠️ Those four are billed to you by the rental company and are the most commonly excluded items on a personal policy. That is the gap the waiver is designed to fill, and it is why "I have full coverage" and "I am covered" are not the same sentence.

⚠️ And if you carry liability only, there is no physical damage coverage to extend. Damage to their car is yours.

💳 On credit cards: most are secondary, a few are primary, and nearly all require you to decline the counter waiver and pay with that card. Read the benefit guide before the trip, not at the counter.

🌎 Two places coverage commonly stops: rentals for business use, and driving into Mexico.

📩 Send us a message with the word RENTAL and we will read your declarations page and tell you which of these you actually carry before you travel.

🔗 Auto coverage, plain English: https://valleywestinsurance.services/auto-insurance-las-vegas

💾 Save this for the next trip.

Valley West Insurance is an independent Nevada agency, not an insurer, and places coverage with licensed carriers. Coverage is subject to carrier underwriting and policy terms, and rental car provisions vary by policy. This is not a quote or binding offer. NV DOI #1021906.

08/21/2026

🚛 Your auto policy does not cover your RV the way you think it does. The gap depends on whether the thing drives itself.

That is the whole fork, and it decides everything else.

📋 Self powered motorhomes, Class A, B and C:
🔹 Nevada treats them like any other motor vehicle
🔹 They must carry the state 25/50/20 liability minimum to drive on public roads, under NRS 485.185
🔹 The same floor as a car, on a vehicle worth many times more

📋 Towables, travel trailers, fifth wheels and pop ups:
🔹 No separate liability policy is needed while it is being towed
🔹 Your tow vehicle's auto liability follows it down the road
🔹 But damage to the trailer itself is not covered by that. Comprehensive and collision are what pay for the trailer

⚠️ What a standard auto policy leaves out entirely: full timer coverage, campsite liability, emergency expense, and your contents. If you live in the RV, full timer is not optional. It works like a homeowners and auto hybrid, because a standard policy was never written to protect a residence.

☀️ The Las Vegas part people skip. Keep comprehensive on a stored RV. Desert UV, heat, tire and seal wear and packrats do real damage to a vehicle that never moves.

📩 Send us a message with the word RV and we will read your current declarations page and tell you which of these you actually have.

🔗 Full guide: https://valleywestinsurance.services/rv-motorhome-insurance-las-vegas

💾 Save this before your next trip out to Zion or Lake Mead.

Valley West Insurance is an independent Nevada agency, not an insurer, and places coverage with licensed carriers. Coverage is subject to carrier underwriting and policy terms. This is not a quote or binding offer. NV DOI #1021906.

08/20/2026

Since we are in the midst of hurricane season, our team wanted to share a timely reminder about one important step of the preparation process: reviewing your personal insurance coverages before a storm even hits.

Here are a few key areas we suggest reviewing this hurricane season:

🔵 Hurricane Deductibles - Some homeowners policies in some states may include a hurricane deductible, which is often a percentage of your home’s insured value. This deductible is separate from your standard homeowners deductible and is the amount of money you must pay toward hurricane-related damage before your insurance company starts paying. Know what triggers it and how much you’d owe.

🔵 Flood and Windstorm Coverage - Flood damage typically requires separate flood insurance, and damage from unnamed windstorms may also be excluded from some policies. Reviewing your coverage and filling any gaps before a storm hits can make a significant difference.

🔵 Filing Claims - Ahead of a hurricane, document the state of your home. Then, after the storm, document damage with photos and videos before you begin cleaning up or repairs. This can help fully showcase any potential damage done by a storm. Additionally, as you make repairs, keep receipts for what you spend.

As always, know that we are here to help if you have any questions about your coverage or if you would like to talk through layering on more coverage. Reach out today, and we can get started.