Johnson & Associates Insurance: Automotive, Homeowners & Commercial

12/30/2022

Happy New Year! Here’s to a “dog-gone” good 2023 🎉

How will you be celebrating the new year? Tell us in the comments - and have fun!

12/14/2021

Great News!!!!!! Money back from your car insurance. Beginning 2nd quarter 2022 each person that has had car insurance effective October 31, 2021 will receive $400 back from monies paid to the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. Nice to put some green
back in our pockets. If you have questions on this call me at 231-938-8940.

05/29/2020

Billing Update From Pioneer Insurance- COVID-19
Post Date: 5/27/2020

Previously we posted a billing news item regarding accommodations for those that experience hardships due to COVID-19. We are again updating this information with the following:

For those Policyholders experiencing hardship, we will offer a one-time deferral upon request for an open invoice for 60 days from the current due date. Late fees will be waived. We are extending this through June 30, 2020.

05/27/2020

Frankenmuth Insurance Extends Grace Period for Payments Through June 15. Here is a message from Frankenmuth:
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As we continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation, we recognize that many of our personal and commercial policyholders continue to shelter-in-place or remain closed while doing their part to help slow the spread of the virus. To provide peace of mind to our mutual customers during this time, Frankenmuth Insurance is extending its automatic grace period through June 15, 2020. During this time period, policies will not be cancelled for non-payment of premium.

If any past due premium is owed on June 15, 2020, a Direct Notice of Cancellation for Non-Payment will be produced and late fees will not be charged at that time. If a policyholder is unable to pay the past due premium in full prior to the cancellation date on the Notice of Cancellation, we encourage them to contact Billing Services at (844) 488-9777 or (800) 234-1133, ext. 2214 to discuss options for a payment arrangement.

We have taken steps to handle increased call volumes, and ask for your patience as phone hold times may increase. To assist in maintaining service levels for customers who need to make payments, please take advantage of our convenient online payment options at www.fmins.com/customers/make-payment.

As always, our team stands ready to assist our mutual customers. We will make every effort to provide the level of service that you have come to expect from Frankenmuth Insurance. Thank you for your partnership and support as we work together through this pandemic.

We make it easy for you to make a payment. Pay online or however works best for you. Learn more.

05/26/2020

Farmowners Insurance--

There's nothing like living and working on a farm, and there's nothing like comprehensive Farmowners insurance coverage from Hastings Mutual. Protect your property, your equipment, and your business with the company that knows how much you contribute to your community.

Coverage Highlights
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Personal Property
Our blanket coverage extends to your farm’s entire inventory, with an option to insure your blanket at 85% of its value. We don’t require you to pay for 100% of the value if you don’t need it.
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Glass Breakage

You don’t want a broken or cracked window when you’re behind the wheel of your farm vehicles. This coverage is available to you with no deductible.
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Equipment Breakdown

When your equipment stops working, it can be costly. We’ll cover computers, generators, and other covered equipment, and resulting expenses.
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Identity Protection

If you’re the victim of a hacker or thief, we can help cover the costs of repairing your credit and recovering your identity.

05/22/2020

UPDATED:
MAY 18, 2020
Memorial Day

Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2020 occurs on Monday, May 25.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.

Early Observances of Memorial Day

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.

By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.

It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. And some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemoration was organized by a group of freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.

One of the Earliest Memorial Day Ceremonies Was Held by Freed Slaves
Waterloo—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

Decoration Day
On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.
The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I.

Confederate Memorial Day is still celebrated in several states and will be on Sunday, April 26, 2020 in Florida; on Monday, April 27, 2020 in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi and on May 11, 2020, in parts of South Carolina. The practice of commemorating the Confederacy became even more controversial after massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015

History of Memorial Day
Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World War II, The Vietnam War, The Korean War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

05/21/2020

Increase your protection with surprisingly affordable UMBRELLA LIABILITY POLICY coverage.

There are plenty of reasons in today’s litigious culture to be worried about lawsuits. So ask your independent agent to help you add an extra layer of liability protection over and above the limits on your primary policies. Our umbrella liability coverage is available in limits of $1 million to $5 million for your auto, homeowners, watercraft, recreational vehicle, seasonal dwelling and rental property policies. It will cover:
• Gap protection against liability claims not covered by your comprehensive Wolverine Mutual auto or homeowners policies
• Legal defense costs if someone files a lawsuit against you
• Personal injury protection against libel, slander, malicious prosecution, defamation of character, invasion of privacy or discrimination suits
• Host liquor liability

This protection covers you and others on your policy no matter where your covered incident occurs in the world.

05/20/2020

5 tips to help your business reopen after a temporary closure.
by Frankenmuth Insurance Commercial Insurance, Safety Tips |

For many small business owners, a temporary closure comes with an increased sense of urgency. Safety is a top priority but getting back to business is another. Having a plan to reopen business after a temporary closure can help you to avoid common missteps and become even more successful moving forward.

Explore these five tips for how to successfully reopen business after a temporary closure:
1. Take inventory. Assess what is needed inside and outside of your business several weeks before you plan to reopen. If the building was temporarily vacant, inspect it for damages or repairs. Then run inventory of your materials to see what is in stock and what needs to be re-ordered.
2. Notify vendors and service providers of your return. From the companies who supply you with materials to your security system provider to your insurance agent to your cleaning and landscaping service providers, create a checklist of the companies you need to contact for a smooth reopen.
3. Incorporate social distancing or other safety practices. Design your plan for reopening around individual safety. If your business was temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, implement appropriate safety measures. Follow CDC recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting your facility. Create six-foot social distancing space between employees and customers. Encourage customers to pay with a credit card to avoid the exchange of cash and offer curbside pickup if applicable.
4. Update your online business accounts. Let customers know when you’re going to reopen. Update your Google, Bing, Yelp, Facebook or LinkedIn pages to notify customers of the date you’ll be reopening and your new hours of operation. Then increase activity on your website and social media channels to open up communication with your customers. This reopening can be considered a second debut of your company … so make the most of it.
5. Know your disaster preparedness plan. Whether or not you have a disaster preparedness plan in place, a reopening is a perfect time to review your plan. Our free Disaster Preparedness Guide provides ways to identify business risks, back up key business functions, communicate with employees and customers, budget for emergency expenses and more.

Another tip for restarting a business after a temporary closure is to look at the entire operation with fresh eyes. Where can you avoid losses and build new successes?

At Frankenmuth Insurance, our safety services experts are here to help and offer guidance to business owners every step of the way. Talk to your agent about business insurance and how you can be better prepared for everything to come.

05/19/2020

More ideas for lowering your insurance premiums...

In general, the fewer miles you drive your car per year, the lower your insurance rate is likely to be. So, in an effort to lower insurance premiums, always ask about a company’s mileage thresholds.

If available to you, use mass transit as much as you can to lessen the total miles you put on your car each year. When you sign up for insurance, the company will generally start with a questionnaire. Among the questions it asks might be the number of miles you drive the insured automobile per year. If you use your vehicle to commute three hours to work every day, you will generally pay more in insurance premiums than someone who only drives one mile a day. Using mass transit to rack up fewer miles, may incur a discount for you.

Dropping certain types of coverage can be a slippery slope. After all, nobody can predict if or when an accident will occur. However, if you are driving an extremely old automobile that’s on its last legs, it may make sense (depending on the cost, your driving record, and other factors) to drop collision or comprehensive coverage. The reason for this is that were the vehicle to be involved in an accident, the insurance company would likely total the car. If the value of the car is only $1,000 and the collision coverage costs $500 per year, it may not make sense to buy it.

Individuals have the potential to lower their annual premiums if they install anti-theft devices. Your insurance company should be able to tell you specifically which devices, when installed, can lower premiums. Car alarms and LoJacks are two types of devices you might want to inquire about. If your primary motivation for installing an anti-theft device is to lower your insurance premium, consider whether the cost of adding the device will result in a significant enough savings to be worth the trouble and expense.

Insurers provide a variety of additional discounts. Check for discounts such as these:
• Offers to let you pay the entire annual or six-month premium at once
• Agreements to receive e-bills and documentation
• Memberships in particular organizations or groups that offer discounts

So to sum it all up, you may not need all the bells and whistles in a policy, such as roadside assistance and car rental coverage. Go over your insurance policy line by line and ask your agent about removing anything you don’t need.

05/18/2020

Here are a few different strategies to saving money on your insurance bill.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• One of the ways to lower car insurance is through a discount bulk rate for insuring several vehicles and drivers at once.
• Lower car insurance rates may also be available if you have other insurance policies with the same company.
• Maintaining a safe driving record is key to getting lower car insurance rates.

If you obtain a quote from an auto insurance company to insure a single vehicle, you might end up with a higher quote per vehicle than if you inquired about insuring several drivers or vehicles with that company. Insurance companies will offer what amounts to a bulk rate because they want your business. Incidentally, some companies may also provide an auto insurance discount if you maintain other policies, such as homeowners insurance.

Be a safe driver. This should go without saying, but in today’s age of increasing in-car distractions, this bears mentioning as much as possible. The more mindful you are, the more accidents or moving violations you’ll be able to avoid—events that raise your insurance rates.

And…remember, cheap doesn’t always mean good, and going with the lower-priced company isn’t always the wisest

When selecting car insurance, you can typically choose your deductible, which is the amount of money you would have to pay before insurance picks up the tab in the event of an accident, theft, or other types of damage to the vehicle. Depending on the policy, deductibles typically range from $250 to $1,000. The catch is that, generally speaking, the lower the deductible, the higher the annual premium. Conversely, the higher the deductible, the lower the premium.

The financial strength of your insurance company is also important, but what your contract covers is also important, so make sure you understand your coverages, and stay tuned for more ideas of how to save yourself money on your insurance!

05/15/2020

-You can’t have open alcohol in the car-

It sounds obvious that you shouldn’t have booze around while driving but, bizarrely, there’s no law that says you can’t have open alcohol in your car, or stopping a passenger from drinking while you drive. The law only relates to the amount of alcohol in the driver’s blood and you’ll only be prosecuted if you are over the limit.

The only exception is that you can be prosecuted for drinking alcohol in a car while supervising a learner driver. LOL

Another "fact or myth" is that you won’t be fined for doing less than 10% over the speed limit.

Not true. The speed limit is just that - a limit - and if you exceed it you can be charged. However, guidance issued to officers suggests they employ a discretionary buffer of 10 per cent plus 2mph. The National Police Chiefs’ Council says this is to ensure enforcement is proportionate but officers can still charge you for any speed in excess of the posted limit if they choose.