According to statistics provided by the City of Scottsdale Office, more than half of all vehicles stolen were unlocked during the theft and what’s even worse is the keys were left in the car! Well, talk about “crimes of opportunity!”

Here is what you can do right now to avoid theft of your vehicle as well as preventing theft to your personal property inside.

1. Lock your doors
2. Roll up the windows
3. Hide personal property that is in plain view. Stash them under the seat if you have to
4. Never leave spare keys inside the car
5. Use anti theft devices such as the “steering wheel club,” wheel locks, or other types of anti theft devices.
6. Park in well lit areas
7. Invest in on board GPS systems like “LoJack” and other Geo devices in case your car does get stolen, it’s location can be traced right away
8. Finally, just use common sense where you park your car. Park where there is other cars. Parking in a bad neighborhood or in the dark is just asking for trouble

Quite often if we just think things through, without stressing, and take percautions to make sure you secured your car is the best things to do.

Have a safe summer.

If you need a quote on auto insurance call Doug Seide Insurance at 480-443-1952.

When was the last time you spoke with your insurance agent regarding any changes in your life? Since your last conversation with your insurance agent, you may have;

1. gotten married
2. gotten divorced
3. moved
4. bought a new car
5. given birth to a child
6. added a section to the house
7. your child’s first year driving a car
8. upgraded your alarm system
9. started a business in your house

The list can go on and on and you wouldn’t even notice that you have to alert your insurance agent with these changes.

That last thing you want to do is find out that your insurance policy does not cover a particular loss because you did not include it in a rider. Some changes can result in downsizing your premiums. Wouldn’t it be nice to take advantage of saving money just from an insurance review?

For more information on reviewing your insurance call Doug Seide Insurance at 480-443-1952.

You don’t have to have insurance with Doug in order to get an insurance review.

As a Scottsdale Insurance Agent, I have the responsibility of going over all the coverages of our insureds homeowners policy. Quite often I get asked really what is covered through the homeowners policy.  I have attached a really cool video that covers just about all the most common questions. Take a look at this video and post your comments.

The bad news! National statistics have proven that, if you have a youthful driver in your household, premiums are usually rated higher because of the higher rate of collisions and liability claims that arise from this group. Of course, the main culprit here is inexperience. Underwriters have long been in the know about this so, hence the stricter requirements on the premium rates.

The good news, is that you can do something right now to maximize the discounts and keeping the youthful driver premium at the lowest level you can generate.

Here are 4 tips you can use to control the youth premium right now:

1. Buy a “conservative” car. You are not doing yourself a favor by getting your son or daughter a sports car, SUV, or deluxe high performance vehicle. Just think for a moment how much the upkeep is on something like if your child gets into a collision. Nightmare for you! So choose wisely, a conservative small four door sedan that has good protection of “metal” around the driver and occupants along with a good safety record of performance.
2. Be a good citizen. It helps to keep the underwriters of your policy to know your child is involved in community service, keeps good grades in school, and stays out of trouble.
3. Clean record. This goes along with #2 in being a good citizen. If your son/daughter has a record of felony, moving violations, credit problems or anything that can dampen one’s character, it will be a concern.
4. Lastly, safety features of the primary vehicle of your child. Does it have anti-lock brakes? Side air bags? Auto seat belts? Just a few safety features that will also “score brownie points” with your insurance company.

In other words, the reality is that, if you have youthful drivers in your household, it can’t help but drive your overall “family plan” insurance premium higher, but you need to know the things you can control to maximize savings to lower the premiums as best as you can. Follow the above tips and you will know you got the best price on your premiums