Mall Parking Lots

"Those who cannot remember the past will spend a lot of time looking for their cars in mall parking lots!" (Jay Trachman) But what happens when someone does find their car in a mall parking only to see that it has been severely damaged by a hit-n-run driver? What if the person does not have collision coverage? Such was the plight of Ruben last Saturday leaving Town Center Mall. Calling, dejected from the Mall Parking lot I was able to assure him that since the damage was caused by another vehicle and not a shopping cart that we could classify the claim under his uninsured motorist coverage. What was more relieving to Ruben was we wrote this coverage with no deductible. So while you may forget where you parked your car you'll remember how the Schlosser Agency took care of you!

Why Do We Inspect Your Home?

You probably have a newly placed roof, while your neighbor has not replaced theirs in 20+ years and it is looking bad! Your neighbor called in a claim to his current insurance company and they denied it saying, "This is not hail damage... your roof is just old." So your neighbor switches to a new company (your company) then it rains and he files a claim with the new company. They subsequently replace the roof and this in turn increases your rate!

In addition to inspecting for potential maintenance issues, we are looking for potential hazards to others, like missing handrails and cracks in your sidewalks. This helps us reduce the number of liability claims. By inspecting every property before insuring it, American Family prevents many frivolous claims, saving you $ in the long run!

Are Property Taxes to Blame?

Allow me to introduce Jeff. He is a patriotic, white collar professional in his 30s. His favorite past time is watching his alma mater throw the pig skin and has most recently complained about what appears to be an increase in property taxes. However Jeff might be mistaken. Knowing that many individuals pay both their insurance and taxes out of escrow, insurance companies can seemingly hide increases in premium knowing that if there were also tax increases most people will not take the time to see how much their insurance has gone up. Jeff wants to speak with me because the money he'll save can buy him a ticket to the football game instead of watching it on TV. Jeff will also get a call at each renewal if his premium changes up or down!

When 2 Becomes 5

No we're not talking about if you have triplets! We're announcing that effective 12/01/11 the Auto/Life Discount on American Family Auto policies is going from 2% to 5%! Another great reason to have life insurance with your auto insurance provider. Call for questions (770) 250-1990!

Rental Cars & Insurance - Part 2

Unlike some other States, if you drive a vehicle with no comprehensive or collision coverage in GA the Insured's Insurance company (the guy that hit you's company) is NOT obligated to pay for the additional insurance on the rental car. Now some companies out of courtesy or because of practices in their other states may offer it, but they are not required to do so. Now because your car has already been in an altercation it would be unethical to add coverage to your vehicle till it is out of the shop... so what are you left to do in this situation? Buy the Insurance! The coverage in this case that you should be most concerned with is called Collision Damage Waiver or simply Damage Waiver. This covers the physical damage to the rental car.

Backpacks for Kids 2011

In the economy, many will struggle to buy school supplies for their kids. Let's make sure every kid in Atlanta has what they need this August.

Please Donate:
One backpack filled with five things: Notebook paper, 3 ring binder (1/2"), pencils, pencil carrier, & pencil sharpener.

If you are not able to donate all of those things, bring what you can and we will make it up. All backpacks will go to Cobb and Fulton county schools.

For Directions

Frequent The 400?

Do you frequent the Toll Booth on GA 400? If you plan to do so tomorrow, Saturday (07/16/11) between the hours of 10AM and Noon your toll will be paid, THANKS to American Family Insurance! One way we are helping share the dream... http://bit.ly/mHb6bo

How Much Does a Speeding Ticket Cost?

A buddy of mine called for a quote on auto insurance. He recently had a moving violation. As I was going through different coverage options with him when he said, "Does that price include my ticket?" It actually did not. In all the changes I had momentarily erased it, so at some point the figures I was quoting him did not reflect that. Adding the ticket back, the price went up $5 a month. To some people that may not seem like a lot, but a ticket is chargeable for three years, so calculated over time that is $180 or enough to buy a Suede Crocodile-Embossed Case for your iPad from Neiman Marcus. What iPad you say? The one you bought with the savings from having homeowner's insurance with us!

The numbers I quoted my friend were based of several factors which might be different for you. He was just covering liability on his policy so $5 would be low if you were considering comprehensive and/or collision. It would also change if you had a newer or bigger car. Bottom line: tickets increase the cost of your insurance, sometimes more than you realize.

The Value of An Agent

Our Agency had a recent claims experience where the customer's vehicle went to a manufacturer's shop due to a flood claim with subsequent electrical issues. In a survey after the claim was resolved here is what the client had to say when asked the question 'Suggestions on how we can improve?'

"Took three and a half weeks to get my car back and the repairs were completed in a week and a half or two weeks. So a week and a half of the adjuster and the car company playing phone tag seems a little excessive to me. My agent is wonderful. As soon as I got him involved it was resolved immediately. All in all I'm happy with AMFAM. Like I said it was excessive, the amount of time that it took to get my car repaired and it was not because it wasn't repaired. It was because it wasn't paid."

This is one of the things you get when you hire me as your agent!

Mario the Mortgage Man!

I’d like to introduce you to Mario the Mortgage Man! [Picture] He runs around in a two dimensional world. His first dimension is find prospects and second dimension is close loans. As you can see he is very frustrated! He runs around banging his head on things for small amounts of change only to turn around and do it again the next day! The insurance agents he works with still fax him dec pages and they don’t include the phrases his underwrites wants to see which results in an additional calls to fix it. Just like the video game, Mario the Mortgage Man needs a dynamic partner! There are two reasons Mario wants me on his team… The first is that I can email him the documents he needs while on the phone and I send the policies his underwriter’s want to see. Tommy Schlosser, I'm Mario's Luigi and save him time!