Uninsured Motorist and Its Importance

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What is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?

Uninsured motorist protects your property and yourself when a driver who was at-fault in an accident does not carry liability insurance. While technically optional, we strongly recommend that you carry this very important coverage. In fact, recent studies have shown that close to 12% of all drivers in the state of Georgia drive without liability insurance. So, if one of these drivers is at fault in an accident that causes damage to you or your property, you may be stuck footing the bill. However, by carrying Uninsured Motorist coverage, you can prevent yourself from coming out of pocket due to someone else’s mistake.

Auto Insurance Quote

What if they have insurance, but the limits are less than the damage?

Even if someone carries liability insurance, it may not be enough to cover the damage caused. In fact, in Georgia, the state minimum required liability limits are $25,000 in bodily injury per person, $50,000 for bodily injury in total per accident, and $25,000 for property. This is where Underinsured Motorist coverage (UIM) comes into play. Picture a scenario where the damage done exceeds the liability limits carried by the at fault party. UIM coverage will kick in to cover the remaining balance, up to or in addition to your own Uninsured Motorist limits (depending on whether you carry reduced by or added on limits).

What is reduced by or added on?

These are your two UIM coverage options. They both take into account your Uninsured Motorist limits. This will determine the dollar amount of coverage you would receive in a UIM claim. If you choose reduced by, then your UIM limits will simply be your Uninsured Motorist limits, reduced by the other party’s liability limits. Let’s you carry $100,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $300,000 per accident, and $100,000 in property damage. Now, the at fault party is carrying $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 in property damage. After their own limits are met, your new limits would be $75,000/$250,000/$75,000, which totals up to your UM limit.

Added on coverage takes the at fault party’s limits and adds them on to your own. So let’s say they carry $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 for their liability. Now you carry $100,000/$300,000/$100,000 for your UM coverage. Your new limit for UIM would be $125,000/$350,000/$125,000. Regardless of which you carry, UIM can be the difference in thousands of dollars for you and your family during a claim. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist is a vital coverage to help cover you in your time of need. For more insight like this, contact us today for a free quote! It never hurts to make sure you and your family are receiving the coverage you need. Also, if you haven’t already, give us a like on Facebook!

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Agency Spotlight: Danial Amini

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Possibly the greatest impact on the insurance industry over the years has been the creation of the internet. I’m sure most industries would agree that it has changed how they do business in multiple ways. For instance, in many cases you may go through the entire quoting and binding process without ever meeting your agent face to face. That is why we want to give you a more personal perspective on who exactly it is you’re talking to when you call in. If you’ve missed the other two entries to the series, go check them out, otherwise, here’s our agency spotlight on Danial!

Danial Amini

Danial’s Background

Born in Tehran, Iran where he lived until the age of 16, Danial is a hard working insurance professional. He has lived in three different countries, including the USA. At 16, Danial moved to India, where he continued his education. His next stop would be here in the States, where he studied at Georgia State University, earning a degree in Actuarial Science. While studying at Georgia State, Danial interviewed at SIA in 2015. According to Dan (Salvador) and Ashley, he showed up in a pair of green pants that were less than professional. Danial wants to go on record as saying this story is a myth, but regardless Danial got the job and has worked with us ever since.

Interesting Insights

While his address may have changed multiple times over the years, his love for soccer has never changed. A die hard Chelsea FC fan, Danial makes sure he catches every game they play. Even if it is at 7 in the morning on a Saturday. Recently becoming a US citizen (congrats again Danial!), he has also taken on Atlanta United and the Hawks as parts of his fandom.

Besides insurance, soccer and basketball are Danial’s two favorite subjects to talk about. One of his favorite sport memories came at 16. When he met his childhood hero, Ahmadreza Abedzadeh, a goalkeeper for the Iranian National team. The other came in 2012, when Chelsea won the Champions League for the first time in their history.

His passion for soccer doesn’t stop at watching the game. A goalkeeper himself since his childhood, Danial loves to play the game. He also recently became an assistant coach for the Skipstone girls’ soccer program. Basically, if Danial isn’t explaining the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage, he’s doing something involving soccer.

Wrapping Up

We asked Danial for a direct quote regarding what makes SIA special to him. Here was what he had to say:

“I don’t consider everyone at SIA my colleagues. They are rather my extended family. We have each other’s back during tough times, or maybe I should say through THICK & thin thanks to the quarantine haha. It was real easy for me to choose SIA over being an actuary, which is what I went to school for.”

Thanks for taking the time to read this spotlight. We hope you have a better idea of who Danial Amini is. We know these are trying times for everyone, so please stay safe, and God bless!

Agency Spotlight: Ashley Watkins

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Possibly the greatest impact on the insurance industry over the years has been the creation of the internet. I’m sure most industries would agree that it has changed how they do business in multiple ways. For instance, in many cases you may go through the entire quoting and binding process without ever meeting your agent face to face. That is why we want to give you a more personal perspective on who exactly it is you’re talking to when you call in. If you haven’t seen our spotlight on Alex last week, go check it out, but today’s spotlight is on Ashley Watkins!

Ashley grew up in Fayetteville, GA and attended high school at Landmark Christian. He graduated in the same class as our owner, Dan Salvador. Ashley started here at SIA back in 2001, and has been an integral part in growing the agency to where it is today. We all know Ashley loves to talk insurance, as many of your afternoons have been spent discussing liability limits I am sure. However, Ashley prefers to spend most of his days on the soccer field, on the lake, or at the golf course.

While his weekends may be spent playing golf or fishing, Ashley spends his weekday afternoons with the Skipstone Academy girl’s soccer team as their head coach. After years of coaching his daughter, Samantha, in just about every sport possible, Ashley found Skipstone Academy in need of a girl’s soccer coach. Starting the program back in 2015, he’s helped lead the program to multiple playoff berths and winning seasons. Perhaps his love for coaching comes from his father, who spent his afternoons coaching Ashley’s teams growing up. In his own words, Ashley’s greatest accomplishment is having a beautiful family and great friends.

Now for some quickfire Q&A

  • Favorite movie? Jaws
  • Favorite sports teams? All the hometown teams
  • Favorite food? Steak and seafood
  • Most famous person you’ve met? God. And John Smoltz.
  • Favorite vacation spot? Edisto Island
  • Coolest place you’ve traveled? Maui

Give Ashley a call today for all your insurance needs, and I hope this helped you get a better idea of the man on the other side of the phone.

– Christian Salvador

Agency Spotlight

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Possibly the greatest impact on the insurance industry over the years has been the creation of the internet. I’m sure most industries would agree that it has changed how they do business in multiple ways. For instance, in many cases you may go through the entire quoting and binding process without ever meeting your agent face to face. That is why we want to give you a more personal perspective on who exactly it is you’re talking to when you call in. To start things off in this series, here’s an inside look at our receptionist, Alex Harris!

Alex attended Skipstone Academy in Griffin, GA where she graduated in 2017. While attending Skipstone, she also took dual enrollment courses through Truett-Mcconnell University to get ahead in her major. Now she is currently finishing up a degree in Psychology.

Alex has been working at SIA for close to two years now, and if you’ve made a call in recently, chances are she’s the one who greeted you. Apart from being passionate about customer service, Alex loves watching sports and playing them! Her favorite sports teams are Atlanta United and Georgia Tech football. When asked about her favorite sports memory, she of course picked the 2016 game in Athens when the Wramblin’ Wreck beat the Dawgs in Athens (as a Georgia fan I can assure you this is not my favorite memory).

Alex isn’t just a sports fanatic however, as she enjoys watching movies and good spaghetti. Her favorite movie is Unbroken, which she highly recommends for anyone looking for an entertaining and uplifting watch. Speaking of uplifting, Alex says that one of her fondest childhood memories came just after she was diagnosed as type one diabetic. Of course, that itself was not great news, but she was cheered up by a visit from singer Demi Lovato who came by to greet and talk with everyone in the hospital.

We here at the office are incredibly grateful for Alex and all she does to help not only us, but our customers. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this spotlight, and keep an eye out for our next one coming early next week!