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March 24th, 2023 by LacherPersonal Insurance 101
March 21st, 2022 by LacherPersonal Insurance 101
Insurance isn’t always easy to understand. That’s why in this series, we will review some of the fundamentals of insurance, including what is insurance, when you should consider submitting a claim, and what surcharges are.
As always, if you have any questions, we’d be happy to talk with you. Click the Text Us, Call Us, or Email Us buttons below to get in touch.
Insurance 101
Insurance 101
When we think of insurance, we may feel that since it’s there for us, we should use it whenever needed. While this is partially true, let’s take a deeper look.
The purpose of insurance is to provide a safety net so that if you have a significant loss or damage to your property, you wouldn’t have to pay for it out of pocket.
So that begs the question, when should we use insurance?
It’s not always clear cut, but here’s our suggested rule of thumb.
If the cost to fix the damage caused to your home or vehicle will cause you a financial hardship, consider using insurance.
Here are some questions to help you decide whether to use insurance.
How much is your deductible? When you submit an insurance claim, you’re responsible to pay for the deductible. If the cost of your deductible is similar to the cost of the damage, you may consider just paying out of pocket.
Could there be a future surcharge? See our video about surcharges to learn more about this topic.
If you’re unsure and would like some advice, please reach out to your Lacher Team. We’d be happy to help you through it.
The bottom line:
If the cost to fix the damage caused to your home or vehicle will cause you a financial hardship, consider using insurance.
When Should I File a Claim?
When you have a loss to your home, property, or automobile, you might think, “hey, I’ll just submit a claim and my insurance company will take care of it.” There’s truth to this statement, but let’s examine it further.
When you submit a claim, while your insurance company may pay it, it affects how the insurance company rates you. Too many claims submitted could mean the insurance company increases your premium, or adds a significant surcharge, or worst case scenario, you could lose coverage altogether. That’s why it’s best to view insurance as a way to receive financial protection or reimbursement against a loss that would present a financial hardship if you paid for it out of pocket. In other words, insurance is not a warranty.
Let’s look at example.
Say you’re driving down the street and hit a pothole, breaking your vehicle’s rim and popping a tire. In this example, let’s say your auto insurance deductible is $500. You take your car to the garage and they say the cost to repair it will be $900. Should you submit a claim? Well, that depends if the $900 will be a financial hardship or not.
But consider this other example. Let’s say this time you’re driving down the road and hit another vehicle. This time the cost to repair your vehicle is $7,500. You can see that in this example, you would most likely incur a financial hardship if you had to pay this amount out of pocket. This would be a scenario in which filing a claim would be best.
If you’re unsure about whether to submit a claim, please reach out to your Lacher Team. We’d be happy to help you.
What is an Auto Insurance Surcharge?
In this video I’m going to discuss what an auto insurance surcharge is.
When you buy auto insurance, your insurance company will assign a rating to you. Generally speaking, you’ll receive a good rating if a good driving record, don’t file any claims, are an experienced driver, that sort of thing. A good rating could mean that you may be eligible for a discounted rate.
However, if you’ve had several accidents, file many claims, are an inexperienced driver, have traffic violations, pay your bill late, etc., you could have a less than good rating. What this may mean is that your insurance company could add a surcharge to your premium.
A surcharge is an extra fee added to your insurance. Think of it as a penalty.
Now generally speaking, surcharges are temporary. So if you improve your driving record, over time your surcharge will likely go away.
Here are some ways you can avoid a surcharge:
First and foremost, improve your driving record. Make sure you stop at all stop signs, no texting while driving, no accidents, that sort of thing.
Consider taking a safe driving class.
Make sure to pay your insurance bill on time.
Also, look into Erie’s Rate Lock program. This program can help you avoid car insurance rate increases. Even if you have a claim, your rates won’t change until you make certain changes to your auto insurance policy, such as adding or removing a vehicle or a driver from your policy or changing your primary residence
To learn more about auto surcharges, please reach out to your Lacher Team. We’d be happy to help you.
What is a Home Insurance Surcharge?
There are several reasons that your insurance company may add a surcharge to your homeowners insurance policy, which is basically an additional fee above your premium. Let’s examine these reasons.
You filed a claim or multiple claims. Sometimes when you file a claim, your homeowners insurance will increase temporarily. Typically this has to do with the insurance company adjusting the risk associated with insuring you.
In addition to the insurance company assigning risk to you as the home or property owner, there are also special risks associated with your home or property. These risks could include things like swimming pools and certain types of pets, for example.
So how can you avoid a surcharge? One way is to decide if you should submit a claim or just pay out of pocket. For example, let’s say you have a broken pipe in your home. In this example, your deductible is $1000. In addition to that, there may be a surcharge of $30 per year for up to 7 years. Thus your total cost could be about $1,200. Or, you could hire a plumber who could repair your pipe for $1,100. In this situation, it may be more advantageous to just hire the plumber.
To learn more about home surcharges, please reach out to your Lacher Team. We’d be happy to help you.
Contact your Lacher team to learn more.
Pet Insurance with Lacher
July 8th, 2021 by LacherWe’ve partnered with Figo Insurance to offer best-in-class pet insurance.
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Get Started with Travel Insurance
May 20th, 2021 by LacherReady to Visit Your Favorite Travel Destination Again? Consider Getting Travel Insurance.
Travel Insurance is important and could help save you from unnecessary expenses. If you want to learn more about Travel Insurance, click here.
If you’re ready to go, consider insuring your vacation with Travel Insurance. Fill out the form below to get started.
If you'd prefer to contact us via Text, Phone, or Email, please select an option below.
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Boat Insurance
April 27th, 2021 by LacherWhat type of Boat Insurance do I need?
You purchased a boat to provide years of personal enjoyment—ensure your pleasure by choosing the right insurance protection.
A small boat, such as a canoe or other un-motorized boat, is typically covered under the personal property portion of your homeowners insurance policy. If you own a larger, faster boat, you’ll need a separate boatowners insurance policy. A typical boatowners insurance policy is designed to protect your boat, motor, equipment and passengers. It affords similar coverages to those you typically have for your car including:
- Physical Damage: Physical damage coverage insures your boat, motor, boat trailer, boat equipment (anchors, oars, fuel tanks, life jackets, dinghies, tools, etc.) and other personal property against theft, accidental loss or damages.
- Liability: Two principal liability coverages are included:
- Personal Liability – A boatowners insurance policy provides protection for legal liability and pays, up to the limit of your policy, the legal obligations imposed upon you due to an accident resulting from the ownership, maintenance, or use of your watercraft, including bodily injury, property damage and legal defense.
- Medical Payments– This pays medical expenses, up to the limits in the policy, including the insured’s boating-related medical expenses from an accident arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the boat.

Additional Coverage Options
For added protection, consider the following additional coverage options:
- Reasonable Repairs: Covers repairs incurred to protect covered property from further damage.
- Emergency Service: Pays for reasonable costs that you incur resulting from specified emergency service to your boat, motor or boat trailer.
- Wreck Removal: Pays the reasonable expenses you incur for any attempted or actual raising, removal or destruction of the wreck of your watercraft when damage is caused by an insured loss and removal or destruction is required by law.
- Umbrella Liability: Provides additional boat insurance coverage across the board for home, auto and watercraft.
Let's chat about coverage for your boat. Contact us by text, phone or email.
Motorcycle Insurance
April 27th, 2021 by LacherWhat type of Motorcycle Insurance Coverage Options are there?
There’s nothing like the freedom you feel when riding but if you’re on the road, you’re at risk. To ensure you’ve got the coverage and financial protection you need, consider the following motorcycle insurance coverage options.
Liability Insurance Coverage
Required by most states, liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage that you may cause to other people involved in an accident.
- Bodily injury liability – typically covers the other driver or your passenger’s expenses such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
- Property damage liability – typically covers the expense of repairing damage to others’ property (vehicles, homes, fences, etc.).
Collision Insurance Coverage
Collision insurance covers damage, minus your deductible, to your motorcycle if you are involved in an accident. Keep in mind, collision insurance usually covers the book value of the motorcycle before the loss occurred.
Comprehensive Insurance Coverage
Comprehensive coverage pays for damages caused by an event other than a collision, such as fire, theft or vandalism. However, just like collision insurance coverage, your policy will pay for damages, minus your deductible, and will cover only the book value of the motorcycle.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance coverage covers damages to you and your property caused by another driver who either is uninsured or underinsured to cover your damages. This coverage typically pays for medical treatment, lost wages and other damages.
Optional Equipment Coverage
If you decide to customize your motorcycle, you should look into obtaining additional or optional equipment coverage. Most comprehensive and collision insurance coverages will only cover the factory standard parts on your motorcycle.
Let's chat about coverage for your motorcycle. Contact us by text, phone or email.
Mythbusting Travel Insurance
April 7th, 2021 by LacherTravel Insurance - It's more than you might think
Before we talk about some of the myths of travel insurance, let’s first define it.
Travel insurance can protect against the loss of non-refundable travel costs, such as airfare, hotel and tour expenses. Other types of travel insurance offer protection against losses due to medical emergencies, damage to personal property and death, which may occur away from home on vacation.

Major Types of Travel Insurance
Trip Cancellation/Delay/Interruption Insurance/Any Reason
- Trip cancellation: Reimburses you for pre-paid travel expenses if you aren’t able to take your trip because you or a family member becomes ill, contracts COVID-19, or dies.
- Travel delay: Reimburses you for pre-paid expenses if you aren’t able to take your trip because of a travel delay, such as a flight delay or cancellation.
- Trip interruption: Reimburses you for pre-paid expenses if your trip is cut short because you or a family member become ill or die or because of any other misfortune listed in policy. Covered reasons might include bad weather, airline strikes, terrorism, bankruptcy, jury duty or damage to your home.
- Cancel for any reason: Reimburses you up to 75% for pre-paid expenses for any reason.
Medical/Accidental Death Insurance
- Emergency medical expense: Reimburses you for medical and emergency dental expenses that you have because of an illness or injury while you’re traveling.
- Medical evacuation: Provides emergency transportation to take you either to a hospital near your area of travel or for transportation back to a hospital near your home.
- Accidental death: This coverage is usually split into three parts:
- Air flight accident: Covers death or dismemberment during flight only.
- Common carrier: Covers death or dismemberment while traveling on public transportation such as a plane, ferry, train, bus or taxi.
- Accidental death: Covers death or dismemberment at any time during a trip.
Ready to Get Started?

Travel Insurance Myths
Myth # 1 – My medical insurance will cover me
Travelers often overlook travel insurance when booking their trips, thinking they are already covered by their employer’s medical insurance. This may be true for some plans, but for others, injuries or illnesses suffered while abroad may not be covered. It’s important to check with your insurance provider to see what’s covered before you travel. For situations in which you are not covered, travel insurance can help fill the gap.
Myth # 2 – Travel insurance is only needed if I travel outside the US
You might think that travel insurance is only necessary if you travel abroad. But a good rule of thumb is the more your trip costs, the more you need travel insurance.
Think of a destination wedding or honeymoon to your favorite state. These are once-in-a-lifetime events. If you get sick beforehand or if your wedding venue burns down, travel insurance protection can help.
Myth # 3 – Nothing will happen to me while traveling
Here’s an actual true-life story about Bill and Martha:
On a recent trip to Japan, these experienced world travelers got more adventure than they bargained for. While attempting to position himself on a ledge for the “perfect” photograph, Bill lost his footing and suffered a severe leg injury.
Bill was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. During his recovery, the couple racked up huge medical bills and incurred a host of unexpected travel expenses.
Thankfully, the couple had invested in travel insurance prior to the trip. The policy ended up saving them thousands of dollars in hospital, evacuation and medical expenses.
Will you be traveling soon? If so, contact us to discuss travel insurance, or fill out the form below.
Mythbusting Gig Work
March 10th, 2021 by LacherIf you've got a side hustle, let's chat.
The rise of the gig economy has made it easier for you to have a gig – work that you perform in addition to your primary job. But what does this mean from an insurance standpoint? Let’s break down some common myths.
Myth #1 - "I drive for Door Dash/Uber/Lyft. My auto insurance covers me."
If you’re thinking about driving for Uber, Lyft, Door Dash/Uber Eats, etc. we should chat. A lot of people have started using these jobs for supplemental income, or even as their primary job. But, before you get behind the wheel and pick up your next passenger or deliver your tasty food, it’s important to be sure that you have the right insurance. Your personal auto policy might not be covering you.
Myth #2 - "I rent out my home. My homeowners insurance covers me."
Homeowners insurance generally covers a home and the family that lives in that home. However, if a renter uses the home for even a small amount of time, the home and family will be exposed to significantly different risks that were not considered when the policy was drafted. You may need a different insurance policy in a situation like this.
Take a look at these tips if you are thinking of renting your home.

Contact Us
There’s a lot to consider when working a gig job. Contact us today so we can discuss the right coverage for you.