HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR INSURANCE RATES
Spring/Summer 2008
Almost everyone is now feeling the financial pressure of our lackluster economy and is looking for ways to cut expenses and save money. It is no secret that insurance rates in New York are among the highest in the country and as a result paying for insurance is one of the biggest expenses people have.
Perhaps the most expensive mistakes people commonly make when choosing an insurance company, is that they tend to pick the “big name” insurance companies and stay with them for years on end. Then one day they get into a car accident and can’t understand why the company they have been with for so many years, treats them like an adversary. The fact is that the “big name” insurance companies spend large amounts of money on commercials and advertising and often pass this expense on to the customer. In addition, these big insurance companies often have their own agents for the customer to go through to get insurance. Remember that an insurance agent is a representative of a specific insurance company and is not interested in doing comparison shopping for you. Conversely, a well listed insurance broker is associated with multiple insurance companies. Accordingly, an insurance broker is simply in a better position to find you the best rate.
One will usually obtain better rates if they have all of their insurance, (ie. auto, homeowners and umbrella) with the same insurance company. Also, in today’s constantly changing markets, it is prudent to comparison shop annually. Do not assume that the rate you are getting is the best year after year. If at any time you discover that your insurance company is not giving you top competitive rates for the appropriate coverage, then change insurance companies. Most importantly, we strongly recommend that you get a well listed broker to be your advocate. Insurance policies contain far too many complicated parts and subdivisions of coverage, for most people to accurately analyze in order to obtain the best rate. In fact, most people have never read their entire policy cover to cover, let alone understand all of it’s complexities.
If you have any questions regarding this topic or would like us to recommend an insurance broker who can help you start saving money now, please contact our office.
SCHOOL ACCIDENTS AND NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION
Fall/Winter 2008
We frequently receive telephone calls from parents who are angry about an injury their child sustained during a school activity. Perhaps one of the most common such complaints, emanates from sports participation in gym class.
Typically, a child gets injured when he or she is either kicked or tripped while playing soccer, baseball or some other sporting activity. Parents complain that the adult supervision of the activity was lacking in some way. Essentially, the claim from a legal perspective is one of negligent supervision.
The Second Department case of Paca v. City of New York (2008), vividly illustrates the prevailing law for these type of cases. In Paca, Supra, the infant plaintiff was injured while playing soccer in school when kicked by another student. The infant plaintiff, by his parent, sued the school for negligent supervision. The court appropriately affirmed defendant’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing the case. As stated by the court, in order to establish negligent supervision in this type of case, the plaintiff must prove that the school had “actual notice” of the dangerous conduct that caused the plaintiff’s injury. That is to say, that plaintiff would have to show that the dangerous act could have been reasonably anticipated. In that the incident occurred in such a short span of time, the court found that it could not have been prevented by even the most intense supervision.
In short, sometimes an accident is just an accident, without any existence of negligence. However, every case is different and it is the prudent parent who is interested in safeguarding their child’s best interest, who will at least make the call to an attorney to let them distinguish between what is just an accident and what is negligence.
If you have any questions regarding this or any other legal matter, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
We wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season and all the joy of the coming new year.
Perhaps the most expensive mistakes people commonly make when choosing an insurance company, is that they tend to pick the “big name” insurance companies and stay with them for years on end. Then one day they get into a car accident and can’t understand why the company they have been with for so many years, treats them like an adversary. The fact is that the “big name” insurance companies spend large amounts of money on commercials and advertising and often pass this expense on to the customer. In addition, these big insurance companies often have their own agents for the customer to go through to get insurance. Remember that an insurance agent is a representative of a specific insurance company and is not interested in doing comparison shopping for you. Conversely, a well listed insurance broker is associated with multiple insurance companies. Accordingly, an insurance broker is simply in a better position to find you the best rate.
One will usually obtain better rates if they have all of their insurance, (ie. auto, homeowners and umbrella) with the same insurance company. Also, in today’s constantly changing markets, it is prudent to comparison shop annually. Do not assume that the rate you are getting is the best year after year. If at any time you discover that your insurance company is not giving you top competitive rates for the appropriate coverage, then change insurance companies. Most importantly, we strongly recommend that you get a well listed broker to be your advocate. Insurance policies contain far too many complicated parts and subdivisions of coverage, for most people to accurately analyze in order to obtain the best rate. In fact, most people have never read their entire policy cover to cover, let alone understand all of it’s complexities.
If you have any questions regarding this topic or would like us to recommend an insurance broker who can help you start saving money now, please contact our office.
SCHOOL ACCIDENTS AND NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION
Fall/Winter 2008
We frequently receive telephone calls from parents who are angry about an injury their child sustained during a school activity. Perhaps one of the most common such complaints, emanates from sports participation in gym class.
Typically, a child gets injured when he or she is either kicked or tripped while playing soccer, baseball or some other sporting activity. Parents complain that the adult supervision of the activity was lacking in some way. Essentially, the claim from a legal perspective is one of negligent supervision.
The Second Department case of Paca v. City of New York (2008), vividly illustrates the prevailing law for these type of cases. In Paca, Supra, the infant plaintiff was injured while playing soccer in school when kicked by another student. The infant plaintiff, by his parent, sued the school for negligent supervision. The court appropriately affirmed defendant’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing the case. As stated by the court, in order to establish negligent supervision in this type of case, the plaintiff must prove that the school had “actual notice” of the dangerous conduct that caused the plaintiff’s injury. That is to say, that plaintiff would have to show that the dangerous act could have been reasonably anticipated. In that the incident occurred in such a short span of time, the court found that it could not have been prevented by even the most intense supervision.
In short, sometimes an accident is just an accident, without any existence of negligence. However, every case is different and it is the prudent parent who is interested in safeguarding their child’s best interest, who will at least make the call to an attorney to let them distinguish between what is just an accident and what is negligence.
If you have any questions regarding this or any other legal matter, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
We wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season and all the joy of the coming new year.
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construed as legal advice and in no way forms a lawyer/client relationship.
construed as legal advice and in no way forms a lawyer/client relationship.