The personal lines include:

• Automobile - All types of personal automobile insurance, including snowmobiles, motorcycles, RV’s, etc. We even have special programs for problem drivers offering rates lower than the Assigned Risk Pool.
• Homeowners Insurance - Including primary residences, secondary and seasonal homes, apartments, condominiums, and cooperatives. Either as owner or renter.
• Personal Umbrellas - We offer liability limits over and above your primary general, automobile or watercraft liability policies in order to properly protect your personal assets.
• Watercraft - Insurance coverage is available for all types of watercraft from canoes and rowboats, to motor boats, sailboats and yachts. We also have special programs for jet-skis and other types of recreational watercraft.

Auto

In order to register your car and obtain license plates you must either purchase an automobile liability insurance policy from an insurer licensed by the State Insurance Department, or provide other acceptable proof of financial responsibility in at least the minimum amounts required by laws of the State. However, you may purchase higher amounts of the required coverages as well as other insurance coverages in order to meet your particular needs.

1. Required Coverages
1. No-Fault Benefits—Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
   No-Fault, also called Personal Injury Protection (PIP), is designed to pay promptly, regardless of who is at fault or whether there was any negligence, for economic losses (meaning medical/health expenses, lost earnings, and certain other reasonable and necessary expenses related to injuries sustained).
2. Liability Insurance—Bodily Injury & Property Damage
   This liability coverage protects you (and anyone driving your car with your permission), if a claim is made against you by another person (“third-party”), alleging that you were negligent or otherwise at fault. Thus this coverage will make payments on your behalf to that injured third party, in the event your car is involved in an accident that results in serious injury or death to others or damage to their property. In addition, your insurance company must provide you with a legal defense against such claims, without reducing your policy’s liability limits.
3. Uninsured Motorists Coverage
   Another important feature of your auto insurance policy is bodily injury protection for you, all family members who reside in your household, and occupants of your car, in the event you or they are injured as the result of negligent actions by an uninsured vehicle or hit-and-run motorist.
2. OPTIONAL AUTO INSURANCE
   Beyond the coverages required by law, most insurance companies offer a wide range of optional auto insurance coverages at additional cost.
1. Bodily Injury Liability
   Buying increased bodily injury liability limits is a good idea for consumers seeking to protect their assets in case of a lawsuit resulting from an auto accident. If you have assets that you wish to protect, you should seriously consider purchasing higher limits of bodily injury liability Some insurers offer policies with a combined single overall limit for both bodily injury liability and property damage liability, rather than separate limits, which would then pay up to a single maximum amount for all damages caused by one accident regardless of how many persons are injured (e.g., $100,000, $300,000 or $500,000).
2. Property Damage Liability
   The requirement for third party property damage liability coverage varies by state and can be set as low as $10,000, many cars today are worth far more. Given the high cost of automobile replacement and/or repair, the purchase of property damage liability limits higher than the required minimum should be considered by insureds.
3. Additional PIP (No-Fault) Benefits
   It is often smart to buy more No-Fault protection, over the basic minimum coverage limit of No-Fault benefits required by law. Because of No-Fault’s cost-effective design, extended No-Fault benefits represent a relatively inexpensive option. For a modest additional premium, optional coverages are available that will pay more than the required basic No-Fault benefits.
4. Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (SUM) Coverage
   One of the basic mandatory minimum coverages that comes with your auto policy is bodily injury protection against the negligent actions of an uninsured or hit-and-run motorist. You also have the option to expand this basic protection. For an additional premium, you can purchase higher coverage limits of Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (SUM) coverage.
5. Collision Coverage
   With this optional insurance, your own insurer pays you, without regard to fault, for damage to your car caused by a collision with another car or any other object or your car overturning.
   
   If you do not have collision coverage, and your car is damaged in an accident where the other party is at least partially at fault, you may still recover all or part of the damages to your vehicle by making a claim against that other vehicle’s property damage liability insurance coverage for the proportion of damages for which the other driver was at fault.
6. Comprehensive Coverage
   Under comprehensive coverage, your insurer pays you, without regard to fault, for damage to your car from all causes, other than collision, such as theft (of the car itself or its parts), fire, flood, windstorm, glass breakage, vandalism, hitting or being hit by an animal, or by falling or flying objects. If your car is stolen comprehensive coverage will also provide a certain amount per day specified in your policy for transportation expenses (rental car, public transportation, etc.).
7. Medical Payments Coverage
   This insurance pays, without regard to fault, medical expenses and funeral expenses for you and your passengers, if an accident occurs involving your car, up to its stated limits.
8. Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Coverage
   Some insurers offer coverage that will pay you, your family members, or other occupants of your car, under the terms of the policy, a set amount for certain serious injuries or death caused by an accident while in your car. These AD&D amounts are payable in addition to any amounts collected under the No-Fault, liability, or other parts of the policy.
9. Supplemental Spousal Liability Insurance
   While your automobile liability insurance policy provides coverage for every passenger in your vehicle injured in an accident caused by the driver’s negligence, it will most likely not provide any liability coverage when the injured passenger is your spouse.
10. Other Coverages
    Other optional coverages available from some companies are Towing and Labor Coverage, Extended Transportation Coverage (Rental Reimbursement) and Mechanical Breakdown Coverage. You should contact your insurer, agent or broker to discuss whether it would be advisable for you to purchase them. Some additional coverage may only be offered when comprehensive and/or collision coverage is purchased on the insured vehicle.

Home

For most of us our home is our most valuable financial asset, but it’s also a vulnerable asset. A windstorm can blow your roof off, a burglar can steal your home entertainment system, or a neighbor could trip and fall on your front step. To provide protection from the financial risks associated with these potential disasters, most New Yorkers purchase a homeowners multi-peril policy. A homeowner’s policy wraps a number of coverages-- fire, windstorm, theft, and liability— into one convenient package.

Purchasing adequate insurance coverage is a prudent, practical step for all consumers. Homeowner’s and renters are encouraged to carefully consider all of their insurance options when buying new policies. It is also essential for consumers with existing policies to periodically review those policies to make sure they are up-to-date. As a consumer, you should be aware that insurance companies, in what is known as the "voluntary" insurance market, compete for your insurance dollar on the basis of price, quality and service in the same way that all businesses compete. At Q6 Advisors we provide the necessary advise to help you make an intelligent decision when purchasing coverage.

Many insurers use independent agents to sell their products. An independent agent may represent one or more licensed insurance companies, and when you deal with an independent agent, you are, in effect, dealing directly with the company. Other insurance companies are known as direct writers, and market policies using only their own employees or exclusive sales representatives, or internet Web sites.

When insurance policies are sold they are issued on either a monoline basis or as a package policy. A monoline policy contains only one type of coverage, such as liability insurance, while a package policy includes several different types of coverages, such as property insurance and liability insurance. A package policy is generally less expensive than insurance coverages purchased separately. Homeowners and tenants policies are package policies that include property, liability, theft and medical payments coverages.

Standard types of insurance coverages on your home or apartment offer protection against the financial loss you might suffer to your home or belongings if any of the following events occur:

1. fire, windstorm, hail, explosion (except for steam boilers), riot, civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, smoke, vandalism and malicious mischief;
2. theft of your personal property;
3. someone gets injured on your property due to your negligence or that of a member of your family; or somebody else’s property is damaged as a result of your negligence.
1. The events described in C. above would be covered under the liability portion of your policy. In addition, your insurance company must provide you with a legal defense against such claims, without reducing your policy’s liability limits.

Several types of homeowners and tenants policies are currently sold. The policies range from a basic package up to more comprehensive packages which, of course, are more expensive, but do provide greater coverage against more perils for both your home and possessions. Five different types of policies are available to provide coverage for owners who occupy one or two family houses; a sixth covers tenants of a house or apartment building or cooperative owners; and a seventh provides coverage for condominium owners.

It is important to be aware of the different perils (causes of loss) that are insured against in each type of policy. We are providing a comparison of the coverage offered under each of the policies described above. It is up to you to determine whether you need the most extensive type of coverage or whether your insurance needs can be met with a basic policy. Some of the coverage excluded under a policy, such as earthquake damage and power interruption, can be “bought back” for an additional premium. Correspondingly, some coverages listed under a policy can be excluded, such as off-premises theft, resulting in a reduction in premium. However, some coverages, such as flood insurance, are always excluded and the only way to obtain them is through Federal insurance programs which will be explained further in this guide. Be advised that some insurers may use trade names for their insurance products and do not utilize the standard policy forms.

The Homeowners-1 (HO-1) policy or Basic Policy insures your home and contents against listed perils. Very few insurers sell this type of policy; most offer more comprehensive policies, such as the Homeowners-3 (HO-3), that include these and other perils.

• Fire, Lightning and Smoke Damage
• Windstorm and Hail
• Burglary and Theft
• Explosion
• Glass Breakage
• Vehicle or Aircraft Damage
• Riot and Civil Commotion
• Vandalism and Malicious Mischief
• Bodily Injury
• Damage to Property of Others
• Civil Judgments
• Medical Payments
• Personal Property (at Home)
• Personal Property (Away)
• Additional Living Expense (If forced to live away from home temporarily)

The Homeowners-2 (HO-2) policy or Broad Form Policy, insures your home and contents against the perils in the HO-1 policy or Basic Policy and other additional listed perils such as falling objects; weight of ice, snow and sleet; damage resulting from an accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam from within a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic fire sprinkler system.
The following additional perils are covered under an HO-2 Policy:

• Falling Objects
• Weight of Ice or Snow
• Water from Plumbing Systems
• Freezing of Plumbing Systems
• Electrical Damage to Appliances
• Rupture of Water Heaters and Heating System

The Homeowners-3 (HO-3) or Special Form Policy is the most widely used policy by homeowners insurers. It is, to many, the standard homeowners policy form and many lending institutions recommend buying it. This policy covers your home for all risks of physical loss, except those that are specifically excluded, such as flood, earthquake, war, nuclear accident, etc. Check your policy for a complete listing of the excluded perils. Coverage for loss of your home’s contents is also covered for many of the same perils for which your home is covered.

The Homeowners-5 (HO-5) policy or Comprehensive Form Policy protects your home against the same perils as the HO-3 policy. In addition, your personal possessions would also be covered for all risks of physical loss, except those risks that are specifically excluded. This extra protection may also be provided by purchasing a HO-3 policy with the “Special Personal Property” endorsement.

In addition, the Homeowners-8 (HO-8) or Market Value Policy is a modified version of the HO-1 Basic Policy, providing actual cash value coverage in place of replacement cost coverage for a building. In no event will the company’s settlement payment exceed the amount necessary to repair or replace the dwelling. This policy form is generally used when the replacement value of the property exceeds its market value, as in the case of older homes (sometimes referred to as “white elephants”.)

Contents Broad Form or Tenants Policies (HO-4) and Unit Owners Policies (HO-6)are policies that insure against damage to the contents of an apartment, cooperative or condominium unit, and for personal liability of the insured when people are injured or sustain property damage arising from the insured unit.

It is not necessary for a tenant to insure the building in which he or she lives since that is the owner’s responsibility. The HO-6 policy provides property coverage for any alterations, appliances, fixtures and improvements within the insured unit, but condominium and cooperative buildings, and their common areas, should be insured through policies issued to the cooperative owners’ and the condominium owners’ associations.

A homeowners and tenants policies will also reimburse you for increases in living expenses you have to pay when your home becomes uninhabitable because of damage caused by one of the covered perils. You must remember that not all living expenses will be reimbursed; only the difference between your normal living expenses and any additional living expenses. Examples of these types of expenses are hotel bills, restaurant bills, telephone bills, etc.

All of the above homeowners policies insure you for your personal liability when another person suffers bodily injury or property damage as a result of your negligence or the negligence of anyone who is considered an insured under your homeowners policy. Generally, you will also be protected if one of your pets injures anyone. However, if you have a dog that is considered a dangerous animal, such as a pit bull, the company may exclude coverage for that pet or offer to provide the coverage for an additional premium. This may also be true for exotic pets, such as snakes, spiders, amphibians, etc.

If an incident occurs at your home and someone is injured, your insurer will reimburse you for necessary medical expenses, generally up to a limit of $500 or $1,000. Examples of the types of expenses that would be paid are transportation to a hospital or doctor’s office or a doctor’s bill for necessary first aid. You should check your policy for specific details about this coverage.