ISC Insurance Service Center

It’s the time of year when college students start heading back after winter break. As a parent, you are probably experiencing a full range of emotions. Once the hugs are done and the car is packed, you might find yourself with a little time to spare. This may be a great time to check on something that is easily overlooked.  Is your student’s auto insurance valid if they are heading out of state with a car?  The short answer is…it depends!  Let’s go over what you need to know before the semester gets rolling.   Does Your Wisconsin Auto Policy Cover Your Student Out of State? In many cases, yes. If your student is using your car, still part of your household, a full-time student and listed on your Wisconsin auto policy, coverage will generally follow them while they are away at school. But that policy still has to meet the insurance laws of the state where the car is being kept and used. Some states require different types of coverage than what’s standard here in...

By: Jessica Dellemann, CIC Earning some extra money driving for Uber, Lyft, or similar companies might seem like a great way to help make ends meet.  Unfortunately, this seemingly harmless extra source of income could open you up to huge gaps in insurance coverage. Many individuals assume that the rideshare company is covering them for insurance, but that is not always the case. Most personal auto insurance policies exclude drive-for-hire on their policies.   This means, without a special endorsement, you have NO COVERAGE from your auto insurance policy while you are driving for hire.   No big deal, the drive-for-hire company is covering me!  Right? Maybe! The insurance provided by drive-for-hire services varies.   Some drive-for-hire vendors provide coverage to their drivers only while they have a passenger (but not while you are driving around waiting for a passenger). Some rideshare vendors or food delivery services provide NO insurance coverage ...

By Jessica Dellemann, CIC Often, when we are doing reviews with our clients, we are finding (after some digging) that they are earning some extra income by renting out their house for Packer games, or by driving for hire through sites such as Uber or Lyft.  When we ask why they didn’t let us know about this sooner, the most common response is that they didn’t think it mattered .  We can certainly understand why people would think it doesn’t matter.  Many of the websites for renting out your home or driving for hire are somewhat confusing, or worse, they may give the impression that you “are automatically covered” for liability issues.  However, in many cases, there is absolutely no coverage and even when there may be some coverage, there might be huge loopholes that need to be carefully addressed. Let’s look at renting out your home through a site such as Airbnb.  Seems pretty harmless. The renters are required to pay a security deposit.  You have...

By: Jessica Dellemann, CIC, CPRM 10/2/2017 As your "baby" is leaving for college, many questions may pop into your mind... Here are some quick tips and things to consider when your child is heading off to college: 1. Check with your insurance agent to determine if your student has coverage for their belongings or if they need a renters insurance policy. Typically, a full-time student living in the dorms will have some automatic coverage from their parent's homeowners policy...but it varies by company so be sure to ask! 2. Consider putting special coverage on (aka “scheduling”) high-valued electronics for broader coverage. 3. If your student will have a car at school, be sure to notify your agent. You may need to discuss roomate(s) and whether or not the roomate(s) will be allowed to drive the vehicle. 4. If your child had a GPA of 3.0 or higher on their last report card, be sure they are receiving the Good Student discount, if available. 5. I...