S and R Insurance

Our staff of insurance professionals is at your service! Call Beverly Lucas for Personal & Commercial Lines; Sandi Freels for Life & Health and Billing questions, and Cyndi Jeffers for Personal & Commercial Lines, Life & Health, Bonds, Claims and Policy Service. For email/website problems, call Cathy Shupp. Office hours are 9 AM-5 PM Monday thru Friday, with other hours available by appointment. For after hours emergencies, call our office or call 435-2192. We do have a lockbox for your convenience. Feel free to drop payments, etc. in the green box to the right of the front door. We check it daily!

Expect the Unexpected! There is no substitute for experience. New drivers have a 1 in 5 chance of getting into an accident their first year behind the wheel. Your Driver Training Course, while highly recommended, does not prepare you for that first accident, whether or not it's your fault. While no one ever plans to be in an accident, it's best to have a checklist handy. Your plan of action at the scene:

Get help for injured persons - do not move them yourself!
Do not accuse anyone or admit fault for the accident to anyone. Call the police, and do not discuss how the accident happened with anyone except the police and your insurance agent.
Exchange information with all of the other drivers involved: name, address, home and work phone numbers of the drivers and the vehicle owners, year, make and model of their vehicle, name and phone number of their insurance agent. If there are any witnesses, get their information, as well as that of any passengers. Examine the damages to all vehicles involved.
Contact your insurance agent immediately, and get a copy of the police report as soon as it is available. Provide a copy of the report to your insurance agent. Make sure you are given a TDS report form when you pick up the accident report (or your agent can provide you with one).

Don't follow too closely - leave at least one car length between you and the car ahead of you.
Lock all doors when you drive - it may protect you or passengers from being thrown from the car in an accident.
When the light turns green, look both ways before proceeding into the intersection, in case another car runs the red light. Stop at a yellow light instead of trying to beat it.
When stopping on slippery roads, press down on the brakes gently and steadily. Jamming the brakes may cause your car to skid or spin.
If you skid, turn the steering wheel in the direction you want the car to go. Straighten out the wheel when the car begins to go straight.
When leaving a lighted area in the dark, wait a few minutes before driving to let your eyes adjust to the dark.
Avoid passing in fog or on a curve. If someone tries to pass you, slow down and let them pass. Use low beams when driving in fog or snow (high beams reflect fog or snow back into your eyes).
Do not drink and then drive. Carpool with a designated driver who will remain sober.
Always wear your seatbelts, and insist that your passengers do the same.
Sit up straight when driving (do not hunch or lean back in the seat). You need to be able to see as far down the road as possible.
And Finally - drive defensively, like the other drivers on the road need to be watched out for!

Discounts for Young Drivers! Did you take Driver's Ed? Is your grade average a "B" or better? The discounts for Driver Training and Good Student are huge, well worth the trouble of obtaining and keeping! Of course, the biggest discount is that of a clean driving record - the penalty for a bad record is higher premiums for 3 years, plus the risk of losing your driver's license!

Comprehensive (sometimes known as "Other Than Collision" covers Fire, Theft, Vandalism & Malicious Mischief, Animal Collision, and Glass. It covers hail or wind damage to your car as well. Comprehensive basically covers anything that might happen to your car other than a collision, (running into something other than an animal with the car). Whenever damage is done to the car by someone else (Theft or Vandalism & Malicious Mischief), the police must be contacted within 24 hours, preferably as soon as you find the damage. There is normally a deductible on Comprehensive coverage - you pay the deductible amount, then the insurance company will pay everything over that, up to the actual cash value of your vehicle. The lower your deductible, the higher your premium will be for the coverage. Comprehensive does not pay for towing or for a rental vehicle while your vehicle is being repaired. If your car is stolen, Comprehensive will not pay for a rental vehicle during the 30-day waiting period required before settlement of the Theft claim.

Responsibility- When you're old enough to get a driver's license, even though you can't vote yet, you get your first glimpse of what being an adult is all about - responsibility! It's up to you to decide what you will make of your life. Maybe you already have big plans - or maybe you want to just enjoy the little bit of time you have left before all the responsibilities of adulthood come crashing down on you. Whatever you decide, we hope you will take driving seriously - the machine you are operating weighs a lot, and has a huge amount of power - power to damage property, injure and kill. Whatever you decide to do with your life, we hope you will be a responsible driver, so you can enjoy life to the fullest!

We can never say it enough, but we want you to know how much we appreciate your business! All of us at S & R wish you a Happy Holiday, and a joyful and prosperous New Year!

The Younger Generation

S & R Insurance Services - Young Drivers Winter 2000