I got the call that no parent wants to get. My son was in a car accident and was calling me for guidance on how to handle the situation. I work for an insurance company, and even I was caught off-guard when he needed advice. At that moment, I wished that I had run through some basic “street smarts” with him before handing over the keys. Some tips to reinforce with your young driver: Traffic stop – Pull over to the right quickly but safely…. Read more »

In a very short period of time, there are a surprisingly large number of changes in the exposures you now face with your children away at college.  Let’s touch on the three questions we hear most often this time of year with children heading off to be college students. “We spent a small fortune to furnish our college student’s apartment off campus. Does our insurance policy cover this?” In the case of off-campus housing, the answer is often no, especially if your child maintains an… Read more »

Harvey and Irma quickly became household names when the storms wreaked widespread havoc on people and property. Although no longer a top news story, unsuspecting car buyers in locations far from those affected by the storms may encounter a hurricane damaged vehicle for sale by an unscrupulous vendor. VINCheck The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) offers a free service called VINCheck to help the public determine if a car was reported as damaged and subsequently has a branded title; an official damage designation made by… Read more »

Our agency was honored to be named a member of  Mutual Benefit Group’s Inner Circle. Thanks to the IIAMD for featuring us in the May/June 2017 Maryland Messenger newsletter.    SaveSave

In August, the Timonium area experienced a storm of “tornado” proportion with many damaging effects. We know that falling trees and branches are hallmarks of strong storms and high winds. What does your homeowners insurance cover when a tree falls on your property? If a tree falls on your “covered property,” your insurer will generally pay to remove the tree from the property. Debris clean-up, however, may not be included in that coverage. For example, if a tree falls on a fence, the fence is… Read more »

The Summer 2017 edition of Don Grauel’s Protection Points has arrived in mailboxes and is chock full of tips and information. What’s new in the marketplace? Don’s letter touches on two new insurance concepts, Lemonade and Teslas. Calling all movie buffs, check out our trivia challenge on pg. 4! We also included some appliance tips to keep your washing machine running smoothly. Want to receive our newsletter in your mailbox? Email me your name and address and we’ll add you to the mailing list (Don@Goldsborough.com)…. Read more »

By: Michelle Roark Did you know that a cyber attack affects 556 million victims a year?  That’s 18 victims per second and 1.5 million victims per day. 1 Your clients’ information can be stolen in minutes when a hacker gains access to your network or a network that supports your business. Although large corporate breeches make the news, 62% of cyber attack victims are small to mid-sized businesses.2 Often, despite company IT precautions, a hacker gains access to your information when employees unknowingly open phishing emails,… Read more »

It’s bad enough that you’ve been in a car accident but then you’re thrown into the world of car repair and replacement parts. If you’ve had collision repairs done on a vehicle then you may be familiar with the different types of replacement parts but if not, here is a quick primer on repair terminology. OEM Repair Parts Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts are those components of a vehicle that were used during the original construction and assembly by the manufacturer. They are not necessarily… Read more »

On Saturday, October 22nd, the Goldsborough Team walked and ran through beautiful Patterson Park in support of BARCS at their Ready, Set…Sniff! 5K run and walk to support animals in need. The course was filled with a competitive pack of athletes and four-legged friends and the after-party was a barking good time!

There has been a flurry of “news” and magazine articles recently claiming to know when not to file an insurance claim. Unfortunately, they are wrong about 75% of the time. Few of these articles quote their data sources so it’s difficult to respond, but let’s clarify just a few of the most common that I have paraphrased. Never file a claim or you will definitely be surcharged and probably have your protection canceled. FALSE. Cancelations resulting from a single claim are almost unheard of in… Read more »