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Car Insurance on Vsam1040 Chicago LLC

Speaker 1:

Welcome to our show, Law Talk Show, and please just say, hello to your client and your new audience.

Mike Agruss:

Sure. Thanks for having me on I’m Mike Agruss. I’m the managing partner at Mike Agruss Law, and it’s always great to be back. Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 1:

All right. Thanks for your time and your present today. [foreign language 00:00:26]. The first question, okay, I try to explain to most of the people we receive some phone call, also emails, and a lot of text messages, they question, and they wonder, okay, how good is your law firm? And in the past, 10 years, ask everybody, I know your law firm do a lot of services, accident, car, body injury, and so on. Right. But I would like to take this opportunity to understand more, and then sharing with the new customer, and new audience across the Midwest area, right here. If they need any services or they don’t understand, okay, well, what’s going on with the law or what should they do when they get involved into the car accident or they sleep on the, in a sidewalk. Okay. So, what should they do? So, today, would you please, okay, spend more or tell your new client, and your customer here. Okay. What is it the law firm, say, last 10 year? What did you do?

Mike Agruss:

Sure. So, Mike Agruss Law’s been around for 10 years.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

We handle consumer rights and personal injury cases.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

The consumer rights issues. We help people with financial issues, and the personal injury practice helps people with car accidents, dog bites, slip, and falls, nursing, home abuse, things like that.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

We have four attorneys at the office. We have a lot of support staff. We’re very tech-savvy.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Which, allows everyone at the office to always know what’s going on in the cases.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

And we have open lines of communication, and we’re very easy to get in touch with.

Speaker 1:

Okay. [foreign language 00:02:15]. And yes. Now, the same issue, a lot of people, okay, they concern about the new system. Okay. What we call, the IT system. Right. Can you expand a little bit more, how good or could the system help or your law firm?

Mike Agruss:

Yeah, absolutely. So, just under a year ago we rolled out new law firm software.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

Which, allows us to keep track of potential clients when they contact us.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

All the way through the process of handling the case all the way through the end, when we send out a settlement check.

Speaker 1:

Okay, oh.

Mike Agruss:

And what’s really nice about this is, it’s one system it’s cloud based.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

So, you can log in anywhere, anytime. And anyone at my office can search a case. See what’s going on, check out the status. So, if you were to call my office, we would get your name, look you up, and anyone can answer any of your questions.

Speaker 1:

Oh.

Mike Agruss:

And so, it makes it user friendly on our end, and then our clients appreciate the fact that we can always answer their questions.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

We always know what’s going on because everyone has access to it.

Speaker 1:

Okay. That’s…

Mike Agruss:

We even have on our phone…

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

… there’s even an app.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

I can open up the app, and do work straight from there, so we can work anywhere which makes it really efficient.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Wow. Okay. That’s amazing. Isn’t it?

Mike Agruss:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

That’s a excellent system. Okay. [foreign language 00:05:28]. Yes. I think that’s an excellent system, and your law firm able to handle, okay, so many cases effectively. Right. And…

Mike Agruss:

Right. And I think, one of the biggest advantages we have by using this law firm software that we just rolled out. It allows us to communicate with our clients anywhere at any time.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

So, you’ve got a traditional law firm where they’ve got paper files stacked up to the ceiling.

Speaker 1:

Right. Right. Yes.

Mike Agruss:

You’ve got someone answering the phone, and writing down messages.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

We’re the polar opposite.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

So, what’s really nice about this software is, we communicate with our clients over text, over email, and the way people want to be communicated with. Right.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

If you were one of my clients, and you had a quick question, and you could just text me, and say, “Hey, Mike, I just saw this doctor, how do I get this bill submitted?” And it’s efficient because you can text me, and I’ll get your message, and…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… text you right back. So, it’s very cutting edge, and it makes our clients feel part of the process, and we’re also available 24/7.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

Which is, clients really appreciate that. So, questions, anything they have, they can quickly reach out to us. And look, we talk on the phone too with our clients…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… but sometimes people want to text or email, and our system enables them to do that.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

[foreign language 00:07:16]. Yes. That’s… Those information is a very useful and helpful because of, with the technology cutting [inaudible 00:07:37]. Right. It’s helping the lawyer and then the customer, okay. Communicates us so fast. Right. I got another question, is what type of personal injury cases do you handle?

Sure. So, our firm focuses on consumer rights and personal injury, and on the personal injury side of things, we primarily handle car accidents, dog bites, slip and falls, which is common right now in Chicago.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

With the snow…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… and ice and then being 10 degrees outside.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

We also handle medical malpractice and nursing home abuse cases.

Speaker 1:

Okay. [foreign language 00:08:31]. All right, yes. Another question is, what type of car accident you handling?

Mike Agruss:

Sure. So, when you talk about car accidents, it’s really a big umbrella…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… of cases, so.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

We would handle people who are driving cars, who are in accidents, people who are passengers…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… in a car that’s involved in an accident. We also handle, ride share accidents, which would be Uber.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Lyft.

Speaker 1:

Lyft. Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

Motor cycle accidents.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

Truck accidents, bike accidents.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

Pedestrian accidents. Basically, if you’re out on the road and you’re injured, we can help you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. [foreign language 00:10:54]. Yes. Illinois. Do you need a car insurance?

Mike Agruss:

Yes. And so, car insurance is so important, and that’s going to be…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… the major focus of what we’re talking about today.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

So, when we were talking about car accidents, if you’re a driver, pedestrian, passenger…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… Uber, Lyft, truck, the main issue here is insurance. And so, to answer your question, yes. [crosstalk 00:13:25]. If you’re driving a car, you need to have insurance. It’s the law. It’s very simple. Everyone should have insurance.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

If you get in a car accident or pulled over, and you don’t have proof of insurance, it’s a $500 ticket.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

So, it’s very simple. If you are driving a car, motorcycle, Uber, Lyft, whatever you’re doing…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… if you’re out on the road, have insurance.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

It’s the law.

Speaker 1:

It’s law.

Mike Agruss:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

And you don’t want to get in trouble.

Speaker 1:

Right. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. That’s a big issue right here, right?

Mike Agruss:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Car insurance. [crosstalk 00:13:54].

Mike Agruss:

Yeah. We’re just about to get into all these topics about insurance…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… which is, I’ve got a couple of stories I want to share with you too.

Speaker 1:

Okay. Okay.

Mike Agruss:

About recent cases that have happened in our office, so.

Speaker 1:

Okay. All right. [foreign language 00:14:24]. Yes. I keep repeating about the car insurance, Mike Agruss Law because some people, they afraid, they don’t know, okay, who to talk to, and who could solve to them because a lot of issu,es being, [inaudible 00:15:52] mile is good, but sometime, [inaudible 00:15:55] is not good. If you talk to the right person, that’s very important because the lawyer represent for the people to resolve issue. Okay. And to make sure, okay, they get the right information so, they can get the right composition as well. And state law, is a state law. Everybody need to obey. Otherwise, you have to pay the fine. Right.

Mike Agruss:

Right.

Speaker 1:

Okay. Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

And then also too, what’s so important is to not only have it, but know what you have it.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

Know what you have before you’re involved in an accident. Whereas 99.9% of the time when we’re reviewing insurance policies, it’s always after the accident. And when we get the policy, and I’m looking at each line, and I’m always cringing because…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… sometimes there’s not coverage. Sometimes there’s not enough coverage. So, just like you were telling the viewers today.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

Please, if everyone pulls out their insurance card, looks at it, they want to call the number on the screen, text, email, and just say, “Hey, is this enough insurance? Do I have the proper insurance?” I will answer those questions all day long.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

It’s so important to have the right insurance before an accident.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

As opposed to, after an accident and realizing you don’t.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Okay. [foreign language 00:17:10]. Yes. Okay. The next question is about the insurance. The insurance is very important because a lot of people they bought insurance, but they don’t know what they buy it, and what benefits, and what should they buy, and what they should not buy. Right. They don’t care. They just say, well, I got insurance, but they didn’t have no clue. Okay. What it is. Right?

Mike Agruss:

Right.

Speaker 1:

Okay. So, what is liability insurance?

Mike Agruss:

So, this is very simple. Liability insurance is required in Illinois. You need to have a $25,000 policy.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

And if you are involved in an accident, and the police determine that you’re at fault.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Your insurance company will pay the other party for their property damage for their medical bills and for their injuries.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

So, liability insurance covers you, your insurance covers you, if you’re in an accident, and at fault, and it pays the other party’s damages.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

And it’s required in Illinois.

Speaker 1:

Okay. Yes. [foreign language 00:18:57]. All right, yes. Next question is about genetic collision insurance?

Mike Agruss:

Sure.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

So, liability covers the person you [hit 00:20:09], if you’re at fault…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… for their property damage, their medical bills, and their injuries. Collision insurance will then cover your own car if you’re at fault.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

And so, sometimes it makes sense to have collision insurance, and sometimes it makes sense not to. And let me give you an example.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

If you’re involved in an accident, and you’re at fault.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

And you’re driving a car, that’s worth $50,000.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

You better have collision insurance.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Otherwise, if you’re at fault, no one’s going to be paying for your property damage.

Speaker 1:

Right. Yes.

Mike Agruss:

If you’re driving a car that’s worth maybe a couple grand, and if you get in an accident, it’s not worth it. Sure, you don’t need collision insurance because it is an added expense.

Speaker 1:

Right. Yes.

Mike Agruss:

However, if you have any type of payments on your car, you’re making payments, your car is worth more than a couple $1000, you want to have collision insurance.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Especially here while we’re talking, it’s icy outside.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

There’s snow.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

And look, accidents happen.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

You want to make sure with collision insurance, if you get into an accident, not only will your liability pay the other driver.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Your collision pays your own.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

It’ll pay for your own property damage to fix your car.

Speaker 1:

Yes. Okay. [foreign language 00:22:31]. We take a short break and we be back. Thank you.

Speaker 3:

[foreign language 00:23:36].

Speaker 1:

[foreign language 00:24:39] Yes. We go back with, I got to issue, car insurance here. This very interesting. And this is very useful, your [explanation 00:24:47], your expertise. So, people they understand clearly, okay, what should they do? And what should they buy? Right.

Mike Agruss:

Right. Before the accident.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Being 40, such, yeah.

Mike Agruss:

That’s what’s so important is…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… we’re here talking, we’ve been on the show a bunch while we’re talking about what to do when you’re involved in an accident.

Speaker 1:

Right, right.

Mike Agruss:

This is something where every single viewer watching right now…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… can learn something and do something proactive.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

And what that is, is what should my insurance look like now? What should I have and protect yourself.

Speaker 1:

Right. Right.

Mike Agruss:

And that’s something we’ve been on the show talking about a lot, where a lot of people think you have insurance to protect the other person.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

You, it’s really for yourself.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

And these are things you can do today.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

To protect yourself before an accident happen.

Speaker 1:

Right. Right. [foreign language 00:25:38]. Okay. Yes. Another type insurance. Can you explain what is comprehensive insurance?

Mike Agruss:

Sure. So, we’ve been talking about liability insurance and collision insurance.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

Those two types of insurance cover you when an accident happens.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

The next type of insurance is comprehensive, and what that deals with is coverage for things outside of an accident.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

So, let me give you an example, a weather related.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

So, if there’s hail, and there’s damage to your car, maybe there’s a tornado, and a branch from a tree…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… fall’s onto your car.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

It also covers theft. So, if…

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

… someone breaks into your car, they steal maybe a jacket, sunglasses, money, whatever the case is.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

And then also in, not super common in Chicago, but if you’re out on country roads, and you hit an animal.

Speaker 1:

Right. Okay.

Mike Agruss:

There’s probably damaged to your car there. So, comprehensive insurance is another layer of protection, although it’s not required in…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… Illinois.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

People should know that for an extra five or 10 bucks a month, you can protect yourself from things that you wouldn’t expect, weather related, damage, theft…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… or if you’re driving out in the country road, and you hit a deer.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

That could total your car.

Speaker 1:

Right. Yes. Yes. [foreign language 00:27:33]. Yes. Beside liability, collision and comprehension. The other question is about UM motorists and motorists insurance, uninsured?

Mike Agruss:

Right. So, these are two additional types of coverage.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

So, the first one is uninsured…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… motor risk coverage.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

And what that means is if the other driver hits you and they don’t have an insurance.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

You can go after your own insurance.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

And there are so many people out there who don’t have insurance. And I don’t think people realize this.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

And this is a perfect example for the viewers, and to explain to them that you’re getting, you’re not only getting insurance. If you mess up, and getting an accident to protect you from the person you’ve hit, but almost more importantly, you’re getting it for yourself. So, look at it, I like to describe it as health insurance.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

If something unforeseen happens, and you have health insurance, you’re covered, you can go to the doctor, if you get in an awful car accident, and that other driver doesn’t have insurance.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

You’re going after your own insurance.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

So, it’s really important. And uninsured, which means the other driver has no insurance that is required in Illinois.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

And so, if you have car insurance, they will force you to get uninsured.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

But what a lot of people don’t know is you can max that out.

Speaker 1:

I see.

Mike Agruss:

You don’t just have to get the minimum.

Speaker 1:

I see.

Mike Agruss:

You should get the most that you can.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. The max, okay. [foreign language 00:31:10]. Yes. When talking about the insurance, a lot of issues in here and today, I believe, okay. The new viewers, and your existing viewers as well, they understand that they got better vision about insurance. Right. Another question is, excuse me, what is underinsured motor risk coverage?

Mike Agruss:

Sure. So, we were just talking about uninsured, which means the other party doesn’t have any insurance.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Now we’re talking underinsured, which means the other party has the minimum.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

But your damages exceed what their policy is. So, let me give you an example.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

Your case may be, you may have a half million dollars in medical bills.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

If the other driver only has a $25,000 policy.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

You’re allowed once again to go after your own insurance company…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… assuming you have maxed out your underinsured motorist coverage.

Speaker 1:

I see.

Mike Agruss:

So, just like you want to have the maximum uninsured, if someone doesn’t have insurance.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

You also want to have the maximum under in case the other driver doesn’t have enough. So, there are tons of people on the road who don’t have insurance. And then there’s tons of people on the road who just have the bare minimum because it’s cheap.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

But if they hit you, and you have significant injuries…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… you want to be able to come after someone and collect for your damages.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

You would get part of the policy from the at fault driver, and then you can go after your own insurance.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Just like health insurance. I was saying, “You want to make sure you protect yourself, and have the maximum policy.”

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Because you can go after your own insurance…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… for any type of additional damages. And we see this all the time, and we help our clients out all the time, where we go after the other driver for what they have.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

And then we come after our client’s insurance for the remainder.

Speaker 1:

Yes. Okay. Thank you. This is a very important way. [foreign language 00:34:47]. Yes. So, this is a very important. And it’s a very, I think essential because a lot of people, they don’t understand, they don’t care about the insurance much, but when they, when accident happened, occur to them and they say, “Oh, I don’t have this. I don’t have, oh, that’s.” It’s too late for them. You better have now or it’s too late.

Mike Agruss:

Exactly. And that’s why I tell people, be proactive.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

Please, reach out to us. We will take a look at your car insurance.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

We’ll give you our recommendations.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

All of that’s for free. And it’s so much better to do that beforehand.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

Because, after the fact you can’t change anything.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. [foreign language 00:35:53]. Yes. Another question, so before we wrapped up, okay, the program today, so what is it a gap insurance?

Mike Agruss:

Sure. Gap insurance is, it’s real easy to explain. If you are making car payments on your car, you should likely have gap insurance. And the reason is if you get into a car accident, and the fair market value of your car, which is determined by Kelley Blue Book, and other online agencies to determine what the fair market value is.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

May not be as much as what you actually owe on the car.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

So, let me give you an example. You buy a brand new $30,000 car.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

And you drive it off of a [lot 00:36:43].

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

And you get into an accident.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

That car may only be worth 25,000.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

Right. When you take it off a lot.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

You get into an accident. It’s totaled, the insurance company for the fair market value is going to write you a check for 25 grand.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

But you still owe 30.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

So, the gap insurance covers the gap between what you owe…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… and what the fair market value is.

Speaker 1:

Okay. All right.

Mike Agruss:

So, it’s another layer of insurance.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

And once again for the viewers, I’ve been doing this for over 17 years.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

I’ve handled hundreds, if not over a thousand personal injury cases, I see these policies all day long, and this may be, and may be confusing for…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… the viewers when we’re talking about liability and collision and gap [inaudible 00:37:22]. So, please feel free to reach out.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

You can take a picture of your policy, text it to me, ask me any questions you have, and I’ll totally say, yeah, that’s offer or here, maybe you should do this or maybe you shouldn’t get gap insurance.

Speaker 1:

Right. Right. Okay.

Mike Agruss:

And not everyone needs gap insurance.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

If you’re not making car payments, you don’t need it.

Speaker 1:

Okay. I see.

Mike Agruss:

So, these are all things that we for free will answer. I mean If, when the viewers want to contact us, text us, email us.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

We’re here to help.

Speaker 1:

Yes. Thank you for your answer here. [foreign language 00:37:55]. Yes. I have a [lot 00:38:49] question for you here. Okay. Is this important to be honest with the insurance company?

Mike Agruss:

Yeah. This may seem like a simple question. And this just happened this week in a case of ours. And I want to give a quick explanation.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

So, let’s say, you’ve done all the right things. You’ve got insurance, you’ve got the maximum policy. You did all of that. You may not think that the questions they’re asking or the information you’re providing is that important. And maybe you don’t want to say that someone lives in your house…

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

… because they’re not covered on your policy or whatever the case is. When, you submit a claim. The first thing that the insurance company does is they go back, and they look at your application. They look at the police report, and they try to figure out what happened. And if you are not honest, during the application process…

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

… they can deny a claim. So, let me give you an example.

If they say, “How many miles a year do you drive?” And if you’re driving over 10,000 miles a year, you’re driving a lot. But if you tell them in the application, oh, I just drive twenty-five hundred miles a year. When it comes time to submit a claim, they may ask you, “Oh, how many miles are on your odometer?”

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

Or something like that to try to deny the claim. What we see all the time, and I want to give you a quick example is, we see people living in households who are not disclosed during an application process. We have a case right now where a friend was living at a family’s house, and they submitted an application for insurance, and that friend was not listed as someone living at the house. And as it turns out, the friend borrowed the mom’s car.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

Without permission.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

And the mom’s daughter, I don’t know. I think their boyfriend, girlfriend but no one, they just said their friends. The daughter jumps in the car with the guy.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

To say, “Stop driving, stop driving.” He ends up driving the car, gets into an accident, and she is severely injured.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

When they submit the police report to the insurance company, the insurance, the first thing they look at is, when did you apply for insurance, and who are all of the people living in your house?

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

And they didn’t disclose the boyfriend.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

And now we’re fighting with the insurance company over whether or not they’re going to deny the claim. And so, something that simple can be an absolute game changer. And this poor girl has significant injuries, in the hospital for a week. She had a skull fracture.

Speaker 1:

Oh.

Mike Agruss:

They, I mean, it’s really sad and awful.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

And the insurance company is looking through the application, with a fine tooth comb.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

Because there’s someone driving the car who wasn’t listed as living at the house.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

And this could be a huge problem.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Okay.

Mike Agruss:

And they may not pay out because of that. So, yeah. When you fill out insurance, be honest, be honest with who lives there.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

Who’s driving.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

How often you drive.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

If you’re an Uber or Lyft driver.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Mike Agruss:

You want to mention that, if you use your car for work, you want to mention that.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

Because when you submit a claim, they’re going to look at everything.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

And once again, insurance companies don’t want to pay out.

Speaker 1:

Right. Yes. Okay.

Mike Agruss:

So, don’t give them an opportunity to not pay.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Okay. [foreign language 00:43:34]. Yes. Last question. I know the time is out right now but we can go real quick.

Mike Agruss:

Sure.

Speaker 1:

How much are this cost to [inaudible 00:43:42] from, for a personal injury case?

Mike Agruss:

Sure. I have a quick answer. It’s free, unless we get a settlement, and then we get paid.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

So, the beauty of our personal injury practice is, it is free. We only get paid if we get a settlement.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Mike Agruss:

So, our clients never pay us a penny for attorney’s fees. They never pay us a penny and costs. The only way we get paid is if we get our client money.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Mike Agruss:

So, there’s zero risk in hiring our firm.

Speaker 1:

Yes. Okay. Yes. Thank you so much. [foreign language 00:44:12]. Well, thank you so much for your time and your patience here because…

Mike Agruss:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

… I need to translate sometimes, it’s not really 100%. Exactly what you say but you know, we try.

Mike Agruss:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hopefully everybody enjoy, okay, the show, and they understand, at least, they know, okay, what to do, when they buy a car or when they buy an insurance way. And before we say, goodbye, please say, goodbye to…

Mike Agruss:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

… the new audience.

Mike Agruss:

Thank you. And thank you for having me on the show. And once again, we talked about personal injury, car accidents, and most importantly insurance. And please, if anyone watching has any questions about anything, please, call text, email beforehand.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Mike Agruss:

It’s much better to find the answers out before you in an accident.

Speaker 1:

All right. Thanks again. One more time.

Mike Agruss:

Thank you.

Speaker 1:

Thank so much. [foreign language 00:46:18]. Be safe and drive safe. Thank you.

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