Everybody knows at least a bit about the different kinds of insurance. It's for your car and your house, right? Yes, but there's more to the story.

Homeowner's policies do two things, only one of which has to do with your house. The 'property' section covers the dwelling and contents against things like fire. The other section is for personal liability, and protects you when a guest is injured or your daughter throws a baseball through the neighbor's window. Don't own your own home? Renter's policies deal with the same issues. Either way, there are tons of details. Special endorsements for jewelry, guns, or computers. Choices for policy limits and deductibles. Earthquake or flood coverage, which are separate. We help you find a policy and carrier that fit.

Then there's auto policies. These cover all sorts of different things relating to cars. Collision damage, injuries to you or to others, liability, and even a section called 'comprehensive'. Special coverage for when the other guy doesn't have any. Lots of decisions here, and you can buy too much coverage as easily as buying too little.

Ever hear of an umbrella policy? It has nothing to do with the weather. Mostly it's for liability coverage, because it's all too easy to become the target of a milion-dollar lawsuit. Umbrellas add liability coverage beyond what your regular policy provides, and they can also extend the kinds of perils that are covered.

And you don't have to be a captain of industry to need a commercial policy. Most personal policies specifically exclude coverage for business activities. Instead, there are custom policies that reflect just how different the neighborhood barber is from the commercial fisherman. When something happens, they can keep ordinary misfortune from putting you out of business.

Finally, there's the life-and-health issue. The right choice here depends mostly on personal questions that only you can answer. Do you have children? Does your spouse work? How old are you? What does your employer already provide? Companies have choices too, from setting out a benefits package to picking individuals for key-man coverage.

At West Coast Insurance, we sort through this maze of possibilities to help you get what you need.