Kathryn Smith

You already know life insurance is important to protect the financial future of those you love, such as your spouse and kids.  But what life insurance is best?

Term insurance is great for giving the most coverage for the least cost right now.  A new family with young children and a need to stretch their budget should consider term insurance.  It is surprisingly affordable.

Someone with a mortgage payment or care payment, who does not want to leave that monthly obligation to their loved ones, could consider term insurance to pay these debts off in the event of their death.

What are the downsides of term insurance?  It usually provides 10, 20 or 30 years of protection, depending what you buy.  What happens when you get to the end of the term insurance policy and you still need life insurance?

Most of us would expect to be less healthy in 10, 20 or 30 years than we are today.  Things like weight, cholesterol and high blood pressure all could make you unable to qualify to buy more life insurance then or it may be so expensive you can’t afford it.

Permanent insurance bought at younger ages often proves to be the best value in the long run.  Term insurance can give you lots of protection for the lowest cost now.

If you have loved ones to protect and would like us to get you a no-obligation quote, or you just have questions, just give our agency a call.

SOURCE:  Auto-Owners Insurance Update, Volume 9, Issue 1  January – March 2015

MYTH:  I don’t live in a high-risk area so I don’t need flood insurance.

FACT:  Almost all areas can be susceptible to flooding.  Nearly 25% of all National Flood Insurance Program claims come from outside high-flood-risk areas.  Last year heavy rains caused flooding that damaged over 18,000 home in Warren, Michigan.  Only 52 had a flood policy.

MYTH:  I don’t need flood insurance because federal disaster assistance will cover my loss.

FACT:  Before a community is eligible for federal disaster assistance, it must be declared a federal disaster area.  This happens in less than 50% of all flooding events.  Most assistance is in the form of a loan, which must be repaid.  Although $110 million in federal disaster assistance for flooding was given out in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb (MI) counties last year, it went to 92,000 applicants.  That’s less than $1,200 per applicant.

MYTH:  If I have a sewer or sump pump endorsement on my policy, I will be covered in the event of a flood.

FACT:  Purchasing a sewer or sump pump endorsement should not be viewed as a purchase of flood insurance.  Most companies make it clear that if a flood is the cause, directly or indirectly, of the backup or pump failure, they will not be cover the damage.

MYTH:  My homeowners policy covers a flood loss.

FACT:  The vast majority of homeowners policies do not cover floods.  You need a separate flood insurance policy to provide that coverage.

Your home is one of the most valuable possessions, and it’s where you and your family spend your lives.  Call us today so we can protect it from the nation’s number one cause of natural disaster.

SOURCE:  Auto-Owners Insurance Update, Volume 9, Issue 1  January – March 2015

Anthem Inc., the second largest health insurer in America discovered that hackers broke into the carrier’s servers and stole social security numbers and other personal information.  This is another massive data breach (recently JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot and Target had breaches) with the potential to expose the information of nearly 80 million Anthem customers and has the potential to be the largest health care related data breach in history.

In a release the company said: “Anthem Blue Cross was the target of a very sophisticated external cyber-attack.  These attackers gained unauthorized access to Anthem’s IT system and have obtained personal information from our current and former members such as their names, birthdays, medical ID/social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data.  Based on what we know now, there is no evidence that credit card or medical information (such as claims, test results or diagnostic codes) were targeted or compromised.”

Unfortunately, embarrassing and costly data breaches are becoming the new normal.  The recent increases in the rate and the severity of cyber-attacks on U.S. companies indicate a clear threat to businesses and customer’s data.  As businesses come to terms with the increasing threat of hackers, instituting the right policies is critical to harnessing the power of the private sector.  More and more businesses are looking for insurance protection for not only the liability exposure but response expense coverage.  We suggest you discuss with your agents what they can offer for coverage, as data breach has become the insurance coverage issue for 2015.

SOURCE:  Iowa Agent Newsletter, February 16, 2015

One of the most certain things in life is, certainly, uncertainty. Your dog could bite the neighbor’s kid. Your teen driver could hit a cyclist. A guest could fall down your stairs. A rainy morning commute on worn-out tires could result in a multi-car accident. And you could be held liable to others for the cost of damages – injuries, property destruction, emotional distress, lost wages and more.

Good thing you have insurance. But, wait, your policy covers $300,000 of liability, and, in a lawsuit, you’re judged liable for $1 million. That leaves $700,000 left to pay. How will you cover it?

If you have umbrella insurance and your policy covers the incident, the additional $700,000 will come from your policy. If not, it will come from the assets you have now, such as your home and savings, and from future assets, such as your wages or inheritance.

The fact is, it only takes one serious accident and a resulting lawsuit to put everything you own – and will own – at risk. And it only takes one umbrella policy to help protect it all.

Here are a few things you should know about umbrella insurance:

• Personal umbrella policies typically offer $1, $2, $3, $4 or $5 million of liability coverage. Consider your net worth when choosing your coverage –you could be sued for everything you have.
• An umbrella policy is not a stand-alone policy. Your insurance carrier will typically require you to meet certain qualifications, such as having an auto policy with a certain level of liability coverage, in order to purchase umbrella insurance.
• Even when you have umbrella insurance, your car or home insurance is your first line of defense. For example, if you are liable for $2 million in a car accident and your auto insurance covers $500,000 of liability, your auto policy covers the first $500,000. Your umbrella policy covers the remaining $1.5 million, assuming your policy covers the incident and that you purchased that much coverage. If you are liable for $250,000 in an accident on your property and your homeowners insurance covers $300,000, your umbrella policy won’t be needed.
• If you insure a motorcycle, ATV, golf cart, snowmobile, motorhome or watercraft, your umbrella policy may provide additional liability coverage on top of those policies as well. Be sure to check with your carrier to confirm your coverage on these types of vehicles.
• A single umbrella policy typically covers all of your family members who are residents of your household.

Essentially, an umbrella policy gives you excess liability coverage on top of what your other policies provide. If you’re at fault for a serious accident, you’ll need it.

Umbrella insurance also gives you liability coverage in instances where other policies don’t. Examples include driving in a foreign country or renting a boat.

If you’re curious about how umbrella insurance might play a role in protecting the life you’ve built or plan to build, talk to your insurance carrier or to your local Safeco agent.

Source:  http://www.safeco.com

We’ve all heard the self-proclaimed experts who say that you should only buy term and that once you reach retirement age, you won’t need your life insurance any longer.

Here are the Top 10 reasons why it is important for senior clients to keep some permanent life insurance in force even after retirement:

1. Having life insurance allows retirees to be more aggressive in spending their retirement funds on their own needs because they know that those assets will be replaced for their heirs with income tax-free dollars.
2. If they have to use liquid assets to pay for long-term care of any kind, the life insurance can replace those assets when they die.
3. A portion of the death benefit can be accessed if the insured develops a terminal illness and can be used for additional care or other needs.
4. The cash value in the life insurance policy can provide a ready source of cash if an emergency arises.
5. Recent studies show that almost 70 percent of individuals expect to be working either full- or part-time in retirement.  Life insurance can provide money to replace the income stream when they die.
6. Life insurance can help satisfy some individuals’ need to control assets.  They don’t have to gift away assets to avoid estate taxes because the policy will be there to help pay the taxes.
7. Not all retirees are debt-free.  Life insurance can help pay off any debts at death.
8. Life insurance can be useful in dividing assets when there are children from a second marriage.
9. The life insurance death benefit provided an extra source of cash while the survivor adjusts to new circumstances and can alleviate having to make immediate financial decisions to generate cash.
10. Life insurance can help pay for final expenses, long-term care expenses (through a Long Term Care rider) and medical costs that may not be covered by Medicare.

As you can see, having life insurance in retirement can provide much-needed peace of mind.  As the saying goes, “Life insurance is not for those who die, it’s for those who live.”  There are plenty of reasons to have life insurance as you get older.

Traffic deaths in the United States decreased by 3.1 percent in 2013 from the previous year and have declined nearly 25 percent in a decade, according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Occupant deaths in passenger vehicle crashed, including passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, minivans and pickup trucks, totaled 21,132 the lowest figure since 1975.

Additionally, motorcyclist and large truck occupant deaths decreased for the first time since 2009, by 6.4 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Other key figures from the December 19 report include:

• Pedestrian deaths declined by 1.7 percent to 4,735 but were 15 percent higher than the record low of 4,109 in 2009
• The only category of occupants and non-occupants that saw an increase in deaths was pedal cyclists (743 in 2013,  compared with 734 in 2012).  Pedal cyclists are defined by NHTSA as “bicyclists and other riders of two-wheel non-motorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles powered solely by pedals.”
• Deaths in distraction-related crashes fell by 6.7 percent to 3,154.  Yet, the estimated number of injured in these crashes (424,000) rose by 1 percent.
• Alcohol-impaired driving deaths declined by 2.5 percent to 10,076, making up 31 percent of overall traffic deaths in 2013.

Source:  National Safety Council, January 2015