by onlinefinancialnewsletters | Jun 24, 2015 | Personal Protection
What would happen if you were permanently injured or became too ill to work? You might qualify for disability payments from Social Security, but would you be able to survive on the average payout ($1,165/month as of April 2015)? Maybe you have some savings, but would they be adequate to cover your living expenses until you’re old enough to collect retirement benefits? If you answered “no” to either of these questions, you should consider buying disability insurance.
Like every other type of insurance, a disability policy is designed to protect something. You buy homeowners insurance to protect your home and the personal property within it. You buy life insurance to protect your family when you eventually pass away. Disability insurance basically protects your income—something that’s especially important during your peak earning years (now defined as age 40 to 55.) Not only do most professionals earn their highest salary during this time, they actively use it to pay down debt and save for retirement.
As most insurers won’t offer disability policies to individuals over the age of 59, now is likely your best time to buy one that will carry you through to full retirement age. As with health and life insurance, the older you are, the more expensive obtaining disability insurance will become. Less than perfect health can make it more difficult, though not impossible. You may still be offered a policy, but it may include exclusions for health issues—such as back problems—for which you’ve regularly sought treatment.
Before you pursue an individual disability insurance policy, check with your employer about group policies. If the company you work for offers one, you may be able to obtain coverage without going through medical underwriting. This can make the process easier and save you money. If your employer does not offer supplemental disability insurance, you’ll want to find a provider who offers guaranteed renewable policies with fixed costs and terms.
In general, experts recommend a disability insurance policy that will replace 60 to 70 percent of your salary. Women are often charged more for the same amount of coverage as men because they are 35 percent more likely to become disabled. Increasing the waiting period on the policy—from 90 days to 180 days, for example—can decrease the price. So can choosing a shorter term. If you and your partner buy policies together, you may also score a discount.
When you apply for a disability insurance policy, the underwriter will look at your health (unless you’re getting insurance through your employer), occupation and finances. You may need to provide tax returns as proof of income. It can be an invasive process, but when you consider the peace of mind disability insurance affords—especially during those peak earning years we mentioned earlier—it’s more than worth any minor hassle. Contact us to discuss the benefits of disability insurance further and explore your options.
by onlinefinancialnewsletters | Jun 9, 2015 | Personal Protection
You expect your home to be a safe place for your children—maybe even the safest. However, according to recent data from Safe Kids Worldwide, 2,200 children die each year from injuries sustained in the home. Caregivers take another 3.5 million kids to the ER after home accidents, and almost 2 million of them are treated for fall-related injuries. Some of these deaths and injuries involve falls from windows.
While National Window Safety Week takes place in April each year, anytime is a good time to assess window safety in your home. The National Safety Council offers the following suggestions to help you keep your children safe from life-threatening falls.
Always supervise – Nothing feels better than a fresh spring or summer breeze through open windows. However, if you choose to keep yours open during warm weather months, keep an eye on your children and teach them to play well away from the potential fall hazard.
If you can’t supervise, keep them closed – If you cannot stay with your children, close and lock the windows before leaving the room.
Don’t rely on screens – Most window screens are designed to keep insects out, not children in. They cannot withstand the weight of a child (or a pet) and will not prevent a fall.
Move the furniture – If you have small children, or if little ones are visiting your home, move furniture away from the windows. This will remove their temptation to climb up and potentially fall.
Ventilate in inches – Rather than opening windows wide, crack them a few inches. You’ll still get a breeze while keeping children (and pets) safe from falls. You may also want to consider installing limited-opening hardware on windows within your children’s reach. This hardware will prevent them from opening the window more than a few inches.
Bedroom Windows Save Lives
While falling from a window can lead to injury, it may be necessary for your children to use their bedroom window to exit your home in the event of an emergency—such as a fire. You’ll want to make certain they can safely do so. Consider these additional tips from the National Safety Council.
Test the windows – Make sure bedroom windows open easily and are not sealed shut by paint or swollen shut by weathering. If you cannot open them quickly and easily, replace them.
Buy escape ladders – If you have bedrooms on the second or third floor of your home, equip each one with an emergency escape ladder.
Practice – Teach your children how to open their windows and attach the escape ladder. Practice fire escape routes, both during the day and at night (when most house fires occur).
Download the National Safety Council’s window safety activity book for kids here. And remember: we’re here to help you protect your family. Please don’t hesitate to call with home safety or insurance-related questions.
by onlinefinancialnewsletters | May 21, 2015 | Personal Protection
From weather delays to onboard mishaps, protecting yourself and your vacation is something you should consider before you set sail on your next cruise.
Covered Events
The unfortunate events covered by cruise insurance vary depending on policy. Common ones include missed departures and delays, cruise operator cancellations, emergency traveler cancellations, lost and stolen luggage, medical emergencies, medical evacuations and cruise operator financial default.
Two special insurance features most travelers find particularly desirable are 100 percent refund policies and trip interruption coverage. The first will reimburse your pre-paid travel expenses in the event that you need to cancel your trip for any reason including a job loss or medical emergency. The second will reimburse your expenses if you need to cut your vacation short and fly home.
Buying Direct from Cruise Operator
Most cruise operators offer passengers some form of insurance protection, through it is often more limited in scope than comparably priced third party policies. For example, most do not cover cancellations due to operator financial default, terrorism or political unrest. If traveler cancellation is covered, there may be a cut off several days prior to departure. And medical coverage is often quite limited, usually excluding pre-existing conditions.
In the event of a covered situation requiring reimbursement, most cruise lines will pay up in the form of non-transferable credits towards future travel. Most often, expiration dates and strict redemption rules accompany these vouchers. Cash reimbursement is quite rare.
Purchasing Third Party Insurance
If you want broader coverage and cash reimbursement, you’ll have to purchase your cruise insurance through a third party provider. TravelGuard, TravelSafe and InsureMyTrip are three popular companies offering a range of cruise insurance products.
When reviewing your options, consider a ‘primary’ policy. It may cost a bit more, but coverage kicks in the moment something goes wrong—reducing or eliminating the time you’ll wait for reimbursement. If you chose ‘secondary’ coverage, you must attempt to collect on a primary policy before your cruise insurance will cover a thing. For example, if someone steals your camera while on the ship, a secondary policy will only cover your loss after you’ve attempted to collect on your homeowner’s insurance policy.
Cost of Investment
Whether you choose to purchase directly from your cruise operator or from a third party, expect to pay 5 percent to 10 percent of the cruise price for insurance. While this may be as much as $1,000 on a $10,000 cruise, the cost is minimal compared to the potential losses you’ll incur if you have to cancel your trip due to an emergency, the ship malfunctions and you find yourself stranded in a foreign port, or the cruise line goes out of business.
by onlinefinancialnewsletters | May 8, 2015 | Personal Protection
While car theft has been a great concern for car owners, it is less of a concern because of the improvement in technologies such as transponder keys, tracking and recovery systems, improved integrated active alarm systems, etc. But while car theft has dropped, car thieves have not given up… and the most common car crime today is VIN switching or VIN cloning.
How VIN Cloning / VIN Switching is Done
- Thieves steal your car.
- They then look for a model that is the same as yours.
- Thieves will make a copy of that vehicle’s VIN.
- They will create a fake VIN plate for your car which makes the car easy to sell.
What’s terrible bout this is that you may buy a car thinking it has a clean bill of health. But the real car’s history may be masked.
Worse, the police can seize the car if it was in fact stolen and you’ll likely be out of the money you spent on the car. (Some states like Wisconsin require auto dealerships to reimburse consumers when the dealership has sold a car with a bad VIN but not all states require this.)
Protect yourself from VIN Cloning
Here are some of the things that you can do so that you can protect yourself from VIN cloning and avoid buying used cars that have been stolen.
Check the Address of the Seller
Criminals will not let you know their address. If you are the buyer, always go to the seller and meet at his or her house. If he says that he is a motor dealer, go to his place of business. A legal trader will not have a problem with you visiting his business site. He will also have printed invoices and a legit landline number.
If the seller asks to meet at a convenient location, make sure to bring a friend.
Right to Sell
Buying from a private individual is riskier than buying from a car dealer because when things go wrong, you might not be able to find the seller if he or she is just a private individual.
To see if the seller has the right to sell, meet at the address indicated on the registration papers. Go into the house and don’t just meet outside the house. If the person has nothing to hide, then there should be no problem getting inside the house. If you find something unusual, walk away right at that very moment.
Question Low Prices
Be wary of cars that are being sold at an insanely low price. If there is some bodywork damage in the car, then the seller might go a bit lower. However, if the seller is willing to accept any price, then alarm bells must sound off because a car thief will settle for any amount instead of getting caught with a stolen car.
Check the Documents
Inspect each and every document that will be handed to you. Try to spot any forgeries. Check the VIN on all the records, the door sticker, dash, car frame, service and title records. All of the VIN indicated there must match. Check for any signs that it may have been tampered with.
Check the CARFAX if there are any clone alerts.
The odometer must match the mileage that is reported on the document. Check if there are any registrations between states. If there are, then this is a cause for alarm as this might be a stolen car.
Get a Mechanic
You can always get an expert mechanic to check on the car if there are any anomalies.
by onlinefinancialnewsletters | Apr 24, 2015 | Personal Protection
Whether you want a safe place to stash heirloom jewelry from your great-great-grandmother, a treasured collection of rare coins, stacks of savings bonds or your last five years’ worth of tax returns, a safe deposit box at the bank is a better choice than a home safe for a number of reasons.
- A safe deposit box is a better value. Even the cheapest home safe is going to cost you upwards of $100 dollars. A safe deposit box, on the other hand, typically rents for $15 to $500 a year depending on size. Unless you’re storing large valuables, the up-front cost of renting a safe deposit box is going to be less than purchasing a residential safe.
- A safe deposit box offers better protection from fire. Fireproof home safes are even more expensive than their basic counterparts are—and there are significant limits to how much actual protection they offer. For example, some fire resistant residential safes still allow contents to reach 350 degrees. While that might protect paper documents, it’s more than the heat required to damage items like computer disks and 35mm slides. Most only offer 30 minutes of protection as well—not enough if it takes emergency responders longer to extinguish the blaze. Fire is not an issue for a safe deposit box, however. Located in a sealed bank vault, they offer the ultimate protection for your items.
- A safe deposit box offers better protection from thieves. While the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing notes that the number of reported single-family home burglaries nationwide has declined 32 percent since 1990, they’re still increasing in some metropolitan areas—and a home safe is an easy target for a would-be thief on the prowl. Banks, on the other hand, are more secure than the average home. Even when a robbery occurs, few of the criminals bother with the safe deposit boxes. According to the FBI, only 18 of the 5,014 bank robberies that occurred nationwide in 2011 involved the safe deposit vault.
- Home safes are notoriously easy to “crack.” Just watch one episode of A&E’s Storage Wars and you’ll see how easy most residential safes are to break into. And anyone can learn to do it. A quick Google search of “how to crack a home safe” returned more than 43,700,000 written and video tutorials. Safe deposit boxes, on the other hand, are housed within a bank vault, which is much more difficult to break into.
IMPORTANT: While bank robberies involving safe deposit boxes are rare, it’s still wise to add a rider to your homeowner or renter’s insurance policy to cover the items you store within one. The minimal cost you’ll incur is preferable to running the risk of an unforeseen loss.
by onlinefinancialnewsletters | Apr 9, 2015 | Personal Protection
Americans love their dogs. According to the American Pet Products Association, more than 56 million U.S. households included at least one canine companion in 2014. Unfortunately, raising a pooch isn’t always just wagging tails and slobbery kisses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that dogs bite 4.5 million people every year. About 885,000 of those incidents result in injuries requiring medical attention, and about half of those serious injuries occur on children.
In addition to the shock and horror you’d naturally experience should your dog attack a stranger, visitor to your home, or even a family member, dog bite incidents are expensive. According to the Insurance Information Institute, dog bites accounted for more than 33 percent of the homeowner’s insurance liability claims paid in 2013, costing more than $483 million. The average cost per dog bite claim nationwide was $27,862—a pretty significant chunk of change.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce the chances of your dog or family’s involvement in a dog bite incident. Consider the following:
- Choose your pet carefully. There are varying opinions on whether dogs of certain breeds are more dangerous than others are or if home environment has more to do with a dog’s nature. Talk to your veterinarian about potential behavior and health issues associated with specific breeds. Speak with your insurance agent about breeds excluded from coverage under your homeowner’s insurance policy.
- Socialize your pet early. Well-socialized puppies are more likely to grow into adult dogs who feel comfortable around a variety of people and other animals. Continue to expose your dog to new situations—under controlled circumstances, of course—as he or she gets older.
- Wait until your child is old enough. Because half of all serious dog bite incidents involve children, experts recommend waiting until your own are at least 4 years old before introducing a dog to your home. At that age, children are better able to understand how to behave around pets.
- Never leave a baby or young child alone with a dog. You should also teach your children not to approach strange dogs or to try to pet dogs they do not know. Instruct them to ask the dog’s owner for permission before approaching or petting.
- Keep your dog healthy. From controlling parasites to spaying and neutering, regular veterinary care can influence how your dog feels and directly affect how he or she behaves. Make sure to vaccinate your dog against rabies and other infectious diseases according to recommended guidelines. And take your pet on plenty of walks to keep it healthy and provide mental and physical stimulation.
- Obey all pet-related laws. License your dog as required by your community, city and county. Respect leash laws and, if you ever leave your dog alone in a fenced yard, ensure the area is truly secure.
Whether you already own a dog or are considering bringing a canine into your home, give us a call to review your insurance liability coverage for bites and other pet-related injuries.
Recent Comments