Here are some things to think about when it comes to carrying insurance as a couple. Use the topics in this article as a way to start a discussion about your insurance needs. We can then help you narrow down your options.

Auto Insurance

If you and your spouse have separate auto insurance policies, it may be wise to combine them. Get quotes from each of your carriers, and shop around to see if any others offer multivehicle discounts.

Keep in mind that it may not always make sense to bundle your car insurance policies. If your spouse has a poor driving record, you may end up paying more by bundling. Nonetheless, you may still qualify for a discount just for being married. Insurers typically offer discounted rates to people just for being married, because of the assumption that married people drive safer.

Renters Insurance

If you rent your living space, you should consider renters insurance to cover the value of your possessions. If you already have renters insurance, don’t forget that you have more to lose now that you have combined belongings, such as furniture, electronics and jewelry. Consider increasing your limits on personal property coverage, which pays to replace or repair items that are stolen or damaged.

Homeowners Insurance

Homeowners insurance is similar to renters insurance, but it covers more than just your possessions. It also covers your home in case of fire, theft or other perils. Both renters insurance and homeowners insurance also provide liability coverage.

Life Insurance

Newlyweds who both have jobs and are not yet dependent on their spouse’s income may not see the need for life insurance. However, as they build their lives together, that dependency grows. If you’re young and healthy, you can benefit from getting life insurance early in your marriage, since you can typically lock in better rates than if you were older. Remember that the older you get, the higher the rates, so don’t put it off for too long.

While life insurance is less urgent for young couples who are both working and don’t have children, it is important for newlyweds with only one working spouse or those who have children from a previous marriage to purchase life insurance early in their marriage.

If you already had life insurance prior to tying the knot, don’t forget to add your new spouse as a beneficiary.

Disability Insurance

Young people are more likely to become disabled than die prematurely. In fact, more than half of Americans identified as disabled are in their working years—between ages 18 and 64— according to the Council for Disability Awareness.

Disability insurance is historically inexpensive, and can pay you between 50-70 percent of your regular monthly income if an accident, illness or injury prevents you from being able to work. If your employer doesn’t offer disability insurance, you can purchase it on your own. This coverage can be critical for you and your loved ones.

We’re Here To Help

Addressing your insurance needs early provides a solid foundation for your marriage. Review your financial situation and objectives with your spouse, and contact us to help you find sufficient coverage within your budget.

When purchasing coverage for their home, too many policyholders often make the mistake of simply insuring it for the resale value. However, should a flood, storm or other event occur, they may find that the cost to rebuild far exceeds the original purchase price. This discrepancy can occur for a variety of reasons, including inflated construction costs following catastrophic events that impact multiple homes in a particular area.

To truly protect themselves, extended replacement coverage is essential. This form of coverage provides a benefit over and above the policy limits for replacing a damaged house. That means, should a covered loss occur, extended replacement coverage will kick in and pay up to a specified percentage over an insured’s policy limit—sometimes as much as 125 percent.

As an example, let’s say your $270,000 home is destroyed by a storm. Because this disaster affected an entire neighborhood, the costs of building materials and labor significantly increased due to high demand. As a result, the replacement value is estimated at $300,000—significantly over the normal replacement cost covered by standard homeowner’s policies. Without extended replacement coverage, you would likely have to pay the extra $30,000 out of pocket.

When considering homeowners insurance, extended replacement coverage is critical. While skimping on this protection may lower your coverage costs slightly, those savings will mean nothing should disaster strike and lead to tens of thousands of dollars in losses.

Get Started

Homeowners insurance can be complicated, and it’s importantto discuss your unique needs with an expert. To secure a policy that’s right for you, contact us today.

Vehicle technology seems to advance each year, as new features improve driver and passenger safety. The following are just a few driver-assist features to be aware of the next time you’re in the market for a new vehicle:

• Adaptive cruise control: This type of cruise control automatically speeds or slows down your car based on the actions of the vehicles in front of you. This tool can help reduce the likelihood and severity of rear-end collisions.
• Automatic braking: Automatic braking devices are designed to reduce the severity of high-speed collisions in the event of a lapse of driver attention. These devices can predict impending crashes and help combat distracted driving.
• Blind-spot detection: Through the use of sensors, blind-spot detection systems sound an alarm in the event that an object is in your blind spot. These devices can help reduce accidents on the highway and are particularly useful for changing lanes.

If you purchase a vehicle with driver-assist features, it’s important to familiarize yourself with how they work. Doing so can help keep you safe on the road and allow you to get the most out of crash-prevention technology.

Lightning storms are incredibly dangerous and more deadly than tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. When a storm is on the verge of striking your area, you need to know the steps to take in order to protect your family and home.

Use these tips to stay safe during a lightning storm:

• Seek shelter in an enclosed building, if possible.
• If you are in a car, stay inside and keep the windows securely rolled up.
• Do not use a small shed, pavilion or lean-to as shelter—they do not provide enough protection.
• Do not use a landline telephone during a storm. Instead, use a cellular or cordless phone that is not connected to the building’s wiring.
• If you’re outside during a lightning storm, get as close to the ground as possible without placing your hands or knees on the ground.
• Avoid seeking shelter near trees, metal fences, pipes or tall and long objects.
• If you are swimming, boating or fishing, seek shelter on land immediately.

If someone you know is struck by lightning, contact emergency personnel immediately. A lightning strike can cause the heart to stop and a person to stop breathing.

If you have the proper medical training, administer CPR to victims who do not have a pulse and treat conscious victims for burns, fractures and other wounds.

Guaranteed asset protection, or gap insurance is an optional automobile coverage that helps you transfer the financial risk if you are involved in an auto accident and you owe more for your vehicle than the amount that it’s worth. This is referred to as being “upside-down.”

Since a new car’s value drops significantly the minute it’s driven off the lot, if you are involved in an accident that totals your vehicle in the first few years you own your vehicle, you may find yourself owing the finance company more than the vehicle’s actual value. Gap insurance provides for the “gap” between the two amounts.

Is Gap Insurance for Everyone?

New vehicle financing options: If you took advantage of a zero percent down payment deal or put a small amount of money down, or stretched the life of your loan past 3 years, gap insurance is most likely a good idea. That’s because the vehicle typically depreciates considerably faster than you have actually paid down the vehicle’s loan.

Used vehicles: Gap insurance is typically not available for used vehicles. To cover your risk, it’s wise to put down an ample down payment and finance the vehicle for the shortest possible timeframe.

Leased vehicles: For those who lease a vehicle, gap insurance is considered an essential coverage because typically there is no trade-in and little cash put down to lease the vehicle. Similar to purchasing a vehicle, if the car is a total loss, you will owe the difference between what you have paid and what you owe on the balance of the lease.

Cost versus benefit: Gap insurance is offered for a nominal fee, which makes it a great value for anyone who finances or leases a new car.

We’re Here to Help

Depending on your vehicle’s make, model and loan terms, we can help you determine if gap insurance is the right choice for you. If you’re purchasing a new vehicle, contact us to learn about how gap insurance can complement your auto policy coverage options and keep you from getting caught upside-down!

While it may be difficult to imagine it happening to you, home break-ins are a common occurrence. If an intruder enters your home, your property and the well-being of your loved ones are at risk.

In order to protect your home and family from an intruder, consider doing the following:

• Put an emergency plan in place and discuss it with everyone in your household.
• Take any measure possible to let the intruder know someone is home and aware of his or her presence.
• Do not assume the intruder is unarmed. He or she may be concealing a knife or gun and could produce it at a moment’s notice.
• If you have something immediately available you can use for defense, grab it, even if it is just a scare tactic.
• Remain vigilant. Take note of the intruder’s physical characteristics and provide the most accurate description possible to the police if he or she gets away.

In addition to the above, consider arming your home with a security system. A security system may seem expensive, but knowing your family and possessions are safe at all times may make it worth the cost.

For many of us, the holiday season is a time of joy, celebration and tradition. We look forward to hosting or attending festive gatherings or concerts. We travel near and far to share in the spirit of the season with family, friends and co-workers. We cook more, shop more and decorate more.

However, all that extra cooking, traveling, shopping, celebrating and decorating we do can post potentially serious hazards at home, in the office and on the road. Reports from leading safety organizations indicate that the time from Thanksgiving through the New Year is also one of the most dangerous for homeowners.

Whether you are planning or participating in the festivities, knowing the risks and how to help avoid injury, theft and damage to property through the holiday season are important however you choose to celebrate.

Fire Hazards
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), home fires and home fire deaths peak between December and February.* Cooking is the leading cause of home fires year round, and the increased use of stovetops and ovens for preparing holiday meals can increase the risk. Holiday decorations and the open flames of fireplaces and candles used during the holidays can also pose a threat.

To help reduce the risk of fire, consider using non-flammable or flame-retardant decorations. If you decorate a Christmas tree this time of year, select a quality artificial tree and decorate with only UL-listed lights. If you choose to have a fresh tree, be sure to keep water in the stand at all times. According to the NFPA, even a well-watered fresh tree should be taken down after four weeks. If you celebrate using a menorah, consider lighting using dripless candles. Remember to keep decorations and trees away from candles, fireplaces and heaters. Never leave an open flame or stove unattended.

Decorative Displays
Decorating the home, office or yard is a popular way to get into the spirit of the season. Planning your displays carefully is important to help reduce the risk of fire, electrical shock, trips and falls, and property damage. If a ladder is to be used always use a fiberglass or wooden ladder as they do not conduct electricity should the ladder come in contact with an open power source. Be diligent about everything you do while decorating to help keep your family and friends safe when putting up, playing around or packing away your festive displays.

Winter Driving Safety
Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house, shopping malls and holiday parties we go — all increasing our risk of having to drive in sometimes hazardous winter conditions.

Always check the weather before going out, and avoid driving in snowy, icy or other severe conditions if possible. Take a vehicle survival kit stocked with cold weather essentials on every trip, and try to keep your gas tank from getting far below the half empty level. Following your common sense and basic winter driving tips can help ensure you and your passengers reach your holiday destinations safely.

Consumer Protection Safety Commission, http://www.cpsc.gov/; Electrical Safety Foundation International, http://esfi.org/.

You can insure just about any kind of vessel, whether you have a yacht, speed boat or personal watercraft like a JetSki. Every type of boat has the potential to be stolen or damaged, and can be involved in an incident that results in harm to another person or their property. Even if your boat is docked or stored in your garage, it can potentially be vandalized, damaged in a fire or storm, or stolen.

Many owners of small watercraft such as canoes, rafts and kayaks assume they will be covered under a homeowners or renters policy. This may be the case, up to a specified limit in your home policy. However, when it’s time to make a claim, you don’t want to be surprised to find out that this limit is not adequate to cover the value of your investment.

Be sure to consider the amount of coverage you would need to repair or replace each of your boats and recreational vehicles if damaged or stolen and ask your agent to help you get the right coverage for those items.

What Does Boat Insurance Cover?

The exact boat coverage you need depends on multiple factors. Small boat insurance is very different from yacht insurance, for example. However, for most types of boats, the three kinds of coverage in a basic boat insurance policy include:

• Bodily injury liability for expenses related to the injury of another person
• Property damage liability for expenses related to harming another person’s property
• Physical damage for damage to your own property, including your boat and trailer.

You also may want to add additional types of coverage to your boat insurance policy in order to fully protect yourself and your property. Here are some examples of additional coverage:

• Property coverage for equipment such as tools, life preservers, anchors and oars
• Insurance for fishing equipment like your rods, lures, nets and tackle
• Towing coverage when your boat becomes disabled and needs servicing
• Medical payments coverage for hospital and funeral expenses for you or your passengers
• Uninsured/underinsured boaters coverage if you have an accident with another boater whose insurance is not sufficient to cover damages

As with all insurance, the amount of benefit or reimbursement you have in the event of an incident is set at the time you buy your policy.

Summer Water Safety Refresher

• Teach children water safety and swimming skills as early as possible.
• Always brief babysitters on water safety, emphasizing the need for constant supervision.
• Appoint a “designated watcher” to monitor children during social gatherings at or near pools.
• Equip doors and windows that exit to a pool area with alarms.
• Install a poolside phone, preferably a cordless model, with emergency numbers programmed into speed-dial.
• Post CPR instructions and learn the procedures.
• Keep rescue equipment poolside. Don’t wait for the paramedics to arrive because you will lose valuable life-saving seconds. Four to six minutes without oxygen can cause permanent brain damage or death.
• Keep a first aid kit at poolside.
• Install four-sided isolation fencing, at least five feet high, equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates, that completely surrounds the pool and prevents direct access from the house and yard.
• Maintain constant visual contact with children in a pool or pool area. If a child is missing, check the pool first; seconds count in preventing death or disability.
• Don’t use flotation devices as a substitute for supervision. Never allow a young child in a pool without an adult.
• Don’t leave objects such as toys that might attract a child in the pool and pool area.
• Never prop the gate to a pool area open.
• Don’t rely on swimming lessons, life preservers, or other equipment to make a child “water safe.”
• Never assume someone else is watching a child in a pool area.
• Don’t leave chairs or other items of furniture where a child could use them to climb into a fenced pool area.
• Don’t think you’ll hear a child who’s in trouble in the water; child drowning is a silent death, with no splashing to alert anyone that the child is in trouble

Prepare Yourself for IRS Phone Scams

Your phone rings. When you check, the caller ID shows it’s the IRS calling. (Three letters that can give you a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.) But you think to yourself: I don’t believe I owe any taxes. And I haven’t even submitted this year’s return. Why are they calling me? But it says it’s the IRS, so it must be them… right?

WRONG.

For a number of years scammers have been calling people across the country, spoofing the caller ID, claiming to be IRS officials, and demanding immediate payment of fines or back taxes. Their goal is to trick you into giving them personal information and/or get you to send cash.

So the REAL IRS has assembled a number of tips to help you understand what the criminals are doing and how to avoid becoming a victim of one of their scams:

• Scammers try to scare you. Many phone scams use threats to intimidate and bully you into paying a bogus tax bill, usually through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They may even threaten to arrest, deport, or revoke your license if they don’t get the money. (If they don’t get through to you, they may also leave “urgent” callback requests through phone “robo-calls,” or via phishing email.
)

• Scams use caller ID spoofing. Scammers often alter caller ID to make it look like the IRS or another agency is calling. The callers use IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear legitimate. They may use your name, address and other personal information (even your Social Security Number) to make the call sound official.

• Cons try new tricks all the time. Some schemes provide an actual IRS address where they tell you to mail a receipt for the payment you make. Others use emails that contain a fake IRS document with a phone number or an email address for a reply. These scams often use official-looking IRS letterhead in emails or regular mail that they send you. They try these ploys to make the ruse look official.

• Scams cost victims over $23 million. You probably think “I’ve heard this before; they won’t fool me.” But the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has received reports of about 736,000 scam contacts between October 2013 and November 2015. Nearly 4,550 victims have collectively paid over $23 million as a result of the scam. The crooks get more sophisticated every year. The communications look and sound more real all the time too. And we’ll bet that a certain number of those 4,550 victims thought they wouldn’t be scammed either.

So to protect yourself, remember the following:

• The IRS will NOT call you to demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call you if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail.

• The IRS will NOT demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.

• The IRS will NOT require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card.

• The IRS will NOT ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

• The IRS will NOT threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.

Phone scams first tried to sting older people, new immigrants to the U.S. and those who speak English as a second language. But it has become such a profitable enterprise, the crooks now try to swindle just about anyone. And they’ve ripped-off people in every state in the nation. Stay alert. Don’t let the next victim be you!

TRYING TO SAVE MONEY? AVOID THE FIVE BIGGEST INSURANCE MISTAKES.

With far too many Americans out of work, and others forced to make ends meet with less money, many people are looking for ways to cut costs. There are smart ways to save on home and auto insurance; however, there are also mistakes that can result in being significantly underinsured.

When money is tight, it is extremely important to be financially protected against a catastrophe with the right amount and type of insurance by taking a few simple steps, it is possible to cut costs and still be protected should disaster strike.

Following are five of the biggest insurance mistakes that consumers should look out for:

Insuring a home for its real estate value rather than for the cost of rebuilding. When real estate prices go down, some homeowners may think they can reduce the amount of insurance on their home. But insurance is designed to cover the cost of rebuilding, not the sales price of the home. You should make sure that you have enough coverage to completely rebuild your home and replace your belongings.

A better way to save: Raise your deductible. An increase from $500 to $1,000 could save up to 25 percent on your premium payments.

Selecting an insurance company by price alone. It is important to choose a company with competitive prices, but also one that is financially sound and provides good customer service.

A better way to save: Check the financial health of a company with independent rating agencies and ask friends and family for recommendations. You should select an insurance company that will respond to your needs and handle claims fairly and efficiently.

Dropping flood insurance. Damage from flooding is not covered under standard homeowners and renters insurance policies. Coverage is available from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), as well as from some private insurance companies. Many homeowners are unaware they are at risk for flooding, but in fact 25 percent of all flood losses occur in low risk areas.

A better way to save: Before purchasing a home, check with the NFIP to check whether it is in a flood zone; if so, consider a less risky area. If you are already living in a flood zone area, look at mitigation efforts that can reduce your risk of flood damage and consider purchasing flood insurance.

Only purchasing the legally required amount of liability for your car. In today’s litigious society, buying only the minimum amount of liability means you are likely to pay more out-of-pocket—and those costs may be steep

A better way to save: Consider dropping collision and/or comprehensive coverage on older cars worth less than $1,000. The insurance industry and consumer groups generally recommend a minimum of $100,000 of bodily injury protection per person and $300,000 per accident.

If you don’t own your home, neglecting to buy renters insurance. A renters policy covers your possessions and additional living expenses if you have to move out due to a disaster. Equally important, it provides liability protection in the event someone is injured in your home and decides to sue.

A better way to save: Look into multi-policy discounts. Buying several policies with the same insurer will generally provide surmountable savings.