Your kids will live a long time - get em' Life Insurance

We all know our kids have been the most important part of our lives from the moment they were born.  The last thing we want to think about is something tragic happening to them.  So lets spend some time talking about them living a long and prosperous life.

The basic premise of life insurance - help cover the possibility of financial hardship that follows the personal tragedy of losing a loved one. 

Oh but wait there's more...

I dont want to think the my kids are ever going to die...so i don't.  I like to focus on the positives so lets look at the "Living Benefit" that permanent Life Insurance provides. 

= Cash Value, Tax-Free growth, and Guaranteed Insurability

• Cash Value - most of the time will not only provide gain, it will guarantee it
• Tax Free growth of a portion of your premium at a guaranteed interest rate
• Guaranteed Insurability - quite possibly be the most important reason for Life Insurance on your child.  It guarantees they have a policy for the rest of their life (provided the premium gets paid) 
• In many cases there will also be an opportunity to add benefit at a later date without going through the underwriting process = NO needles, NO urine samples, not even height or weight questions!
• WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?  - when you purchased Life Insurance on yourself you may recall the myriad of tests you were subjected to
• If your parents purchased it for you as a child it would be cheaper and BTW - would have cash value at this point $$$$
• Add'l benefit of Guaranteed Insurability - Have a family history of certain types of disease? (i.e - diabetes)  Having a policy as a child would ensure that if and when diagnosed and possibly uninisurable - coverage would already be in place.

When you look into Life Insurance for your children... as always purchase from a professional backed by financially stable company.  For instance - www.delawareinsurance.net or quote@delawareinsurance.net

Thanks again for submissions and please continue to email any suggestions to matt@delawareinsurance.net 

Yeah, that just happened - Car Accident

Without a doubt, the scariest thing to happen in a car - a collision.  So, you just crashed into the back a seemingly nice person at the light down the road from your place.  Now what....

1.  Gut check - make sure everyone in your vehicle has their faculties including you.  If not, try and stay where you are until help arrives as long as there is no immediate danger in the vehicle. 
2.  Call the Police

3.  Begin the documentation -   

• A pen and paper will work just fine...
• Location of the accident
• # of passengers in the other vehicle
• The other drivers insurance information
• Pics
• All angles of the cross streets
• All angles of damage for both vehicles

4.  Cooperate with Police when the arrive
5.  Call your insurance agent i.e. -  matt@delawareinsurance.net

• The agent will be able to help you from here regardless of who's at fault
• In some cases the insurance carriers will battle it out to determine who that may be

BUT BEFORE ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS - meet with you agent to make sure the coverages you may or may not have chosen are adequate - can't change them after the accident happens

Thanks again - any feedback and ideas are always welcome - matt@delawareinsurance.net

Twitter = Lifesaver?

After recently going through a very interesting storm #Sandy here on the right coast, it is easy to see why social media, specifically Twitter/Facebook is probably never going away - IT HAS PURPOSE. 

Finally, not only do we get visibility into peoples personal lives (which is normally a little TMI), but we now have direct access to emergency management groups, local goverment officials and departments, national weather servies, etc.  Here were my favorites for the last storm and a good idea to either grab an app or join twitter...

Apps for your Smartphone
 - Hurricane app - great for before, during, and after a storm
 - Redcross first-aid app - good info source
 - Local Power Company App
 - Local Media Outlet - news organization
 - National News (pick your poison)
 - Twitter / Facebook

Follows on Twitter or Likes on Facebook
 - National Hurrican Center
 - At least 2 of your local and regional media outlets (any more and you get way too much info overlapping)
 - The Governor
 - Local Dept of Transportation
 - State News reporter (I would pick 2)
 - Local Hospital(s)
 - State Police Dept
 - Power Company
 - Fire Company

Facebook is good - but twitter is more real time and easier to use in my opinion.

As usual please send your topic requests to matt@delawareinsurance.net, and thanks to those who have submitted.  Make it a great day!

Insurance, The Anti - Catastrophe

The catastrophe's that insurance can help you plan for and protect against 

Top 5 reasons Insurance is important to you... 

1.  You or your spouse could get sued and loose current and future earnings
2.  You or your spouse could get hurt / sick and be unable to work / take care of the kids for a period of time
3.  You or your spouse could get hurt / sick and never be able to work / take care of the kids again
4.  You or your spouse could die
5.  Your or/and your spouse's income are needed to keep your household going

AND...

You have a Mortgage/Lease/Car Loan/Credit Card Bill/Student Loan/Monthly Bills

LIFE INSURANCE NEED =

Mortgage + Debt (credit card, car loans, student loans, etc) + (Income Replacement x ___ yrs) 

DISABILITY INSURANCE NEED =

Monthly Mortgage Payment + Other Bills (electric, gas, phone, cable, etc) income covers monthly

LAWSUIT PROTECTION (LIABILITY NEED)

Easy answer:  Your net worth.  Or use this Market value of your home + value of your investments and cash equivalents (401k, 403b, Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, Cd's, Money Market, Savings, Checking, etc) 

Of course there are some things that would vary within those equations such as what types of insurance...see the blog for the permanent vs term but here's a quick answer

Term Life:  Renting a life insurance policy, just like renting a car.  Based on the age you buy it and expires Term expires which forces you to buy new term insurance at your new age (much more expensive normally)

Permanent Life:  Builds cash value, could pay dividends, will last to age 121


As always, with more questions just call me at the office or email me directly; matt@delawareinsurance.net.  Thanks again for your ideas!

The Almighty Junk Drawer

You just lost your entire home in a devastating fire.  Your new task - wake up tomorrow and remember everything you own.  Most of the time it is near impossible to do without a list of some sort.  Don't want to write everything you own down in catalog format?  Try this:

Use a video camera, camera, cell phone, etc and ...

- Walk through every room in your home and document

• Walls
• Ceiling
• Furniture
• DO NOT FORGET to open each drawer in each room and document its contents, just because things are in the junk drawer doesn't mean you don't deserve to get them back if they are lost

Then simply email it to yourself or find another way to keep the documents off-site. 

As always, email me with any more requests.  If you don't see it immediately I promise I will get to it.  Thanks again for all the response!

Matt Basile
matt@delwareinsurance.net
Delaware's First Choice for Car, Home, Life, & Health Insurance

Must haves #1 ...

...for a 35 year old

1. Own a home(s) or property(s) - build towards your future now
2. Have your own retirement account - don't rely on work to help you retire
3. Own your own life insurance don't rent it
4. Have at least one car that you own outright
5. A bookshelf with at least a couple books you have read entirely

Accidental Death vs Life Insurance

It's difficult to stop my office without us asking you about life insurance. The first question is... "How much coverage do you currently have?" Very few people know the answer, so don't feel bad.  Possibly because no one likes to talk about it.  It could be that nobody thinks they are going to die. That's a good thing - who wants to go through life worrying about death right?

So let's say you do have life insurance and often times people have the correct amount of insurance.  Is it the right type?  Answer these questions...

1. Does your policy have limitations and what are they?
2. Is it an extraordinary amount of coverage but costs next to nothing? (you truly get what you pay for)
3. Are the words "Accidental Death" in the policy?

If you don't want to read it, have the company you purchased it from or your employer answer for you.  Then ask them if there are any exclusions or reasons a claim would be denied.

At the end of the day, would you rather pay for life insurance that pays your loved ones no matter what or pay a little less but have to die specifically?

In most cases the "right" type of life insurance for you is economical enough to look at other options. Don't forget it is always priced based on your age...so do it sooner rather than later.

Many times AD&D Insurance can be added as a rider to a standard life insurance policy which may be an appropriate decision. 


Thanks again for all your emails, as always let me know if there is anything you want to discuss.   

Matt@delwareinsurance.net

Matt Basile Agency

We Must Protect This House (except from floods)

When a weather event causes damage to our home it is a quick call to our homeowners insurance company, pay our deductible, and go about our day.  In most cases that is exactly how it goes.  However, there is always 1 event which is a subject of frustration and normally is not covered...

• Flood - a general and temporary condition where two or more acres of normally dry land or two or more properties are inundated by water or mudflow - www.floodsmart.gov for more info

Odd example of flood that is not covered - a Storm that causes sideways rain which gets into your home through a crack in cement or wood, some companies will cover the damage but most will not

"I have a basement that gets water but has a sump pump." - there is a way to get water due to flood covered in some instances through an endorsement which can be added to your homeowners policy.  It is not automatically added by your insurance company and not all companies offer this endorsement

"So does any water damage constitute a flood and therefore not covered?" - absolutely not, in many cases the damage from water is absolutely covered

Not in a flood zone?  You can still purchase flood insurance. 

• How much? usually $200-$500 annually.

As always please shoot me an email if there is a specific insurance subject you would like to learn about - matt@delwareinsurance.net.

Next month - Hurricane Deductible vs Wind/Hail Deductible

Umbrella Insurance for All?

In the interest of full disclosure here I am an Insurance Agent in Delaware.  When I talk to clients about umbrella policies their first reaction, and probably rightly so, is I am trying to sell them something.  Which is true but the real question is my motive.  A true insurance guy or gal should be doing one thing very well - protecting your stuff.

So my questions for you are...

1.  Do you own anything
2.  Do you drive
3.  Do you work
4.  Do you think we live in a litigious world

So if these answers are all yes, my point is made relatively easily.  I understand those who tell me they only own a home, in which they are underwater anyway, and have no real assets.  What about your salary?  That is a huge asset for most folks and in some homes, if it were to be garnished by 20% each year would have a tremendous effect right?

Let me pose a scenario - you are driving alone, absolutely not texting or talking on your cell phone and that precious device slides to the floor, you reach down to grab for it and a deer runs out in front of the vehicle in front of you who then slams on her brakes and you slam into the rear of the vehicle.  Lets say you have 300,000 worth of liability coverage....which is relatively common or should be at this point.  Imagine this 24 year old woman is now disabled for the foreseeable future.  Any idea how her lawyer will calculate the amount you are going to have to pay...

Her current annual salary + each working year for the next 38 years give or take including inflation.  Lets assume its 30,000  x 38 years = 1.1 Million dollars give or take.

Here's another good one - now take everything you have that is able to be liquidated legally, once exhausted, take that number and take 20% of your salary until the remainder is paid. 

Yes, I know, a little gloom and doom.  This actually happened and does more often then you would imagine.  So, in my opinion, yes - Umbrella's for all.

matt@delwareinsurance.net