“Apples to Apples” comparisons are what most people believe they want when they are shopping for Home  Insurance.  The idea is good.  People want to make sure they are getting at least the same coverage they had when comparing policies.

At the Steve Bedgood Agency we start by making sure they have good apples to start with.

More important than just comparing one policy to another,  we need to compare what coverage they have to what they actually need should they experience a loss.

For example, with the housing market being the way it is, people are bragging about the “good deals” they are getting on homes.  It is a definitely a great time to buy a home. However, a person insures the home for just what he bought it for, he won’t be able to rebuild his home for that low price.

Liability is another area where people could be underinsured. So rather than just trading your policy for another, cheaper one, let’s make sure you really have everything covered that you feel is important to cover and cover them for the proper amount.

As an agent, there is a concern I have that other agents may not worry about. That is, if the home or car isn’t insured properly, it’s me the client will be calling, personally. It’s in my best interest to do the job right for my clients the first time and every time.

If you would like to make sure that you have your home insured properly, feel free to give me a call at (231) 744-9099 or start by a visit to www.muskegonhomeinsurance.com.

 Recently I’ve been helping a number of small business owners sort through the confusing topic of Workers Compensation Insurance.

 Contractors who hire  workers as 1099 employees can get confused as to who they are responsible to cover.

 It gets a little tricky when they hire some legitimate contractors who may have their own coverage and some of the people they may hire for a few days  to help with a big job.

If  you hire another contractor like a plumber or electrician who has his own Workers Compensation policy, make sure you get a copy of their certificate for your audit at the end of the year or you could end up having to cover them.  You are charged a percentage of what you paid them.  It’s about 14.5% .

 Just because you hire someone as a 1099 employee does not let you off the hook for Workers Compensation Insurance.  A lot of contractors are having their guys go get their own Liability Insurance. That’s OK but it will not mean that you won’t have to pay for their Workers Compensation Insurance.

 If you hire guys (or gals) who have an LLC or have formed a corporation they will either need their own coverage or a form of exclusion from the state.

Hopefully this helps. Please feel free to call me at 231-744-9099 or start by visiting my web site at www.muskegoninsuranceagent.com for more information.

When browsing around for the best deals for your car coverage, would your best bet would be to use the internet? It’s easy to find and buy auto insurance online if you’re looking in the right places. There are various comparison websites that you can use to find and compare auto insurers around the nation. But, before deciding which company to buy an insurance premium from, consider this; who are you going to call if you have a claim? Also, do you know enough about the types of coverage to feel comfortable  that if you have a serious accident that you’ll be covered?

At the Steve Bedgood Agency our clients tell us what they have and how important to them it is and well help educate them on how best to protect it. (and themselves)

Getting the Best Rate

In order for your to get the best rate possible for your vehicle coverage, you will need to learn about the process. There are various ways we can save you money on your premium. For starters, when you are deciding what type of coverage to purchase, you have to select the amount of limits you want to purchase for your bodily injury and property damage protection. It is up to you to decide how much you’re willing to pay out of pocket. ( your deductible) The higher you place the limits, the lower you have to pay monthly for your car insurance policy. If you feel more comfortable paying a little more money, then you can lower your deductible, so that you have less to spend out of your pocket if you’re the cause of an automobile collision.  Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan offers various discounts as well. If you have a student away at college they could get a reduced rate for their auto insurance premium.

Other discounts are available for bundling multiple vehicles on one coverage policy.  That’s why it’s important for you to come in and spend a little time with us.  Never assume that your current insurer has the best deal.

The type of vehicle you buy or own plays a role in your premium. Vehicles that are considered high risk include high performance and sports cars. It costs more to insure these types of automobiles because they are more known for getting broken into and stolen. Then where you live can be a factor.  That’s why we like to step our clients through the process.

Other Factors that Determine Your Coverage Premium

Your age also plays a role in the estimation process. The younger you are, the more you have to pay for coverage. Drivers between 16 and 24 are considered higher risk because they are known to drive more risqué and are involved in more automobile collisions. We have a few steps down in premium for young drivers who obey the law. Once you reach the age 25, your rates  decrease for car insurance coverage. Then later in life, you may become a high risk once again — around the age 75, which is when you begin to lose your mobility, reaction time, eyesight and hearing. Some states require a test to be taken in order to make sure that the elderly are still capable of driving around safely.

Type of Coverage to Choose

The next thing you need to consider is the type of protection you want to purchase for your auto. Do you want the most protection or are you looking for the least, so that you can save money? . Be careful because even if the state says what the least amount of protection you can buy, you could still be underinsured. This means that if you’re involved in a car crash, you might have to pay for the additional costs out of your piggy bank. We’ll help  you buy enough coverage to ensure that you get the enough benefits to cover the expenses associated with vehicle damages and bodily injuries.

Other types of protection available are underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage and comprehensive and collision benefits. Having the underinsured/uninsured protection will ensure that you get money for the damages caused by a driver who doesn’t have sufficient coverage to handle the expenses. Comprehensive offers protection for natural disasters, vandalism and theft. Then for the collision protection, you will receive benefits to cover damages to your vehicle in an accident that was your fault.

Now that you have a better idea of how we may serve you, you can begin the process of finding the Car Insurance. Take your time to meet us in person.  Give us a call at 231-744-9099 or start by visiting us at www.muskegonautoinsurance.net.

If you are married and make a combined income of $176,000 or more you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA. So where do the doctors, attorneys, dentists and business owners get tax breaks on their hard earned income when planning for retirement?

One option that the IRS offers is the SEP-IRA. This is for self-employed business owners only, which eliminates those professionals who are employees of a larger firm. The SEP-IRA allows a business owner to defer the tax on up to 25% of their income with a max of $49,000/year in 2009. The income tax is deferred until the time of withdrawal. So, not only do you defer the tax but you also defer the tax payment.

The Benefit: Tax deferred growth of your money.

The Cost: Tax deferred liability on your growth!

Do you know what tax bracket you’ll be in when you retire? Do you know the government tax rates that will be imposed at that time? No? Well that might cost you! Imagine paying 35%-40% income tax in the future when you could have paid 25%-30% today. Sound like a benefit to you? Tax rates and brackets are variables that we don’t control and the possibility of this scenario is very real for high income professionals and business owners.

When planning for retirement many people are told that they should expect to be in a lower tax bracket because they will be earning less. Don’t count on this. It’s a poor mentality and terrible financial approach. It’s like striving to lose! In addition it gives people a false sense of security that their income will be sufficient. But retirement should be the time to live out some dreams and travel the world. In addition, it will also be the time when health care and long-term care costs begin to mount and tax deductions are minimal. The dependents are long gone and the home has been paid for.

Instead of hoping we’ll be in a lower tax bracket we need to plan our finances so that there is no tax bracket. At a minimum we want to reduce the tax burden we face. The good news is that we can control where we place our money. Ideally, professionals and business owners want:

1. Tax Deferred Growth
2. Tax Free Distributions
3. No Limits on Contributions
4. No Adjusted Gross Income Limitations
5. Access, Use and Control of  most of Their Money
6. Competitive Internal Rates of Return
7. Safety/Guarantees
8. Unlimited Investment Options

What vehicle provides all of these and more? Participating Whole Life Insurance. In addition to the benefits listed above, there are numerous estate and business planning uses for life insurance. Partnerships use life insurance to fund buy-sell agreements. Corporations use life insurance to pay benefits and attract top personnel to their companies. It’s not just for protecting your loved ones in the event of a sudden death.

When planning for retirement, planning for your business or planning your estate it’s important to remember the benefits of participating whole life insurance. It’s so much more than death protection.

Scott Storace

I received this message and thought it was worth passing along.

www.MuskegonLifeInsurance.com

We live in Michigan but it’s winter in most parts of the country.

You may be wearing your best “Dress to Impress” clothes but you can certainly have your “What smart people wear in the winter” clothes in the car. Because we often go from the warm house to the warmed up car, to the warm friends house with little time out in the cold, we often don’t really dress properly for winter.  That’s OK. ( No matter what mom says) As long as you’re smart enough to have everything mom would have you wear in the car.

You didn’t really think I was going to go against mom , did you?

Please make sure you are prepared to walk a few miles or have food and water enough to last until some help could arrive.

A bag of sand or Kitty Litter can provide if you slip off the road and a shovel could help you get home safely rather than waiting for help.

Charging your cell phone for the full 8 hours, with it off, will give you the longest service. Letting a few calls go to voicemail during the day may give you valuable call time on your big night.

You may be thinking, I’ll never need all that stuff. Maybe you’re right but maybe you’ll be the one who helps someone who has a small child with them and didn’t have time to read this.

www.MuskegonInsuranceAgent.com

Muskegon Business Network- We’re doing a restart of the old SPLASH chapter. We have some great positions open. Call Steve at 231-744-9099.

Why do we insure our valuables? What makes a car, a wedding ring or your home worth protecting? Clearly, they have a financial value. You would suffer a financial loss if they were damaged or destroyed. Insurance will make you whole should a loss occur. I use the word should very specifically. The odds of losing your home are very small. Even car accidents are relatively rare.

So why don’t many people protect their largest valuable? Ask yourself this: If you had an ATM in your home that dispensed the money you needed to survive, would you insure it? Clearly your family would suffer a loss if it were destroyed. That cash machine is an analogy for our lives. The economic value of your life is enormous. Consider your earning potential for a moment. Consider how the loss of that earning potential would affect your family’s lifestyle. Would changes have to be made? Absolutely!

Death is guaranteed. Loss of life WILL occur whereas the loss of possessions might not occur. Yet we insure less valuable items that we are less likely to lose. Does that make sense?  It’s backwards to me.

Life insurance is a love product. It products the ones you love in times of loss. A death in the family brings new burdens. From the financial cost of the funeral to the loss of current and future earnings, a death can devastate a family. Is that the legacy you would like to leave behind?

When a death benefit check is issued to a family member it lets them know that there lost loved one cared enough to protect them. That person was thinking about the future and planning for their family. A whole life insurance policy is the only product that guarantees what you want to have happen will happen. What else can do that? So if you love your family and want to protect them, then insure your life.

Please check out www.muskegonlifeinsurance.com

Our BNI Group is Re-Starting and we’re looking for an accountant. Any of you know one who could use more business?