Topics

1. The Role of Insurance in Your Financial Plan
2. What Are Your Insurance Needs?
3. Auto Insurance
4. Homeowner’s Insurance
5. Liability Insurance
6. Life Insurance
7. Disability Income Insurance
8. Health Insurance
9. Long-Term Care Insurance

Insurance is an important element of any sound financial plan. Different types of insurance protect you and your loved ones in different ways against the cost of accidents, illness, disability, and death.

The insurance decisions you make should be based on your family, age, and economic situation. There are many forms of insurance and, unfortunately, no one-size-fits-all policy. Life insurance, for example, is a virtual necessity if you have a spouse and children, but perhaps is less important for a single person. Disability insurance, which provides an income stream if you are unable to work, is important for everyone.

Following is a list of the forms of insurance most people require.

Auto insurance protects you from damage to the often considerable investment in a car and/or from liability for damage or injury caused by you or someone driving your vehicle. It can also help cover expenses you or anyone in your car may incur as a result of an accident with an uninsured motorist.

Auto liability insurance coverage is necessary for anyone who owns a car. Many states require you to have liability insurance before a vehicle can be registered. However, state-required minimum coverage often does not provide adequate protection. Suggested minimums are $100,000 for medical expenses per injured person, $300,000 for the total per accident, and $50,000 for property damage. Collision, fire, and theft coverage is also advisable for a vehicle having more than minimal value. You can cut costs, however, by choosing a higher deductible — the amount of loss that must be exceeded before you are compensated.

The cost of auto insurance varies greatly, depending on the company and agent offering it, your choice of coverage and deductible, where you live, the kind of vehicle, and the ages of drivers in the family. Farm Bureau Insurance offers  substantial discounts  for safe drivers, safety equipment, and those who commute to work from home.

Homeowner’s insurance should allow you to rebuild and refurnish your home after a catastrophe and insulate you from lawsuits if someone is injured on your property. Coverage of at least 80% of your home’s replacement value, minus the value of land and foundation, is necessary for you to be covered for the cost of repairs. There are several grades of policies, ranging from HO-1 to HO-8, with increasingly comprehensive coverage and cost. Unless you increase coverage, most homeowner’s policies cover the contents of the house for 50% to 75% of the amount for which the house is insured. Farm Bureau covers 70%. The liability coverage in many homeowner’s policies is $300,000 Most of our clients should consider $500,000. Remember, doctors and lawyers may be after this money.

Often called umbrella liability coverage, this takes effect when the personal liability and lawsuit coverage in other policies is exhausted. The cost for $1 million worth of protection — especially necessary for high-income individuals and those with considerable assets — may be only a few hundred dollars a year.

Life insurance, payable when you die, can provide a surviving spouse, children, and other dependents with the funds necessary to maintain their standards of living, can help repay debt, and can fund education tuition costs. The amount you need depends on your situation. If you make $100,000 a year, have a sizable mortgage, and have two kids headed to an expensive college, you could need $1 million in coverage.

Value-accumulating, whole life or universal insurance is  a conservative savings vehicle. It will protect your family when you need it.

Term insurance, on the other hand, is less expensive. It can protect your family in the short term if the money is tight. Just remember the odds are increasing that you’ll outlive it.

Talk with us at the Steve Bedgood Agency and let us help. We offer Life insurance from a  company whose financial strength is ranked very high by rating agencies. And remember that your family relies on you being able to make good decisions.

A long-term disability insurance policy is activated, replacing a portion of your lost income, when you are unable to work for an extended period. Some, but certainly not all, employers cover their employees with some form of company-paid disability income insurance. Typically, such coverage is only partial and/or short-term in nature. Thus, many people seek to purchase an individual disability income insurance policy. If you’re buying, try to get a noncancelable policy with benefits for life, or at least to age 65, and as much salary coverage as you can afford. However, keep in mind that the duration of coverage may be limited because of your occupation.

Insurers will usually cover up to 65% of your salary. Generally, you should have total coverage equal to two thirds of your current pretax income.

If your company provides disability insurance, check to see whether it’s enough for your needs. Group disability insurance policies may be capped at six months and provide benefits that won’t cover your expenses.

the high cost of nursing home or at-home health care is becoming more widespread. Medicare pays very little of the cost of long-term care in the United States. Medicaid will pay for the care, but only for patients whose assets are almost completely depleted.

With Congress always debating the future funding of these programs, financial planning for long-term care is more crucial than ever.

Medigap insurance can help pay medical expenses of the elderly not covered by Medicare. However, it doesn’t cover custodial nursing home costs. In fact, about half of all nursing home residents pay for the care with personal savings.

Contact Steve Bedgood, a qualified insurance professional  for more information on long-term care insurance.

Summary

• Your insurance needs will vary based on your family, age, and economic situation.
• Anyone who owns a car should have auto liability insurance. Collision, fire, and theft coverage can protect your investment in a valuable car.
• Homeowner’s insurance should provide coverage up to, at least, 80% of the cost of replacing your home, minus land and foundation. Homeowners should also have liability coverage, and those with considerable assets may want to purchase liability up to $1 million.
• Life insurance is important for those who have families to cover living and other expenses in the event of death.
• Long-term care insurance can be expensive and complex, but may be a necessity for older people as the long-term coverage of Medicare is often inadequate.

More than 40 percent of consumers first answered that they were confident in their understanding of their auto insurance coverage. However, after being quizzed on specific incidents such as hitting a deer and crashing after a tire blowout, the number of respondents who admitted they weren’t confident rose significantly-to nearly 60 percent. “When the unexpected occurs, the difference between hoping you’re protected and knowing you are is crucial. That’s where the Steve Bedgood Agency can help the people in Muskegon and the surrounding counties feel confident in their coverage.” Additional survey findings included:

• It’s All in a Name

A higher percentage of respondents who know their insurance agent’s name feel more confident in their knowledge of their auto insurance policies than those who don’t have an agent or don’t know the agent’s name.

• The Great Equalizer

Prior to being polled on accident-specific questions, 70 percent of men were confident they understood what their insurance coverage includes, compared to just 50 percent of women. Following the questions, men dropped to a 50 percent level and women to a 33 percent mark.

At Steve Bedgood’s Farm Bureau Insurance agency we conduct annual reviews to help our clients review their current auto insurance policy limits and identify where they may need more coverage or less. This review is free for all our clients, regardless of their insurance. It takes just 15 minutes and can help uncover gaps in coverage limits that could expose a client to financial risk and points out available discounts and savings.

To learn more or to see if we’re  near you, call (231) 744-9099 or start with a visit to www.muskegonautoinsurance.net