As us “Baby Boomers” move toward retirement, we have to be thinking about how we’re going to take care of ourselves.

Keep in mind, Social Security was really designed to be about a 1/3rd supplement to other forms of retirement income. Initially it was figured you’d have a pension covering about a third of what you need, your personal savings would cover a third and Social Security would take up the slack and cover the final third.

Unfortunately, for most people, pensions have all but dried up.

Will your personal savings provide a third of what you’ll need at retirement?

For many people 401(k)s have replaced their pension. As I see it, there are three problems with this plan.

First, if 401(k)s (personal savings) have replaced our pensions, that means 2/3rds of your retirement will be coming from personal savings.

Second, the only place a lot of people do save is their 401(k) plan. I’ve noticed a lot of people taking loans or closing their plans out as they change jobs. They are losing a large chunk of their money to taxes and penalties. Even bigger, the money they lose in potential earnings from then until they retire will almost never be recovered.

Third, how’s your 401(k) performing? Through either bad advice, unforeseen market changes or simple greed (investing too aggressively), plans made many years ago are way off the mark from where people thought they would be.

Social Security, for most people, is all they’ll really have unless they make some changes.

You can try to get back what you’ve lost by taking even more risk but I wouldn’t advise it.

There are some set fundamentals I would suggest. Before plowing more money into your 401(k) or 403(b) plan, make sure you have a solid emergency fund. 3 to 6 months worth of your expenses is a good start.  It’ll act as an insurance policy to keep your money in your 401(k).

A fixed annuity through Farm Bureau Life Insurance is a way to start putting the building blocks together. After the emergency fund, an annuity can offer a great place to save your money for the long term. It will offer you a guaranteed income for life when you’re ready.  It will help make your life more predictable.

Please call me to get more information. I can be reached at (231) 744-9099 or start by visiting www.muskegonlifeinsurance.com

Every driver has wondered who the ideal insurer is, the one with the best prices and least hassles, the insurer with the best commercials and the hottest spokesperson. Who is the best insurer to purchase insurance from? Whether or not a driver is willing to admit it, there has been at least once where they have thought this. These thoughts can come from viewing a recent commercial, hearing what a neighbor is paying for their policy, or seeing the problems arising from the insurer of a family member because of their accident. In addition to these, the economy has got everyone wondering if there is another way they can cut back on daily life expenditures and the auto insurance bill is one expense many people have considered trying to cut back. So really, who has the best Car Insurance?

Instead of beating around the bush I’ll come out and tell you the bottom line is, the ideal insurer is the company who will fit the ideals of the driver. I know that one motorist may feel one insurance company is superior while another motorist could completely disagree and find another insurance company as the best. To find the “best” insurer for your needs, you first need to assess your automobile insurance needs.

What Are Your Car Insurance Needs?
When evaluating needs for your car insurance policy, start at the beginning, what is your net worth? (What you own minus what you owe). You want to make sure you’re insured above that. Then let’s look at what’s required by law. When you know what types of coverage and how many dollars must be purchased, think about whether or not that dollar amount will protect you and your assets in the even you cause an accident. The state requirements may not be enough protection for you and your circumstances. Perhaps considering a higher amount would be something you need.

Medical options are available for purchasing on an auto insurance policy. Healthcare coverage purchased through other means may be combined with these medical options on the policy, so be careful of duplicate coverage. A good agent can advise and explain this.

In addition to medical coverage and liabilities, insurers offer other options too. For instance, what would happen if your car were totaled? Could you afford to purchase another vehicle? With comprehension and collision coverage the insurer would repay you the cash value of your car’s worth if it were totaled or stolen. Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan also offers a replacement value option worth considering for a car less than three years old. A vandalized car is also covered here. Weather related accidents such as hail storms or wind damage can be covered on a vehicle that is not stored in a garage. Think about how you would pay for any type of damage done to your vehicle, especially if the vehicle is your only source of transportation and vital to maintaining your way of life. After assessing your insurance needs, see which insurers offer the type of car insurance that would benefit you most.

Strengths And Weaknesses of Insurer
When needs have been met, look into the strengths and weaknesses of different insurers. Four things to look at within each insurer is their price, how they handle their customer service, claims paying history and their financial stability. Each of these aspects will tell a driver how the company runs and whether or not they want to be part of it as a client. Can you afford your ideal policy? How close to full coverage can you purchase without breaking your budget? Each insurer will charge different amounts for the same coverage options. Calling the Steve Bedgood Agency can help any driver locate the coverage they want. All any driver needs to do is give us a call, answer questions about the driver, vehicle, and coverage, and they’ll be given a quote.

Customer service entails a number of things, including how the client is treated on the phone when they contact the insurer, how easy the insurer’s website can be read and looked through, how claims are handled, the convenience of payment, etc. Car insurance can be hard to deal with and understand, and having an insurer whose representatives are patient and knowledgeable take the stress out of most situations. Anyone can find out about an insurer’s customer service reputation by asking around.

Finally, don’t forget about an car insurance company’s financial stability. The stronger their finances are, the more able they are to pay out claims as promised in the policy contract. Wouldn’t it be terrible to be in a situation where you have been in an accident, filed a claim, paid the deductible, but there is no money in site from the insurer? After many calls you finally realize they do not have the money to payout as promised. This situation has happened and can be avoided when the policyholder knows the insurer’s financial strength. There are sites on the Internet that list different insurer’s strength and show whether or not they are vulnerable to failure.

What does your ideal insurer provide?  A smaller, local company providing excellent customer service? Each client knows what will make them satisfied with their insurer, and they should do what they can to research who will be their ideal match.

Please give us a call at the Steve Bedgood Agency. Your journey on the way to a good solid company with a great reputation and local, one-stop service could start and end with us.

We can be reached at www.muskegonautoinsurance.net or by simply calling (231) 744-9099

What am I talking about?

I’ve spoke to business owners and farm owners alike. Here’s one thing I’ve found that a lot of them have in common; Buy/Sell agreements.

When there is more than one owner to a business or farm, usually there is an agreement stating that one owner will buy the other owners family out if the other partner dies. It sounds great on the surface. The problem with most of these agreements is that there is no money in the partnership to actually do it.

Consider this; If a business doesn’t have enough cash to pay off the family, what good is the agreement? The surviving owner now has some tough choices.

1. Go into business with the deceased owner’s hiers.

2. Sell enough assets of the business or farm to pay the other family off. (in the case of farms, this could be the very equipment used to run the farm

3. Take out a loan to pay the other family off. ( The bank may not loan it or the owner may not be able to make the payments)

4. Talk the other family into taking payments.

You can see why some very good, long standing businesses simply disappear.

Another very good option would be for the partners to have life insurance on one another. This would be a simple way for the surviving partner to keep the business in tact and pay off the family of the deceased.

This also works great for the children of a business owner. Some children help run the business and some have other careers. When the parents die, there are a number of opinions about what to do with the business. The children who have been running it usually want it to continue. The children who have other careers aren’t usually as concerned about the survival of the business as they are about “getting their share” of this asset. Life insurance purchased on the business owners, while they are still healthy, can keep the business, or farm, running and satisfy the rest of the family too.

This is one of my favorite parts of my business. It helps so many people.

If you or someone you know could use a plan like this, please give me a call at(231) 744-9099 or start by checking out www.muskegonlifeinsurance.com

Most of us know the main reason for buying homeowners insurance is to have our homes rebuilt in case of a major catastrophie.  What I’ve learned is that many people don’t understand the importance of the Medical Payments to Other or the Personal Liability parts of their policy.

Medical Payments to Others covers small medical bills of a guest who is injured on your property. It covers on an “Excess” basis. That means that if your guest has health insurance it would pay first. This coverage is usually only $1000.  I would suggest raising it to $3-$5000. I want to be sure that if there’s an ambulance involved that there’s still enough money left to take care of the small things like stitches or setting a broken bone without having to besued or paying the bill out of my pocket.

Your Personal Liability helps pay the cost of your defense if you were to be sued. It also pays for things medical bills in access of what the Medical Payments to others covers

I had an attorney explain it this way; when you get sued, you have to disclose all of your assets. You not only have to disclose it to the judge and your attorney, but to their attorney as well. That’s right, they know about your 401(k), your investments, your CDs, Life Insurance, rental properties etc..

The best thing to do is to make sure that your Personal Liability limit is set well above your net worth (everything you own minus everything you owe)

We’ll talk more about this in person if you like. Jst give me a call at (231) 744-9099 or just start by checking out www.muskegoninsuranceagent.com

Life insurance is purchased for a number of reasons. One of them is the cash value of the whole life policies.

As time goes by and people  forget how their policies work they could be missing out on some benefits that could be a help.

First is a policy loan. Once a policy builds up a cash value, if a client needs money, money can be borrowed from the policy instead of surrendering it for the cash.

Another option a client has is to have his or her policy converted to reduced-paid up life insurance. The cash value in a policy can be used to buy a smaller policy that would require no more premiums be paid.

Third, the money in a policy can be used to by what’s known as Extended Term Insurance. Extended Term Insurance is simply a matter of using the cash value as a one-time payment to buy a term policy with the same face amount as the original policy. The policy will last a certain  number of years and days based on your age and policy rating.

All these provide a way of keeping your policy if force if money gets tight.

These options are not available with term insurance. If term is all you have at the moment, let’s get together and let me show how you can take advantage of a policy with more possibilities for you and your family.

Call me at (231) 744-9099 or check out www.muskegonlifeinsurance.com

Life insurance can be a great way to get protection for now and to plan for the future. After all, we want to make sure that our plans and loved ones are taken care of for as long as possible. Doing research ahead of time helps you get the best possible coverage at the right price. Here are some helpful facts and ways they can help you.

1. Checking with the Steve Bedgood Agency could save you money
As with most insurance, when it comes to life insurance, it pays to shop around because premiums can vary widely. And thanks to the Internet, it’s now easier than ever. Check us out at www.muskegonlifeinsurance.com.

From research, to quoting, to buying a policy, there’s never been so much information available. Even if you set an appointment to speak to me, shopping on the Internet first can make your discussion more efficient.

2. Having enough coverage is crucial
If you need life insurance enough to buy it, you also need to make sure you’re not underinsured. It’s important not to have too little coverage, because then you won’t get the benefits you need. If you don’t think you can afford life insurance, explore your options, because it’s often cheaper than you’d expect. However, if you can’t afford all the insurance you need right now, start with a smaller amount. You should be able to buy more at a similar price when you can afford it.

3. The healthier you are, the better the rates
It’s true—healthy people get better rates on life insurance. You will be asked to pay a higher rate for anything that shortens your life expectancy (e.g., smoking, taking regular prescriptions, engaging in risky activities, and being overweight). Consider what small lifestyle changes you can make that will improve your health and possibly your rates.

4. Buying sooner rather than later can help
If you’ve been putting off purchasing life insurance because you don’t want to pay the premiums, you may be doing yourself a disservice in the long run. The younger you are when you purchase life insurance, the lower your premiums will be. In addition, it’s harder to get life insurance if you have some of the conditions that come with growing older.

5. It’s important to regularly review your coverage
The end of one year or the beginning of the next is a good time to examine your insurance needs. Any life change signals the need for a review of your overall financial plan. When it comes to life insurance, you’ll want to make sure your coverage still matches the changes you’ve made. Marriage, the birth of a child, and impending retirement can all have an effect on the insurance you need and the coverage amount that’s appropriate.

6. There are different types of life insurance
Different types of life insurance have different characteristics and are intended to accomplish different things. For instance, term life insurance is generally designed to provide the maximum amount of protection for the smallest premium dollar, but only for a set period. On the other hand, cash value life insurance offers benefits for your entire life and an investment and savings component, although at a higher premium cost.

7. You might pay more by choosing monthly premium payments
You may not realize it, but your life insurance might cost more if you pay your premium in monthly installments. Many insurance companies offer a discount if you pay your premium annually rather than monthly. Although the overall cost and benefits of the policy are more important than getting a discount, you might get a lower price by paying annually.

8. You shouldn’t rely solely on the life insurance offered by your employer
Many employers offer their employees group life insurance. However, this coverage is usually not enough to adequately meet your life insurance needs. More importantly, group life insurance policies from your employer are not portable, meaning that if you leave your job, you lose your life insurance coverage. Having your own Farm Bureau Insurance Life Insurance policy can give your family peace of mind in these times.

9. You should tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth
If you lie or omit information on a life insurance application, your life insurance company may be able to terminate your coverage. They may also be able to charge you for the higher premiums you should have been paying, or deny claims. For this reason, make sure to answer all questions fully. There are many different life insurance companies, and even if you don’t qualify for the best rate from one of them, you may still be able to get a good rate from another.

10. Buying more can be less expensive
Life insurance usually costs progressively less per thousand dollars at higher coverage amounts (e.g., $250,000). That means doubling your coverage generally won’t double your premium. If your life insurance needs increase, be sure to explore your options. It may not cost as much as you think to buy more coverage.

Do you have any questions or comments? Please let us know.