Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Who Needs Life Insurance the Most?

Life Insurance is an important coverage that many people don’t understand or prefer not to think about!  While most people could benefit from life insurance, there are certain people that need it more than others.  Let’s take a look:

Family Breadwinner:  If your family depends on your income each month, then you need life insurance.  If you have a dual income household, then BOTH of you need life insurance.

If a breadwinner were to die unexpectedly, it would cause severe financial hardship for most families.  Research by the non-profit organization Life Matters shows that 60% of American households would feel the financial loss of a breadwinner in less than a month!  This coverage is an easy, inexpensive way to prevent that from happening.

Stay-At-Home Parent:  Even if you aren’t earning an income, you may still need life insurance coverage.  Stay-at home-parents provide for the family in a different way, but it would require more income if their role had to be replaced.

For example, if a parent stays home with the children, and were to pass away, the surviving spouse would need to pay for child care in the future.  This previously unneeded expense would cut into the family budget quickly. Wouldn’t it be better to have life insurance so that if the unthinkable happened, the surviving parent could stop working for a while and be with the kids? 

Adult Who Cares for Elderly Parent:  Frequently we only think of parents needing life insurance, but in reality it’s necessary for anyone who supports or takes care of someone else. 

If you have an elderly parent who depends on you to provide financial support or even just day-to-day care, then you need some life insurance protection. 

Personal finance expert Suze Orman says, “if a child, a spouse, a life partner, or a parent depends on you and your income, you need life insurance.”  This is a great rule of thumb! 

If you fall into one of these groups and would like to discuss life insurance for your situation, give SAV-ON Insurance a call today for a no-obligation quote.

Call us at 888-867-2866 or go to www.sav-on.com to setup an appointment.


Thursday, November 10, 2016

When Should I Drop Full Coverage on My Car?

Lots of people want to know when the magical date will arrive that they can drop full coverage on their vehicles and save some money on their insurance.  Today we’ll share some information to help you make the right choice.

Definition of 'Full Coverage'

We use the term “full coverage” to refer to having both collision and comprehensive coverage for your vehicles.  Collision coverage repairs or replaces your vehicle if it is damaged in an accident you cause.  Comprehensive coverage repairs or replaces your vehicle from damage caused by other factors – like wind, hail, road hazards, or vandalism. 

These two coverages together are the only things that repair YOUR vehicle.  Liability coverage only repairs damage that you cause to others

So when is it okay to quit covering your car? 

First of all, if you owe money on the car, you are required to carry full coverage.  The lienholder (or lender) won’t allow you to drop the coverage because they want a guarantee that the car will hold value if they need to repossess it.  Most lenders also require that you keep no more than a $500 deductible at all times.

Once the car is paid off, you may decide to keep the full coverage, but raise your deductible to $1000 in order to save a little money but still have full coverage.

Find out your car's worth

If the car is much older and higher mileage, it may not be worth a whole lot.  You can use a website like www.kbb.com (Kelley Blue Book's website) to find out the value of your vehicle.  The insurance company will generally pay around this amount if your car was totaled in an accident.  (This is not exact and will vary depending on location and resources that the insurance company uses, but it’s a good tool to estimate.)

If your car is worth very little, you may decide to take the risk and not pay for full coverage, knowing that you’d be out-of-pocket in an accident.

What if the car is totaled? 

Do you have money in savings to go out and buy a new car?  Would you end up stuck with a new car payment, too?  Really consider what would happen if you dropped the coverage and totaled the car tomorrow.  For many people, it’s better to pay a few dollars extra and know they have options if there is an accident.

If you’re unsure or just want to get more information, call SAV-ON today @ 888-867-2866 to review your policy.  We can tell you the price with and without full coverage, as well as give some personalized options in between.  We want to keep you protected for the best price possible!