It’s that time of year again where the television is filled with commercials on what you can spend your tax refund on. Granted, with many folks still in rebuild after the weather events of 2020/2021, new furniture or a vacation sounds lovely. But is that really the wisest use of your hard-earned dollars? Let’s look at a few ideas….  It’s “Life Insurance Awareness Month” and we’ve shared several articles with you over the years to encourage you to consider how important insuring your love (life) is. We’ve talked about juvenile life insurance, explored frequently asked questions and explained the differences in whole and universal life. There is no shortage of information on our blog and website to educate you on the importance of life insurance. So, instead of boring you with statistics and other useless data, I have a question for you….
How much IS your life worth?  The National Hurricane Center is considering changing Hurricane Season from June 1 to May 15th. You’ve got to be kidding me – Right!?! Let’s face it, many of us haven’t fully recovered from 2020 hurricanes and now, as if we don’t have enough to fret about, the powers that be in the Weather Center want to add 2 more weeks of hurricane worry upon us. RELAX.
Regardless of when the National Hurricane Center states hurricane season starts or ends, there is no need to panic or fear. Being prepared and having a plan, however, is imperative. We may not be able to control Mother Nature, but here are some things you can do… Have an Evacuation Plan. No matter if the storm hits east or west of us, having an evacuation plan in place helps alleviates the stress of leaving. Review Your Home or Renters and Flood Insurance Policy ahead of time. Understanding your policy coverage, deductibles and limitations makes you a responsible homeowner/renter. Take pictures or a video of your home, contents, sheds or outbuildings, and yard helps you be more organized if you have to file a claim. Include pictures of closets and drawers, dishes, pots, silverware – everything! Many folks lose out on valuable reimbursement without proper documentation of what you own – especially those who have total or near-total losses. Have items in storage? Have pictures and an inventory list of those too as a percentage of your contents coverage extends to these things. It is especially important to record any existing damage on your home! If you happen to get caught with a new claim, this will help you and your insurance company from butting heads over details between claims. Keep a travel kit ready. A single suitcase or tote or briefcase with policies (including life, health and auto), Vet Records, Kid’s immunization records, Medications and/or a list of medications (include dosage!), Allergies, legal documents that may be important if you or a family member becomes ill or dies during evacuation, etc. saves you from having to think about these things when preparing to evacuate. Find more ideas on what to bring with you or have on hand if you decide not to evacuate in this post. Other important things we learned during 2020 hurricanes can be found HERE and more tips for travelling smart are listed in THIS blog post. Hopefully we’ve provided you enough information in this and other posts to help ease the stress of travelling or evacuating. Until next time, take care and remember…. Preparation is the key to success. Tommy Curtis and Staff  As we move into the second month of 2020, there are so many things to consider when thinking about your insurance. We're going to take a moment and direct you back to some of our most important and most informative posts throughout the past couple of years.  Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay In February we did a post explaining what 'Insure Your Love' was all about and in it, we mentioned that September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. These have been instituted by the non-profit organization, Life Happens. So I thought I'd share some more interesting information I found on life insurance....
Did you know that unclaimed life insurance benefits are paid to your state? I recently discovered that fact and that there are over $1 Billion dollars in unclaimed benefits out there!  On the heels of Memorial Day in May and Flag Day in June, July is the month of patriotism since the 4th is the day we celebrate the birth of our country as a nation, independent from English rule.
Even though our break from the British Empire came in 1776, Insurance was sold in the Colonies as early as 1735 in South Carolina. In 1772 Benjamin Franklin along with more than 70 business owners formed a mutual company called “The Philadelphia Contributorship for the Insuring of Houses from Loss by Fire.”  In our previous post we explained what Riders and Endorsements are and gave some examples of these on a P&C policy. Today we’ll talk about riders on Life Insurance products.
Remember, a ‘rider’ is a temporary addition to an insurance policy that can be added or removed that does not change the original benefits stated in a policy and an ‘endorsement’ is a permanent change to increase benefits to an existing policy and both result in additional premiums.  Image by Nina Garman from Pixabay Whether you think of moving as a grand adventure or one of the most stress-filled undertakings you ever endure, changing locations is something many of us do at least once in our lifetime. We’ve compiled a few tips to help you transition a little more smoothly. |
Tommy Curtis
Is an insurance agent with integrity and your best interest in mind. Call to speak directly to him. Contact us Phone: 337-433-1683 Address: 509 7th Street Lake Charles, LA 70601 Office Hours: M-F 9a - 5p (CST) Follow Us
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