As an Independent Insurance Broker the one product that I have to explain to people more than any other is Life Insurance. While the concept and need for life insurance for some may be a no brainer the details regarding what life insurance is and what type you need may not be so easy. I want to try to make this as simple as possible for you to understand.
Life insurance is probably the easiest way for us to ensure that our families financial situation will still be ok in the event of our death. Life insurance is the one insurance product that you as the insured will never see the results of, your family on the other hand will. I think that is why so many people don’t think that they need life insurance because they will never actually get to use it.
Lets start with what life insurance is. Life insurance is a contract with a insurance company that states that in the event of your death they will pay whomever you have chosen a specific amount of money that you determined. Usually the person receiving the payout is a spouse or children. In return you agree to pay regular premium payments to the insurance company. While this is a pretty basic explanation of how life insurance works I want to take a look at the different types available.
The most common form of life insurance is term life insurance. This will probably be the most affordable and least confusing form of life insurance. Basically you agree to pay the insurance company payment for a specified period of time and they agree to payout a specified amount in the event of your death within the specified timeframe. The younger that you are the more affordable this type of life insurance is. Also term life insurance does not build any cash value like other types do.
The next life insurance product to look at would be whole life insurance. This is pretty similar to term life insurance except that it does build cash value on a tax deferred basis. This is pretty popular with people wanting to supplement a retirement income or plan for college education costs. This still should be thought of as insurance more that a investment.
Next would be universal life insurance. This type is the most flexible type of life insurance. While it does build cash value like the whole life policy it allows the policy owner to adjust the premium as well as the death benefit as their lifestyle changes. The insurance company will guarantee you a certain interest rate and the interest rate can never fall below that mark but can be higher. As long as the cash value of the policy is enough to pay the premium, that policy will stay active whether you skip a payment or not.
There are other forms of life insurance available like variable life insurance policies. The three that I mentioned above are usually the most common that you will encounter.
Life insurance is a product that is overlooked by a lot of people either because they think they don’t need it or they plan to get around to it later. I believe that probably everyone has a need for life insurance in one form or another. As I stated above the younger that you are when you start planning for this need the more affordable it will be. With the economy the way it is today life insurance rates are at an all time low. Even if you already have a policy it might not be a bad idea to see what is available to add to it or replace it, you might be surprised.
Please contact Mike Schimpf for a free quote for all your insurance needs in the western Chicagoland area.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
How To Prepare Your Teen-Aged Driver
I decided to write this article because this is something that I am presently dealing with. My oldest Son just turned 16 and got his drivers license. While I am very proud of his achievement I am terrified at the thought of him behind the wheel alone. There are some things that we can do to help to prepare our teens to drive and to ease our minds as they become more independent.
Statistically teen-aged drivers have the highest death rates in car crashed for any age group. Motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death for drivers ages 15-20. Feeling any better yet? Me either. Lets see how we can help prepare our teens to keep them safe on the roads.
While there are many mistake that teens make behind the wheel I want to focus on the one that I believe will save their lives. Teens driving without wearing their seatbelts. There will be a lot of excuses why they don’t want to wear them, they are not comfortable, I was only going a couple of blocks, or the dreaded you don’t why should I. That brings me to the first thing that you can do to help your teen lead by example. Wear your seatbelt every time you are behind the wheel no matter how long or short the trip. Also don’t pull out of the driveway till everyone in the car has their seatbelt on. The more comfortable your teen driver is wearing a seatbelt as a passenger the more it will be like second nature to put it on as a driver.
Here is some information that you can use to educate your teen driver as to why seatbelts are so important. Statistics show that when used seatbelts reduce the risk of a fatal injury to a driver or passenger in the front seat by 45% and the risk of less severe to critical injury by 50%. The statistics are even higher for light trucks it jumps to 60% and 65% respectively.
One of the worst things that can happen to a person in a crash is being ejected from a vehicle. Seatbelts are obviously the best way to prevent this from happening. I read somewhere that about 75% of the people that were ejected from the vehicle were killed. It also said that only about 1% of the people wearing seatbelts were ejected compared to about 30% who were not wearing seatbelts. Even if you vehicle is equipped with all the airbags you still need to wear your seatbelt, they were designed to work together not individually.
Remember that in most states wearing a seatbelt is the law. Click it or ticket is what they say here in Illinois. This is for a reason and should not be a suggestion.
Having a teen-aged driver is scary business but hopefully this information will help you to enforce some safety measurements and give you a little peace of mind in the process.
Statistically teen-aged drivers have the highest death rates in car crashed for any age group. Motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death for drivers ages 15-20. Feeling any better yet? Me either. Lets see how we can help prepare our teens to keep them safe on the roads.
While there are many mistake that teens make behind the wheel I want to focus on the one that I believe will save their lives. Teens driving without wearing their seatbelts. There will be a lot of excuses why they don’t want to wear them, they are not comfortable, I was only going a couple of blocks, or the dreaded you don’t why should I. That brings me to the first thing that you can do to help your teen lead by example. Wear your seatbelt every time you are behind the wheel no matter how long or short the trip. Also don’t pull out of the driveway till everyone in the car has their seatbelt on. The more comfortable your teen driver is wearing a seatbelt as a passenger the more it will be like second nature to put it on as a driver.
Here is some information that you can use to educate your teen driver as to why seatbelts are so important. Statistics show that when used seatbelts reduce the risk of a fatal injury to a driver or passenger in the front seat by 45% and the risk of less severe to critical injury by 50%. The statistics are even higher for light trucks it jumps to 60% and 65% respectively.
One of the worst things that can happen to a person in a crash is being ejected from a vehicle. Seatbelts are obviously the best way to prevent this from happening. I read somewhere that about 75% of the people that were ejected from the vehicle were killed. It also said that only about 1% of the people wearing seatbelts were ejected compared to about 30% who were not wearing seatbelts. Even if you vehicle is equipped with all the airbags you still need to wear your seatbelt, they were designed to work together not individually.
Remember that in most states wearing a seatbelt is the law. Click it or ticket is what they say here in Illinois. This is for a reason and should not be a suggestion.
Having a teen-aged driver is scary business but hopefully this information will help you to enforce some safety measurements and give you a little peace of mind in the process.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Key Factors That Could Affect Your Auto Insurance Premium
As an Independent Insurance Broker in Illinois one of the things that I am asked the most is how does the insurance company come up with that premium? Actually there are a number of things that can affect your premium that most people don’t give a whole lot of thought to.
In our current economy it is important to make sure that we are getting the best value on whatever we spend our money on and auto insurance is no different.
The first thing that any insurance company will look at is your driving record. This should not be a big surprise to anyone. What this will tell the insurance company is how much of a risk is it for them to insure you. The insurance company will look at a number of things like accidents (at fault or not at fault), any driving violations and claims made against your vehicle in the last few years. Obviously the better driver that you are, the better rates you are going to get. There are a couple of things that you can to do help yourself out. Consider paying for the small claims yourself. Claims like hail or maybe a cracked windshield can cost you some out of pocket money but it will save you in the long run as your premium increase will last a lot longer than the small amount you paid.
The second thing an insurance company will look at is your credit history. This one surprises a lot of people. The insurance company wants to know if you pay your bills on time and what your credit use has been like in the past. Just as you can be penalized with a higher premium for not having the best credit score you can be rewarded with a discounted premium for having a good credit score. Your credit is something that you should protect whether it is for insurance or any other purchase, so whenever possible pay your bills in a timely manner and honor your financial commitments. You would be surprised at how easy it is to mess up your credit and how hard it can be to fix it.
The next factor that an insurance company will look at is where you live. This also surprises a lot of people. Insurance companies find that if you live in a larger city setting there is a greater chance of accidents and thefts versus if you live in a suburban area. The insurance company can charge you a higher premium for living in a more congested area, however by parking your car in a garage or carport you can be eligible for some discounts to help offset that.
The next factor surprises some people as well. The type of car you drive and how you are using it. Did you know that in some instances it costs more to insure a brand new car versus a used car. Why is that? A new car will cost more to replace than a used car. You can help offset this by making sure that your agent is aware of all safety devises on your new car, like airbags, etc. The insurance company also wants to know how are you using your car and how much are you driving it. Try to remember the more you are driving you car the more chance you have of being involved in an accident.
Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of what the insurance company is looking at next time you are
Please contact Mike Schimpf for a free quote for all your insurance needs in the western Chicagoland area.looking for new auto insurance.
In our current economy it is important to make sure that we are getting the best value on whatever we spend our money on and auto insurance is no different.
The first thing that any insurance company will look at is your driving record. This should not be a big surprise to anyone. What this will tell the insurance company is how much of a risk is it for them to insure you. The insurance company will look at a number of things like accidents (at fault or not at fault), any driving violations and claims made against your vehicle in the last few years. Obviously the better driver that you are, the better rates you are going to get. There are a couple of things that you can to do help yourself out. Consider paying for the small claims yourself. Claims like hail or maybe a cracked windshield can cost you some out of pocket money but it will save you in the long run as your premium increase will last a lot longer than the small amount you paid.
The second thing an insurance company will look at is your credit history. This one surprises a lot of people. The insurance company wants to know if you pay your bills on time and what your credit use has been like in the past. Just as you can be penalized with a higher premium for not having the best credit score you can be rewarded with a discounted premium for having a good credit score. Your credit is something that you should protect whether it is for insurance or any other purchase, so whenever possible pay your bills in a timely manner and honor your financial commitments. You would be surprised at how easy it is to mess up your credit and how hard it can be to fix it.
The next factor that an insurance company will look at is where you live. This also surprises a lot of people. Insurance companies find that if you live in a larger city setting there is a greater chance of accidents and thefts versus if you live in a suburban area. The insurance company can charge you a higher premium for living in a more congested area, however by parking your car in a garage or carport you can be eligible for some discounts to help offset that.
The next factor surprises some people as well. The type of car you drive and how you are using it. Did you know that in some instances it costs more to insure a brand new car versus a used car. Why is that? A new car will cost more to replace than a used car. You can help offset this by making sure that your agent is aware of all safety devises on your new car, like airbags, etc. The insurance company also wants to know how are you using your car and how much are you driving it. Try to remember the more you are driving you car the more chance you have of being involved in an accident.
Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of what the insurance company is looking at next time you are
Please contact Mike Schimpf for a free quote for all your insurance needs in the western Chicagoland area.looking for new auto insurance.
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