An EASY Tip for Any Property Owner

     Managing your risk and purchasing insurance is difficult enough without having to make things more complicated - especially during those unexpected dramatic events that occur in life which lead us in having to use our insurance.

         For those of us that have a typical homeowners or business policy - following a major fire or theft, a common practice that the insurance companies ask is that the insured fill out an inventory form and list everything that was damaged or stolen.  In addition, they'll ask for you to turn in any receipts or canceled checks on those items.

          Now try to imagine the trauma of coming home from work one day to find the charred remains of your home and possessions or opening your business one morning only to find that someone had broken in the night before and have taken it upon themselves to steal your merchandise, computers, printers, and other property that you use to conduct your business.  OK, can you see yourself standing there in the midst of this tragic event?  Now, I'd like you to picture your agent telling you that the first thing you need to do is compile that list of EVERYTHING that was taken or destroyed.  Sound like a nightmare?? Well, it will be.

          Instead, wouldn't it have been easier create that list beforehand?  ( I know what you're thinking:  Jerry, when am I going to find the time to create this list?  And who really wants to spend countless hours on a Saturday night documenting all our cherished possessions??)

         I hear you loud and clear.  But in today's technological world - it doesn't have to be like that.  Staples would jump in here and say, "Use the EASY button!"  And here's how:

        Take your smart phone and use it to document your home or business digitally.  Take photos of each room and of all your personal business property.  Or easier yet, just use the video feature on your phone and walk around taping all of your stuff.  Next, either leave it on your phone for future use or upload it to your home computer.  A lot of Internet service providers now offer backup space - which is often included in their service for you - to save your personal documents and photos.  Here's a perfect place to store your video.  And if you have a great agent, bring in a copy to their office.

          I ask all my clients that have their homeowners, renters or business policies through me, to document their personal inventory using their smart phones.  This way, if the unexpected happens, I don't have to burden them any further by asking them to rack their brains after such a terrible tragedy and try to remember everything that they lost.  Instead, we just pull out those photos or video and start the documentation process from there.

          A great time to update these photos or video is upon your renewal.  If you happen to be my client, this is a tip that you can count on me to remind you to do each year.  It only takes a few minutes and saves additional headaches during the claim process - only the best service for our insureds and their families.

Fast.   Easy.    Building a Strong Shield of Security.

blogged by: jerry usher

Questions/Comments?  Contact us anytime on any topic : )

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Why is Insurance so Expensive? 

A lot of times it has to do with making poor Insurance Decisions.  Make the good decisions and you could see your premiums go down and be assured there aren’t any of those crazy loop holes - or gap coverage - that sometimes leaves us without the coverage we thought we had.

Unfortunately, many people make bad decisions - and more times than not - too no fault of their own. 

Insurance is not the most, shall I say...exciting piece of literature out there to study up on in order to ace the test.  Most of us leave it up to someone else to handle because even though we all agree it's important - and in some cases, are forced  even to have it, who's really got the time - or desire - to read something so vague?  Many people, dare I say, may even call it boring!!  But the thing we should try and remember is the Important part...and that to me, personally, is making sure that my Life - my Family and its way of living will be shielded, in our greatest times of need.  I mean, think about it - nobody ever wants to have to USE their insurance...because if we do, something bad must have happened.  Someone was in an accident, totaled their car and now have major medical expenses - with a possibility of a lawsuit on the horizon.  Or a major storm wreaked havoc on our town and homes.  A major fire destroyed your family's business.  And now - after a loved one has died - how are we going to pay for funeral expenses and continue our way of living on one pay check???

Yes, Insurance is Important but how do we make good decisions on something that is often, so difficult to understand?

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We here, at JW Hoban & Associates, were the ones crazy enough to find that time to study up on insurance!    Allow us, to share our knowledge with you to help you become someone who can make those good decisions.  You don't have to know all the technical stuff to be able to make good decisions!  Just the basics - and that's why I'm writing this blog - to share some basic terms, know what to look for and provide you some great tips to be sure that your policies fit you and your family's needs and hopefully providing you the peace in knowing that if the day comes to use one - that it provides the protection that you and your family deserve...

I plan on sharing those ways to become a good decision maker in future posts.  But here's a very easy one to start you off.  Many of us have many different insurances, covering many different things, through many different venues, and many different agents...Huh??

Let me try to explain:

"I get my health insurance through work and also a small life policy if something were to ever happen to me - at least I think I do?...I have my vehicles covered with this agent and my home through the bank.  Bought my motorcycle coverage online and the flood through the government.  And I make sure to keep the business insurance separate from my personal." 

This is really not the best of decisions.  Having all your insurances in one area will work for Your benefit in helping to make sure that you’re not paying extra premium on coverage that is probably included somewhere else.  And this also prevents those gaps that can occur when insurances are scattered about all over the creation.  Try to picture each policy as a tree or an umbrella.  When you have one or two policies from this place and another from that place over there - the canopy or area of protection can leave gaps - which allow you to get "rained" on.  But when you have everything under one giant tree or umbrella - well then your chance of getting soaked is much less.  : )

blogged by: jerry usher

Questions/Comments?  Contact us anytime on any topic : )

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