What Happens in these meetings?

First, meetings can be done online in a web meeting or in a face to face appointment. Second,  through a graphic presentation called The Peace of Mind Conversation our customers can actually see how their coverage works, gaps and overlaps in coverage are easily spotted and can be fixed. To schedule your own appointment or for more details click here.

What makes The Haas Agency different? It is our unique process The Peace of Mind Conversation which allows families to make consistent, objective decisions empowering them to make sound choices to protect and enhance their peace of mind.

Families have limited time and incomplete information on which to base decisions. In many cases, they do not take into account significant changes in their lives and assume what was good enough in the past will be good enough in the future. This often leaves them with insurance that is out of balance and inadequate for their assets and income.

The Peace of Mind Conversation is a copywrited process that enables people to physically see, in picture form, if there are gaps or overlaps in coverage. Comments like “this is incredible”, “I never understood my insurance like this before” are common when people understand that they are purchasing peace of mind, not insurance.

You can’t buy peace of mind online, in 15 minutes or through a call center. The Peace of Mind Conversation enables the Haas Agency to lead our clients to greater confidence. Isn’t it time you purchased peace of mind?

To schedule your Peace of Mind Conversation experience just send us an e-mail or call, we can meet in person on though an online meeting.

One of the most important considerations in the purchase of disability coverage is how to pay for it. If the premium is paid with pre-tax dollars the disability benefit can be taxed. If the insurance is paid for with after tax dollars then the disability benefit is paid out without any tax taken out. There is a significant difference in the net benefit received based on how the policy is paid.

It is very important that people who have disability coverage check the way they pay for the  coverage. If there are any questions please call The Haas Agency.

Many people make the mistake of setting up their first insurance policies in their twenties. As they grow older and more independent, they fail to look back and update the coverages to meet new risks that they’ve assumed. This is a big responsibility, but one that can be managed in a few minutes witha a well-placed phone call to your insurance agent. I can promise the call will be worth the time to make it.

If you’ve been through any of the following life changes, you should take a serious look at your insurance liability coverages:

• Job change or career change with more or less income
• Marriage or divorce
• New children, family members and new members in the household
• Addition of young drivers
• Property sale or purchase
• Starting a new business
• New or used vehicle purchase
• New boat, jet ski, camper trailer, motorcyle, atv or scooter
• New pool, trampoline or dog
• Addition to the house, yard or landscape
• Big parties or events being planned

All of these types of changes and events happen everyday, and each one poses different types of risks. Liability coverage is part of your auto insurance and homeowners, and liability insurance protects you against harming other people’s property or causing accidental bodily injury to them. Claims are not frequent, but costs are very low to protect yourself against these risks. This is where a few minutes of preparation pays big dividends.

First, you should do whatever is possible to prevent accidents with safety measures. However, should an accident occur, you need to be sure in advance that you have enough protection to prevent an injured party from seriously damaging your financial well-being. You want to sleep well at night.

Take a moment to gather your thoughts about recent changes to your lifestyle and household. Consider what your plans are for the next year that involve any significant lifestyle changes. Gather your ideas about risks that might occur, then  call or e-mail your insurance agent to be sure your properly covered. You can contact any one of the Haas brothers to discuss your insurance needs by clicking here for our contact information.

We’re happy to help and make policy adjustments to keep your auto and homeowners insurance liability coverages properly balanced when life changes.

I have always recommended the use of high deductibles because my philosophy has been to encourage people to keep more of their money in the bank and save for the deductible if it is needed in the future.

The strategy works like this; put $1000 or $2000 away in a savings account that you will not raid for a spur of the moment purchase. That money will be used to pay all kinds of deductibles. Then raise the deductible on any insurance policy that you have to the maximum that you have put into that account. Immediately, you will be able to take the premium savings and put that to use another way. Depending on the original deductible the savings could be hundreds of dollars per year. Year after year that will add up to a sizable sum. I have always believed the money is better off in my clients pocket than the insurance company.

Saving money on insurance is easy when there is a clear strategy to raise deductibles.

The top ten insurance actions for Connecticut families in 2009 are listed below. At The Haas Agency we are advocates for the most efficient, cost effective insurance solutions. The actions listed below are just some of the ways to make a significant difference in premiums and coverage. To download our comprehensive report on the actions people should take click here.

Every new year people make resolutions to take action and get organized. One area that should be focused on is making sure their insurance coverage will work as they expect if there is a need. Below are the top ten insurance actions Connecticut families should take to make sure they are properly protected:

1. Review auto insurance to make sure uninsured motorist and medical coverage is adequate for today’s economic environment.
2. Set aside money for insurance deductibles, if needed, and raise deductibles on all policies saving premium
3. Reevaluate liability coverage on auto and home insurance to reflect changes in individual net worth
4. Set aside a weekend morning and video tape the interior of your home so that a permanent record of the contents exists
5. Evaluate valuable items like jewelry, antiques, fine arts and silverware to make sure these items are properly covered
6. Investigate the changes in premiums for life insurance that have occurred recently, you may be able to purchase more coverage or a longer coverage period for less money than you are spending now
7. Make sure health insurance policies and auto policies are coordinated so that there are no gaps or overlaps in coverage
8. Make sure disability coverage is paid for with after tax dollars so benefits are not taxed if needed
9. Take a comprehensive look at ways to protect retirement savings by creating a plan for long term care
10. Let The Haas Agency help, if any of these suggestions sounds like an area that needs attention remember that we are here to help.

Through the month of January we will expand on the top ten insurance actions Connecticut families should focus on in our blog posts, look for more information in the coming days. Don’t forget to click here for a free download of our Peace of Mind Conversations report.

In the study 38% of the customers contacted said that routine service interaction was the most important factor in determining satisfaction with an insurer. The key driver of overall satisfaction is the resolution of issues through the use of a single point of contact whether it is a local agent, call center or the internet. Customers do not want to be sent to other resources to have issues resolved.

At The Haas Agency we have had processes in place for years to make certain that we resolve issues for our customers in house. With our expertise in insurance issues we have the contacts and ability to resolve issues effectively to the satisfaction our our customers. That is why when we survey our customers 93.7% say they are very or completely satisfied.

Because AIG is an extremely large insurance company making the headlines, we began receiving calls. Of course this raised concern with our clients, especially those clients that have life insurance and annuities placed through our office.

We’re writing to assure you as best we can that everything is fine. The AIG bailout had everything to do with the investment operations of that company, not the insurance operations. Insurance regulation is very well-developed and has produced extremely secure results for policy holders over a period of decades.

Although carriers have some investment exposure to risky stocks, that exposure is extremely limited – one carrier’s exposure to Lehman Brothers was only .4% of their investment portfolio, that’s a ratio of .004 to 1. That same carrier has over $11.5 billion in cash.  Insurance regulators make sure that companies under their watch retain large cash reserves to prevent problems like the one’s we’re seeing in the banking industry.

You may remain concerned and that’s understandable. If so, please call or e-mail me, if you’re interested in learning more detail about the solvency of your insurance company.

Insurance professionals know their producti They are aware of all carrier discounts and have more tools at their disposal than online shoppers. Professionals often beat automated online insurance pricing, especially when it comes to total protection planning.

Insurance works best when auto, home, life and other insurances are put together in a plan. Gaps in a family’s insurance plan can have devastating consequences.

Personal interaction and a consultative sales approach allow insurance professionals to better assess the client’s individual needs. For instance, in auto, a better price may be offered by splitting coverage between liability and comp/collision.

Brokers can also make suggestions to lower costs, and they can apply discounts clients would not otherwise be aware of. No automated online system can match the insurance professional’s ability to provide this level of personalized service.

The conversations started a thought process about a product that would insure against market losses. It would work like this; if the market went down significantly you would not lose any money because the insurance you purchased would put the ‘paper” loss back in your account. I bet you would have some interest in that product today!

While that product does not exist, other products do exist that make people whole when there is a loss. Those products put people back into the exact same position they were in the second before the loss occurred. The plans they had for their family, their businesses and themselves come to completion just as they had planned. These products don’t have really sexy names, they’re all pretty basic like auto insurance, home and renters insurance and life insurance. Stuff no one really wants to talk about until there is a loss and when people want to go back to the way it used to be, just before the tragedy happened.

Hindsight is 20/20 if we knew then what we know now, would we make better decisions? Now is the perfect time to make sure your hopes, dreams and plans for the future happen no matter what losses occur. The Haas Agency’s Peace of Mind Conversation is the perfect place to start. Call us today to schedule your web conference at 860-659-1301 or 203-746-5077.