In these economic times peace of mind is priceless

With people facing the most severe economic challenges of their lives why do we advocate going back to basics? With the right focus we can build confidence in the future. That future begins with creating the knowledge that what you are already doing is the right thing at the right time. By taking that small step, the journey toward a brighter future can begin. The Peace of Mind Conversation℠ is that first step.

What is it?

The Peace of Mind Conversation℠ is an interactive, copyrighted tool that provides a graphic representation of your complete protection portfolio. The picture we draw depicts how each policy works individually and in conjunction with all the other insurance you own. From auto to life to disability and health insurance, the client will actually experience how policies work to provide a complete wall of protection around their assets, income and peace of mind.

Why was it developed?

The Peace of Mind Conversation was developed to combat the effects of a trap many people fall into that we call The Insurance Commodity Trap™. The trap is set by the media and the marketing budgets of large insurance companies that encourage people to select insurance based on the lowest cost— the lower the cost the better the insurance.

Because people fall into this trap, they fail to take into account their overall needs, which leaves them vulnerable and sacrifices their peace of mind. They have cost focused insurance instead of cost effective coverage. Our belief is that peace of mind is priceless, especially today!

How does it work?

• Step 1: Define what peace of mind means to you. Using a series of questions we help you develop your definition of what peace of mind means to you, so that you can judge whether or not you have created a plan to protect your family and assets on your own terms.

• Step 2: Through a graphic representation of your current insurance coverage we can “model” what happens under different circumstances. When people see the wall of protection they have built to protect their physical assets (cars, home, boat, etc.) and lifestyle assets (401k, income and human life value) it is easy to see the gaps or overlaps in coverage. Actions can then be taken to make sure your definition of peace of mind is achieved.

• Step 3: Create balance within policies and between physical asset protection and lifestyle asset protection. This is where the power of the conversation emerges. Each policy provides protection value; however, the cumulative effect of all combined policies is exponential. The objective of creating this balance is to make sure that catastrophic coverage is not sacrificed because of a desire to limit out of pocket costs. If a few dollars can be saved on the home policy to increase disability coverage, that may be a good tradeoff. These three simple steps can be done in an online meeting or sitting down face to face. The objective of this conversation is to give people the opportunity to escape The Insurance Commodity Trap™ once and for all.

What do other people say about The Peace of Mind Conversation?

“I never understood how my insurance worked until today.”

“This is incredible, did you invent this?”

“Through this short discussion I was able to keep my cost about the same but improve the protection I provide my family and it really meets my own definition of peace of mind. Thank you for taking the time to make a difference.”

“With the economy the way it is right now you are going to be very busy.”

How to schedule your Peace of Mind Conversation sm Experience?

We invite you to take action right away by calling our offices and scheduling your own peace of mind experience. Our goal is to make this process very convenient.

Please call:

Glastonbury: 860-659-1301
New Fairfield: 203-746-5077

Or

E-mail:

Paul@haasagency.com
Peter@haasagency.com
Tim@haasagency.com

Three Questions Every Connecticut Renter Should Answer

Norwich, Conn: Fire in Norwich apartment building leaves 150 people without homes. Residents only had minutes to leave…

Meriden, Conn: Two families were left without their apartments as a fire tore through the home. The second floor was ablaze when firefighters arrived…

Danbury, Conn: Forty-one people were left homeless and have been helped with food, shelter and clothing by the American Red Cross. They lost everything including prescription drugs…

While the stories above capture the sensational aspects of a devastating loss the reality of these situations occur daily to Connecticut families. The cause of loss could be fire, water damage, smoke damage or a theft. In far too many cases people are left without the money to replace damaged items or to pay for a new place to live while their rental unit is repaired.

In these situations there are two types of people: Connecticut families who have prepared for a potential catastrophe and those families who were not ready. Those who have prepared simply submit a claim to their insurance carrier so that their possessions can be restored. Those who have not prepared have to scrape together money to rebuild their lives. In many cases they must look to charity or other family members to help out.

This Renters Report encourages people to acknowledge that a significant loss could happen. A loss could be caused by your neighbor who has a fire or it could be caused by water that soaks all your possessions. Whatever the cause the simple steps proposed in this report will make Connecticut families better prepared and protected.

1. What do I have to lose?

If you are convinced that there is a risk of a loss occurring, then read on.

When we ask if people have renters insurance they often say “I don’t have anything that is worth much”. We then encourage them to walk around their apartment, room to room, to create a list of the items they own along with a rough estimate of the value to replace that item today. Several days later when we talk again the story has changed to, “I had no idea I had so much stuff in this little apartment”. The list of furniture, pots, pans, clothes,  towels, sheets and electronics really adds up.

This quick inventory is important to create for two reasons:

1. It’s a record of the items that must be replaced if there is a loss
2. Allows people to set a reasonable value for insurance replacement purposes so they can acquire the proper coverage if that is the course of action they take.

2. What do you get for your money?

The main areas of coverage in basic renters insurance are contents, additional living expense, and family liability. Below are definitions of each and exactly what it protects you for:

• Contents: A quick definition is the belongings you moved into your apartment, like clothing, furniture and electronics. The contents are covered for fire, theft, windstorm, hail, vandalism, water damage, and smoke damage among other perils. Be sure to request replacement value coverage so that the company replaces your used possessions with new items.
• Additional Living Expense: This coverage pays additional expenses you would incur to maintain your standard of living if you were forced out of the apartment because of a covered loss. That means that if you have to live in a hotel for a few days or weeks the insurance company would pay those charges.
• Family Liability: If someone in your apartment trips and hurts themselves you may be sued. Family Liability coverage will pay the damages you are legally obligated to pay if you are found negligent. The landlord may also be sued, however, the landlord’s own insurance would take care of his portion.
• Other Coverage: There are other coverage options available for people who rent like identity theft, jewelry, silverware, sports equipment etc. These can be added to a policy for an extra charge upon request. It is a good idea to discuss these options when reviewing a coverage quote.

3. Is it Worth it?

Consider this: the cost of protecting and average family who rents in Connecticut is about $146.00. The small cost of protection is better than the big risk of losing all your belongings and then having to replace it all.

Take action now. The cost of protecting your belongings is very reasonable. When you contact us mention our Renters Report and we will give you a free gift card.

Our goal at The Haas Agency is to make sure people are educated and making informed decisions regarding their renters protection planning. Give us a call, e-mail.

In their advertising, most insurance companies emphasize the cost of insurance as the standard in selecting carriers and coverage. The implication, of course, is that the lower the cost, the better the insurance.

We call this the Insurance Commodity Trap℠ It’s a trap because it fails to take the individual’s overall needs into account.

Cost is relative to protection! When loss occurs, your family’s peace of mind is all that really matters!

To help our clients view protection from a broader perspective, we developed The Peace of Mind Conversation℠. Avoiding The Insurance Commodity Trap℠ is based on answering 5 simple questions.

1) Do you update your insurance protection as often as you update your financial portfolio?

Most people pay more attention to their financial portfolio than their insurance portfolio. This can have catastrophic consequences. The solution is “rebalancing” protection on a regular basis.

Rebalancing protection means shifting premium dollars to pay for catastrophic losses by paying a greater percentage of the smaller losses. This same principle also should be practiced when deciding the protection balance desired between assets (home, cars, boats) and income (life insurance, disability income, long term care). It comes down to personal priorities.

The balance of protection people have between large losses and small losses needs to be corrected. The insured’s objective should be to limit their exposure to large, catastrophic losses and take a bigger portion of the small loss, the one they can afford.

It’s better to absorb small losses, for example, than to be vulnerable to catastrophic losses.

2) Does your coverage reflect recent lifestyle changes?

Each year all of us go through many changes; jobs, income, new purchases, renovations of parts of the home and changes to benefit packages at work.

While these changes are happening little attention is given to the impact they have on the overall protection plan in place. Over time gaps or excesses in coverage occur. These lifestyle changes are important to account for in your protection planning. It’s vital that you focus your dollars on areas that count the most for your family.

3) When was the last time you obtained an independent review of your coverage?

Not only does your lifestyle constantly evolve, but the companies that serve you change too. In response to increased competition companies add benefits and make changes to policies. Some changes are added automatically; some have to be requested.

An annual agency review can provide the platform to evaluate recent changes and discuss their impact. Your number one priority should be to continually ensure that you are receiving the maximum value for your protection.

The wiser choice is developing a relationship with an agent that can keep you in the loop, and help you make decisions that best meet your needs.

4) Are you over-paying or under-paying for coverage?

One of the most common mistakes is focusing on cost instead of focusing on protection.

• A small mistake is to pay a little too much over time for appropriate coverage.
• A big mistake is to have the wrong coverage at the time of a loss. This needlessly puts your hard-earned income and assets at risk.

The important thing is to focus on the purpose of the protection—to insulate assets and income from loss.

5) How effectively do your various policies work together?

Do the various types of auto, home, life, health and disability coverage work in concert with one another?

For example, if a person doesn’t have health insurance they can add coverage for injuries as a result of a car accident to the auto policy.

In order to create efficiency all policies should be evaluated to make sure there are no gaps in coverage that may cause problems later.

C O N C L U S I O N

The Haas Agency’s Peace of Mind Conversation℠ is a special, integrated discovery tool that helps you draw a clear picture of your life’s most important assets, so—together—we design a protection plan in which you have confidence.

Through your picture we identify the lowest cost insurance solution that properly covers your assets, lifestyle, business and hobbies. Gaps and excess coverage are easily seen and resolved.

We encourage you to call us and learn more.