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.

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.

What is up with the tidal wave of advertising that our competitors are buying to capture your attention? Are our customers missing out on something or are those other folks trading cool advertising for real value. Our answer . . . these days, we recommend sticking with the value you can feel in your heart. Do you need to see another bailout to be convinced?

Here’s what’s happening and why.

These competitive carriers with their new-style messages are investing heavily in advertising in order to capture easy market share on cherry industry products (auto, motorcycle, ATV insurance). Their approach has been developing over the last four to five years, and the game is now reaching the final stage. Their message is focused on lowest-cost insurance and their message appeals directly to people’s desire to save money. They have a game plan, and their in the running into the last quarter of the game. We can tell, because they’re now expanding their product focus from auto insurance to other types of insurance, like motorcycle and ATV’s.

Is selling ATV insurance a sustainable initiative for our competitors to retain profits? I think not.

“The money Geico, Progressive, and Esurance are spending on advertising (compared to their size) is not sustainable. Overall category growth in ad spending exceeded 33 percent for the last three years, making insurance ad spending a $1.7 billion expense. That just won’t fly long term. Insurer balance sheets are closely watched by their underwriters. It won’t be long before the pool of “easy market share” has been attained, and the big budgets begin to fail to bring the same results.” [See source]

At some point, the carriers with the low cost message will slow their advertising and begin to raise prices on their core auto insurance products and address the losses that come with an increased scale of insurance policies. Geico earns money from underwriting and investing. Underwriting gains at Geico are down 23% this year through the third quarter, as compared to last year. Ouch!

What’s the bottom line for you. We think the answer is sticking with an agent that provides real value to you that can feel in your heart – measured by your long-term peace of mind.

Here is a list of methods we provide value as agents:

• we provide a full suite of solutions, we don’t cherry pick our highest profit lines to sell you among home insurance, life insurance, auto insurance, atv and motorcycle insurance.
• We insure your auto, your home, your income, your life and more. We do that at a total cost, which is less than what you pay by spinning the insurance off to different carriers.
• We provide peace of mind.

If you’ve been in the work force for awhile — and have a family perhaps — then you have seen the potentially devastating calamities that can befall families when they aren’t properly protected. Younger folks just entering the workforce — and some older folks with high risk tolerance and little to lose — are probably attracted to the simple solutions that Geico has to offer. We don’t mind if you insure with the other carrier, as long as our price is significantly different.

We’re delighted to work with clients that take their overall protection plan seriously. We enjoy working with clients that appreciate the long term value, advice and respect that a live insurance agent can provide.

Paul, Peter and I are delivering the promise of peace of mind from within your local community, where we can meet face-to-face to confirm that you’re properly protected. We offer you superior confidence that your protection plan is complete and that your insurance is priced at a level that always beats the competition. Otherwise, we woulnd’t be in business.

Please contact us with any comments, concerns or questions about your insurance protection plan. We’re available to you every day to ensure your peace of mind is complete.