EPS Insurance

By Doug Newman A forest fire in Colorado and hurricane damage in Florida. (Photo credits below.) Like all industries, the insurance industry is in a constant state of flux. And over the last few years, economic trends and natural disasters have sent things into overdrive. Hurricanes in coastal areas from Texas to North Carolina, as well as fires in Colorado, California, and other states, have caused several carriers to either suspend or severely restrict new sales in several states. In Colorado, where I live, hailstorms have been a major contributor to this trend. The good news is that you can still get insurance. However, there are five very important things you need to know.   Find a good professional agent with whom to discuss your specific situation and who can make specific individual recommendations . NEVER leave this to the whims of a cell phone app or a call center. Preferably find an independent broker who can shop multiple carriers. Know that your new insurance...

  Credit: www.allnews.ch By Doug Newman - June 4, 2023 “I didn’t file a claim, so why did my rates go up? We hear this every day in the insurance business and with good reason. And you, the consumer, are entitled to an answer. While numerous factors have influenced these increases, I think there are four main ones. Inflation, which is at a 40-year high and affects the entire economy. Insurance companies are not bottomless money pits and when their costs go up, they must adjust their rates accordingly. The increase in crime. Catalytic converter thefts , for instance, have increased dramatically. Colorado, where I live, leads the nation in auto theft . A 17 percent increase in automobile fatality rates over the last 3 years. Natural disasters. Hurricanes have done massive damage in Florida and in the coastal areas of states from Texas to North Carolina. Forest fires have done massive damage here in Colorado. And high rates of fire claims have prompted several major carriers t...

You’ve built your client’s trust. You’ve looked all over town for the car that meets their wants and needs. You’ve got them all the way to the closing table to fill out all the documents and arrange the payments. And then you ask them about insurance. Here’s where you need to be very, very careful. Car insurance should NEVER be treated like fast food. Fast food is cheap and full of health risks. Cheap insurance is, likewise, full of risks. So, how should you guide your client? First, if possible, advise them to make their insurance arrangements as part of the buying process. Have them talk with an insurance professional beforehand. Indeed, they might have a great agent already. Second, advise them NEVER to just “turn-and-burn” on a quote at the time of purchase. There are numerous toll-free numbers and smartphone apps where you can buy insurance. People who buy this way almost always select the cheapest options, i.e those offering the most minimal coverage. NEVER buy in...

  Credit: www.clutchpoints.com This coming Sunday, the two best teams in the NFL, the Eagles and the Chiefs, face off in Super Bowl LVII. Football is the ultimate team sport. On a great team,  every player has a role and must strive for perfection in executing the duties associated with that role. A successful real estate transaction is quite similar: it is a team effort where everyone has a role and must strive for perfection in executing their respective duties. This includes the realtor, the mortgage lender, the insurance agent, the inspector, the appraiser, and the title professional.  With this in mind, there are five things every realtor and mortgage lender  must know  about insurance. This is not about making you an expert on insurance, but rather about enhancing the process of selling and buying a home. 1) It is imperative that the insurance agent  talk directly to the client . There are certain conversations that the agent needs to have with the ...

  Credit: www.finance.yahoo.com The other day, after leaving a voicemail with a potential client, I got the following email. “Can you email me your offer?” I think it’s important to know that my potential client holds a Ph.D. and is an engineer for a major local technology firm. He is also married with 3 children and recently purchased a very nice home in an upper-middle-class suburb. He has a lot to protect. I left him a voicemail and then sent him the following email. Thank you very much for considering me as your insurance professional. I just left a voicemail. Please know that I don’t just spin out quotes. Insurance is like anything else: you get what you pay for. If it’s cheap, it’s cheap for a reason. Before I go to price with any of my clients, I have a thorough discussion of current as well as recommended coverage. Nobody “plans” on a serious claim. However, these things do happen. If you should ever have a serious claim, and you don’t have the proper coverage it coul...

Credit: www.marketbusinessnews.com The National Association of Insurance Commissioners defines “deductible” as “Portionof the insured loss (in dollars) paid by the policy holder.” Low deductibles may well be costing you more than they are worth in two ways: 1) The difference between a $500 and a $1000 deductible is, well, $500. If you go several years without filing a claim, you might pay more than $500 in premium to save yourself that $500 at claim time. 2) Raising your car deductibles from $500 to $1000 and your liability & uninsured motorists’coverage from 100k/300k to 250k/500k oftentimes results in an absolutely negligible difference in premium. Sometimes it even SAVES you money. That same amount of premium can buy you either $500 in coverage or $250,000 in coverage. Which is a more prudent use of your money? You may not like me for a few days after a hailstorm or a fender bender in a parking lot. However, as an attorney friend of mine likes to say, you should insur...