How Much Home Insurance Do I Need?

Posted on May 27, 2021May 26, 2021 by admin

Home insurance is one of the best investment decisions you will make in your life. When you buy home insurance from CG Insurance Agency of Williamston, MI, you protect your home, yourself, and family members when the unthinkable happens. While home insurance is pivotal, how do you know you have adequate home insurance coverage? Purchasing adequate home insurance ensures you avoid out-of-pocket expenses during the claim process. Here is a guide to help you determine the amount of home insurance coverage you need.

How much would it cost to rebuild your home?

When purchasing home insurance, it’s essential to plan for the worst. How much would it cost to rebuild your home in case of a total loss? To determine this figure, instead of using the cost you incurred while building your house, it’s essential to consider the cost of renovations and the cost of building your home in your area.

While you may use the cost of rebuilding your home as the home insurance value in the first year, it’s vital to keep updating your home insurance plan to factor in significant renovations and changes in local construction costs. This way, you will ensure that your house isn’t underinsured.

What’s the value of your assets?

How much would it cost to replace your furniture, clothing, electronics, and other assets in case of damage or loss from fire, vandalism, or theft? To avoid underinsuring your personal belongings, take an inventory count of all your assets from room to room. Next, come up with a realistic cost approximation, bearing in mind how much it would cost to replace that item today.

Likelihood of being sued

Home insurance protects you against bodily injury, property damage, and legal suits for losses you cause to other people. While the default liability insurance may have a limit of, let say, $100,000, how do you know this amount is adequate? As a rule of thumb, your liability insurance should cover all your assets. Besides, you can boost your home liability insurance with umbrella insurance for optimal protection.

Are you still unsure of how much home insurance you need? Please contact CG Insurance Agency for more information. Better yet, you can visit our Williamston, MI offices to speak to one of our agents in person.

Insuring Your Business Against Cyber Liability

Posted on May 24, 2021April 13, 2021 by Jennifer Iannarelli

One study found that 43% of cyber attacks target small business, and 60% of small companies go out of business within six months of a cyber attack.¹

Business owners are also required to protect their customers’ personal information. In 47 states, and the District of Columbia, businesses are required to notify individuals of security breaches involving personally identifiable information.²

As evidenced by news of large-scale data breaches, online hacking has become another form of risk that businesses now face everyday. Like many risks, businesses can insure themselves against the financial damage a cyber-attack may inflict.

Cyber liability insurance may cover a range of risks, including:

Data Breach Management: Pays expenses related to the investigation, management, and remediation of an incident, including customer notification, credit check support, and associated legal costs and fines.
Media Liability: Covers third-party damages such as website vandalism and intellectual property rights infringement.
Extortion Liability: Reimburses for expenses associated with losses arising from a threat of extortion.
Network Security Liability: Covers costs connected with third-party damages due to a denial of access and theft of third-party information.

Cyber liability insurance is fairly new so expect a wide divergence of coverage and costs. It may be purchased separately or as a rider to your current business insurance policy. Be prepared to comparison shop to get a better understanding of coverage and costs.

Small business owners might also keep in mind that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” There are steps you can take to protect your business from becoming a cyber victim.

Consider steps to protect your data.

Maintain robust malware detection software and keep existing software updated.
Train employees not to open links contained in emails from unknown senders. Research shows that 48% of security-related incidents are caused by employee behavior.¹
Encrypt your important data, such as bank account information, customer credit card numbers, etc.
Perform a security audit.

As obvious and simple as these precautions may sound, some businesses fall victim to cyber-attacks because of their failure to take them.

SmallBizTrends, January 3, 2017
National Conference of State Legislatures, 2017

The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright 2021 FMG Suite.

The ABC’s of Auto Insurance

Posted on May 17, 2021April 13, 2021 by Jennifer Iannarelli

The questions around auto insurance center not so much on whether to have it—it’s mandated by state law, required by your lender, and serves to protect your assets—but what kind of coverage you should purchase.

Types of Coverage

There are several forms of coverage that a car owner may purchase, some of which are required, others of which may be optional.

The coverage requirements in all states include:

Bodily injury liability (pays for the cost of injuries you cause to another individual), and
Property damage liability (pays for the damage you cause to another’s car or to objects or structures you hit).

Some, but not all, states will require that you have coverage for:

Uninsured and underinsured motorists (covers the costs associated with being hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver, or in the case of a hit-and-run accident), and
Medical payments or personal injury protection (PIP) (pays for medical treatment for you and your passengers). PIP coverage is available in “no-fault” states and may also cover lost wages and funeral costs.

If you borrowed to purchase your car, the lender may require collision and comprehensive coverage.

Collision coverage reimburses you for damage to your car resulting from a collision with another car, object, or structure; a pothole; or from flipping over.

Comprehensive coverage is designed to pay for car damage not arising from a collision, e.g., theft, hail, windstorm, flood, fire, and hitting animals. This coverage may also pay for windshield repairs.

If you own your car outright, you may want to consider purchasing collision and comprehensive coverage if your car has a significant market value. You may find that the potential economic loss is sufficient to warrant the cost of collision and comprehensive protection.

Fallen Tree Damage—Who Pays?

Posted on May 10, 2021April 13, 2021 by Jennifer Iannarelli

As a homeowner, are you responsible for the damage caused by a tree on your property that hits your neighbor’s home or other insured structure, such as a garage or shed?

In most cases, the answer is “No.”

When such damage occurs to your neighbors’ home due to forces outside your control, such as weather events, your neighbors may have to file a claim with their insurer to receive a reimbursement for the damage a downed tree or branches cause.

There is one exception, however.

If it is determined that the tree damage stems from your negligence (for example, dead limbs that you refused to cut down), then the neighbors’ insurer may come after you to recover their loss—a process called subrogation.¹

You may want to check your policy or speak to your insurance agent to ascertain if your homeowners policy covers your liability in cases of negligence.

When Neighbors Sue

Some neighbors may seek to bring legal action against you, though often that is unnecessary.

First, determine what municipal laws are in place to cover such instances. Generally speaking, you are not responsible unless you knew, or should have known, about the danger. Proving what you knew or should have known can be difficult and costly in a court of law. It typically benefits both parties to arrive at a compromise that avoids an expensive legal process.

The information in this material is not intended as legal advice. Please consult legal or insurance professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation.

The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG, LLC, is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright 2020 FMG Suite.

Insurance Needs Assessment: For Empty Nesters and Retirees

Posted on May 3, 2021April 14, 2021 by Jennifer Iannarelli

With the children now out of the house, financial priorities become more focused on preparing for retirement. At this stage, you may very likely be at the height of your earning power and fast approaching peak savings as you lay the groundwork for retirement. During this final leg to retirement—and throughout your retirement period—wealth protection is critical.

The preservation of your assets will not be solely a function of your investment strategy, but will include a comprehensive insurance approach to protect you against an array of financial risks, most especially health care.

In addition to wealth protection, you may also now be seriously contemplating a number of important estate and legacy objectives.

Home

Even though your mortgage may be paid off—thus releasing you from the lender’s requirement to have homeowners insurance—it remains important to consider coverage against property loss and exposure to personal liability. Now is an ideal time to review your policy as the cost of replacing your home and the belongings contained therein may have grown over the years.

Also, consider an umbrella policy, which is designed to help protect against the financial risk of personal liability.

Health

There are several key health insurance issues facing empty nesters and retirees.

If you retire prior to age 65 when Medicare coverage is set to begin, you will need coverage to bridge the gap between when you retire and when you turn 65. If your spouse continues to work, you may want to consider getting yourself added to his or her plan, though you may need to wait until the employer’s annual enrollment period.

Alternatively, you also may purchase coverage through a private insurer or through HealthCare.gov (or your state’s program).

Once you enroll in Medicare, you should consider purchasing Part D of Medicare, the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, which can help you save money on prescriptions.

Additionally, you may want to consider other Medigap insurance, which is designed to pay for medical care not covered by Medicare. Medigap plans are bought through private insurance companies and best purchased within the first six months of turning age 65 since no health exam is required during this period.

Disability

This coverage may continue until you retire. When you stop working, you should consider canceling your disability insurance as the need for it has expired.¹

Life

The financial obligations that drove your life insurance needs while you were raising a family may have evaporated. However, you may find new needs arising from estate issues, such as liquidity, creating a legacy, etc.²

Extended Care

For some, extended care insurance is a priority in this stage of life. With the expense of children in the rearview mirror, you can now turn your focus to buying protection against potentially the most significant health-care expense you are likely to face in retirement.

Designed to pay for chronic, long-lasting illnesses and regular care, whether in-home or at a nursing home, extended care insurance coverage is critically important since most of these costs are not covered by Medicare.

The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation.
Several factors will affect the cost and availability of life insurance, including age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, the policyholder also may pay surrender charges and have income tax implications. You should consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy involving life insurance. Any guarantees associated with a policy are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue making claim payments.

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Month: May 2021