To insure every aspect of life to avoid getting caught unprepared, John Rainey, local insurance advisor and director of marketing at Tigrett & Pennington, provides these great year-end/New Year tips.
"We’ve made it to the final month of 2020 -- what a year it's been," he says. "As we enter the holiday season, there’s a lot of running around and things can get misplaced, overlooked or forgotten. This is why we thought it might be the right time to provide some helpful tips when it comes to protecting your family and your assets. Here are just a few considerations that may help."
Liability Limits: Having sufficient liability limits on one's home and auto is vital to achieving the main goal of transferring risk from those who are insured to the insurance company (this is what it’s all about!). John says liability limits should meet or exceed one's total assets (house, vehicles, savings, investments) to correctly protect a family.
"A cost-efficient way of increasing your liability coverage is by adding a personal umbrella policy," he adds.
“Scheduling” Valuables: To schedule an item on your policy is insurance lingo for listing jewelry, firearms, and other items of value individually, onto the policy.
Scheduling on an “Agreed Value” basis allows policy holders to provide a dollar amount for an item and to be paid that exact amount during a covered claim. "It's always prudent to re-evaluate your high-end items each year to be sure you are insuring them effectively. You may decide to add or remove items, depending on your risk tolerance," John explains.
Commercial Exposures: Be careful -- there are many ways that business owners can inadvertently bring commercial exposures back home.
John says it's important for those who own or operate a business to be sure to disclose this when shopping out insurance to better protect family assets.
Home Insurance: Look at replacement costs versus ACV (actual cash values), especially on roofs. " Actual cash value means factoring in depreciation after a claim, which is often misunderstood," adds John
Auto Insurance: Did you know "full coverage" is a watch-out phrase? John says this is because someone can have low liability limits and low deductibles, or vice versa, and either way is “full coverage."
"Helping our client’s navigate the intricacies of insurance to feel confident about their purchase is the foundation of what we do," assures John.
1728 General George Patton Drive, Suite 100, Brentwood
615.481.5233
YEAR-END TIPS:
- Review or update your beneficiary designations on life insurance policies.
- If you've accumulated possessions since purchasing your homeowners policy, re-evaluate it to ensure it covers everything of value.
- Make sure your liability limits equals or exceeds your total assets (house, car, savings and investments) in case accident costs exceed coverage limits.
