10 Reasons You Need to Buy Renters Insurance

Posted on January 26, 2015 by admin

If you are a Renter, here are 10 Great Reasons to buy Renters Insurance!

1) If your apartment catches fire your lost personal property can be replaced without digging into savings, and it can pay for rental housing elsewhere while the apartment is being repaired

2) If your apartment fire causes your landlord, or neighbors, to suffer a loss and they sue you, your Insurance company will defend you up to the Limits of Liability

3) If someone sues you for monetary damages for some other reason, and you haven’t done anything illegal, you have Insurance company money on the table

4) Your personal property (subject to your deductible) is protected while you are away from home, like in your car, or when traveling

5) You can get cross line discounts on your auto insurance, which will save you money while protecting more of your stuff!, Depending on how expensive your auto insurance is, your Renters Insurance might even be FREE!

6) It gives you peace of mind to know you have the funds to recover from a loss, so you can concentrate on making money, and not losing it!

7) Having the funds readily available to replace others lost items will reduce the strain on your personal relationships with them

8) It is being required by more and more apartment communities every day

9) You will be considered, by most adults, wise and responsible for having it, but more importantly…

10) Its VERY inexpensive,

If you would like more information, or I can provide you with a quote, please visit our website, www.trowbridgeinsurance.com, or give us a call (650) FARMERS (327-6377)! also 650-876-9600

SOME PROTECTION is better than NO PROTECTION!

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Getting More for Less!

Posted on January 9, 2015 by admin

One of the best ways to maximize the efficiency of your insurance cost is to make sure you are taking advantage of all your cross line discounts! Most multiline Carriers will often give you a discount on one line, if you add another line to your account with them.  A common cross-line discount is the Auto/Home discount. If you have a homeowners policy with carrier X, and you were to bring over your Auto policy(s), (or vice versa) then carrier X will discount both the Auto and Home policies. These discounts can add up to FREE insurance! Sometimes, they are substantial enough that you can add coverage and actually have your bill go down!

For example: Lets say you rent an apartment, and have two cars. The Auto/Rent discount could be 10% off your car premium. If you are paying $1000 per car, per year, the annual Auto/Rent discount would be $200. Assuming that is enough to buy a small Renters policy you could actually add that coverage and pay no more out of pocket. If the Renters is less than $200 you would actually pocket the difference!

Another cross line discount is for adding a Life policy to the household. Lets say hypothetically, that would reduce your Auto and Home/Renters premium by 5%. If your Auto/Home/Renters premiums add up to @$3000 a year, and you are in your 20’s or 30’s, you could get a 10 year Term policy for $150 or less (if your are in good health). Again, adding coverage while not increasing, and in some cases actually reducing, your over all expenditure for your insurance!

Even if we are not talking about a large Renters or Life policy, how are you going to argue with FREE? Particularly if you are living pay check to pay check like many Americans! And, if you have a fire in your apartment, or are a parent of a young child depending on you, these coverage’s will mean the difference between real financial difficulty, or having something to fall back on, for everyone involved!

While many mono-line carriers push price, price, price, ,and they might be less expensive in a straight comparison, when you factor in these other coverage’s your total insurance cost could actually be less using these cross line discounts.

 

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Life Insurance is a better retirement savings vehicle than traditional government sponsored ones!

Posted on November 6, 2014 by admin

Do you think Social Security will give you a reasonable amount of money to live on after age 65? I hate to burst your bubble, but the numbers are just not there for those of us a decade or more away from retirement. In particular, I mean to address this to the children of the Baby Boomers, who may be coming into some inheritance as that generation begins to pass on. If you have, or have not, started to save for retirement, putting a good block of that inheritance away in a tax advantaged account, will go a long way to securing your financial future. The more you put away the better your retirement will be, but the bottom line is “something is better than nothing”, so put something away! And, if you are like me, and don’t want to retire, ever, then this will make your later years that much more enjoyable! The idea of having to go to work when you are 70 and still living paycheck to paycheck is not an attractive vision.

I have just been introduced to a couple strategies which allow clients to put more away than in their traditional retirement savings plans.  One even allows them access to those savings TAX FREE! The way it works is: You take out a Permanent Life Policy, then, overfund the premium, as much as possible within the limits. The Tax free accumulation in the separate cash value adds to the base Death Benefit, keeping your Death Benefit increasing. When you turn 65, you stop paying into the policy, and for 20 years begin withdrawing money monthly. The first dollar rule is in effect, so you get all your premiums paid back, tax free, and then from there, you take a policy loans on the full death benefit annually to keep that income coming. While they do charge for the loan, certain carriers will credit you back the same amount so the net cost is 0. When you pass away the loans are paid back, and the remainder is paid to your heirs as a death benefit. Instead of paying $14000 into your SEP or 401k put that money into a permanent life insurance policy, and don’t pay tax on the proceeds!

If you are a high income earner, and set this up on auto pay, you will be surprised as to the significant numbers this strategy can generate for your retirement, while protecting your family as well. The one catch seems to be you have to be 50 or younger to give yourself time to compound the market returns and grow sufficient value to make this work. That, or put even more away in your overfunding.  Buy Better Insurance, and let me show you what it would look like? If you have questions, contact us through my websites; http://www.farmersagent.com/ctrowbridge.

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Is Earthquake Insurance Right For You?

Posted on October 16, 2014 by admin

Only about ten percent of insured homeowners in California have earthquake insurance. Many homeowners assume earthquake insurance is prohibitively expensive, but they also haven’t crunched the numbers to see whether they could actually afford to repair/rebuild their home without this coverage.

Ask yourself the following questions to see if you need to reconsider buying earthquake insurance. What is your risk profile? How close are you to a fault line? Do you have a slab or a post and pier foundation? Is the home wood frame construction? Is it a “soft story” home (living area built over a garage)? Are you on bedrock or fill? How much equity do you have in your home? Enter your address at www.abag.ca.gov to learn about the soil conditions and quake forecasts where you live Read at least one of the articles by financial experts at www.uphelp.org on equity considerations.

Could you afford to pay out of pocket for repairs/rebuilding? What would you do if you couldn’t? Quake damage often requires engineering fixes which can be very expensive – typically $50k and up. Can you afford a policy with a 10 percent instead of a 15 percent deductible and if so – how much would the damage have to be before coverage would kick in? At what level of loss would the repair/rebuild of your home be an unacceptable financial burden?

Most insurance policies have a 10 or 15 percent deductible. The price and high deductibles for EQ policies have led many people to avoid buying the product, but remember: if you live in a quake-prone region, going “bare” with no insurance means you have a 100 percent deductible…you’ll bear the entire risk yourself.

Can you afford not to have earthquake insurance? A generally accepted rule of thumb is that you should not risk more than 10 percent of your liquid assets. A large earthquake could mean:

10 to 100 percent of your home’s structure could be damaged or destroyed:

Up to 20 percent of your belongings could be damaged

$3,000 a month for temporary rent and relocation costs

Copied from United Policy Holders :”Tip of the Month” email. Questions? Contact me through my website: www.farmers.com/ctrowbridge, , or ctrowbridge@farmersagent.com

UPDATE 3/11/2015 from the USGS

The chance of a magnitude-8 quake striking the state in the next three decades jumped from 4.7 percent to 7 percent, mainly because scientists took into account the possibility that several faults can shake at once, releasing seismic energy that results in greater destruction. While the risk of a mega-quake is higher than past estimates, it’s more likely — greater than 99 percent chance — that California will be rattled by a magnitude-6.7 jolt similar in size to the 1994 Northridge disaster. The chance of a Northridge-size quake was slightly higher in Northern California than Southern California — 95 percent versus 93 percent, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Geological Survey. Because of this knowledge, the odds of a catastrophic quake — magnitude 8 or larger — in the next 30 years increased. There is a 93 percent chance of a magnitude 7 or larger occurring over the same period and a 48 percent chance of a magnitude 7.5 — similar to previous estimates.

The new report included newly discovered fault zones and the possibility that a quake can jump from fault to fault. Of the more than 300 faults that crisscross the state, the southern segment of the San Andreas Fault — which runs from central California to the Salton Sea near the U.S.-Mexico border — remains the greatest threat because it hasn’t ruptured in more than three centuries. The report found there is a 19 percent chance in the next 30 years that a Northridge-size quake will unzip the southern section compared to a 6.4 percent chance for the northern section, partly because it last broke in 1906.

The southern San Andreas is “ready to have an earthquake because it’s really locked and loaded,” Field said.  The report is a forecast, but it is not a prediction. Experts still cannot predict exactly where or when a quake will hit anywhere in the world.

 

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Are Women Prepared for Retirement?

Posted on October 8, 2014 by admin

There’s been a lot of talk recently about income equality, and although the income gap is substantially closing, one issue that is grossly overlooked is how it affects retirement – especially when considering female baby boomers who once held much more traditional roles in the home.  These women are often more unprepared for retirement than their male counterparts due to less years in the workforce, lower paying jobs while in the workforce, and substantially different benefit and pension packages.  Yet, it’s not uncommon for them to find themselves divorced or widowed once they hit their senior years.  And if they are still married when nearing retirement, women typically tend to be less involved when it comes to retirement planning than their male spouses.  All that being said, it’s important for women to educate themselves about their retirement needs.
Here’s what women can do to prepare themselves for retirement:

  • Ask what you want out of retirement. What does your dream retirement look like? Sometimes this differs from a spouse, so it’s important to contemplate this question individually.
  • What are the salary requirements to make this happen?
  • Whether married or not, analyze what is already in place and determine if there are missing parts, and if so, what they are.
  • Educate yourself about pension plans, Social Security benefits, and Medicare costs.
  • Work with a financial adviser or retirement planner to determine what is available through established and potential sources of retirement income.
  • Consider and discuss what additional income is needed, and what additional sources of retirement income may be available.

Copied from an email I received from Colleen Rideout, Security 1 Lending – Reverse Mortgage Specialist, NMLS# 413493, crideout.reversemortgage@gmail.com

I just heard the average American has only saved $45,000 for Retirement. Does that mean they are counting on Social Security? Do they believe that will be around for us like it was for our parents? Don’t mean to be depressing but you need to start saving something today. “Something is better than nothing” so do not let that be an excuse for not doing so. Its your responsibility for yourself, and your family.

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Put more away for retirement than in traditional plans, and get tax free accumulation and withdrawals!

Posted on September 18, 2014 by admin

Do you think Social Security will give you a reasonable amount of money to live on after age 65? I hate to burst your bubble, but the numbers are just not there for those of us a decade or more away from retirement. In particular, I mean to address this to the children of the Baby Boomers, who may be coming into some inheritance as that generation begins to pass on. If you have, or have not, started to save for retirement, putting a good block of that inheritance away in a tax advantaged account, will go a long way to securing your financial future. The more you put away the better your retirement will be, but the bottom line is “something is better than nothing”, so put something away! And, if you are like me, and don’t want to retire, ever, then this will make your later years that much more enjoyable! The idea of having to go to work when you are 70 and still living paycheck to paycheck is not an attractive vision.

I have just been introduced to a couple strategies which allow clients to put more away than in their traditional retirement savings plans.  One even allows them access to those savings TAX FREE! The way it works is: You take out a Permanent Life Policy, then, overfund the premium, as much as possible within the limits. The Tax free accumulation in the separate cash value adds to the base Death Benefit, keeping your Death Benefit increasing. When you turn 65, you stop paying into the policy, and for 20 years begin withdrawing money monthly. The first dollar rule is in effect, so you get all your premiums paid back, tax free, and then from there, you take a policy loans on the full death benefit annually to keep that income coming. While they do charge for the loan, some carriers will credit you back the same amount so the net cost is 0. When you pass away the loans are paid back, and the remainder is paid to your heirs as a death benefit.

If you are a high income earner, and set this up on auto pay, you will be surprised as to the significant numbers this strategy can generate for your retirement, while protecting your family as well. Buy Better Insurance, and let me show you what it would look like? If you have questions, please visit my websites; http://www.farmersagent.com/ctrowbridge,  and email or call me at 650-876-9600.

Posted in “Protecting your Family’s Financial Future”, Interesting Stuff, Life Insurance | Leave a comment

Another Celebrity Creates a Bad Will

Posted on August 21, 2014 by admin
  • From: Law Office of Janet L. Brewer

    Philip Seymour Hoffman was a talented, Oscar-winning actor and a troubled man. When he died from an apparent heroin overdose in February, he left behind his long-time partner, Mimi O’Donnell, and three pre-teen children they had together. For despite his wealth – an estimated $35 million – Hoffman provided no direct financial security for son Cooper and daughters Tallulah and Willa. Not wanting to have his children grow up, as he told his lawyer, “trust-fund kids,” Hoffman left them nothing in his will, instead leaving his entire estate to O’Donnell.

  • Despite being long-time partners, Hoffman and O’Donnell were never married, because, as numerous reports state, Hoffman didn’t believe in the institution. And therein lies one of the big problems with his estate.  Because they were not wed, O’Donnell does not qualify for the marriage exemption on inherited assets. Instead of the entire $35 million passing to her tax-free, Forbes reports, she only qualifies for the federal estate tax exemption for the first $5.34 million – leaving the other approximately $30 million fully taxable. Clearly, being married is in your clients’ best interests.

  • By federal law, the rest of Hoffman’s estate is taxable at up to a 40 percent rate. On top of that, New York has its own estate tax, up to 16 percent for non-spouses with only a $1 million exemption. According to Forbes, that leaves Hoffman’s estate owing up to $15 million in taxes. As DailyFinance says, not being married cost O’Donnell and her children $12 million that will go to the IRS. From a tax standpoint, Hoffman’s case isn’t that far removed from the estate mess actor James Gandolfini left when he died. In Gandolfini’s case, his poor planning left his estate owning up to $30 million to the IRS.
    Finally, because the marital deduction doesn’t apply, assets left when O’Donnell dies could get taxed again. A principled stand on marriage is one thing, but being willfully financially irresponsible is another altogether.

  • Hoffman made out his will in 2004 when son Cooper was then about 1 year old – and then never revised it. Several reports say that the will set up a trust for Cooper, but it was in effect only in the event that O’Donnell died before Hoffman. Daughters Tallulah and Willa are not mentioned in the will. Clearly, the lesson for your clients is to update their wills and estate planning documents every time a life-altering event occurs, be it marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or a business venture that takes off. Hoffman’s desire that his children not live as trust-fund kids is fine in principle but nearly negligent in practice.Hoffman wasn’t a billionaire, but making provisions to have his children’s college education paid for would seem reasonable at the very least. By not providing for them directly in his will, his children are left potentially financially vulnerable.  Of course, Hoffman could have provided other financial protection for his children, through retirement accounts, custodial bank accounts or life insurance polices – none of which, Forbes says, are covered by a will. Gandolfini left his son a $7 million life insurance policy, which is not subject to taxes.

  • Clearly, by leaving his estate to O’Donnell, he expected she would provide for their children. And there’s no reason to believe she won’t. After all, she kicked Hoffman out of their $4.2 million apartment because of his heroin use. However, there’s nothing to stop her if she decides to blow through the money, leaving nothing for the kids.  And what happens to the children if she marries someone else? If O’Donnell dies while married, her wealth passes to her spouse, who could cut Hoffman’s children out completely. That’s surely not what Hoffman would have wanted, but unintended consequences have a way of shaping people’s lives – for better or worse.

  • We hope this information was useful to you and helps your clients and their families. If you have a specific case or a question, don’t hesitate to call our office: Law Office of Janet L. Brewer

Posted in “Protecting your Family’s Financial Future”, Insurance Coverage, Life Insurance | Leave a comment

Fireline scores have caused many homes to be cancelled by their current insurance carriers.

Posted on August 20, 2014 by admin

California is ranked the #1 highest wildfire risk, with almost 2 million homes at high or extreme risk from wildfires. There are three critical factors that affect the risk of wildfire loss.

Fuel- ie: grass, trees, dense brush, that feed a wildfire

Slope- slope of the property (fire travels faster up hill)

Access- any trouble accessing to the property can slow fire teams

The ISO (Insurance Services Office) has created a scorecard to assess a dwellings susceptibility to loss from wildfires and ranks them as a “Fireline” rank from 0-30. Many carriers seem to be cancelling any property rated above a 4, and some even lower. There are alternative carriers who have been taking up the slack in the demand for coverage on these properties and you can find coverage, as a last resort, from the California Fair Plan, but that is a bare boned coverage which is primarily only the dwelling coverage. You can get ancillary plans from Farmers and McGraw that fil in the gaps and cover Liability and the risks excluded under the Fair Plan policy.

To reduce your risk to wildfires create a zone around your home that will slow the fire down. And possible direct it around your home. Contact us at http://www.farmersagent.com/ctrowbridge to get a more detailed plan.

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Are you ready for the Big One?

Posted on August 7, 2014 by admin

We have had several major Earthquakes around the world the past Five years, and the USGS has predicted an 80% chance of a 6.0 or greater happening in Northern California, 60% chance in the Bay Area, by 2032. It’s not IF, but WHEN it WILL happen!

California houses two-thirds of the nation’s earthquake risk, with most residents living within 30 miles of a major fault.But only 12% of homes with fire insurance also have earthquake coverage. This is particularly ironic considering our home, for most or us, is our largest asset, yet we consider it an acceptable risk to leave our largest asset unprotected from this inevitable peril.

What would happen if a major Earthquake occurs and you do not have earthquake coverage? Do you think the government will help? Federal disaster relief has historically been providing low interest SBA loans to eligible homeowner’s and businesses, to repair or replace damaged property. But this is additional debt that you will be adding to your current mortgage, which you are still be responsible for. The maximum SBA real property loan for primary home repair is $200,000.

FEMA disaster grants are available to those who don’t qualify for a loan, but the average grant is less than $15,000, and the maximum is $26,200. Would that rebuild your home here?

Along with an earthquake kit, (which should include camping gear, water, food and cash, all of which may be difficult to access if the big one hits); you should seriously consider purchasing an Earthquake policy. For information contact us on our website: http://www.farmersagent.com/ctrowbridge

8/25/14- And here you have it! Yesterday around 3:20 AM we had a 6.0 in the Napa area! So, the USGS prediction has come true, already!  But… could we have another one, a really big one still to come? I saw on the news that only 17% of homes have Earthquake Insurance. Very concerning?

3/11/2015-USGS Update

The chance of a magnitude-8 quake striking the state in the next three decades jumped from 4.7 percent to 7 percent, mainly because scientists took into account the possibility that several faults can shake at once, releasing seismic energy that results in greater destruction. While the risk of a mega-quake is higher than past estimates, it’s more likely — greater than 99 percent chance — that California will be rattled by a magnitude-6.7 jolt similar in size to the 1994 Northridge disaster. The chance of a Northridge-size quake was slightly higher in Northern California than Southern California — 95 percent versus 93 percent, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Geological Survey. Because of this knowledge, the odds of a catastrophic quake — magnitude 8 or larger — in the next 30 years increased. There is a 93 percent chance of a magnitude 7 or larger occurring over the same period and a 48 percent chance of a magnitude 7.5 — similar to previous estimates.

The new report included newly discovered fault zones and the possibility that a quake can jump from fault to fault. Of the more than 300 faults that crisscross the state, the southern segment of the San Andreas Fault — which runs from central California to the Salton Sea near the U.S.-Mexico border — remains the greatest threat because it hasn’t ruptured in more than three centuries. The report found there is a 19 percent chance in the next 30 years that a Northridge-size quake will unzip the southern section compared to a 6.4 percent chance for the northern section, partly because it last broke in 1906.

The southern San Andreas is “ready to have an earthquake because it’s really locked and loaded,” Field said.  The report is a forecast, but it is not a prediction. Experts still cannot predict exactly where or when a quake will hit anywhere in the world.

 

 

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16 U.S. states at high risk of damaging earthquakes-USGS

Posted on August 6, 2014 by admin

(Reuters) – The U.S. Geological Survey said sixteen states are at high risk of damaging earthquakes over the next 50 years and some areas face a higher threat than previously thought. The western United States faces a high risk of damaging earthquakes on the coast and intermountain region, and the California cities of San Jose, Vallejo and San Diego all saw a heightened threat, as new faults have been discovered. But the cities of Irvine, Santa Barbara and Oakland had their threats downgraded.

It also upgraded the risks facing parts of the central and eastern United States, singling out areas near New Madrid, Missouri, and Charleston, South Carolina. Scientists did however lower the threat facing New York City, as slow-shaking quakes which impact taller buildings are considered less likely.

The 16 states with the highest risk are Alaska, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

The survey noted a spike in earthquakes over magnitude 3, potentially driven by hydraulic fracturing in states like Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Researchers said that planners there should consider a higher shaking potential given the increased seismic activity.

The maps are based on over a century of earthquake data. The last assessments were published in 2008 and updated to account for new scientific modeling. (Report by Curtis Skinner; Edited by Corrin Trowbridge) For information contact us on our website: http://www.farmersagent.com/ctrowbridge

 

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