Insurance Premiums

The cost of personal home and auto insurance is on the rise.  For the past several years, many insurance companies have collected less money from the insurance premiums being paid by clients than they have paid out in client claims.

Insurance premium rates are a function of both the individual and group costs and claims environment.

A portion of the insurance premiums collected by an insurance company are set aside and invested.   When a claim is incurred by an insured, monies are removed from the pool to pay the claim.  If an insurance company incurs more claims than the insurance premium funds it has collected and invested, it will be forced to raise the rates it charges for its insurance.

Of course, insurance premium increases must be approved in advance by the state regulatory body overseeing insurance companies.   But, in the past few years (2010-2012), many national insurance companies have incurred losses in excess of their set aside, invested premium funds.  Hence, many insurance companies are asking their state regulatory body for increased insurance premiums.

If you have experienced an increase in insurance premiums, please do call 515/232-5240 and ask for Andrea Shearer, Tessa Everman, or Burton Heginger at Triplett Companies for advice and help reducing your current premium.

Live the Good Life

The Life of Riley was a TV show from the 50’s starring William Bendix but the title’s origin came from an expression meaning that a person was living the “good life.” Most people envision themselves living the good life by retirement but don’t really have a plan to get there.
There’s a rough rule of thumb used to estimate how much net worth a person would need by the time they retire to generate a certain income. The target annual income is divided by a safe, conservative yield to determine the investable assets needed.
A person who wanted $100,000 annual income generated from a 5% investment would need investable assets of $2,000,000. If a person had $500,000 now, they would need to accumulate $1.5 million more by the time they retire. If it was estimated to be 15 years away, they would need to save about $100,000 a year, each year until retirement.
It is a sobering example that could be depressing without a plan. It might be easy to say, “I should have started sooner” which may be true but there is still hope.
Gradually, over the next several years, accumulate rental property and allow the tenant to retire the debt for you. The equity in each property will grow from the amortization of the loan each time a payment is made. It also grows as the property increases in value due to appreciation.
Single family homes as rentals offer the investor an opportunity to meet their retirement and financial goals for the following reasons:

• The ability to borrow large loan-to-value mortgages
• At fixed interest rates
• For long terms (easily up to 30 years)
• On appreciating assets
• With significant tax advantages
• And reasonable control not offered by alternative investments.

PERSONAL PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE IN 2012

Insurance premiums are on the rise.  Insurance Companies state that the market has been “soft” the past few years, but that is no longer the case – that is, the cost of insurance for most homeowners and vehicle owners is on the rise!  Market Scout reports that personal insurance rates rose as much as 3 percent in the month of September 2012!  (For additional detail, see the 08 October online report from Property Casualty 360 at >property casualty360.com<)

What can you do to reduce your cost of insurance and still maintain an adequate level of insurance?  Contact your independent insurance agent and ask that he or she seek other quotes for your insurance.

Contact your favorite insurance agent (Andrea Shearer, Tessa Everman, or Burton Heginger) at the Triplett Companies (515/232-5240) and ask for their help.  Most likely they can save you money!

 

The "Best Price" for Vehicle Insurance

Many insurance companies are touting vehicle insurance coverage savings that can be received by “switching” from your current insurance carrier to another insurance carrier.

The Insurance Information Institute confirms that most vehicle insurance rates have risen 10 per cent for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010.  Further, it is expected that vehicle insurance rates will raise at least 4 per cent for the year 2011.

Insurance company costs of doing business are rising.  Insurance premiums are rising.

Why not contact your favorite insurance agent (Ryan Edgington, Burton Heginger, Andrea Shearer, or Tessa Everman) at the Triplett Companies (515/232-5240) to provide you with several vehicle insurance quotes to see what the “real” savings can be? 

Home Insurance Premiums to Increase

The following short article was recently published in Bottom Line: Personal*

 

        “Home insurance premiums to rise for the third straight year, warns insurance

expert Robert Hunter**.  Insurers expect the increase for 2011 to average 2 per
cent to 3 per cent – more than double the 1 per cent rise in 2010.  State Farm and
Allstate, the two biggest insurers raised rates by more than 7 per cent last year and are expected to increase them again this years.  What to do:  Shop around – you can still find lower rates without sacrificing good service.”

 

      Contact your favorite insurance agent (Mike Carter, Andrea Shearer, or Tessa Everman) at the Triplett Companies (515/232-5240) today for a new price quote for your home insurance.