​I think most would agree that if feels like we are in unprecedented times and for an unprecedented number of reasons. I would like to focus on just one of those areas for the next few hundred words, that being the huge spike in the cost of goods, services, and labor.  This doesn’t just impact you directly, but indirectly as well. This indirect impact means it’s likely your real estate (and even your vehicles) is UNDERISNSURED.

​According to CoreLogic, one of the nation’s largest providers of construction, building materials, and labor cost analytics, there has been a significant increase in these costs. Based on their quarterly reports, US building materials have shown a significant increase. Amongst the largest increases were lumber (54%) and plywood (42.6%). 

When you go to Home Depot or Lowes, or even a lumber yard you directly feel these costs.  But when was the last time you evaluated your homeowner’s insurance? All these adjustments have basically occurred in the last 12 to 18 months, so if it has been longer than that, you are probably UNDERINSURED. This is why the Insurance to Value, ITV, of your home is so important!

Here’s a perfect example. One of my clients, Chris and his wife bought their house for $282,900 in August of 2020.  The home is currently insured for that same amount, which is an issue unto itself.  Once narrowing the quotes down to the top four options they all came back with reconstruction values over $400,000. The moral of the story is, if Chris had a total loss, he would be looking at major out-of-pocket expenses. Even conservatively,  let's say the reconstruction value is $300,000, that’s still over $17,000 he must come up with. 

In the end, they chose the company that provided the greatest amount of coverage, $474,000, but not the largest increase in premiums, only a difference of $473.24 for the year. That math works out to well below the average fancy cup of coffee at just $1.30/day. You should be re-evaluating your home policy, at least every couple of years.  This is not only one of the most cost-effective things you can do for your wallet but also for your peace of mind.

If you haven’t done a review in the last 18 months, it's time to call your agent!  If you don’t have an agent, well now you do! Reach out, there’s no obligation and I’d love to give you some peace of mind.

"It's best to try and think of insurance companies as fortune-tellers."  

Did you know many factors go into coming up with your insurance rate? Many of these factors you are probably familiar with, like accidents and tickets. Many others have nothing to do with YOU, at all, like where you live and the safety ratings of a vehicle.

​Today I'll focus on one of the factors, because it seems to be one that is often overlooked. It is the NUMBER OF MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS COVERAGE; and more recently, companies are looking at how long you've been with your current company. The more months of continuous coverage you have, the better your rate. You can certainly consider this a reward and penalty. In fact, for some carriers, this has as much, if not more, weight as tickets and accidents.

WHY you ask!? Because insurance companies like to get people riled up! Obviously, I'm joking. 

It's best to try and think of insurance companies as fortune-tellers. They are constantly trying to predict the future and the chances of "something" happening. They do this by looking at the past via data and statistics. When you have a coverage gap, there is missing data. They don't like this, because they don't know what happened during that time (most companies will forgive up to 30 days of a gap). For an insurance company, this can be disconcerting, because this is the land of the lost, which means less ability to be a good fortune teller.

The moral of the story is, do everything in your power to keep insurance in place. This could equate to hundreds and thousands of dollars over the years. Keep your carrier, or better yet your agent, in the loop! Don't just assume they can't, or won't, help. If you have a good agent, trust me, they want to keep you, and so does the carrier. If you have an incapacitated vehicle or don't have one, there are coverages specifically for that. I'll address those in another post. 

I highly encourage you to work with a, as Dave Ramsey says, good high octane agent. We will guide you through coverages that make the most sense for you, not us, and go to bat for you with the carriers. If you haven't done a review of your policy coverages, there's never been a better time.

​When you've been in this industry, as long as I have, you see a lot. The good so good, it's beautiful, and the bad so bad, I'd consider it nefarious, and everything in between. Long before I was an insurance professional, I was a consumer of insurance and obviously still am. Remembering that, I would say, is one of my greatest strengths and a differentiator to be sure. I am very good at viewing things through both my professional and consumer lens. 

​As a professional, I truly believe my job, to put it simply, is to provide the consumer with information. Not to sell or convince you of anything, but to simply tell you the truth. I think lots of us, as insurance purchasers, don't know the truth. I believe some of us think we do, some of us just don't care, but I can assure you it is better to know.

There are many truths when it comes to insurance. In my humble opinion, one of the most important is that you should always LEAD WITH LIABILITY! Please allow me to share a story with you:

I recently worked for Allstate in a local agency, and we had a customer we'll call Steve. Steve was coming up on his first renewal with us, which meant he had only been with us for about six months. When he initially called into the office, he requested the minimum Liability limits, "only what I need to be legal," which in Texas is only 30/60/25. This means you only have $30K for injuries per person, $60K for injuries total, and $25K for property damage. Our best practice in that office was to suggest 100/300/100, which I agree with as a good starting place. Steve said no, "only what was requested."

We were generally pretty good about doing a review at renewal to make sure nothing had changed. Upon the review, we again broached the subject of better coverage. This time, Steve agreed to see what the cost difference was. Turns out only about $15/month, he still said no.

About three months into his renewal, Steve was involved in a car accident, for which he was at fault, and severely injured a young lady in the other car. Of course, a claim was filed and paid. The problem Steve ran into is that the young ladies injuries were upwards of $100K, but he only had $30k of coverage for injuries and $25k for property damage.

Unfortunately, that difference between the $100K and $30K doesn't just go away. In fact, Steve is now personally responsible for that difference. So, what does that mean in Texas? Well, it could mean several things, none of them good. While they can't technically garnish your wages, once that money hits a bank account, it's fair game. In Texas, they can't take your house, but they can take other assets, or at least forcibly remove/sell them. They could also suspend your license and/or require something called an SR-22, all of which costs you more money!

So, let's get back to speaking truth. The truth is, that $15/month Steve thought he was saving ended up costing him nearly $70K. Believe me, few people understand the "love/hate" relationship most people have with insurance better than I do. This is just one of the reasons there should be a little more LOVE and a lot more TRUTH for insurance.

Now I know this has nothing to do with Insurance or Risk Management, and I promise the rest of these will, but it wouldn't be right to start this thing any other way!

There is one person above all else that I must thank, and that is my beautiful, thoughtful, caring, funny, love of my life, very pregnant, wife, Erin. Don't get me wrong I'm not sitting here saying that it's been sunshine and roses or rainbows and unicorns or clear skies and fairy dust, actually quite the opposite at times. Sorry, no details today but that's the point! With all we've been through she's still here, by my side, holding my hand, kickin’ my ass, and being that strong woman behind her good man. Now more than ever! We don't know what the future holds but what I'm certain of, is we can face any of it together. THANK YOU, Erin M Bertini! I love you! Always and Forever!