How should I organize and store my life insurance records?

The last thing you want to happen after you die is for your beneficiaries to be unable to locate and submit a claim on your life insurance. To prevent this, you should have copies of your life insurance records in at least two places. This is to make it less likely that you’ll lose them (to fire, flood, accidental discarding, etc.) and more likely that, after your death, your beneficiaries will find them.

What information should I keep?

• The full name of the life insurance company that issued the policy
• The city and state of the home office of the company that issued the policy
• The name and U.S. headquarters of the group, if the issuing company belongs to a group of companies
• The policy number
• The date the policy was issued
• The amount of the death benefit
• The name and address of the agent/broker who sold you the policy
  The type of policy (e.g., term, whole life, etc.)
• The location of the original life insurance policy

Courtesy Insurance Information Institute   http://www.iii.org

Why should I purchase renters insurance?

Even though you may not own the building in which you live, you still have personal property as well as possible liability exposures that need to be protected. Your landlord’s insurance coverage protects his property from loss, but it does not cover your property.

In the event of a loss, could you afford to replace your personal property? If someone were injured at your residence due to your negligence, would you be able to pay for the expenses resulting from the injury? This is where renters insurance comes in. (Courtesy Virginia Bureau of Insurance)

Talk to us about renters coverage in Camas Washington. It costs less than you think to protect your valubale posessions!

Ready for college?

Getting ready to send your kid off to college? We all know the usual checklist… socks, underwear, new shoes and a haircut. But what about insurance? Coverage can vary widely from state to state. You need a local agent in Camas Washington to help.

Does your family scholar have a laptop? Is it covered? What about a stereo and headphones, or an IPod? You should consider the following:

1. The number one crime on college campuses is theft.

2. Your young adult may own more stuff than you realize.

3. You may not have a list of what to report to the insurance company if there is a loss.

4. Many items are not covered automatically under your homeowner’s policy, or there may be limits in coverage. Items such as jewelry, laptops, and some other electronics may not automatically be covered in full.

5. Claims are handled more quickly when there is an inventory of your young person’s personal property, and especially when there is photo documentation.

Flood Insurance

Floods and flash floods can occur anytime, anywhere. What’s your best defense against devastating financial loss? Be prepared! Take a moment now to learn about your risks, resources and responsibilities. Vancouver Washington and Portland Oregon residents need a local agent who can help them know more about Flood Insurance.

Buying flood insurance is the best thing you can do to protect your home, business, family, and financial security from a flood. Visit FloodSmart.gov for great information!

When you are a flood insurance policyholder:

Flood insurance compensates you for all covered losses.

Coverage is relatively inexpensive.

You can depend on being reimbursed for flood damages, even if the President does not declare a Federal disaster.

You do not have to repay a loan, as you might have to with many Federal disaster relief packages. Your covered losses are paid in full.

You can count on your claim being paid in the event of a flood loss because NFIP flood insurance is backed by the Federal government.

Your agent can help you handle your claim quickly, so that you will not have to put your life on hold if a flood damages your property. You can even request a partial payment immediately after the flood, which can help you recover even faster.

Identity Theft – Email Scams

You get them every day… emails that look official, asking you to “click here” and login to your account. Don’t do it. Legitimate corporations NEVER ask you to do this. They may send you email that informs you of things you need to know. But they will never provide a link from the email directly into a login page. Instead, they will ask you to go to a browser and visit their website directly from the Internet, not by clicking on a link in an email.The article shown below comes from www.privacyrights.org and contains helpful information:

Beware of spam (unsolicited e-mail messages) that asks for your SSN or other personal information. Many people receive e-mail messages that appear to be from their Internet Service Provider, (for example AOL or Yahoo), from a government agency like the Internal Revenue Service, from a bank, Amazon, eBay, or PayPal. The message typically says that the company or agency is updating its records or has detected fraudulent activity with your account and needs personal information from you, such as your Social Security number, account number, password, mother’s maiden name, and so on. It may direct you to an official-looking Web site through a link contained in the message.

Do not respond to such messages! These are called “phishing” scams. Although they appear to be legitimate, these messages and Web sites are scams to get your personal information. No reputable company or government agency sends e-mail messages asking for sensitive personal data. For more information, visit the following Web site: www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.