This is my dog Sport and I love him very much. Most of the day he lays at my feet in my home office while I am working. My family is fortunate that Sport has had very few medical issues. We have had him since he was a puppy and he is now 12. I was listening to a financial talk show this past week and a caller raised the question of ‘pet insurance’ as she began to describe a $3,000 knee procedure that her dog was in need of. I was very interested. First, since I did not know... Read more →

>While I was working as a financial advisor for nearly 20 years, the most difficult part of my job was helping families when they had lost a loved one. The most tragic of these circumstances involved the death of a primary wage earner with a surviving spouse and young children. For some, their concerns were how to invest the life insurance proceeds, for others their problems were much more serious. I have encountered dozens of cases where a mother is left with 2, 3, or 4 children and the father has unexpectedly died. No sooner than a few days after... Read more →

With every house I financed in Florida, came the requirement from the lender that I purchase flood insurance. I really had little idea what flood insurance was or why I needed it when I bought my first home back in the mid 1980’s. If you have been following the news in recent days, you no doubt are aware of the floods in the Midwest. The floods currently taking place are being described as 500 year floods. What this means is that based on historical statistics, the likelihood of a flood of this magnitude is only once every 500 years! Mortgage... Read more →

According to recent studies, up to 40% of teens are waiting to obtain a driver’s license until they turn 18. Why? It can cost $200 or more per month for insurance, not to mention to soaring price of gas. What can you do to keep the costs down when your teen gets their driver’s license? 1. As with all insurance coverage, it really pays to shop around. You may think that you already have a great deal with your current insurance company, but after you add a teenage driver, your policy cost will likely double. The difference in cost when... Read more →

Comprehensive personal liability insurance (CPL), also known as umbrella liability, provides a method for individuals to carry additional liability coverage to protect against liabilities that may exceed the coverage limits on homeowners and auto insurance. The term umbrella liability is used to describe the concept of an umbrella of liability protection over an individual (that extends beyond the auto and homeowner policies). We are all familiar with the liability coverage we purchase for our vehicles and our homes, a CPL simply stacks additional coverage above and beyond those limits. As an example, if you have a maximum of $500,000 in... Read more →

If you have a vehicle that is worth less than $2,500 you should most likely opt to carry no collision or comprehensive coverage. Collision is the part of your auto policy that protects damage to your vehicle while you are driving. Once a vehicle reaches this minimal value, the cost of collision coverage becomes impractical. You are better off to simply save the money and take this risk on yourself. Comprehensive covers fire, theft, vandalism, and other losses that would not take place while your vehicle is being driven. For the same reasons as collision coverage, I would not suggest... Read more →

When buying a home many people rightly consider purchasing life insurance. The problem with buying life insurance through your mortgage company is that it will cost you much more than purchasing a simple term life insurance policy. This question has come up for years, the idea of buying an insurance policy associated with a car loan, a mortgage, a credit card, or other installment agreement. This is a huge profit center for financial institutions and many of them put a great deal of pressure on consumers to take this coverage. Rather than having multiple insurance policies, and over-paying for them,... Read more →

I just read an article on this last week in USA Today. The idea of dropping company paid health insurance and instead giving employees the money to buy their own coverage is a growing trend, but not new. For many years, I did this in my businesses. I became very frustrated with how little employees seemed to appreciate my payroll costs. I found out very quickly that we could pay an employee $200 to $250 per month in extra salary and simply discontinue our group health insurance plan and save thousands. This worked for me, since most of my employees... Read more →

The difficulty I have had over the years addressing the issue of health insurance on a radio or TV program is that it varies greatly from one state to another. In today’s blog, I will address the subject somewhat generically and also provide you with some tips to find out more details about your particular state. Before I get into how to find a good policy, I want to address the issue of how to buy health insurance inexpensively. While we all love the plans that cover everything from eye glasses to prescription drugs, the reality is that these plans... Read more →

Many renters mistakenly believe that they don’t need insurance. The common misconception is that the landlord’s insurance will protect their personal property. In a typical landlord/tenant arrangement, the landlord will purchase insurance on the physical structure of the home or apartment.  This coverage is only for damage to the structure and does not extend to personal property inside the building.  As renter, you are 100% on your own and responsible to insure your own property. The question of whether or not to have renter’s insurance at all is still a consideration.  If you are a person with modest personal property,... Read more →

You may have seen the TV ads featuring Ed McMahon and other celebrities pitching final needs life insurance. This coverage is actually just a very small whole life insurance policy (and very expensive). It also has a provision which provides for virtually no death benefit if the insured dies within the first two years of coverage.   We all know that life insurance companies make money by collecting more in premiums than they pay out in benefits. This does not mean that all life insurance is bad. There are forms of coverage though that make more sense than others. Final... Read more →

We start with the premise that everyone needs a Last Will and Testament, properly prepared by an attorney in the state where you live. I do not recommend using a Will kit or online substitute. As I have said in my seminars, you can’t come back from the grave to correct mistakes you made in your Will. A family with children needs a Will, most importantly to establish a successor guardian for the minor children. If a tragedy were to happen, you want to be sure that your children are going to be raised by the individual you have selected... Read more →

I am not an advocate for substantial life insurance policies on children. If we go back to my premise that life insurance should be used primarily as a mechanism to replace lost income, children are not good candidates for life insurance. I do suggest carrying small life insurances policies (less than $10,000) on a child to cover the cost of a funeral if a tragedy were to happen. In my case, the way I have done this is through an add on to my own life insurance policy. Ask your life insurance provider about adding small policies (known as “riders’)... Read more →

I have received this question many times and I wish there was a perfect answer. Of course, there is no greater control over a teenager than to have the authority to take away their car, but having your name on the title can be very risky. In the event of an accident, the driver and the owner of the vehicle can be sued. By putting the title of the car in your child’s name, it would be difficult for you to end up being sued if they were at fault in an accident. There are still some legal theories upon... Read more →

Comprehensive personal liability insurance (CPL), also known as umbrella liability, provides a method for individuals to carry additional liability coverage to protect against liabilities that may exceed the coverage limits on homeowners and auto insurance. The term umbrella liability is used to describe the concept of an umbrella of liability protection over an individual (that extends beyond the auto and homeowner policies). We are all familiar with the liability coverage we purchase for our vehicles and our homes, a CPL simply stacks additional coverage above and beyond those limits. As an example, if you have a maximum of $500,000 in... Read more →