MISS BETH AND SMALL TOWN LIVING

Chris and Beth at Monticello Family Express

Our small town Family Express – just proved to me why small-town living is the only way for me…

A few weeks ago, I was having “one of those” days. I over scheduled myself and was hopping from one meeting or appointment to the next all day. I had also agreed to fill in and help with a kid’s Jiu-Jitsu class right after work. Having skipped my normal lunch hour, and knowing I wouldn’t be home for dinner until around 9pm, I knew I had to go get a bite to eat and save the kids from seeing me in my hangry state of mind. I rushed from my office at about three in the afternoon for a grab-n-go type lunch from Family Express. As I approached the counter with all my goodies in hand, I realized my wallet was left on my desk back at the office. The clerk, who I came to find out is named Beth, from behind the counter, saw my disappointed expression and asked me what was the matter. I told her I had forgotten my wallet and had no cash on me, none whatsoever. She smiled and beckoned me to be rung up anyway. She said I could come back later to pay. Reluctantly, and humbly I accepted; it was, of course, the kids I was thinking of and trying to shield them from the effects of my hangriness they would encounter in just a matter of hours. When I returned the store later that evening to pay, I asked Beth why she made that offer to me. I’m not in there all that often and I know she did not know me personally. She simply replied, “Because this is Family Express, and we love our community”. Yes, Monticello is small town, I’m proud of our small town with local businesses filled with great people. I know there is no other way for me.

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“Do I have Enough Insurance?”

To be honest, I don’t know if you have enough. I don’t even know if you are paying for more coverage than you need. But let’s ask ourselves a couple of questions before we dive deep into finding these answers.  I often hear people talk about ‘full coverage’; what does that mean to you? Do you assume it means that everything will be covered by your policy after an auto accident – – – no matter what?  Do you believe that your policy will pay for the other persons injury, no matter what the extent or length of time it takes for the other person to fully recover? Or does “full coverage” simply mean that your automobile has coverage for if, or when, it is damaged?

“Full coverage” is a term that I try to not use when discussing insurance with my clients.  It’s a widely used term yet, there is no set definition.  All to often people believe it means one thing just to find out later, it doesn’t. In order to address the question, “am I paying for too much insurance”, we actually need to focus on your liability insurance. The question now becomes, “how much liability insurance do I need”; and better yet, who decides what is ‘enough’ versus ‘too much?’

I sometimes suggest you buy as much as you can afford or as little as you can stand to lose. Simply put, ask yourself what is at risk if you do not have enough liability insurance to cover all the costs associated with an accident you are found to have caused. Nobody can predict how a major claim will turn out – but the very best you can do is protect yourself and your family by insuring for the worst-case scenario.  Isn’t that what insurance is for?

Back to the question:  How much liability insurance do I need?  Another way to think about it is to consider what you have.  Did you save up a nice nest egg? Do you have a steady income? How much equity have you built into your home? These considerations may help in deciding to keep or even increase your liability limits to prevent using these hard earned funds to pay off a liability to another. You can also consider what you want someday. Do you want to buy a home? Would you like a newer car? Do you hope to help your children with college costs or plan to retire soon? How would low liability limits on your auto policy, which did not satisfy an injured needs and then had to be paid out of your future savings, offset your dreams?

If nothing else, I hope this encourages you to review the limits on your policy. I also hope you see that there could be a real cost to not having enough liability insurance. People are often shocked to learn that increasing their liability coverage on their auto policy doesn’t increase the premium by only a mere few dollars. Give us a call for a quick review of what you have, or to learn what you don’t have, in your auto policy! Don’t wait to be surprised and find out it is too late to make a change.

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2021 COLLEGE GRADUATES

ISAAC VENTERS
2021 PURDUE GRADUATE OF THE SCHOOL OF POLYTECHNIC

HUNTER HAYGOOD
2021 PURDUE GRADUATE OF THE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS

If you can’t take pride in your kids, then who can you take pride in? We are not ashamed to say that we are so proud of all our kids. Everyday of the week someone could walk in our doors and ask any one of us here in the office about our children and someone would have a story to share about at least one of the kids, no matter their age (sorry kids, if you are reading this, it is true, we do talk about you). Each child is a gift, and each child brings a joy to our hearts. Every stage, from newborn to adulthood, they continue to add a new dimension to our lives. The two young men you see here in our spotlight, are just two of our adult children, who we could not be more proud of! The graduating class that they were a part of, which goes for students all across the country and the world, made it through the craziness of colleges shutting down, being forced to study without the support of peers and professors, inability to accesses campus resources, losing jobs, losing loved ones-to death and distance, being sent away from where they were living, losing college credits, and wildly important to this class was the ability to interview for jobs (no career fairs, no interviews being done to no interviews being done until it was apparent furloughed employees were put back to work before new hires were brought on, to no economic blueprint to go by for how/what/when things would get back to “normal”). Isaac, pictured first, graduated just a few months before Hunter. Their paths are leading them down different roads; Isaac is working as a Process Coordinator and Hunter has been doing online entrepreneur sales while awaiting word of his dream job in Chicago. To both of our families, we were so happy that we were able to spend more time around the boys. We hated that is was due to something as terrible as COVID, but being able to spend even a little more time and have them be present in our lives, was a gift to us – but maybe not them! Maybe one day they too will see the intrinsic value we measure every hour, day, week, month, and year we get to be with each of them. Congratulations Hunter, Isaac, and all the graduates who braved the storms of 2020/2021.

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As a survivor of WWII in Eastern Europe under the Nazi regime I have reflected on how my very brave parents did not give up.  They fought with absolute unwavering determination that we would survive.  When I was 16 my mother showed me scars on her abdomen and her shin.  I wondered: “why is she showing me this?  Did she have surgery I never knew about?  Then she explained that when she was pregnant with me, she had been running through a field where stalks from crops were sticking up. She was being pursued by an enemy plane for target practice.  She told me she fell and one of the stalks partially pierced her side and a bullet “nicked” her shin.  Her next words were, “I prayed that my baby, you, was not harmed.  God answered my prayer and here we are….together.  She hugged me and I saw a couple tears trickle down her cheek and then she went outside to work in the garden.

I was stunned and wondered:  Why are you telling me this now? I began to recall us living in a Displaced Persons Camp till I was almost 8 years old and getting seasick on the ship that brought us to this wonderful country on December 23, 1951.  I thought about how much she insisted that we all go to church EVERY  Sunday.  No excuses unless you were sick.

Her strong faith and never give up attitude is what I look to each time a challenge crosses my path.  My faith  and God’s promise that He is standing and walking beside me each and every day upholds me.

My mother was and Oral Surgeon and my father was a math teacher before the war.  Both of them loved their careers.  The war and ending up without a homeland for 6 years did not make them give up.  They both worked very hard.  Due to language barriers and lost documents of their degrees, they reconciled to do whatever was available to provide housing and food for our family of four.  My father worked for at a railroad maintenance shop painting box cars in 100 degree weather during the summer months. My mother did domestic work for various clients where we reaped the benefit of getting their leftover food.  We loved it!

They and many others from their generation are examples of perseverance and true grit.  I am who I am today due to witnessing their resolve to never, never give up and find a way through each challenge life gives.

So I say to you:  look for the positive, be joyful in the little things, show love to those around you, hug your children and tell them you LOVE them. God loves each and every human being he has created.  Even those we find difficult to love.  Do not let this pandemic dictate how you live.  Be a beacon to those around you.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”  (Phil 4:6-7)

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!???? Anyone get a little something special? Anyone know the term Inland Marine? Well today it does not have to do with water, but any item of higher than normal value. If you got something special this weekend or have special things at home that you never added to your policy give us a call to get those things covered right away!

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 -info and images taken from USA Today

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What does umbrella insurance cover?

Umbrella insurance provides an additional layer of personal liability protection¹ on top of your liability insurance. So what does that mean? Here’s a scenario to help explain:

You’re driving on a rainy night when traffic stops abruptly ahead of you. Because of the conditions, you can’t stop fast enough and rear-end the car in front of you, seriously injuring the two occupants. The total cost of their medical care is $720,000. Your auto policy pays $500,000 and repairs their vehicle, but that leaves $220,000 in unpaid bills for which you are legally responsible.

This is where umbrella insurance kicks in. A Safeco umbrella policy provides an additional layer of protection when you don’t have enough primary insurance coverage. Without an umbrella policy, your savings and future income could be in danger. But, in this scenario, your umbrella policy will pay the $220,000 in outstanding bills, plus associated legal costs as well.

A Safeco umbrella policy can be used with any other Safeco policies you have, along with most policies purchased from other insurance companies. This includes policies covering your boat, motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile, or other toys.

Why should you add umbrella insurance to your policy?

Having $500,000 of liability coverage sounds like a lot of protection, but when you think about the high cost of emergency care, surgical bills, post-surgery care, rehab, pain and suffering, lost income, and more the costs can rise rapidly. Multiply that by several individuals and it’s easy to exceed $500,000.

A personal umbrella policy begins where damages for covered claims could exceed the underlying policy limits. It’s also a critical part of your overall risk management plan because it provides an additional layer of protection when you need it.

Without an umbrella policy, your assets, savings, and even future income could be in danger because you could be required to pay all costs over your policy’s liability limit. And umbrella covers much more than just auto accidents. That’s why it’s essential in helping protect your family.

It’s also affordable. Quality coverage costs as little as a dollar a day. Let us help by getting you connected to a quality A rated carrier like Safeco.

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We are lucky that we have Jeff Watts and the City’s Water Department knocking on our office door at 7am reminding us to keep our water running! Thanks guys. You are the best. Just in case you don’t have a Jeff, and this happens to you, read what Celina has to say so you don’t have a catastrophic claim, a horrible mess, time lost, and one big migraine. Thawing frozen pipes safely

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