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No Matter Your Age, When is the Best Time to Get Life Insurance?

No matter how we’re doing from a health or financial perspective, we all need insurance. The younger you are when you buy life insurance, the better, but no matter the age, you’re never too early or too late. Maybe that’s why we’ve all been advised to buy insurance at some point in our life. Why? Insurance acts as a safety net that financially protects you and your family when your chips are down. So when is the best time to get life Insurance?

Young to old. When is the best time to buy life insurance?

Maybe your young and healthy with no fears in the world? No matter how we’re doing from a health or financial perspective, we all need insurance. The younger you are when you buy life insurance, the better, but no matter the age, you’re never too early or too late. Maybe that’s why we’ve all been advised to buy insurance at some point in our life. Why? Insurance acts as a safety net that financially protects you and your family when your chips are down. So when is the best time to get life Insurance?

Buying Life Insurance in Your 20s

Our 20s are the best time to buy affordable term life insurance coverage. At a younger age, you'll qualify for lower premiums. And as you get older, you could develop health problems that make insurance more expensive or even disqualify you from purchasing a plan. Generally, when you’re younger and healthier, you pose less risk to an insurer, which is why you’re offered the most affordable rates.

Proceeds Could Help Beneficiaries Pay:

  • A mortgage or housing payments that your partner couldn’t make without your financial contribution

  • Other cosigned debts like a private student loan, which could be left to your family to pay off

  • Education and childcare expenses for children

  • Final expenses

If you’re in your 20s and single with no financial dependents, life insurance may not be something you need to allocate funds toward yet. Remember that life insurance is not a one-time purchase. You should revisit your coverage needs when you have more kids, take on more debt, income increase, or any other life stages which have a financial impact. If you only need a small policy now, you may want to consider purchasing more coverage as your lifestyle changes.

Buying Life Insurance in Your 30s

By the time you hit your 30s, life insurance becomes more important than ever. From a statistical point of view, you’re more likely to have more responsibilities; married, own a house, have a few kids, drive a couple cars, and more bills to pay. With good health likely (hopefully) still on your side, your 30s are one of the best times to assess your life insurance needs to get a good life insurance rate. Even if you purchased a small policy in your 20s or get life insurance coverage through your employer, it’s likely time to determine if you need more.

Proceeds Could Help Beneficiaries Pay:

  • A mortgage that your partner couldn’t pay off without your financial contribution

  • Protect a stay-at-home mom or dad who solely relies on your income

  • Day-to-day childcare expenses, along with future ones like extracurricular activities and college

  • Serve as a financial cushion to keep your family from tapping into savings to cover the bills

  • Medical bills or other final expenses

Many experts suggest buying a policy that’s at least five to 10 times your annual income. The recommendation can go as high as 15 times your income if you have a partner, children and other liquid assets.

Buying Life Insurance in Your 40s

Age matters to insurers, and you want to make sure you find an insurance provider with affordable life insurance options that align with your individual needs. If you’re uninsured or under-insured, your 40s are the time to adjust your life insurance needs before rates get high.

Fortunately, Americans are living longer, and your 40s are still a time when you might be in excellent or very good physical health, therefore, coverage can still be very affordable. If life insurance seems too expensive, try tweaking your policy details. Choosing a policy with a shorter term or a lower level of coverage can help you save money without preventing you from buying the coverage you need.

Proceeds Could Help Beneficiaries Pay:

  • The remainder of a mortgage that your partner couldn’t pay off without your financial contribution

  • Make up for a gap in coverage because of increased earnings and a lower amount of coverage from when you were bringing home a smaller salary

  • Protect a stay-at-home mom or dad who solely relies on your income

  • Day-to-day childcare expenses, along with future child care expenses like extracurricular activities and college

  • Serve as a financial cushion to keep your family from tapping into savings to cover the bills

  • Medical bills or other final expenses

Choosing a policy with a shorter term or a lower level of coverage can make a significant impact on saving money while still getting ample coverage.

Buying Life Insurance in Your 50s & 60s

There’s no simple way to put this, but buying life insurance in your 50s and 60s will cost more. That said, if you have assets and financial dependents who rely on your income, you shouldn’t bypass coverage. Research shows that most Americans significantly overestimate how much life insurance will cost, and we’re pretty sure coverage in your 50s would qualify as one of those scenarios.

Even into your 60s, it’s not too late to buy life insurance. The main difference between life insurance in your 60s and everything before that point is that you likely won’t be able to buy a policy that has a term length over 20 years. Regardless, make sure to experiment with a few different scenarios before you settle on one to meet your needs. Slightly changing the term length or coverage amount could result in a significant drop in pricing.

While not inexpensive, if it’s providing peace of mind and necessary coverage, it’s probably worth it.

Life Insurance When You Need It

Putting age aside, if you have people who rely on your income, there’s a good chance your family could benefit from the protection of a life insurance policy. Be proactive and lock in an affordable rate. Be prepared for the unexpected. Get a free quote or compare policies by speaking with one of our insurance consultants. It’s our job to seek out the best coverage from the best providers so we can guarantee you’re paying the best price every year.

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You’re a ‘High Risk’ Driver?! Can You Get Lower Insurance Rates?

When you compare a premium to how costly it can be to drive without insurance, paying for a policy isn’t bad at all. Remember to be patient and continue practicing safe driving in the meantime. Get a free quote or compare policies by speaking with a Sanders Insurance representative. It’s our job to seek out the best coverage from the best providers so we can guarantee you’re paying the best price every year.

You may have a driving record that isn’t perfect (it happens), and you’re trying to get car insurance. The good news is, you can find affordable high risk car insurance if you look in the right places. First, understand why you’re considered a high-risk driver.

High Risk Driver Traits

  • Recently received your driver’s license

  • Multiple at-fault accidents

  • Speeding tickets or other traffic citations

  • Convicted for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)

  • Owning a particularly specialized or high-valued car

  • Below average credit history.

So You’re a High Risk Driver….What Do You Do Now?

Flexible, affordable car insurance for high risk drivers does exist! The ‘High Risk’ label won’t follow you for life. As time goes on, given you don’t cause any more violations, your risk level will decrease. Of course, this varies case by case. Typically, your rates will begin to lower after being accident-free for three years. This is dependent on your particular reasons for being high-risk. For example, DUIs are more serious than speeding tickets.

Can You Bring Down Your Rate?

While high-risk drivers will see a higher cost on their insurance, there are still ways to bring it down. When you use the right research techniques or talk to the right insurance consultants, it’s easier to find discounts than you may think. Some common discount qualifiers include:

    • Not driving often

    • Renewing your insurance in advance

    • Homeowner’s discount

    • Having a short commute

Regardless, after a certain amount of time, your driving penalties (accidents, speeding tickets, etc.) should fall off your record. Then your insurer might also reward you for attending specific traffic safety schools or defensive driving courses to clean up your driving record.

Be Patient and Protect Yourself

We may not have a magic wand to make it all go away immediately, but Sanders Insurance will be able to help you significantly decrease your price over time. When you compare a premium to how costly it can be to drive without insurance, paying for a policy isn’t bad at all. Remember to be patient and continue practicing safe driving in the meantime.

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Don’t Make This Mistake Everybody Makes When Renting a Car!

Paying for a rental car accident or theft out of pocket could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Before getting in the driver's seat, make sure you're insured. Get a free quote or compare policies by speaking with a Sanders Insurance representative. It’s our job to seek out the best coverage from the best providers so we can guarantee you’re paying the best price every year.

It happens every single day when people rent cars and unknowingly waste their money. The worst part - You think you’re making the right decision and protecting yourself…but in reality, you’re buying something you don’t need!

What They Don’t Tell You

When renting a vehicle, the sales representative is going to offer additional insurance coverage and if you have Full Coverage for your own vehicle, you DON’T need to buy theirs.

This is what representatives at the car rental agencies will never tell you. They will ask you if you would like to add the additional coverage…so you easily agree to a sale, when they should be asking you about your current coverage to make sure you don’t purchase something you don’t need.

Know What You Own

Your personal car insurance may cover everything you need without the additional fees. Rental car insurance costs vary depending on the vehicle and location. But, simply put, it’s expensive — overall, prices range from $30 to $60 per day for rental insurance. Below are a few average prices for coverage per day from popular rental car companies.

If your own insurance or your credit card does cover car rental insurance then paying for additional insurance could add up to additional unnecessary fees! One that could add up to a $200 mistake - like a family that already had primary and secondary coverage through their credit card and personal car insurance.

How Much Are You Saving?

Think about these prices for a minute………Even if you have a full coverage policy with high limits, you probably pay much less than $60 per day (which would be $1,800 per month) for your personal auto insurance.

As long as your trip is for personal travel. Your personal coverage limits and deductibles will apply. If it’s a business trip, then your personal auto insurance policy might not cover any type of damage or injury unless you have commercial coverage.

Protect Yourself

Paying for a rental car accident or theft out of pocket could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Before hopping into the driver's seat, make sure you're adequately insured. Get a free quote or compare policies by speaking with one of our insurance consultants. It’s our job to seek out the best coverage from the best providers so we can guarantee you’re paying the best price every year.

Other Important Policies to Consider

Home Insurance - Protect your house and your family.

Auto Insurance – We have access to all the leading insurance carriers and do the shopping for you.

Condo Insurance - protects condo units while also providing both personal liability coverage and living expense coverage if a condo becomes uninhabitable.

Rental Insurance - Safeguarding your personal belongings and keep you safe from costly liability claims

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5 Ways to Protect Your Family with Insurance

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Life is speeding up and we are all facing a lot of change happening all at once. With change comes opportunity and as you grow within your career and ability to provide for your family, having a proactive plan protecting everything you’ve created and earned is absolutely necessary.

Worst case scenario is finding out you’re not completely covered when disaster strikes. At some point in our lives, we will need to depend on someone else for help or assistance. The decisions we make now are what will make sure that person has everything they need if a worst case scenario were to unfortunately happen.

Here are 5 ways you can get started protecting your family today:

1. Be prepared with a proper homeowners insurance policy which covers everything, even the unlikeliest of scenarios

2. Add additional living expenses to your renters or homeowner's insurance if you live in an area prone to natural disasters—increasing wildfires and turbulent weather patterns will continue to bring unprecedented events worldwide.

3. Consider getting life insurance for peace of mind and as part of a long term financial strategy—protection for now and the future.

4. Be prepared for cyber attacks. Most of us do not realize how vulnerable we are to a cyber attack because we assume we are safe.

5. Look into an umbrella policy to get you even more protection than your home, auto, and life insurance policies.

The health and well-being of your family is one of the most important things in the world. To protect them, you need to make sure they have insurance coverage that can help them with their medical needs while also providing for financial stability in the event of an unexpected worst case scenario.

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What is an Umbrella Policy and Why Do You Need One?

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An umbrella insurance policy is a type of coverage that gives you more protection than your home, auto, and life insurance policies. This coverage is designed to fill gaps in your other policies by providing extra monetary protection during the worst case scenario.

In addition to protecting your home, car, and loved ones from threat of injury or death should you become disabled or pass away unexpectedly, an umbrella policy can also help cover the cost of damages to property or liability claims for bodily injury.

The cost of damage to your home or car is known as a loss, meaning the more it exceeds the limit of your home, auto, and life insurance policies, the less you get compensated. If that loss includes damages to your personal belongings, then you'll want an umbrella policy in place a few months to a year before the loss occurs.

Why Would I Want an Umbrella Policy?

Before you can know whether or not you want an umbrella policy in place, you'll need to weigh two things: (1) the costs and benefits of having one; and (2) the level of risk you think could impact your well-being.

Eventually or if the worst happens, however, and you become disabled or pass away unexpectedly in the midst of a serious illness or accident, then having an adequate level of coverage is essential. A catastrophic loss against your home, auto or life insurance will not cover the burden of property damage or liability claims.

This is how an umbrella policy can come in handy.

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