Four Reasons I LOVE Being An Insurance Agent

We are all familiar with the lawyer stereotype where lawyers don’t care for anything but making as much money as possible.  (Just for the record, the lawyers I know are nothing like that.)  Slightly less popular is the insurance agent stereotype: these suave salesmen use proven tricks and phrases to suck your wallet dry for insurance, but when it comes time to report a claim, you don’t have the proper coverage, despite the insane amount of money you spent and the promises from your agent!

It is precisely because of this stereotype that I LOVE being an insurance agent.  No, not because we at Blue Marsh Insurance live up to the stereotype, but because people are so shocked when we treat them in completely the opposite manner!  If done right, being an insurance agent can be such a rewarding experience.  Just to give you a taste, here are four things that I love about being an insurance agent:

1. Chatting with callers about insurance.  Many have tons of questions, and I enjoy answering them and hearing the “wow, that actually makes sense!
2. The peace of mind that comes from getting clients the RIGHT coverage.
3. Helping clients get everything they need through the claims process.
4. The people I work with- we have a great team here at Blue Marsh Insurance!

Gap Insurance- In Case You Don’t Like Their Commercials

Seriously though, what exactly is gap insurance?  Is there ever a reason to buy it?

Gap insurance insures the difference between your car’s current value and how much you still owe on the car.  For example, pretend you owe $20,000 on a four month old car that is only worth $18,000 because cars depreciate so fast.  There is a $2,000 difference between what you owe and what the car is worth.  You are in an accident, but the collision insurance only covers the $18,000.  If you have gap insurance, it pays for the $2,000, instead of that money coming out of your pocket.

That sounds like a great deal.  Should you buy gap insurance?  Often, no.  The only time you should buy gap insurance is when you will be owing a lot more than the car is worth for an extended period of time.  If you’ve made a decent down-payment, this shouldn’t be an issue.  Keep in mind that, if one exists, a gap will dwindle as time goes on; it does not stay a constant size.

You must buy gap insurance if you are leasing.  Lease payments are much smaller, thus resulting in a larger gap.  Because of the way the payments are set up, there will always be a gap on a leased vehicle.

Car purchases are often replete with endless recommendations from the salesman to buy gap insurance.  Instead of taking his word for it, make an educated decision!  Have you ever been in a situation where you were thankful for your gap insurance?  How about one where you were pressured into buying it and didn’t need it?

Clients And Friends- CHECK IT OUT!!

Have you ever wondered how much that diamond ring is worth?  How about that beautiful necklace that has been in the family for generations?  This September, you can find that out!  Sherlene Bradbury of Yantz & Bradbury is a Graduate Gemologist and is coming to our office this September to do jewelry appraisals.  She came in April of 2010 and everybody had a fantastic experience!

• What: Jewelry Appraisals!

• When: September 13th & 14th

• Who: The exclusive event is open to Blue Marsh clients and their friends. We are not opening the event to the general public, BUT we encourage you to invite friends!

• Why: So you can know the true value of your jewelry!

• How: To register, call Blue Marsh Insurance at (610) 590-0152, or e-mail service@bluemarsh.com. Please RSVP by August 30th.

Let us know if this is something you’re considering so that we can gauge an approximate number of people.  Hope to see you in September!

You’re Invited!

Several months ago, we moved to a new location in Birdsboro, PA. We’re now located in a new HQ in a great office built by my good friend, Kevin . I realize that stopping by your insurance agency is not typically high on the priority list, but if you ever want to talk face to face instead of on the phone, feel free to stop by the new place! We’re located right off of route 724 behind Aquabilities. Our new office has a gorgeous lobby with a small fireplace. If you’d like to meet and talk about your policy, or just catch up, we have a conference room now as well. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of Kevin walking around; he shares the office with us. Thanks for the great building, Kevin! Our new address is:

Blue Marsh Insurance
318 West Main Street
Suite #2
Birdsboro, PA 19508

If you turn into the drive where the “A” balloon is on the map (there is a Properties Hauling and Construction Services sign marking the entrance), we are the new building across from Reading Coffee Roasters.  Hope to see you around!

How in the world does my PC affect my insurance?

Isn’t my PC my computer?  Typically, yes, it is:  “PC” is a standard acronym for personal computer.  However, when we talk about “PC” in the insurance world, we mean Protection Class.  A protection class is a rating that ISO assigns to your house.  What is ISO and what are they assigning to my house?

ISO is an advisory organization that provides statistical and informational data to insurance companies nationwide.  They rate districts across the United States on a scale of one to ten (your protection class rating) in terms of fire safety.  Your insurance company uses this information in determining your home insurance premium.  The lower the rating is, typically the lower the insurance premium will be for that house.  For instance, a homeowner with a house that is a PC 5 will have a lower insurance premium than a homeowner with a house that is a PC 9.

ISO’s rating scale is based on three overarching factors:

1. Fire alarm and communications systems.  This accounts for 10% of the rating.
2. Fire department.  The fire department accounts for 50% of the rating.
3. Water supply. The availability and type of the water supply accounts for 40% of the rating.

Obviously, it is beneficial to be in a lower rated PC home so you are charged a lower insurance premium.  However, it is not worth saying that you are in a lower PC home than you actually are.  The premium will be lower, but the insurance might not even cover a claim if the truth is uncovered.  Some insurance agencies might fudge numbers to give their clients a lower premium, but it is not worth it in the end.  Make sure your agent has you properly rated!  If he has you rated as a PC 1, chances are that he’s wrong.  There is only one PC 1 district in Pennsylvania.  Most of us here at Blue Marsh Insurance live in a PC9!  Check out the graph from isomitigation.com:

For more information on this subject, check out ISO’s website.

Have you ever heard of or been in a situation where you were rated wrong for your protection class?  Was it a big deal?  Do you think it should matter for insurance premiums?  Comment and let us know your thoughts!

The Odds Are Good; The Goods Are Great

I want to take a moment and highlight last month’s winners of the $25 gift certificate through our Referral Rewards Program:  Carol Savino and Regina Hinkle.  Congratulations to both Carol and Regina!!  Your gift cards are in the mail.  And THANK YOU so much for your referrals!

This agency runs on great people giving quality referrals who have a desire to do insurance the right way.  We do not cold call in hopes of finding needles in the haystack.  Subsequently, we do not try to sell people on the cheapest policy we can, only to have them regret ever doing business as soon as they file a claim.  At Blue Marsh Insurance, we care about our customers, and know that they value excellent service and the freedom that comes with the correct policy.  We can only connect with these customers if they are referred to us, so again, THANK YOU to Carol, Regina, and all those who referred people this month.

Our Referral Rewards Program is not the lottery; the whole state of Pennsylvania is not vying for these gift cards.  Why pay for a lottery ticket when you can refer someone for free and have a MUCH better chance of winning?  I realize risk and reward factors into that a little bit… But hey, a good chance of winning $25 for doing something that costs you nothing?  Check out the Program at www.bluemarsh.com/rewards.  Think we should offer another kind of incentive for referrals?  Let us know!

High or Low Deductible Health Insurance?

If the majority of your social insecurity can be attributed to how absurdly high your health insurance deductible is, you may want to try a new plan.  However, if you can handle the dropped jaws and reactions of “you pay HOW MUCH before insurance kicks in??,”  you are probably much better off than Low-Deductible-Louis from next door thinks you are.  There is a very obvious advantage to having a low deductible health plan:  the low deductible.  However, everyone’s situation is different.  Depending on yours, a high deductible health plan might actually make more sense.

Let’s bring monthly premiums into the equation.  Often with a high deductible health plan, the monthly premiums are much lower than with a low deductible health plan.  This means that if you are in good health and have little to no need of ever going to the doctor sometime soon, a high deductible health plan might be better for you!  After all, what good is a low deductible if it’s hardly ever used and costs a ton of money every month?  Of course, nobody can predict the future.  Accidents happen, and when they do, the high deductible can seem brutal, but the low monthly premium often makes it worthwhile.  Do a little bit of number crunching before you decide to bail on your high deductible health plan, and talk to us about it!  You might be able to save as much as 40% or more in your premium each month by choosing a high-deductible plan.

Comment and tell us about your health plan.  Do you have an HDHP or an LDHP?  Are you happy with it?  What would your ideal (but realistic) health plan look like?