Google fonts script August, 2019 - White & Associates Insurance

I was recently considering a “training” bike for my 2-year old grandson. Naturally, he is going to need the perfect Paw Patrol helmet to go with a perfect Paw Patrol bike. I decided to browse the web and noticed the majority of the helmets were “one-size-fits-all”.  Now, I don’t know a whole lot about bike helmets, but I can definitely tell you that a 2-year old’s head is a lot smaller than a 6-year old’s head and one-size certainly is not going to fit all.

Think of homeowners’ insurance in the same way. There is no “one-size” for insuring your home. In fact, according to FEMA, 64% of homes in the US are under-insured. In order to be certain that your home is properly protected, your insurance must be tailored to your specific home, your specific needs and your specific family. Below are just a few important questions to think about when evaluating your homeowners’ insurance.

Do you need REPLACEMENT COST or ACTUAL CASH VALUE Coverage?

  • Answer – it depends on what you want your claim payment to be if something happens to your home or stuff.
    • Replacement cost is the amount of money it will take to rebuild your home just as it was before it was destroyed, or to purchase new items if your old ones are damaged or stolen. Replacement cost insurance is not always the default option when buying home insurance. It is possible that you may have replacement cost coverage on the structure of your home, but your “stuff”, like electronics and furniture, do not have replacement cost coverage.
    • Actual cash value coverage is the alternative to replacement cost coverage. It will only pay for today’s actual value of your home and stuff. The actual cash value of your items is almost always lower than the replacement cost because things typically depreciate, or lose value, over time. For example, say you bought a television 5 years ago for $1000. The value of that same TV today maybe closer to around $100, meaning your claim payment would only be around $100 to buy a new TV. Something important to consider when thinking about needing to replace a 20-year old roof!

Do you need to tell your insurance agent about your dog?

  • Answer – YES!
    • If you have a dog or have welcomed a new dog into your family since last speaking with your insurance agent, you need to give your agent a call. Pets are covered under the liability section of your insurance policy. This policy section covers you if you are found legally responsible for some type of damage. Although we hate to even think it, every dog has the capacity to bite, especially in self-defense. Last year alone, dog bite claims made up around 1/3 of all homeowners claims and totaled over $600 million in claim payouts.  Because of the financial responsibility the insurance company takes on when insuring a home with a pet, many companies have specific stipulations regarding you and your dog.

Do I have automatic coverage for jewelry or other high value items?

  • Answer – you have some coverage.
    • Standard home policies typically have coverage for your personal property, but it is likely that there is a dollar limit set on how much it will pay for certain categories of valuable items like jewelry, firearms, cameras, art, etc. For example, there may be a $2,000 sub-limit on what your insurance policy will pay for jewelry, even though your overall personal property limit is much higher. So, if you were to lose your wedding ring and it is worth $1,000, you would probably be in good shape. But, if the lost ring was valued at $5,000, you would likely only receive a $2,000 claim payment to replace the ring.

Insurance can be a tricky thing to navigate. Find an advisor you can trust that will evaluate your specific needs and provide you with the peace of mind that you will be whole again when life does not go your way.

In today’s market, High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and Health Savings Account (HSA) popularity continues to increase as companies look to control rising healthcare costs. However, some employers are still hesitant to offer a HDHP-HSA because they do not fully understand how it may benefit their employees and their company. Often times, if a company does offer a HDHP option, many employees enroll in that plan option because of the lower price, but never set up a Health Savings Account (HSA) to go with it. It is common for employees to focus on their increased paycheck, and miss the opportunity to save for the future and/or meet the higher deductible. Our mission is to help companies and their employees fully understand what a HSA is, how it can be used and how it can benefit them. Today we are going to start with the basics.

What is a HSA

Simply put, a HSA (Health Savings Account) is a tax-favored savings account created for the purpose of paying medical expenses.

Who is eligible?

To get the benefits of a HSA, the law requires that the savings account be combined with a qualified high deductible health insurance plan which usually costs less than other health insurance plans. In 2019, the minimum annual deductible of a HSA-qualified plan for an individual is $1,350 and $2,700 for a family. The out-of-pocket max is $6,750 for an individual and $13,500 for a family. – Please note that you do NOT have to be enrolled in an employer-sponsored plan to have a HSA. Some individual health plans offered through the marketplace or purchased directly from carriers are also HSA-Qualified.

What are the benefits for EMPLOYERS?

  • Reduced Taxes
    • Employer contributions to HSAs are deductible. In addition,  these contributions are not subject to social security tax. This means employers save on every dollar they contribute to a HSA on behalf of an employee.
  • Cost Management
    • HDHPs offer employers a way to reduce premium rates, thereby buffering the rising costs of healthcare, even if they make contributions to HSAs on behalf of their employees.
  • Talent Recruitment
    • HSAs are attractive to workers. Companies of basically any size can afford to offer HSAs and attract talent in a competitive market. Moreover, a cash contribution to employee HSAs is a tangible benefit likely to be extremely popular among employees.
  • Budget Reallocation
    • The money saved by offering an HSA-HDHP plan can be used to tackle other business projects and to help the business grow.

What are the benefits for EMPLOYEES?

  • Triple Tax Advantage
    • Contributions to the HSA are 100% deductible (up to the legal limits listed below) just like an IRA.
      • 2022 Individual Contribution Limit: $3,650
      • 2022 Family Contribution Limit: $7,300
    • Withdrawals to pay qualified medical expenses, including dental and vision, are never taxed. Interest earnings accumulate tax-deferred, and if used to pay qualified medical expenses, are tax-free.
  • Flexible Contributions
    • Employees can change the amount they contribute as needed to accommodate their lifestyle and financial needs.
  • Individually Owned
    • HSAs are owned by the employee. This means that if an employee leaves a company, they can take their HSA with them.
  • Cost Management
    • HSAs provide a way to cover out-of-pocket healthcare expenses until (and even after) an insurance deductible has been reached.
  •  Roll-Over
    • Unlike a flexible spending account (FSA), unused money in your HSA isn’t forfeited at the end of the year; it continues to grow tax-deferred.
-->