Helping Joplin Now!

Sometimes it is amazing what can be done with just a mission and some focus!  My friend LeRoy is very focused and he's on a mission.  When he heard that the main terminal for the trucking company that he works for was under assault from nature along with the rest of Joplin MO, he leaped in to action. 

LeRoy is a trucker and so he started filling a semi-trailer with stuff ... makes sense, truckers driver trucks and trucks haul stuff.  But in the course of a day Leroy ran out of his own stuff to put in the truck so he said a prayer and called some friends.  Those friends brought some stuff and they all said a prayer and called their friends.

It wasn't long until they had the 1st truck filled with pallets of water, clothing, food and supplies.  Right now LeRoy is filling the 3rd, 4th, and 5th trucks ... his friends and the friends of those friends have continued to pray and bring stuff.  People (strangers) are calling LeRoy from as far away as Oklahoma and donations are coming in from the east coast and all around.  The TV news and the local papers heard about LeRoy's friends and their stuff and they started talking about it.

So now LeRoy and his band of friends (long time and newly introduced) are looking to collect 150,000 pounds of good to send to a couple of churches in the Joplin that are distributing the goods.  This has turned into a massive relief effort that is unique as it is going direct from the donors to those in need. 

If you want to help or just show your support to this little group, click on the link below and log on to facebook ... LIKE the page and keep tract of the needs for this effort.


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greene-Daviess-County-Joplin-Relief/209609692411938

What would happen ... ?

This week reminded me that my job is to ask the questions that no one wants to ask.  I'm here to say "what if?" and not in a good way most of the time.  What happens to a child if a single parent losses their life?  Would the estranged ex spouse take on raising the kids?  Would the Grand parents put off retirement to take in their grandchildren?  Would they have enough money to take care of them?

Not real fun stuff to talk about, in fact it is much like growing old (if you read my last post you know I think that getting old sucks).  But if you never talk about the possibility of your children losing their only source of income, they'll be in trouble if that day comes. 

I suggest that you call an insurance agent that you trust and talk to them, like I said our job is to ask the questions that you don't what to or even know to ask.  Many times just talking about the need is exhausting but getting protection in place for your children (or spouse) will give you piece of mind. 

Nope it's not fun but just like getting a cavity filled, it may not be fun right now but you'll feel better when you get it done.  There are lots of options but remember the best option gives you all the coverage you need!  If you can't afford what you need, something is WAY better than nothing!

Getting Old Sucks!

I know this is obvious to anyone that has moved beyond their youthful days, but it really needs to be said.  I came to this conclusion not long ago after my last eye exam.  I let Doc know that I have been seeing fuzzy for a while, he tested my eyes and said that my vision is technically 20/20 with my glasses but I had a second set of letters showing up when I look at signs.  After much testing and measuring and poking and prodding, he tells me that I have wrinkly eyes.  Now let me pause here and tell you my eye doc is Brian Steward in Lyons and Bloomfield.  As docs go he is aces, no fluff or bull just good service and advice on the health of your eyes, I trust him completely with my eye health. 

That being said ... wrinkly eyes?  I mean come on!  I'm not that old am I?  The condition is called an Anterior Basement Membrane Dystrophy ... but it's really just a wrinkly eye.  It's not too serious and the most common treatments are hard contacts or surgery, where they scrape your wrinkles off the eye (sounds fun huh?).

Needless to say I tried the hard contacts ... I won't bore you with the details but 4 office visits (1 to 2 hours each) 3 weeks of bloodshot eyes and at least one contact stuck for an hour and a half on my eye later, and Brian and I had the talk.  Maybe contacts weren't my thing.  But he suggested that I wait on the surgery until it gets worse.

I guess it's not bad but imagine seeing someone that looks familiar but you can't see the details of their face until they are 3 feet from you.  Not what someone in the business of dealing with people really wants to admit.  I wave at everyone and I can carry on a conversation for several minutes without knowing who I'm talking to for sure, sometimes I totally miss people because I can't see their features.

Driving is okay but I can't read signs no matter how big they are until I'm right on them ... GPS is the best invention ever!

I guess I take Brian's advice and wait til it gets worse before getting scrapped, so if I don't recognise you at times perhaps you'll understand, and if I get lost easily perhaps my wife will understand! 

Happy Aging!

Leave a legacy!

With the passing of a great Hoosier philanthropist (Mr. Cook) this past week, it got me thinking about leaving a legacy.  What will the future generations remember about you?  Will they remember that you supported the baseball teams for 20 years or that you helped add on to the church building?  You don't have to be a billionaire to make an impact and leave a legacy that your grandchildren will be proud of, you just have to plan a little bit.

Let's say you love basketball and you want to build a basketball court in your hometown park ... you don't have enough money to build the park and it will take you 20 years to save it up. 

What happens if you die before the end of that 20 year period?  Will someone else continue to pay into your dream account that will someday get the park a new court?  Probably not ... and the money you were saving toward it will be lost in the estate once you are gone.

A better idea is to take out a life insurance policy on yourself that names the park (or a fund set up for the construction of basketball courts) as beneficiary.  When you die, no matter if it's next week or in 30 years, the charity, club or institution that you support will receive a gift in your name that will be a legacy your grand kids and the community will brag about for decades.

How to Save Money on your Auto Insurance!

This is a topic that we hear discussed on TV ads all the time.  Isn't it weird how every company claims that customers who switched saved hundreds? 

How could every company be the cheapest?  Can you still have the coverage you need and get it cheaper?  Well the answer isn't too far off what your mom and dad told you when you were younger ... You never get something for nothing! 

First off, the TV ads you see are based on the people that switched and reported their savings ... so if 5 people saved and average of $500 when they switched and they told the company about it, then the company could use in their advertising that people who switched saved an average of $500.  That doesn't mean that everyone will save that much or even if the ones that did kept their same coverage.

If you want to save money on your auto rates you can simply cut your coverages to the state minimums and remove the physical damage coverage from your auto.  That will save you monthly ... of course if you hit someone and put them in the hospital, your insurance will run out quick and you'll be paying out of pocket for their broken bones, head wounds and nursing care, not to mention you'll need a new car so you can get to work and pay those new bills.

Insurance is about managing risk, and you have to decide if your risk of financial ruin is more important than a few dollars a month.  If you think your current insurance is too high, ask your agent if he would suggest cutting anything ... I tell my clients this one hint, if you have a car that is 10 years old or older, look up the blue book value to see if full coverage is worth it.  Many times the value of these older cars is so low that full coverage won't get you a whole lot if you totaled the car, so you can switch to liability only and save quite a bit. 

Personally I would never recommend that you lower your liability limits, because one mistake on your part would put you at risk financially with consequences that would last for many years.

J

After the Storm!

After a thunderstorm blows through, I always feel lucky.  First off, if I'm there to see the end of the storm then I survived it ... plus there is a feeling of calm once nature is done beating you down.  Of course there are times that I will have damage to deal with and sometimes my community will be suffering in the wake of what ever has blown through Southern Indiana this time.

In recent years because I'm in the insurance field, I find myself looking at the damage done by a storm and accessing the possible cost and such.  Even if I don't know the people who's home, or yard I viewing ... I will still try to imagine the cost and coverage that they would need (or perhaps not need) and what the out come would be for them in different scenarios.

It's a fun exercise for me, but the same thoughts are unnerving for the person with a storm loss.  Are you covered?  How much will this cost you?  How long will you need to wait for the repair?  As an agent I would recommend that you review your coverage each year and ask those questions.  Most of you won't remember the answers at first but it's important that you get your agent thinking about it because it's their advice that you rely on to protect your family from loss.

No one really wants to take time out of life to spend it talking about storms, wrecks, and death, but just an hour a year to review your coverage and ask (or answer) tough questions about the risks you and your family face can make all the difference when something happens to your home, or auto or even the loss of a life.

J

I WON THE LOTTERY!!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!  I don't even buy a ticket most weeks ... and I never check the numbers until days later! This is sooooo cooool !!!! I can't wait to claim it and buy something stupid!  Don't call me at work this week because I'm sooo over working and I'm totally out of ....

     GOT YOU!          Happy April Fools Day! 

Most folks don't know that the new years celebration in the late 1500's in France was a week long starting the last week of march and ending April 1st ... when this was changed by Gregorian monks around 1582 the bulk of the population forgot to check their facebook accounts for several years and didn't get the word that New Years was now only one day and on January the 1st!  So those in the know would play jokes on the "fools" that didn't know!

This good to know info may or may not be true and was brought to you buy your favorite insurance agent in Greene County Indiana - no it's me Jason!