Life Happens 365 - Are You Managing the Risk?

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr If you own or lease an automobile you undoubtedly have auto insurance.   That’s because sometimes bad things happen to good drivers.   That being said, auto coverage isn’t one policy.   There are really a number of insurance components combined to cover you, your passengers and the public from most everything that can happen if you’re involved in an auto accident.   There’s the collision component that helps repair or replace your vehicle after an accident causes damage.   There’s uninsured motorist coverage that’s designed to kick in if the driver of any car that hits yours either doesn’t have insurance or is carrying too little to cover the cost of the accident.   There’s personal injury protection that’s designed to reimburse you for any medical costs incurred in an accident.   There’s also liability insurance that most states require you to carry to help pay for medical expenses and/or property damage sustained by anyone other than your

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Good Free Photos A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog entitled, “Insurance Agents are Masters of Disasters” that extolled the virtues of contacting the people who know how to deal with calamities of all kinds.   This week, I want to take one additional step to show you how to prepare for a disaster that is all too common here in sunny Florida: Hurricanes.   In the past four years the Sunshine State has weathered two hurricanes that created more than $70 billion in damages.   While insurance can help mitigate the damage wrought by named storms like Matthew and Irma, what many homeowners and business owners don’t know is with a little foresight and preparation they can take a few steps that can both reduce the amount of damage done to their property, as well as making sure they get every penny that’s coming to them when they file a property damage claim with their insurer.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr To say that the Coronavirus has had an impact on the economy is an understatement.  Many businesses are either completely closed down or have laid off many of their employees.  The country is on the brink of a recession.  During the last few weeks alone more than 17 million unemployment claims have been filed.  This makes it the highest rate of unemployment since the Great Recession.  While all Americans hope and pray that the government’s enforced lockdown will end soon, for those of you who have lost their source of income, this may come as too little too late.  To help give you a leg up on what the feds are offering other than a one-time payment of $1,200, I did a little research to let you know what’s currently available, how much you can expect to get paid and how to apply for benefits.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy pixabay Everyone is currently fixated on the Coronavirus crisis.  Change is happening so fast that hardly anyone has time to catch their breath before the next government edict is issued that further restricts our ability to live and work as we did only a few weeks ago.  Everywhere you turn is yet another prediction of doom and gloom that threatens to disrupt not only our lives but the economy as well.  While the current health disaster is daunting, I just want to remind all my readers that it isn’t unprecedented.  Recently the world has been getting used to disruptions caused by flood, fire and storms that have caused massive damage and loss of life.  While most people get taken by surprise by unexpected calamities, insurance agents like me are used to dealing with disasters every day.