Do I need an inventory of my stuff?

I get asked this question all the time. What happens if there is a fire and all my stuff is destroyed? Do I need an inventory to prove what I owned to the insurance company? The quick answer is no, it is not a requirement, however you are going to need to come up with the list of everything you lost in order to replace it. So while surfing one of my favorite sites I found a nice resource you can take a look at, http://lifehacker.com/5514470/five-best-home-inventory-tools

Lifehacker.com has put together a list of the most popular ways people inventory their stuff. i personally like the idea of a video because you can just redo it whenever you need to and there is no cost but the time it takes to walk around your house, apartment or condo.

Another thing I would like to mention is that this is not only a good idea for you personally but it may also be a good idea for your business. Take the time to make some sort of inventory and then make sure you keep it off premises, it is just like making a backup of your hard drive.

Hope this helps!

We just gave away $750 in cash!

Every year for the last few years we have run our referral program and handed out a major award at the end of the year. This year's winner is Sue B. Sue won $750 is cash and was very happy to stop in our office to have her picture taken with Tom & Sally.

We are still running the referral program for 2010 and we are now including Health Insurance referrals too! Send in your referrals and maybe I will be giving you a check next year!

American Family Increases Home Rates

I was watching Fox 6 news last night while getting ready for bed and they had their Business Journal Minute that gave some details on a rumor I have been hearing for the last few weeks. American Family Insurance is increasing their Home rates by about 10% this year. This comes after an increase of about 11% last year. The Business Journal has the short article here.

While almost every insurance companies makes adjustments on an annual basis, these increases are quite high. Most of the companies we represent are still only adjusting their rates by 1 or 2 percentage points and many of them are midwest based companies too.

Oddly enough the midwest has always been a better place for insurance companies to operate simply because we don't have the hurricanes, mud slides, wild fires, etc that the coasts get hit with on a regular basis. However, the last few years the midwest has gotten hammered with hail storms, heavy rains and bad snow storms.

These types of increases by insurance companies are one of the main reasons we are an independent agency. If one of our companies increases rates by too much we have many other companies that are willing to accept the business at better rates. At least then you as the client just have to get used to a new company, not a new agent and a new company at the same time.

As always, quotes are free and we love referrals give us a call or tell your friends. Every referral earns you a $10 gas card just for sending your friends and family to YOUR FRIEND IN INSURANCE!