With September being Life Insurance Awareness month, we at USA Mutual Insurance wanted to inform everyone about the importance of Life Insurance. 

As we grow older, get married, build families and start businesses, we come to realize more and more that life insurance is a fundamental part of having a sound financial plan. Depending on your type of policy, life insurance is fairly cheap, which means there’s no excuse not to get coverage now. Plus, over the years, you’ll find comfort in knowing money will be available to protect your loved ones in the event of your passing. Here are a few other reasons why having life insurance is important.

TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND LOVED ONES
If your loved ones depend on your financial support for their livelihood, then life insurance is a must, because it replaces your income when you die. This is especially important for parents of young children or adults who would find it difficult to sustain their standard of living if they no longer had access to the income provide by their partner. You will also need to provide enough money to cover the costs of hiring someone to cover the day-to-day household tasks, like cleaning, laundry, cooking, childcare and everything else a growing family needs.

TO LEAVE AN INHERITANCE
Even if you don’t have any other assets to pass to your heirs, you can create an inheritance by buying a life insurance policy and naming them as beneficiaries. This is a great way to set your kids up for a solid financial future and provide for any monetary needs that will arise.

TO PAY OFF DEBTS AND OTHER EXPENSES
In addition to providing income to cover everyday living expenses, your family needs insurance to cover any outstanding debts, like the mortgage, credit cards and car loans. Other expenses include funeral and burial costs that can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. You don’t want your spouse, parents, children or other loved ones to be left with any extra financial burden in addition to the emotional burden they’re already suffering.

TO ADD MORE FINANCIAL SECURITY
Like most parents you probably want to know your kids will be well taken care of when you’re gone. You not only want them to get a quality college education, but to provide for other life ventures like getting married or starting a business. For this reason, additional coverage is absolutely essential while your kids are still at home.

TO BRING PEACE OF MIND
We can’t know when we’ll pass away. It could be today, tomorrow or 50 years from now, but it will happen eventually. No amount of money could ever replace a person. But more than anything, life insurance can help provide protection for the uncertainties in life. Without a doubt, having life insurance coverage will bring you and your family peace of mind. It’s one thing you can be sure of and you’ll no longer have to question whether they’ll be taken care of when you’re gone. Life insurance protects your heirs from the unknown and helps them through an otherwise difficult time of loss.

To make an appointment to speak to one of our Life Insurance specialists, click here to contact us.

If you have been wanting to get a a low cost homeowners insurance policy, but don’t know how to go about it, you should start by understanding the key factors that influence your rates. There are a number of variables that determine your premium prices. However, there are some that affect your premiums more than others. Right from your claims history, your deductibles, your home security solutions to your age, many factors can affect your insurance prices. Let’s look at the 3 important factors you should consider to lower your rates:

1. Location
Where you’re located can highly influence your insurance rates. Location plays one of the major roles in determining your insurance premiums. The various factors that come into play include:

• Distance from a fire hydrant or a fire station – The closer your home is to a water source or a fire department, the faster the response time in case of a fire. This will lower the chances of a total loss and thus, your insurance company will charge you less.
• Neighborhood History – If your neighborhood has a history of frequent claims, including for break-ins, vandalism or a catastrophic weather event, you’ll have to pay more. Insurance companies use zip codes to determine your premium rates. Make sure you look for a home in a locality that’s relatively safer and has less weather-related problems.
• Surroundings – Is your home surrounded by woods, big trees or other items that can be hazardous and lead to a loss? If yes, you’ll have to pay more in premiums. When you look for a house, make sure to keep the surroundings as safe as possible to get better rates from your provider.

2. Home Characteristics
The characteristics of your home will determine what kind of coverage you need and how much insurance you’ll have to buy to rebuild or replace your home in case of a total loss. The factors involved include:

• Age – Older homes cost more to insure, especially if their roofs are older as they cost a lot more to replace. Always choose a newer home to cut down on your insurance costs. You’ll also save a lot on maintenance in the initial few years.
• Structure – The type of structure (wooden or brick) can also impact your rates. Brick homes are less susceptible to losses related to wind and hail and thus, cost less to insure.
• Size – The size of your home also plays an important role in determining your rates. Larger homes cost more to replace and thus, cost more to insure. Also, if you own a large garage, it will hold a higher value of contents and be more likely to be broken into. Always remember that higher risks = higher premiums. So to get a cheap home insurance Calgary, it is better to buy a smaller house if you don’t need the extra space.

3. Insurance History
Many homeowners don’t know that the more claims you file; the higher premiums you have to pay. Even if the loss was due to a weather-related activity, your claims can keep on increasing your premiums. When determining a loss history of a customer, insurance companies usually look at the loss severity and the loss frequency. If you tend to file smaller claims frequently, the insurance company will increase your rates for 2 reasons:

• You seem like a customer who will file more claims in the future (which costs additional money to the company)
• You are not capable to prevent smaller claims at your property

The best way to get better rates on your policy is to file minimum claims and only call your insurance company if it is a major loss that you cannot afford to pay by yourself.

Give the insurance experts at USA Mutual a call today by clicking here, to see how we can help lower your Homeowners Insurance premiums.