Author Archives: spivey

As Hurricane Irene approaches, it’s looking more and more like the Carolinas are in store for a brutal pounding. Forecasters are now predicting that Irene will make landfall late in the week as a very large and very powerful storm. The question remains, are you prepared for the possible damage and destruction that may occur? Do you have the proper North Carolina homeowners’ insurance coverage to ensure adequate protection in the instance of damage to your home and valuables? Continue reading for some safety tips and wise instructions to ready you and your family for the first major hurricane that we’ve seen in three years!

What are some of your favorite insurance commericals? Are you a mayhem fan? Does the traveler dog tug at your heart strings? We want to know which one you like the most!

Here’s a few of our favorites!

Let us know in the comments which are some of your favorites! Which company do you think does best at making insurance interesting?

So, you have your home, cars, and other possessions completely covered by your insurance policies and you’re probably thinking that you have all the coverage you could ever need…but you may be wrong! In a world where people sue over anything and everything, your primary insurance policies may not offer you the amount of coverage that you need. For example, say someone is hurt in auto accident that you cause, and they decide to sue you for the medical problems that you’ve created. Your auto insurance will only cover you to the limit that the liability portion covers, after that you’re on your own. This is when an umbrella insurance policy steps in. Umbrella policies provide an extra cushion of insurance protection when your primary policy coverage is exhausted.

Continue reading to learn what umbrella insurance is and why it may be your saving grace if you’re ever involved in a disaster.

 

Did you know that on average, uninsured families can only afford to pay in full for approximately 12 percent of hospital stays they may experience? According to the Insurance Journal, nearly two million uninsured Americans are hospitalized each year resulting in about $73 billion of bills that are left unpaid annually. That number is then reflected on those who do have health insurance by shifting it into higher costs for them and their employers, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

While there is no way for you to fight back against the uninsured hiking up your insurance premium, there are some other ways that you can help yourself and save money! Continue reading for a handful of easy ways to make your health insurance more affordable…

Source: Stay Smart, Stay Healthy

 

With the economy down, people are resorting more and more to insurance fraud as an easy and quick way to make some money. However, this means insurance companies are cracking down more and more.  There is now a wide-established list of “red flags” (also known as “suspicious loss indicators”) that raise an insurer’s suspicion to spot potentially bogus claims. Take it from Tom Welsh, a member of the National Insurance Crime Bureau, “”The industry has many, many, many years of experience in detecting insurance fraud; don’t try it because it’s just not worth it.”

Not only does insurance fraud make victims out of insurance companies, but also their customers too. In the United States alone (excluding health insurance fraud) insurance fraud exceeds $40 billion annually! That price is paid by you and me in higher annual insurance premiums than you deserve, just because companies have to account for money lost to fraud. Therefore, as a consumer, insurance scams should concern you since the cost is passed directly on to you in the form of higher rates. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, fraud adds 25% to property and casualty insurance rates!

What is insurance fraud and what can you do to help fight it? Continue reading to learn more!

Purchasing and owning a home is one of the biggest investments a person can make in their lifetime. In fact, a residence is often times the largest asset ever owned by a person. Therefore, the question begging to be asked is why would someone sacrifice on the amount of coverage they have just to save a couple of bucks? Most homeowners are aware that their house faces natural dangers everyday that can result in severe damage or complete destruction. However, according to CBS News statistics in 2009 showed that about 64% of American households were underinsured with roughly 27% less coverage then they needed. That means that if a person’s home were to be destroyed, their insurance would only cover around 75% of the costs to rebuild it. Is that a price your willing to pay just to save a measly amount of money today?

Most homes are owned under mortgages and lenders tend to require homeowner’s insurance, but they only require it to the full value of the loan rather than the full replacement value of the home. The underinsured problem isn’t an issue for minor damages to a home, but is truly exposed when a catastrophe occurs resulting in major damage to the point of the residence needing to be rebuilt. When this happens, homeowners face excessive out-of-pocket costs because their insurance doesn’t provide the money needed to reconstruct.

So the question remains, how can you avoid the financial crisis that could transpire with inadequate insurance coverage for your much-loved home?

As August approaches its time to let the truth hit you, your son or daughter just graduated high school and now they’re about to leave home and enter college in little over a month. That’s a scary reality and I’m sure the first thought that enters your mind is where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday you were watching them take their first step, and now they’re fleeing the nest and going off on their own. They grow up too fast, but all you can do is watch and keep them safe!

However, while you can’t physically protect your child anymore once they go away to school, you can prevent a financial hardship for both them and yourself by ensuring that they are fully covered in all areas of insurance. Continue reading to learn about what you need to check up on insurance wise once your child makes the leap to becoming a full-fledged college student!

With the economy at a low and people searching for ways to save money and lower household bills, usage-based auto insurance (UBI) is the latest trend. If you don’t put many miles on your car or you are a low-income driver, the pay as you drive insurance movement could offer you great advantages. Starting in California in 2009, drivers began to have the option to purchase insurance based on a per mile rate. While the premium still takes into account factors such as age, gender, territory and driving history, the rate may be discounted if a person drives during a safer time of the day and less often. The pay-as-you-drive policy is more or less like your electricity or cable bill, with the premium being determined by how many miles you drive a month or year. But, is this option as good as it sounds? If so, why aren’t all states offering it and getting rid of the standard rate premiums for auto insurance that we are accustomed to?

Why should you use an independent insurance agency like Spivey Insurance Group for all of your North Carolina insurance needs? Because nobody knows Charlotte insurance better than us! Every day we work with customers to find them the best and cheapest policies ranging from North Carolina life insurance to NC business insurance. Our helpful agents find the best car insurance for our Charlotte, NC customer’s daily according to their needs, and we search high and low for NC home insurance that fits your personal situation!

So you’re still a little skeptical and don’t know why an independent agency like Spivey is your best option? Then continue reading to hear some more reasons why we are your best choice for all of your Carolina insurance needs!

Most parents agree that a major goal in their life is to see their child attend and graduate from a good college in order to go on to be successful and happy with a great job. However, with how the economy is these days, college tuition for your kids is an extremely scary thought.  And I know what some of you are thinking, my kid is only 2 or 3 so why in the world would I start worrying myself sick about their college which is so many years away? Because starting to save now is the key!

How Much Should You Really Save?

From the day your child is born you will have approximately 18 years to save enough money to pay for their college tuition and other costs associated with them attending such as room and board, books, and such. Historically college costs have inflated at a rate of 5-8% annually, and the average return on investment will be about 7% annually according to historical returns on the S&P 500. While this may sound a bit overwhelming, the best advice is start saving early in order to be successful.

Continue reading for advice and information on how much your child’s college is going to cost you. If you aren’t sitting already, you might want to find a chair!

Fear not anymore, there are some ways that you can save yourself money at the gas pump! If you’re like me, every time your low fuel light comes on, you’re cringing over the amount of money that is about to come out of your pocket. But by using the following money saving tips and advice, you can stretch the miles between fill-ups and make your gas tank as efficient as possible.

Continue reading for advice on ways to battle back against the pump and save you money this summer!