Having CBD insurance that includes both general CBD liability coverage, as well as CBD product liability insurance are vital to the longevity of your business. Without proper coverage, it only takes one small incident to put your company at risk of bankruptcy and closure. Make sure that you are completely covered for anything that could possibly go wrong. CBD Insurance Gives You Peace of Mind No matter what business you are in, having the right type of insurance is extremely important, as well as having enough coverage. In today’s business world, consumers are more likely to make claims than at any other time in history. Let’s face, accidents also happen. If you are operating a physical location, your insurance needs will differ from an online only presence. Still, this doesn’t mean that an online retailer is free from risk. Insurance helps to cover you for those risks and unexpected pitfalls that can sometimes happen. You may think you’re free of these risks if you own a website and sell products manufactured by someone else, but that’s not true at all. You can be held liable for a product that turns out to be something other than what it was labeled at the factory from which it came. You might also find that you have business losses due to mail theft and credit card fraud. These are unique to you but you also aren’t free of liability with employees are computer damages. In fact, nowadays, you’ve got to worry about servers being hacked and being liable for someone’s information being stolen. You may need specific coverage for this. Your licensed insurance agent can help guide you to the best coverage was well as the best ways to lessen your liability as well. This is why having the proper coverage to suit your business needs is paramount. Don’t try to swim in the insurance waters alone. This is something that you need a skilled agent to help you wade through. Choosing the cheapest options from an online website could land you in a predicament at some point. Also, there is much to be said about having a relationship built with an agent you’ve spoken to and who advised you of your coverage options in the first place. Whether you’re a grower who makes and labels your own products from start to finish, or a retailer who buys wholesale products for resale, you will want to be 100% certain that you’re business is properly insured. Business insurance for a cannabis related industry is full of nuances and potential pitfalls that your agent can guide you through. Great CBD insurance should include CBD general liability insurance, CBD oil product liability and include coverages for both topical CBD product insurance and ingested CBD product insurance. Since each product is used differently, there may be associated risks that vary. Make certain that you are covered. For example, hemp Liability insurance may be seen differently from cannabis general liability insurance. An agent with experience can make certain that you are given the right options to suit the type of business that you are operating. Your sales volume should be taken into consideration as well as whether you do business locally or ship nationally or internationally. International business brings with it a great deal of potential concerns that your agent can explain to you and properly advise you of. An insurance agent should be more than just an agent, they can become a trusted business advisor. Their job is to help you look ahead and view the big picture, while ensuring that you’re business is as safe as it can possibly be. Cannabis product liability insurance doesn’t need to be confusing or intimidating, it simply needs to be done right. CBD Insurance: More Than Just Liability Coverage Your agent can talk to you in specifics, which may include something referred to as E&O insurance. This stands for Errors and Omissions insurance. This is important when it comes to labeling products and website verbiage as well. Good E&O insurance will help to provide a safety net for you in the event that something is mislabeled and causes issues for a customer. Errors and omissions sometimes happen accidently. Cannabis product liability insurance may cover an issue with the product itself but the CBD E&O policy is what can possibly provide coverage to cover you for these types of mistakes. Cannabis general liability insurance is just that, general. It’s like having your basic car insurance coverage and finding out that hail damage is not included. You needed comprehensive coverage but it’s too late once the damage has been done. Turning to an agent who can walk you through the intricacies of the CBD product liability market is the best thing you can do to ensure that your business has staying power. No matter what may come up down the road, you want to be covered. Too often, people assume they are covered and find out after something has happened that they aren’t. You don’t want that to be you. Afterall, no one goes into business with the goal of going out of business over something that could have been as simple as having enough insurance coverage to balance your risks. Insurance companies have teams that handle risk assessment to determine the amounts of coverage that are ideal for niche markets and businesses. There are underwriting departments who work to ensure that you’ve got all your best practices in place to keep records safe, conceal credit card information online and so forth. This keeps their risks low too. They will work with you to help ensure that you’re doing everything in a way that keeps you in business for many years into the future, so you can focus on running your business and not worrying about all the things that can go wrong. Speak to professionals at Driscoll Insurance. They’ll help you learn what sort of insurance you need, whether you are a grower, an industrial hemp extraction facility, a brick and mortar cannabis dispensary, or an online CBD oil retailer. You may find that the costs between excellent coverage and less than adequate coverage are minimal in comparison to potentially losing your business to one accident or mistake in CBD oil product liability insurance coverage. The best practice with insurance is to have the most insurance coverage that you can afford, with the right diversity of coverages for your business. Call 412-833-1500 to speak to someone at Driscoll Insurance about CBD insurance. Help yourself sleep better knowing that they will have your back when you need them.

Car insurance is a singularly unique budget item. It’s expensive, the laws dictate you must have it, yet it’s an outlay of funds for something you hope intensely you’ll never need to use. But don’t even think about going without car insurance. In Pennsylvania, allowing car insurance to lapse earns you a suspended vehicle registration privilege for three months. Insurance companies are required to notify PennDOT when a policy is canceled. The registration plate, registration card, and drivers’ license must all be surrendered. Then you’ll pay a restoration fee and need proof of insurance before getting the registration back and driving privileges restored. Paying a steep civil penalty plus restoration fee plus proof of insurance is the only way around the three-month suspension. So what can you do to make car insurance less costly? There are many approaches to saving money on auto insurance by exploring options up front. You want great coverage but shouldn’t pay for insurance you don’t really need. Let’s look at 11 of the best practices. 1. Compare, compare, compare Similar to the realtor’s mantra of “location, location, location,” your best protection against inflated auto insurance is to thoroughly compare the rates various companies offer you. Don’t skimp on the comparison. It may seem like a pain but just do it. Comparison will reward you with lower expenses each month. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to compare. Compare apples to apples. Each quote you get should include exactly the same protection limits. Be very clear about what you want. Get the protection you need, but don’t buy into offerings that don’t fit your needs. Cheaper isn’t necessarily better. You could seriously regret protection you didn’t. Compare the offerings of multiple auto insurance companies, not just two or three. Compare online rates with quotes received via a phone call, or meeting with an agent in-person. Sometimes, but not always, online rates may have different coverage options on the proposal than you requested. Make sure you look at all of the quotes, side by side, and that they are all the same coverage options. Compare rates annually or every couple of years. You may be surprised at what you discover. Compare before your current policy ends. Some companies give an “early quoting” discount if you shop for your insurance 7+ days before you need the new policy. Compare insurers before you buy your next car. Models with safety features, cars that are deemed safer vehicles, and medium-priced cars rather than expensive can significantly lower your rates. 2. Bundle your home and any other insurance with your auto insurance Not only will you get discounts by using the same insurance company for multiple policies, it simplifies your financial communication by having just one agent. Multi policy discounts are nothing to overlook. 3. Raise your deductibles If you ended up in an accident, how large of a deductible could you manage? If it’s $1000, rather than $500, you could save quite a bit on premiums. Most people don’t need a deductible as low as $250 which is what some insurers suggest. Make sure to ask for the higher deductible figure on quotes you receive so you can calculate what deductible vs premium cost makes sense to you. 4. Lower the collision and comprehensive coverage on older cars. Once cars are well past their prime, you may want to lower either or both of these coverages. Collision is for damage to your vehicle when your car hits, or gets hit by, another object (usually another vehicle). Comprehensive is for damage to your car from other forces such as vandals or thieves, hitting a deer, fires, etc. Once your car’s resale value is low, it may not be worth continuing these coverages. You’ll most likely have deductibles (out of pocket expense) on both types. If you opt out of collision and comprehensive insurance, the best plan would be to put the equivalent of what you’re saving each month into an account that can be used toward your next vehicle. Make sure to look at what your car value is worth to weigh the options if it’s worth insuring your car. Example: you probably wouldn’t want to pay $300 / year to insure a car worth $1000 with a $500 deductible. One word of caution regarding decisions to lower or even drop coverage. There’s some coverage you do NOT want to lower because of the unknowns involved. Liability insurance is a vital coverage because you don’t know ahead of time what the stakes could be from even one single accident. The liability minimum for each state can be found online. Lowering your liability insurance on your car insurance policy may may sound appealing, but it’s a bad idea. Costly claims could put your savings at risk. Additionally, you also will want to ensure that you know the difference between full tort insurance & limited tort insurance. This is not a place to make the cut to save on your auto insurance policy. In Pennsylvania, companies offer full tort, which gives you the legal right to collect for pain and suffering if someone hits you. If you choose limited tort, you are limiting your ability to collect for the pain and suffering caused by another driver. Limited tort can be appealing as it is generally 15%-20% cheaper, but there are other coverage options on your policy that you can cut back if needed with less risk. When you choose to limit your right to sue or collect for pain and suffering - for the sake of saving some of the cost - the results could be disastrous. It’s far wiser to keep the higher liability limits, retain your rights to “full tort,” and save elsewhere. 5. Get a newer vehicle with safety features that can lower your premiums. Insurers typically reward you with lower rates if your car is crash-worthy, includes airbags, crumple-zone design, or has other features promoting safety. Compare (there’s that word again!) the make and model year of several vehicles before purchasing a new vehicle. Make sure to do this BEFORE you purchase your new car! 6. Drive safely Are you aware that risk factors are what actually determine your premiums? If you’re considered a higher risk, you’re going to pay for it. If you tend to be a lead foot, stop speeding. Speeding tickets increase your rates, and the significant ones will lead to higher premiums for years before they come off your record. Many insurers offer discounts when you are accident-free or have no moving violations. Some companies offer plug-in devices to monitor your driving habits. If evidence shows you have good habits, they’re likely to decrease your rates. 7. Make a payment in full (pay premiums for 6 months or a year at a time) This one’s pretty straightforward. It’s not that you’re getting a lower rate than other people, it’s simply that the company is willing to charge less for the premium period when you pay up front instead of monthly. Their administrative costs are lower. If you can’t pay for the entire policy premium upfront, opt in for EFT monthly drafts vs receiving a bill in the mail. A lot of carriers charge less to auto draft than mail a bill. 8. Consider using an independent agent One of the best ways to find the best auto insurance is to use an independent agent. Truth be told, it can be challenging to compare multiple insurance companies against each other. Especially when each quote might have slight changes in the coverage options. It’s easy to lose track of information and forget who offers what. Independent agents are able to shop multiple insurance carriers for you at once, ensuring that you find the absolute best insurance for your needs. Independent agents have your best interests at heart - since they are licensed with multiple insurance carriers. They are committed to finding the best overall package for you no matter what insurance company that’s with. By using an independent agent, you save time, ensure all of the quotes have the same coverage limits ( apples vs apples ) and more importantly - you only have to talk with one person. 9. Drive less Some quotes are usage based. The average vehicle is driven about 12,000 miles per year. If you have a short commute or take the bus to work, or just don’t travel very much, ask if that will earn you a lower rate. 10. Improve your credit rating Details about your credit history count toward determining your insurance rates. Why? Statistics reveal that people with higher credit scores have fewer accidents. Those with lower credit scores are associated with more car insurance losses and higher claims. They’re a greater risk to insurance companies. 11. Look for teenage and student discounts Parents are often shocked at the steep cost of insuring their kids. Rates for them are notoriously high. Fortunately, there are reductions for things like good grades or driver’s education courses needed to obtain a license. Additional courses may be offered by the insurance company. (Incidentally, even adults can sometimes get a discount by taking a defensive driving or refresher course.) If your son or daughter is away at school without a car, definitely ask insurance companies if that can lower their rates. The privilege of driving provides parents the opportunity to manage kids’ driving habits - make it clear from the beginning that unsafe driving means a loss of that privilege. There may be other less common discounts. If you have an extra vehicle, you could skip the rental reimbursement insurance you’re entitled to when a car’s been in an accident and is out of commission for repairs. Personal injury protection (PIP) may not be needed for those with great health coverage. On the other hand, there are certain coverages that are quite low, such as towing insurance, that can provide serious savings if you ever need the service. 12. Sports Cars and Classic Cars Do you have a car that you only drive 6 months a year, or do you have a classic car that you only take out to car shows? Let your agent know this - there may be some strategies that you could save some money on the premium of these vehicles. Especially, if you drive very low miles per year with the car. 13. Check on an annual policy vs 6 month policy With some companies - you have the choice to have a 6 month policy or an annual policy. Both have pro’s and con’s. With a 6 month policy, the premium for the 6 months is generally a little bit cheaper than an annual policy. With an annual policy - you are “locking” in your rate for 12 months instead of 6 months. Make sure to weigh your options when choosing your policy term. Do The Work...You Won’t Regret It It’s worth it! Make sure to call all of the insurance carriers and spend about 30 minutes with each one. It may take 5-10 hours doing it this way... OR - you can do the easy option and speak with an independent insurance agent and they will do all of the work for you. Make sure you choose someone you are comfortable with. Remember, if you end up reporting a loss, these are the folks you’ll have to work with closely until everything is resolved. Excellent insurance coverage is the prudent choice. If you ever have the misfortune of an accident you’ll be very grateful afterwards that you selected a policy sufficient for your needs. If you would like us to shop your insurance for you and see how much we can save you, fill out the form below or call 412-833-1500 . Invest ample time and effort beforehand to ensure that your insurance will meet your unique needs. You could save hundreds of dollars each year on your premiums, and have peace of mind knowing the car insurance is there if and when you need it.

Car insurance is a singularly unique budget item. It’s expensive, the laws dictate you must have it, yet it’s an outlay of funds for something you hope intensely you’ll never need to use. But don’t even think about going without car insurance. In Pennsylvania, allowing car insurance to lapse earns you a suspended vehicle registration privilege for three months. Insurance companies are required to notify PennDOT when a policy is canceled. The registration plate, registration card, and drivers’ license must all be surrendered. Then you’ll pay a restoration fee and need proof of insurance before getting the registration back and driving privileges restored. Paying a steep civil penalty plus restoration fee plus proof of insurance is the only way around the three-month suspension. So what can you do to make car insurance less costly? There are many approaches to saving money on auto insurance by exploring options up front. You want great coverage but shouldn’t pay for insurance you don’t really need. Let’s look at 11 of the best practices. 1. Compare, compare, compare Similar to the realtor’s mantra of “location, location, location,” your best protection against inflated auto insurance is to thoroughly compare the rates various companies offer you. Don’t skimp on the comparison. It may seem like a pain but just do it. Comparison will reward you with lower expenses each month. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to compare. Compare apples to apples. Each quote you get should include exactly the same protection limits. Be very clear about what you want. Get the protection you need, but don’t buy into offerings that don’t fit your needs. Cheaper isn’t necessarily better. You could seriously regret protection you didn’t . Compare the offerings of multiple auto insurance companies , not just two or three. Compare online rates with quotes received via a phone call, or meeting with an agent in-person . Sometimes, but not always, online rates may have different coverage options on the proposal than you requested. Make sure you look at all of the quotes, side by side, and that they are all the same coverage options. Compare rates annually or every couple of years . You may be surprised at what you discover. Compare before your current policy ends . Some companies give an “early quoting” discount if you shop for your insurance 7+ days before you need the new policy. Compare insurers before you buy your next car . Models with safety features, cars that are deemed safer vehicles, and medium-priced cars rather than expensive can significantly lower your rates. 2. Bundle your home and any other insurance with your auto insurance Not only will you get discounts by using the same insurance company for multiple policies, it simplifies your financial communication by having just one agent. Multi policy discounts are nothing to overlook.

“Vaping” –a slang term for vaporizing (inhaling liquid vapors) something you’d typically smoke, like tobacco. It’s a well-known fact that one of the biggest differences in life insurance premiums comes down to smokers versus non-smokers. Given the facts and numerous studies over the last 50 years that prove the multiple health issues caused by smoking, there’s little argument that increased health and life insurance premiums are justified. Most of the world accepts that. But what about people who quit using cessation aids like e-cigarettes (also known as “vaping”)? For many, it seems something short of a cruelty to overcome the daunting hurdle of a smoking habit, only to be penalized by the financial powers that be. At least for a short period. There are a small handful of insurance carriers that will meet ex-smokers-turned-vapers in the middle, but they have their requirements. Some life insurers require the ex-smoker to be cigarette-free for two full years. Some require one full year. So, a smoker who quits, but chooses to “vape” instead of smoking may eventually qualify for a lower premium if the insurer’s conditions are met. What’s the catch? The rates aren’t as low as a non-vaping, non-smoking, and nicotine-free consumer, and to an insurer, that’s justifiable too. Here’s why. Of all the substance addictions people can have, smoking is one of the hardest to quit. Studies show that relapse rates for smokers have been estimated to range from 60% to 90% within the first year. That rate does drop after two years, however, down to 19%. For most people, quitting is more successful when they use some form of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which can include nicotine, gum, patches, or e-cigarettes. While studies have shown that people who quit cold turkey have the highest long-term success rate, those that quit with an NRT device like e-cigarettes still have some success. The added incentive of money savings helps crystallize the decision to quit –and not just the money saved from not buying cigarettes. There are significant savings in life insurance premiums as well. Living healthier decreases health risk. Smoking vs. Vaping – Is there a significant difference in the health risk? Yes and no. We know the potential hazards of smoking: Lung cancer, emphysema, COPD, heart problems, risk of stroke, etc. Smoking kills 480,000 people every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. So, logically we think that if we’re not inhaling all that tar and smoke, these risks should be significantly lower. The truth is, not all e-cigarettes have been rendered harmless. In 2009, the FDA published results from testing that showed some levels of cancer-causing agents in popular e-cigarette brands. Later studies found traces of formaldehyde, also found in tobacco products. There’s also nicotine in the many varieties of vaping liquid, although the amount of nicotine varies. Most vaping liquids (also called “juice”) are offered in varying levels of nicotine, from 36mg all the way down to zero nicotine. If you’re a former smoker using vape products, chances are you would choose a nicotine blend, at least in the beginning. Many vapers who have quit smoking say they have tapered down to either a very little or zero-nicotine product over time. What do health organizations and medical researchers say about vaping? One researcher on the study of vaping and heart effects, Professor Charalambos Vlachopoulos (University of Athens Medical School), observed that a 30-minute vaping session had a negative impact on the stiffness of the aorta –the body’s main artery leading to the heart. This impact was equal to that of smoking one regular cigarette. The problem with that interpretation is that most vapers don’t vape for 30 minutes at a time. In support of this counter argument, Deborah Arnott, CEO of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), concluded the study doesn’t prove that e-cigarettes are equally as hazardous as smoking. She argued that if the vaping session in the study lasted only five minutes, the impact on the aorta would be significantly less than one regular cigarette. What about e-cigarettes without nicotine? The jury is still out on any long-term effects vaping with zero-nicotine products have on general health, albeit widely agreed on that it appears to be far less damaging than cigarettes. So where do insurance companies stand on vaping vs. smoking? The one fact almost every insurer (and researcher) has agreed upon so far, is that there just isn’t enough data yet on the long-term health effects of vaping, either with or without nicotine. Until then, many insurance companies err on the conservative side of the risk spectrum. There are two prevailing opinions on vaping. Vapers, especially those that are former smokers, are convinced that vaping, with or without nicotine, is still far healthier than smoking. The vaping argument is inherently logical: inhaling water vapor is better than inhaling smoke, a known carcinogen. Detractors say there isn’t enough evidence available to conclude it’s healthier than smoking. Likewise, many insurance carriers view the risks as equal and therefore continue to classify vapers in the same category with smokers and tobacco users --and charge the appropriate premium. There are some insurance carriers who are innovating their life products on what seems to be some middle ground for former smoking vapers. Michael Siegel, MD., a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, says “The argument that the health groups keep making—that we have no idea what’s in these things—just isn’t true. We know a lot more about what’s in an e-cigarette than what’s in a tobacco cigarette,” There are insurers that consider e-cigarettes a smoking cessation aid, and there are those who classify it as a tobacco product, especially since the FDA classified e-cigarettes as a tobacco product in 2016. If you’re a vaper needing life insurance, Driscoll Insurance Services can help find a policy that fits your situation. How the Health Insurance Industry Affects Life Insurance for Vapers There is speculation among the vaping community that getting health insurers to recognize vaping as a smoking cessation aid will eventually lower costs. This could have a domino effect across health establishments, and eventually, life insurers would follow suit. That may not happen until there is enough data to show real long-term effects vaping has on health. Right now, the Affordable Care Act allows health insurers to surcharge users of products classified as tobacco up to 50% more than standard rates. So, what does all this mean concerning the future of vaping and life insurance? For now, if you’re a smoker wanting to quit by means of vaping, contact an insurance agent and determine what carriers will offer lower rates once you have met their criteria. Some insurance carriers who will give a lower premium to non-smoking vape users only do so if they haven’t smoked a cigarette in a year, and some for two years. But you’ll have to stick with the higher premium until that time passes and you must remain smoke-free. Terminology on the life policy application is important. One distinction to be made here is that while the Affordable Care Act uses the term “tobacco users,” whereas most life insurance policy language uses the term “nicotine.” Since most vapers are using nicotine in their blend of vapor liquid, they can easily get confused by the language on an application is it uses “tobacco products” rather than “nicotine.” In a scenario like this, one could easily misidentify as a non-smoker and risk fraud. It’s always best to be truthful with any insurance application because insurers may order a blood test that looks for cotinine, the by-product of nicotine, in your blood. Even if you think you can retest when your body is free of nicotine, these test results are often submitted to a reporting agency, just like your credit report. That test result will follow you, effectively preventing you from shopping around under false pretenses. If you are a former smoker who vapes, you can certainly be proud of the decision to quit and follow through. There’s no shame in striving for better health and ultimately a better future! Once you’re ready, look for those lower premiums so you can enjoy yet another victory –the one in your wallet. If you want help finding the right company, consulting with a knowledgeable life insurance agent, like Driscoll Insurance Services, will ensure you are matched up with the right product for your situation! Source: lung.org article

Most people know the importance of insurance protection. You don't want to be without it when problems strike. What many don't realize, however, is that protecting themselves with insurance isn't a once and done event. You don't wear the same pants you did when you were five years old because, besides no longer being in style, they simply don't fit. A homeowner's policy purchased when your house was furnished with bean bag chairs and bar stools is no longer going to "fit" once you're lounging on Italian leather sofas while watching television on your wall mounted plasma screen. Life is constantly changing, and your insurance policies should reflect that. How Often To Review Does this mean that I have to immediately call my insurance agent every time I buy a new piece of furniture or my cousin Tammy moves in for 6 months? Not necessarily. While more significant changes should be reported immediately (such as getting married or getting a new car), items such as improving your home entertainment system or upgrading your car's sound system, can be reported at your annual insurance review. Agents reach out to their clients because they want to make sure to check up on these changes and help avoid any gaps in their clients insurances. However, it's equally important for a policyholder to reach out to their agent to make sure they are covered. Schedule your own annual review, and call your agent as you get your annual renewal. If one agent handles all of your coverage, this task is relatively easy. Jot down any changes that have occurred over the last year, even if you're not sure whether they are significant enough to mention. Doing so will ensure that all of your insurance policies are best suited to your current life situation. Some examples of changes that should be mentioned to your agent immediately are listed below. Ask yourself these questions every year: *Have I gotten married or divorced? *Have I had a new baby, or adopted a child? *Is anyone in my house a new driver? *Is anyone living with me who wasn't before? Will they ever be driving any of my vehicles? *Do I have a personal umbrella policy? Do I need one? *Have I purchased any new properties? *Have I started a home business? *Have I purchased new furniture, electronics, or fine jewelry? These are just a few examples of life changes that are often picked up during an annual review. However, they are far from the only changes that can affect your coverage, so be thorough when documenting and reporting items to your agent. Some of the above examples might seem pretty obvious. Most people know that if their teen-ager gets his license, they need to notify their auto insurance carrier. However, not everything is as obvious. For example, take a couple who just had their first child. They decide that it's time to purchase life insurance to provide for the child if something ever happens to them. This couple is doing the responsible thing. They understand the importance of buying life insurance when starting a family. That significant step in planning for the future is taught to the general public quite effectively, in the form of commercials, television shows, radio spots, and the like. But what about five years later when little Ellie is born? Having child number 2 doesn't necessarily flip on the proverbial switch like the first time, shining that bright light on the right decision. All anyone ever hears about through popular culture is the importance of getting life insurance if you don't have it, especially if you are starting a family. If the Henderson family gets a life insurance policy when their first little one is born, and 4 children later, mom and dad are hit by a logging truck on a trip to Alaska, only #1 gets the money. Unfortunately, #1 also happens to be 18 by that time, and decides to run to Vegas with his new fortune. This particular tale might seem slightly "tall," but beneficiary issues create havoc, legal battles, and misdirected money on a daily basis. Sometimes it's to the tune of thousands, other times it's to the tune of millions. Protect yourself, your family, and your personal belongings by making sure that each of your insurance policies gets an annual check-up. You'll rest much better once you do.

Stay-at-home parents know how fulfilling, yet challenging parenting can be. The stay-at-home mom or dad is the glue that holds the family together – cooking, cleaning, running errands, taxiing the kids and caring for them when they aren’t well. As much as you care for them, there is one area many stay–at-home moms and dads often overlook. They don’t realize the value of all the things they do and what it would cost for the spouse to replace those services if the stay-at-home parent were to pass away. With daycare for just one child running about $18,000 a year , your services are very valuable. And if you were to pass away, how would your spouse pay for the cost of caring for your kids while he or she is at work? It’s hard to think about a painful topic like this, but it’s vital to the livelihood of your family should the worst happen. A Caregiver’s Duties Although it’s traditionally been the role of mom to do this job, more dads are taking care of the kids while mom works too. If you’re the stay-at-home parent, you don’t really work for free. You do these things because you love your kids and spouse – you don’t expect or maybe even want a paycheck for it. You don’t keep track of what it would cost to send the kids to summer camp instead of staying home with you acting as de facto camp director. But the reality is that your services would be costly to replace. New Moms Need Life Insurance In the first six weeks of life, it’s almost universal that the mother stays home with the child for obvious physical reasons. And nursing mothers often stay home as long as possible because of complications caused by being away from the baby for a workday. Maybe you plan to return to work, maybe you plan to stay with the child. Either way, your spouse will need your help to raise this child. And if you should pass away, that help will have to come in the form of financial assistance. Life insurance fills that need. Calculating Your Worth No one can put a price on a mother’s love, but you can figure out the value of what it would cost to replace the services you provide. The cost of daycare or a nanny and a housekeeper or assistant should all be considered: Average Daycare Cost: $18,000 per year Average Nanny Salary : $16/hour or $705 per week Average Cost of a Housekeeper : $75 per week Cost of a Personal Assistant: About $15 an hour Women tend to underestimate the financial value of the work they do at home while men tend to overvalue it, so take this into consideration while you make your calculation. Getting this right will be important to paying just the right premium for just the right life insurance coverage. Unfortunately, families fail to see how valuable the services of a stay-at-home-parent are. As a result, most of them either buy too little life insurance, or don’t buy it at all. This leaves the rest of the family in a precarious position. For most families where one parent stays home to care for the children, term life insurance is the smartest choice. It offers the most affordable coverage when budgets are tight. Other options, such as whole life insurance can build cash value, leaving you something to borrow against when your child is ready to go to college. It’s important to discuss all your life insurance options with a knowledgeable agent before making a decision and we’re more than happy to help. Protect Your Family with Life Insurance from Driscoll Driscoll Insurance Services, LLC is a family owned and operated agency that offers a personal touch in helping you to prepare for the unexpected. We look at your individual needs and do our best to provide you with a comprehensive plan to help you balance risk and meet your life’s goals. At Driscoll, you’re just one email, phone call, or visit away from an expert who is ready to help. Call us at 412-833-1500 , or contact us online for a free quote on life insurance and other ways of protecting those you love.

Life insurance isn’t just for families anymore. If you own a business, and you don’t have life insurance, you may be missing out on some important coverage. Life insurance is a financial tool used to transfer risk away from you and onto an insurance company. Being in business is inherently risky. Here’s how life insurance may help you mitigate some of that risk. Group Life Insurance Your employees are important. If one of them dies, it could seriously impact your bottom line. More than that, employees want (and need) to feel appreciated. Group life insurance may be just what you need. A group policy provides coverage for all of your employees while potentially giving you a tax deduction on at least part of the premium payments you or your employees make. Like other forms of term insurance, your employees receive a guaranteed death benefit and premium payments are guaranteed to remain level for a set number of years. Most term policies provide coverage for either 10, 20, or 30 years, though the exact term of the policy depends entirely on the issuing insurer. Whole Life Insurance While group life insurance provides benefits for all employees, there may be times when you want to be more discriminating in regards to who you offer coverage to. With group life, you generally have to provide coverage options for all employees. With individual coverage, you can pick and choose whom you insure. Whole life policy is one popular choice when you want to provide a benefit to your executives (or to yourself). The policy premiums are paid by the corporation. Sometimes, the policy is owned jointly by the company and the employee, while other times the policy is owned by the employee and a special contract dictates what the employee can do with it. This arrangement is referred to as an “executive bonus plan” or “162 bonus plan” – referring to the IRS code section permitting this type of arrangement. As a business owner, you receive a tax deduction on all premiums paid on the policy, while the employee must claim all premiums as income. However, you may opt to pay the taxes for the employee – an arrangement referred to as a “162 double bonus.” When these plans are established, it is usually done as a supplemental retirement benefit. Whole life insurance provides a guaranteed death benefit, guaranteed cash value accumulation, and may offer generous policy loan provisions for the employee during retirement. In layman’s terms, it means that you may be able to accumulate a substantial cash value inside of the whole life policy and use this money to supplement your other retirement income. Because you access money via policy loans, there is no income tax due on distributions as long as the policy remains in-force until your death. Policy loans do not need to be repaid until death and, when you die, any outstanding loan amounts are deducted from the death benefit. The rest is paid to your beneficiary. Another use for whole life insurance is providing coverage for key employees. This is called “key person life insurance.” The policy taken out on the life of your most valued employees. When they die, the policy pays a death benefit to the corporation so that you can find and hire a replacement. During the life of the covered employee, the company may use the cash value in the policy for any reason. Universal Life Insurance Universal life insurance is another type of cash value policy that is sometimes used as a source of supplemental retirement income or for key person insurance coverage. This policy offers more flexibility in regards to how premiums are paid (i.e. they can be raised or lowered at any time) and how the death benefit is structured (i.e. it can be increased or decreased after the policy is issued – increasing the death benefit may require prior approval from the insurer).

There are many tips and formulas for determining how much term life insurance you need, but most either over-estimate or under-estimate the reality of, well, life. For example, the needs of someone with a forever dependent child will require much more coverage than someone with none at all. Formulas that merely multiply your current income and leave it at that offer one-size-fits-all solutions when tailor-made tactics are needed. The good news is that you can easily and accurately calculate the amount of coverage you need. This information can be used to come up with accurate figures so that you can locate the most competitive life insurance quotes available. The following is a simple four step process will give you a clear understanding of what it will take to care for your final expenses and your family should tragedy strike. Step 1: Calculate Your Final Expenses For those of you planning for a regular funeral and burial, costs generally run from $10,000-$20,000, so settle in the middle for $15,000. Average costs for a cremation with a ceremony and scattering of ashes, you’re looking at anywhere from between $2,500 and $9,000. Step 2: Calculate Your Total Debt, Including Your Mortgage Debts such as mortgages, car payments, existing student loans or other accumulated debt will be inherited with your estate. Therefore, it makes sense to tally all of these up and incorporate them into the lump sum provided for in a term life insurance pay-off. These debts can be overwhelming for loved ones, and should be provided for in event of a tragedy. Step 3: Calculate Educational Expenses This can be hard, especially when children are several years away from college. However, you can safely average a 5% annual increase in college costs and use this as a starting point for calculations. Take some time to research today’s costs for priority colleges and use this to calculate what to cover. If you have no children, you can skip this step unless your spouse desires to continue their education. Step 4: Figure Out What it Costs to Replace Your Income Once you’ve taken all of these costs and expenses into account, there is a simple formula to how much more you’ll need. Simply take your current income and multiply it by 50 percent. Then, take this number and divide it by .05. For example, if you currently earn $75,000, you would need $750,000. Add all four totals together and then modify to accommodate special circumstances, such as long-term dependent children, etc. What’s left is an adequate level of coverage you need to get your life insurance quotes for. Should your situation change in the future, you can always increase or decrease coverage accordingly!

Many financial experts say to avoid buying life insurance on your kids – that it’s a waste of money. Is it? The real answer might surprise you. Life insurance isn’t just for adults. While many financial experts say to avoid life insurance for children, that advice isn’t always sound. It’s true that children have a low mortality rate in industrialized nations, especially the U.S. However, everyone dies. It’s also true that the younger a person is, the lower the cost of insurance is – all other things being equal. Whole Life Insurance While kids probably don’t have an immediate need for life insurance, they will eventually have a need. As a parent, you can help them get a jump start on that need. One popular option is a whole life insurance policy. Whole life is a type of insurance that provides a guaranteed death benefit and access to a cash surrender value. This value, called a “cash value,” represents a cash reserve set aside to pay for the future death claim. The great thing is that, during your child’s life, he can use this cash value for anything he wants or needs. The cash value grows somewhat slowly over time but, once earned, all cash is guaranteed against loss. Premiums for your child are typically lower than what you would pay for a whole life policy at your age, and some types of whole life insurance – like participating whole life insurance – may allow your child to grow his death benefit over his entire lifetime. If you purchase a significant amount of death benefit for him, it may even drastically reduce the amount of life insurance he has to purchase later on in life. Benefits When your child is young, you will own the policy. However, when she turns 18, you can hand over ownership of the policy to her. Teach her how to manage her money wisely, and she’ll have access to an incredible source of funds when she needs it. Whole life insurance gives you access to the cash value through special policy loans. Many life insurance companies provide preferred rates for policy loans, and these loans typically do not have to be repaid until your child’s death. The funds can be used to buy her first car, make a down payment on a home, or pay for college tuition. Each loan reduces the available cash value in the policy but, as she repays each loan, the cash value is restored. If she continues to borrow and repay throughout her life, and continues to make premium payments, the policy will continue to provide cash to her until the day she dies. Disadvantages Whole life insurance is a long-term contract. One of the disadvantages to that is that your child has to be smart about managing his finances. Young people are sometimes a little short-sighted. If he stops paying premiums, or decides not to repay a policy loan, he may drain the cash value of the policy down permanently. The policy could possibly lapse, and he may lose his coverage. This is why it’s critical that the whole life policy comes with some sort of financial education from you and from your financial adviser. What To Do Next Weigh the pros and cons of buying a whole life insurance policy on your own first. Write down everything that you can think of that would be a benefit to your child. Then, write down any potential disadvantages you can think of based on your own personal financial situation. However, don’t stop there. Contact your financial adviser and have him review your list. Often, advisers can see financial situations and problems in ways that most other people can’t. He may be able to give you a second opinion that could change your child’s life forever.