Imagine the following: You’re riding your bicycle down the street on a pleasant Saturday morning. The birds are chirping, the temperature is a California perfect 78, and you’re already looking forward to the nice dinner you have planned at your favorite restaurant this evening. While these wonderful thoughts and endorphins are running through your head, you fail to notice the elderly lady in the cross walk a few feet in front of you. You hit the brakes, but it’s futile—as you knock her 10-feet to the pavement.
The 76-year old lady suffers a broken hip, broken arm, broken clavicle, skinned elbow, and a concussion. She is rushed to the hospital where she has a 3-week stay of recovery. However, it takes her 6-months to start walking like she used to. Oh, and her oldest son is a defense attorney in Los Angeles. Do you think that you might be involved in a lawsuit?
Have you ever been involved in a law suit? Has your car ever been involved in a hit and run? Ever seen what water damage can do to a nice wooden floor in a home? If you’ve answered yes, then you probably understand the importance of being adequately insured. No, this is not some scare tactic to get you to buy insurance; it’s to prepare you for our litigious society we live in so that you don’t become a victim!
Most of my clients know that I also provide auto, home, business, life, health, disability, and long-term care insurance…in addition to financial planning and wealth management. Additionally, my firm can scour the universe of insurance products and carriers from an independent agent standpoint.
As a Financial Advisor/Planner, it is my duty to bring these coverage issues to our conversations so that you can consider, accept, or disregard a suggested appropriate amount of coverage. Insurance isn’t required for everything; but it can stop (or mitigate) the erosion of your assets from the outcome of just one mistake, one miscalculation, or one accident. Examples of situations where insurance is required includes: Errors &Omissions for professionals, mal-practice for doctors, automobile liability insurance for state of California drivers, and home owners insurance for homes that have a mortgage. Face it–we are human, and therefore we will error from time to time. To my wife: “Yes Honey, even I will error!”
As we approach our next school year and get back to business as usual, let’s set an appointment to review your exposures to risk—be it risks at your business, or personally. As your financial advisor, we can determine an appropriate amount of coverage to potentially help offset the detriment a massive loss could bring. I might even be able to save you some money on your premiums!!