Buying Life Insurance? Ask These Six Questions Are you considering a term life insurance policy? If so, it’s important you do your homework to ensure that you get the policy you need. Here are six questions to ask before you sign on the dotted line. What are your income needs? It’s important to consider your family’s income needs over the course of your policy, including expenses such as mortgages, college tuition, medical bills and funeral costs. What length of term do you want? The length of your term will depend on your long-term income outlook. For example, if you’re working for 10 more years and then have retirement benefits and Social Security, a 10-year term may work for you. Can you convert the policy? If you outlive your term life insurance policy, you may want to convert it near the end of the term without needing another medical exam. Be sure to read the fine print on the conversion option, as there can be time limitations for conversion. What other benefits do you want? Riders – such as disability waivers that pay your premiums if you become disabled – are more common on whole life insurance policies than on term life insurance policies. But they are available, so look into them. How applicable are advertised rates? Even if you’re relatively healthy for your age, the rates promoted in online or newspaper ads may be based on an applicant with exceptional health. The price quoted may not be applicable to you. Is the insurance company stable? Life insurance companies are usually in excellent financial health, but you should still check out their rating. Agencies that rate life insurance companies include A.M. Best Company, Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

MORAN AGENCY NEWS

“Employee of the Month” June 2014 was Stephanie Machin – our Administrative Assistant and the month of July 2014 was Debby Calebaugh – Commercial Lines Account Manager. Congrats to both!

The Moran Staff celebrating our Annual Summer Gathering at Anne Arundel Seafood

With the Start of the School Year: Your Teen Is Driving. Here’s How to Lower Your Rates

The statistics are startling: Teen drivers are three times more likely to die in an auto accident than are those aged 25 to 64. So it should come as no surprise when insurance companies raise your rates by 50% to 200% when your teen starts to drive. Fortunately there are ways to lower your rates, despite your teen driver. Statistically, the longer your teen waits to drive, the less chance he or she will crash. Sixteen-year-old drivers crash three times more frequently than do 19 year olds. If your teen is not sufficiently mature, make him wait until he is. A driver’s education course offers a lot of pluses for your teen and can reduce your rates by as much as 15%. Some insurance companies also offer good-student discounts. Limit nighttime driving, as more than 40% of teen-involved fatalities occur between 9 pm and 6 am. Also note that distracted driving is now an epidemic in the U.S.; don’t allow calling or texting while driving. No passengers either; research indicates that the risk of driving fatalities increases with the number of passengers. If you decide to purchase a used car for your teen, be aware that older-model cars, while cheaper to insure, may have fewer safety features such as side-impact air bags. Don’t forget, for your teen this is a rite of passage on the way to adulthood. Of course it’s important to keep your premiums low, but it’s more important to produce a good, safe driver.