Term life insurance has many advantages. Understanding term life insurance and its benefits, however, often means sifting through the myths surrounding it; and there are many myths about life insurance. These life insurance myths and misconceptions can result in having too little coverage - causing financial hardship for families suffering the loss of a loved one.

To keep this from happening to you, we've looked at the most common misconceptions about life insurance to set the record straight – helping you to make the right life insurance choice for you and your family.
 
Myth #1: I don't work outside the home so I don't need life insurance.
 
False! Just because there's no paycheck to replace, doesn't mean life insurance is unnecessary. A life insurance policy that provides coverage for a stay-at-home parent isn’t so much about the money they bring in to the household, but instead about the money they keep in the household.

In fact, have you ever considered how much it would cost to pay for childcare and housekeeping in the absence of a stay-at-home parent? Don’t underestimate how much this would require, as child care is expensive and a growing cost.
 
Myth #2: I'm young, so odds are I won't need life insurance.
 
Some people are gamblers by nature and choose to take their chances by skipping out on life insurance completely. Although it is unlikely you'll die during your working years, you're not insuring yourself for what's likely to happen but, instead, for the worst-case scenario.

That's why term life insurance is inexpensive for young, healthy people. Buying life insurance now means you'll be providing financial security without spending a lot of money for it.
For example, online quotes show that a $250,000 10-year term policy for:

• A healthy 35-year old woman costs as little as $165 a year
• A healthy 35-year old man costs as little as $195 a year

What's more, you may even be eligible for preferred life rates that mean the annual premiums are even less! Preferred rates are lower premiums - for the same coverage - offered by an insurer based on your good health. The great news is that eligibility for preferred rates is common and could save you up to 30 percent off the standard rate.
 
Myth #3: If it's so cheap, there must be a catch.
 
There's no catch to term life insurance. Your basic term life insurance policy will offer you coverage so long as you pay your premium. You buy term insurance coverage for the duration of time you'll need life insurance, whether that's until the kids are out of school or until your mortgage is paid off.

Additionally, your premiums are fixed for the length of the term. They won't increase even if the status of your health changes.
 
Myth #4: I won't need life insurance once my children are self-supporting and my mortgage is paid off.
 
Everybody's insurance needs vary. But how would your spouse manage daily living expenses without your help? And what if your spouse outlived you by 10, even 20 years?

Even if your children are no longer living at home and you no longer have large debts (like a mortgage), there still are questions you should consider before deciding that life insurance is unneeded.
 
Myth #5: I have life insurance through my job. I don't need any more insurance coverage.
 
False. The truth is your life insurance coverage through your work may not be providing enough coverage for yourself and your loved ones as much as you think. Review how much your employer-paid insurance provides, and calculate whether this is enough to keep your family comfortable through the difficult times if you're not around.

What's more, when you leave your job for any reason, including retirement, your coverage usually stops.
 
Myth #6: It's such a hassle to get life insurance.
 
Thanks to the Internet, getting quotes is fast and easy. There are many online life insurance quote services and usually, all you have to do is answer a few simple questions to get quotes.  Sometimes, you can even get a policy without having to do a health screening.
 
Final Fact:
 
From the time you marry, buy your first home, start a family, and even when you begin to enjoy retirement, having life insurance means you and your family have the security knowing you can reach the long-term financial goals you have set out.

Life insurance policies provide you with customized coverage for your family's needs. Comparing quotes on the Internet can help you find affordable prices, but an Independent Insurance Agent will expertly help you find budget-friendly policies that will protect you and your family in the years to come – at the same price.

To get your top options from over 200+ Life Insurance Carriers, click the link below!

It’s certainly no secret today that your credit score goes with you just about everywhere when it comes to purchasing something. However, if you think your credit score only comes into play when you are applying for a loan you need to re-think that.
 
When it comes to car insurance, many insurance companies will also take your credit score into consideration when it comes to determining the cost of your coverage (or whether to even extend coverage at all) if you are applying for insurance.
 
Even with a spotless driving record, this can be the case.
 
You see, for insurance companies, it’s all about statistics and risk factors. Many insurance companies believe that mediocre to poor credit ratings equate to higher insurance risks.
 
So, if you’re not the best at getting your credit card payments in the mail on time you may want to stop and think about changing your payment habits and make more of an effort to improve your payment track record. Whether we as individuals perceive this to be true at all or not, almost all auto insurers use your credit score in the mix to some degree when determining your premium.
 
Knowing this makes it even more important for you to know exactly what your credit score is – and why it is what it is. In other words, even if you believe you’ve never been late on any payment, credit reporting companies are far from flawless. There could be mistakes or even misrepresentations on your report that could cause to have your insurance rated (higher bracket) or even denied.
 
It is worth the effort to take a few minutes (and you can do very easily online) and get your credit report. You can also check out your FICO (Fair, Isaacs & Co) score –  which is what most insurance companies use to factor your credit rating into the cost.
 
A driver with bad credit is going to pay more for their insurance than those with good credit.
 
If you do have bullet-proof credit, this is all the more reason for you to shop your insurance rates. You may find an insurance company that offers bigger discounts for A+ credit ratings – which is why shopping with an Agency who can do that work for you is a major benefit.

To review your rates across top-rated Carriers, click the link below!
​

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Top 5 Easy Steps To Lower Your Auto Insurance Quote!

It was not too long ago when contracts were made on a handshake and a promise.  Individuals were not particularly concerned with things like insurance because they relied upon the goodwill of their neighbor to compensate them for wrongful damage.  For a variety of reasons, including an increase in the speed and cost of auto wrecks, auto insurance soon became an important purchase for responsible individuals.  Not long after, the federal government mandated that auto insurance be carried, at least minimally, by all car owners. The increase in the need for auto insurance over the last 10 years has led to increases in the complexity of insurance, while at the same time, amplifying the need to be more cost conscious in auto insurance purchases.


Buying auto insurance today requires as much dexterity as buying the automobile itself. It is important to know the factors that an auto insurance company considers when offering quotes. This will allow you, as the consumer, to know what steps you need to take in order to qualify for a lower quote. The five easy steps to a lower insurance quote are: 

1. Portray yourself as a ‘safe’ candidate:

Insurance companies are interested in managing risk.  Consequently they offer drivers who are less likely to get into wrecks or at a minimum into wrecks of less severity, a lower insurance quote.

- Maintain a clean driving record, free of traffic violations or accident claims.
- Install anti-theft devices in your vehicle.
-Attend a Drivers Safety Training program.
- Buy a ‘safe’ vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety together collect information on safety related aspects of different vehicles. Buy an automobile that is officially designated as ‘safe’.


2. Show your Credit worthiness:

As a risk management entity, insurance companies are also worried about getting paid on time.  If you can show yourself to be credit worthy, there is less risk of you not making your payments on time, thus warranting a lower rate.

- Maintain a good credit score and clear up any errors on your credit.
- Pay bills on time, and avoid creating heavy debts.


3. Practice Financial Wisdom:

The way in which you structure and pay for your policy can lower the risk that an insurance company faces with respect to you as a customer.  By taking steps to lower their risk, you receive a lower insurance quote and policy.

- Buy an annual policy instead of a six monthly coverage to get you a lower rate that remains the same for a year.
- Opt for automatic payment deductions from your bank account or your credit card to avoid getting charged for mail payments.
- Increase your deductibles on comprehensive and collision policies to reduce on the rates. (NOTE: by raising your deductible, you will have raised the amount you'll have to pay after an accident. Be sure to choose a figure that you would comfortably be able to pay out of pocket.) 
- Get loyalty discounts by buying your home and auto insurance from the same company. 


4. Opt-In For Telemetrics:

One of the greatest advancements in Auto Insurance lately has been the use of telemetrics devices. Many Insurance Carriers will send you a device that monitors basic driving habits (but NOT your GPS location). This will tell the Carrier what kind of driver you are, and may qualify you for better rates.

- Upon receipt of the device, be careful to practice safe driving habits. The device will monitor hard stops, fast stops, and the number of miles driven.
- Many Carriers will give you a discount just for TRYING the device for a specified period of time. Often, this discount remains - even if your driving event log is less than stellar. 


5. Other wise things that you can do:

There are a number of other considerations that go into your insurance quote.  Some of them are not reasonable steps to take, while others you can do with little effort which can translate into substantial savings.

- If your car is used only for a particular purpose, make your agent aware of it, as this will limit the cost.
- Students that make good grades are often eligible for a discount.
- Give up smoking; it can help you get better quotes.

In a time where most Carriers are forecasting rate increases on Auto Insurance, these five tips will help you get the best rates possible.

Be sure to speak to Your Ultimate Advocate with Rockdale Life Agency, Inc to get a no-hassle, impartial quote from multiple top-rated Carriers!

CLICK HERE to get started!

Have you ever asked yourself this question?

Let’s face it: Auto Insurance companies use RATE CLASSES. They clump drivers together on the basis of age, gender, level of education, zip code, and distance driving (to name a few). They’ve experienced enough losses along plotted lines that they can get a pretty good idea about what kind of risk each driver is.

“But have you WATCHED people drive today?”

I know, I know… People seem to be more careless on the road than ever before. Texting, talking on the phone, and other forms of distracted driving are on the rise. Add to this the number of reckless drivers, and you can see how that there are people that are riskier drivers than the average in their rate classes.

“Why can’t they rate me according to MY driving habits?”

This question has existed since the advent of Auto Insurance. Until recently, there was not a real way to figure out who is the risky driver and who is the safe driver – unless there are tickets and accidents on your driving record.

The good news is – THINGS HAVE CHANGED!

Insurance carriers are increasingly conscious of new technologies, and the latest and greatest of those technologies is a device that monitors your driving habits (usually for a 90-days to 6-month window) to give you a rate that you ACTUALLY deserve!

Let’s paint the picture…

You sign up for the program, and the Insurance Carrier sends a device to your mailing address. You plug the device into a receiver in your car (the same receiver under your steering wheel where auto repair companies plug into to read your “Check Engine” error codes). The Carrier gives you a log-in with which you can track your driving habits (and your spouse’s :D ), but it doesn’t track your location via GPS. After the monitoring period has ended, you send the device back to the Carrier.

Cue the discounts!

Most Carriers will give you a discount JUST for TRYING the program. When the program is over, however, your insurance will adjust the discount based on YOUR driving habits – not everyone else’s.

Are you ready to pay for your habits – and yours alone? Click the button below to get started!

I often talk about the real-life stories behind the insurance coverages that we provide.

Years ago, I went to work for a large, nation-wide bank. This bank provided insurance products along with banking products, and it was there that I got my first experiences in helping my clients protect and insure their most treasured possessions. One of the ladies that I had the pleasure of meeting was actually the mother of the Branch Manager. Together, they told me a horror story which I have never forgotten.

My Branch Manager had told her mother that she should look into getting a Renter’s Insurance policy. Her mother agreed that it would be a great idea, but she put it off for another day. Time slipped away, as it often does. Eventually, the purchase of Renter’s Insurance made its way back onto her to-do list. She got into her car, and headed to the bank to finish the task.

While she was in route to the bank, she got a phone call with terrible news.

“Our apartment building is on fire!”

To her dismay, she found out that a neighbor’s apartment had caught on fire. The awful result was that her building was a total loss, and her belongings were destroyed. She had no Renter’s Insurance, and had to start from scratch putting her belongings back together.

Now, as an Insurance Agent, I often think about her story.

I recently saw a shock statistic that stated that only 37% of American families who are renting their dwelling have Renter’s Insurance!

As your Ultimate Advocate, I’m going to tell you the TOP FIVE reasons why YOU should have Renter’s Insurance!

1. Your landlord’s insurance policy has ZERO provision for your belongings! It’s not a matter of whether or not they want to cover your things, but the fact is that since there’s no way to know what sort of belongings you may have, your landlord’s insurance company cannot accurately predict how to appropriately insure them – and so the landlord receives no coverage for those items.
   
   
2. Your belongings are more valuable than you think! Think with me… If you went RIGHT NOW to your sock drawer, how much money would it take to replace JUST the socks in your sock drawer? Now, add to that cost the expense of replacing ALL of your clothes, your electronics, your furniture, or even your renter-supplied appliances like your refrigerator. That’s a LOT of money isn’t it? Most people severely underestimate the cost of things that they’ve accumulated over time – but there are often years-worth of items that you have moved with you into your apartment.
   
   
3. You are missing out on TREMENDOUS discounts! Some of the biggest discounts available to you are the combo discounts of having two types of policies connected together. In fact, it is not uncommon for a policyholder to experience a DROP in total monthly costs after having added the extra policy! Now who wouldn’t like THAT?
   
   
4. Most policies provide for REPLACEMENT COST of your belongings! If you’ve had to provide your own refrigerator for your living space, how much is that refrigerator worth at a garage sale? $200? Less than that? Now how much would you have to pay if you went to buy a BRAND NEW refrigerator? I think you would experience some sticker shock if you had to go by that brand new refrigerator. Here’s the kicker – most Renter’s Insurance companies won’t write you a check for what your refrigerator is worth, but instead will write a check to you for what it would take to REPLACE your refrigerator! Now THAT is exciting!
   
   
5. Renter’s Insurance also provides you Loss of Use coverage! Now picture this: you’ve been informed that your rental home or apartment has burned to the ground. Where are you going to stay now? Does your landlord have alternative locations for you to stay? And if not, do you have enough cash on hand to provide a new deposit for your next apartment? GUESS WHAT! Your Renter’s Insurance Policy provides you money to live at another location as either the new deposit or to fund your temporary housing until the apartment or house can be rebuilt (subject to the limits of your policy, of course)!

 
Call us today, or fill out one of our quote forms (www.rockdalelifeagency.com/renters-quote.html), and we’ll get you protected!

One of the best Life Insurance products to hit the market has been the advent of the IUL - the Indexed Universal Life insurance policy.

Check out this video for a great explanation of this powerful tool!

​https://youtu.be/wX89Rk5pr6A