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Clyde and Claudette’s financial future
is now ruined! Make sure it doesn’t happen to you. These tips will
help you protect yourself from the time-bomb that devastated them.
I talked with Clyde and his wife, Claudette, recently. In fact,
Clyde brought his son to one of my popular financial seminars so he
could learn to avoid the mistakes his father had made.
Everything had been going great for Clyde and Claudette—he had a
secure job with excellent benefits. Their home was almost paid for.
Their kids were doing well in school. Life and their future looked
bright.
Then one day, Claudette was driving home from the store just like
she always did. A drunk driver speeding in her direction hit a car
on his side of the road, careened off of it, jumped across the
median and plowed into Claudette’s car.
In just seconds Clyde’s and Claudette’s lives were forever changed.
Luckily she wasn’t killed. But she is permanently handicapped. As
often happens, the police never caught the drunk driver. Their
medical bills quickly mounted and they soon discovered their
financial weakest link—they only had $50,000 of uninsured motorist
coverage in their auto policy.
How much uninsured motorist coverage do you have? How much medical
and liability coverage is in your automobile policy? If you’re like
most people, you probably don’t even know. And it could be a ticking
time-bomb waiting to devastate your financial future.
Clyde and Claudette were lucky to be able to pay most of their
immediate medical bills, but only after they had to go to court, sue
their insurance company, and pay out a big chunk of their $50,000 in
lawyers’ fees.
But what about their future? Claudette will never be able to work
again and the cost of caring for her increased medical needs will
continue for the rest of her life. Their financial future is ruined.
It didn’t have to be that way. The financial devastation that
occurred could have been easily prevented if they had increased
their coverage amount. It would have only cost them pennies each
day. Instead, it cost them much more.
I wish I had met them sooner. I might have been able to help prevent
their financial devastation. It’s too late for them, but it’s not
for you. Sit down with a qualified property and casualty agent and
review your automobile and homeowners insurance policies to make
sure that the coverage is adequate.
If you are like most people, it has probably been several years
since you’ve done so. Your situation or damage awards in your state
could have changed since then. Perhaps you don’t need as much
insurance as you did in the past, perhaps you need more. Isn’t it
worth a phone call to your agent to find out?
It was for me. I recently was able to switch insurance companies,
increase my coverage limits and keep my premiums the same. The point
is, it only takes a little time to make sure you and your family is
properly covered, and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to do
so.
You should also consider an umbrella liability policy. It provides
blanket liability protection in addition to that offered by your
automobile and homeowners policies. I especially recommend them to
my Private Wealth Management clients that are doctors because they
are prone to lawsuits. I recommend them if you have a swimming pool
or trampoline or if you own a potentially hazardous recreational
vehicle such as a boat, jet-ski, or ATV.
Take these simple steps to make sure you don’t make the same mistake
Clyde and Claudette did:
1) Make an appointment to have your property and casualty insurance
policies reviewed.
2) Consider an umbrella liability policy if you don’t currently have
one.
3) Consider increasing your deductibles to lower your premiums.
4) Call around and compare rates from different carriers.
This is just one area where your financial weakest link may be
hiding. For more information on how to improve your overall
financial situation go to www.guardingyourwealth.com. While there,
be sure to tell us your story. It may even be the subject of a
future article so others can keep from making the same mistakes.
If you’d like free, clear, unbiased advice submit your questions to www.guardingyourwealth.com/askjeff.htm. You’ll be glad you did.
Mr. Voudrie is a Certified Financial Planner, nationally syndicated
newspaper columnist and President of Legacy Planning Group, Inc., a
Private Wealth Management Firm in Johnson City, TN. He can be
reached toll-free at 1-877-827-1463 or at jeff@guardingyourwealth.com
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