JAMESTOWN – The No. 1 way for individuals to save money on insurance coverage is to stay in close contact with their insurance agents, according to Steve Bennion, owner of Steve Bennion Agency of Farmers Union Insurance.
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” Bennion said. “Go in and visit. Make sure that you are getting the discounts that are available.”
He said all his clients have access to his cellphone and email. He said anyone is more than welcome to come into his office and talk about what’s available for insurance coverage.
“It’s always important for people to ask questions and make sure that there is not something being missed,” he said.
People shouldn’t be afraid to shop around, but they should be confident in their agent to explain exactly what a product is and what they are getting for their money, he said.
“They should be confident that they have the right coverages that meet their needs,” Bennion said.
He said coverage prices are important but aren’t everything. He said customers should get a good product for their money but not every carrier has the exact same product.
“Just because you have a homeowner’s policy with company A and you go get a quote from company B and they say it’s 5% cheaper, sometimes there might be something that is not in that policy that you are not getting,” he said. “So, prices are important but when you are shopping you need to make sure that you are shopping for your best fit.”
Bennion said the basic job of an insurance agent is to meet with people, listen to what their needs are and provide options to protect any risks or assets they might have. He said many suggestions that he has come through discussions about a person’s lifestyle, employment and family needs, among others.
“From there we go with finding out what they are looking for and what they might need to protect their risks that are out there for that individual person or entity,” he said.
The most common needs that people go to Bennion for include insurance for home and auto, farm and commercial. He said his agency is a one-stop shop that can also provide insurance for crops, health, life and business. He said his office is provided tools from Farmers Union Insurance that can handle any needs of individuals.
“Pretty much any request that anybody has, we have a fit for them or we can help them find a solution for their needs,” he said.
Some people don’t like to talk about life insurance, Bennion said. He said it’s important to have discussions with an insurance agent about life insurance coverage especially if individuals have families and assets.
He said rates for life insurance are affected by age and health.
“Obviously the younger you are, the cheaper the rate,” he said. “The healthier you are, the cheaper the rate is.”
Bennion said his office works with annuities as well. He said people should constantly review their life insurance or investment positions with their agents because of the changing economy.
“Getting in and speaking to them and reviewing things and seeing what options are out there, seeing other ideas that maybe they should be looking at is always a great idea especially as people get older,” he said. “Every decade birthday seems to be a pretty good hit on rate increases, so if you are somebody that is coming up on your 40th birthday, and you have a life insurance policy that might be expiring in a couple of years, it might be a good idea while you are still in your late 30s to start a new policy to carry you on.”
Bennion said life insurance can be as simple as covering funeral expenses. If something happens to someone, that individual wouldn’t want to put a burden on other family members.
He said it is recommended to have life insurance that can cover up to 10 years for a family to live their same lifestyle. He said the husband and wife should talk about their bills if something happens to each other and how they can sustain their current lifestyle if one passes away.
Bennion said consumers could see rate increases with the way the economy has been with increased cost of supplies, repairs, vehicle costs and building materials. He said it is difficult for insurance companies to charge the same rate when it costs more to pay out a claim.
“Because of that, people might be looking to shop,” he said. “One advantage that we have in our office here is that we have multiple carriers for multiple products.”
