Life Insurance From Your Employer

My biggest responsibility as an Allstate agent is to provide financial security to all of my clients. What does financial security mean? To me, it means protecting everything you own as well as the people you love. Most people think of Allstate for their home and auto insurance, but usually not life insurance. Life insurance tends to be ignored, delayed or purchased at work. Commonly, people say they have life insurance through work. While that is a great starting point, it can leave some major gaps in your planning. Here are a few reasons why.

Employee discussion on life insurance

Salary Multiple

The amount of life insurance offered in an employer setting tends to be only 1-2x salary. This is vastly inadequate considering the average family needs 8-10x salary.

Do you and your spouse have life insurance outside of your employers, equal to at least 8x your salary?

Portability

Group life insurance from your employer is only good while you work there. It is not portable – meaning if you decide to quit, retire or get laid-off you lose your insurance. In this economy, that can be a real concern. On the other hand, your own individual policy stays with you for as long as you pay the premium.

Cost

Life insurance at work is usually more expensive assuming you are in good health and could qualify for your own policy. Think about it this: if an insurance company has to guarantee insurance to everyone in a group they have to raise rates to account for the less healthy.

If you are in good health, purchasing life insurance on your own can be more affordable and you can take it with you no matter what happens with your current job.

I am not against group life insurance from your employer because it can be a great starting point, especially if your boss is paying for it. However, individual life insurance tends to be better solution. What’s even better is that Allstate just came out with their Auto/Life Discount for customers with both auto and life insurance. Contact me to see how much you can save!

Want more information? Please visit Matt Elwood - Allstate Insurance to get more information on the Allstate products and services I can offer in Port Angeles, Sequim or anywhere Washington State. 

How to Get Insurance When Moving to Port Angeles, Washington

Matt Elwood, Agency Owner

You have finally decided to leave the rat race and move to the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. One of the many things on your to-do list may be to get new home and auto insurance, especially if you are coming from out of state. How do you go about doing that?

When changing insurance agents, there are some important things to remember. These apply if you are moving from a different state, a different insurance company, or you just want to go through a different agent in the company you are currently with. If you follow these tips, it will make the process of changing agents much easier.

First of all, contact your new agent before your current policy expires. A lapse of even one day can drastically impact your new rates and might even prevent you from being able to have a new policy. This is especially true for car insurance.

It is also helpful to have your current insurance in front of you so you know what coverages you have. It makes it easier to get an accurate quote if you know what you want.

Keep in mind that if you’re moving from one state to another, your insurance will probably be different. Even if you stay with the same company. Every state is different regarding premiums and discounts. There are also certain coverages that differ from state to state. And required state minimums also vary.

If you are relocating to the Olympic Peninsula area and need a new insurance agent, please contact Matt Elwood of Elwood Benefits at 360-452-9200.

Knowledge is power

Sign up for Matt's monthly insurance newsletter and he will share with you how to better protect your family, save more money and achieve financial security.