Why You Need Two Umbrellas Living In Port Angeles

Two Umbrellas

It has been said that summer doesn’t start around here until after July 4th. Too bad it only lasts through Labor Day! Living on the Olympic Peninsula, the need for a good umbrella to shield you from the rain is almost year-round. However, the need for a Personal Umbrella Policy (PUP) to shield you from lawsuits is constant.

Your nightmare

Here is the worst case scenario: It is raining out, your car skids and side-swipes an on-coming car causing an accident with a doctor and his wife aboard. The wife is killed and the doctor is hurt so badly that he will never be able to work again. A jury awards him millions of dollars and you are liable. Even though you have great limits of liability on your auto and homeowners policy of $500,000, the lawyers continue to go after your home, life savings and even garnish your future income until the full amount is paid. To protect you from one of these lawsuits, we recommend a PUP. A PUP is excess liability coverage over your current car and home policies. PUPs take care of the liability for the lawsuits and medical bills of the auto accident victim or any other situation where you become legally obligated to pay. The great thing is that PUPs also pay for the cost of lawyers and other legal expenses. Whether lawsuits are valid or not, you wind up having to defend yourself against them. In situations like these, it is great to have Allstate on your side with a Personal Umbrella Policy. There are countless examples of claims we see that reach the liability thresholds of traditional auto and homeowners insurance policies. No one is immune to these types of situations and they could happen at any time. Don’t leave yourself financially exposed.

Your Solution

Allstate offers a range of coverage amounts from $1 million increments up to a maximum limit of $5 million. They cost as low as $15 per month and that is truly money well spent. Call us today at 360-452-9200 to see if this policy might be right for you.

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. 

No Exam Life Insurance from Allstate

Now it’s quick and easy to take life insurance off your to-do list. Allstate has recently come out with a new life insurance policy called Basic Term.  The great thing for you is that they have taken the hassles with getting life insurance away!

Simplified Underwriting

Basic term is a simplified issue product that requires no exam. That’s right, no nurse coming to your home to prick you with a needle or make you pee in a cup. The policy is issued depending on answers to health questions on the application. What’s even cooler is that this can be completed over the phone and signed via email. This saves time, energy and money. In addition, there are three simple database checks used to determine eligibility.  These are the Medical Information Bureau (MIB), the Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) and the Prescription Database Check. The approval or decline decision is given within days instead of weeks.

There are four Basic Term underwriting classes with two Tobacco and two Non-tobacco classes. The issue ages for this product are 18-45. This is great news for young families who are too busy to sit down and go through the traditional life insurance application process.

Product Specifics

All Basic Term policies are issued as 15-year level term, with the option to convert to a permanent policy at a later date.  Allstate offers three different face amounts to choose from: $50,000, $100,000 and $150,000. Your premium will remain the same and will not increase for the term of your policy. If your situation requires more insurance or for a longer period of time, you can still qualify for those products with a traditional life insurance exam.

Spread The Word

We are very excited to announce this product in conjunction with our Auto/Life Discount. For more information or to get a quote, please contact Matt at 360-452-9200.

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 Pay Your Allstate Insurance Bill In Port Angeles

Matt Elwood Allstate Insurance

Paying bills is a chore than no one likes doing, but at Allstate we have several different options that can make life a little easier for you.

Local Agency

This is probably obvious, but are you aware that we take several different types of payments including cash, check and credit card? We even accept American Express. The great thing about paying your bill in the agency is that the payment gets applied immediately and we give you a receipt if you want one. In addition, you can make your payment at any Allstate agency if a different location is more convenient. Our normal business hours are Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. However, if you stop by during non-business hours, we have a payment slot that you can drop your payment in and it will be applied to your account the next business day. We will also call you to let you know we received your payment.

Telephone

We can accept payments over the phone several different ways. Most people like to use their debit or credit cards, which are a great way to pay your bill because you get an immediate confirmation number. We can also take payment with an Electronic Check or E-check. All we need is your routing and checking account numbers to process the payment. Our agency phone number is (360) 452-9200 or toll free (866) 452-9200

Computer

I know nights and weekends can be the best times to get things done. You can visit Allstate.com/mattelwood 24/7 and sign up for My Account via the customer log-in. Just follow the three simple steps to set up your account. You can access your account immediately upon completing registration. Not only can you pay your bill there, but also view your policy information, sign up for paperless billing, file or check the status of claim and much more.

Easy Pay

This isn’t for everyone, but some people like to put things on auto-pilot. We can set up your account on easy pay so the payment comes out of your checking account automatically every month or on recurring credit card. You will still get notification via email from Allstate as a helpful reminder before the draft occurs each month. I use this option myself and I really like it.

Please keep all these options in mind next time you are paying bills and most importantly, thank you for being an Allstate customer!

Knowledge is power

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Referral Rewards Program

Matt Elwood - Allstate Insurance

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for… Choosing To Be Our Client,

Listening To Our Recommendations,

And Giving Us The Opportunity To Help You!

Referral Rewards Program

We hope you’ll be willing to recommend us to people you know. As our way of saying thank you, you will get rewarded for every referral that you send to us that gets an insurance quote.

When the person you refer us contacts us for a quote and gives us your name, we will give you a $10 gas gift card.

Start Earning Gas Gift Cards Today!

Thank You For Choosing Matt Elwood - Allstate Insurance

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.

Port Angeles Realtor Dan Gase

Dan Gase

As a local insurance agent, I like to align myself with other successful professionals in related industries in order to better serve my clients. It is important to have a great network of people that are experienced, trustworthy and proven in their fields. I know that I can confidently refer my clients and they will be handled with care.

Dan Gase

Meet Dan Gase. Mr. Gase is the former President and co-owner of Coldwell Banker Uptown Realty in Port Angeles, Washington. Dan has over 35 years of experience in many different facets of real estate including financing, construction, consulting, managing and of course, selling. Dan now specializes in the purchase and sale of Clallam County real estate.

I recently sat down with him to learn about where the opportunities currently exist in our local market. He said the biggest opportunity right now is for first time home buyers and those looking for rental investments. Given the fact that the average price for residential sales in Port Angeles in 2011 was $176,831 compared with $263,195 in 2007, makes it a true buyer’s market.

New website

Dan recently launched his new website DanGase.com. There you will find tools for buyers and sellers, featured listings, testimonials and more local information. In addition, a new Facebook page has been created to inform the public about upcoming open house events and promote properties he has on the market.

Community

To list all the civic and professional organizations that Dan has been a part of is too much for this article so I want to highlight the one Dan is most passionate about, Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County. Dan feels they truly do great work for the community and is actively involved. If you would like to learn more, please visit www.vhocc.org

Bottom line is if you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Clallam County, check with Dan Gase and you will be glad you did. Of course, when you buy that new home from Dan, one of the many things you will need when is great Homeowners insurance so please remember to contact me for a quote.

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.

Three Great Benefits of Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance tends to get some bad press, mainly because it is misunderstood by “experts” who don’t how these policies work. I will be the first to admit that there are some bad performing whole life and universal life policies out there, but the opposite is true as well. That’s the way it is with most products. There are positives and negatives associated with most everything. Since permanent life insurance gets so much negative press, here are three positive features that often get over-looked.

Tax Free Death Benefit

As it stands now, death benefit proceeds payable to beneficiaries are income tax-free. Well, so is term insurance, but only permanent life insurance is guaranteed to be there when you die as long as required premium payments are made. The vast majority of term policies never pay out a death benefit because most people outlive the term. Actuaries know this and so do the insurance companies.

Tax-deferred Growth

The cash value build-up inside a life insurance policy grows on a tax-deferred basis. That means you do not pay taxes each year on the growth of the guaranteed and non-guaranteed cash values.

Living Benefits

A permanent life insurance policy allows you to take out loans or withdrawals from your cash value. Often called Living Benefits, you have easy access to cash which can be used for anything from supplementing retirement income, helping with a down payment for a house or just creating an emergency fund. There are different strategies for accessing the cash value with different implications, but if done correctly, it can be withdrawn tax-free.

The Future

Obviously, everything is subject to change in the tax law, but this is why you should be working with an experienced, licensed agent. If you would like to learn more about the ways permanent life insurance may benefit your financial situation, please give me a call at 360-452-9200.

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.