Peters Insurance : Easy As Can Be

The Peters Insurance Team of Mark Richardson, Beth Peters Hildebeidel and Jon Chandler are ready to answer your questions..

We were talking in the office recently about life’s milestones and how they can often trigger changes in life insurance needs. Weddings, births and funerals are, of course, the big ones. And when a teenager in your home starts to drive, the law requires an upgrade to your vehicle coverage.

But others often slip past unnoticed or unrecognized. For instance, your life insurance needs at 50 may be a lot different than your needs at 30. A new job, a new career or even the decision to start your own business can all affect your income, and therefore your life insurance needs. One milestone that many people are passing this month is taking children to college, where they will begin preparing for their own adult lives.

This is an excellent opportunity to talk to your child about the need for and benefit of life insurance. Scott and I have had life insurance for our children for years, but then, we are in the business. For many people the idea of life insurance for children doesn’t occur to them until something drastic happens, but there are many benefits to insuring your children early.

For starters, it locks in their insurability, so that if they did get sick or something else happened later in life, they can maintain their coverage. Second, insurance is very inexpensive for younger, healthier adults. And finally, if you have co-signed for student loans to help your child attend college and something awful happens, you could still be liable for repayment of those loans.

Our new colleague, Mark Richardson, is an expert in life insurance and he explains that there are many different types of policies to cover you at different times of your life.

Term Life is the simplest form. It is a policy with a pre-determined term – usually 10 to 20 years – and can be obtained fairly inexpensively if you are healthy. Term Life is ideal for young adults as they are leaving the nest, starting their own careers and families and have minimal coverage needs. A term policy can also be converted to Permanent Life, which offers additional investment benefits.

Universal Life is good for those with a growing family because it also provides an investment benefit. It can be used to save for college costs, retirement or those unexpected emergencies and the investment is tax-deferred so you get the best value for your dollar.

Annuities are also a great option for those with families or those looking ahead to the retirement years. As my colleague Jon Chandler likes to say, “Annuities are like the automatic creation of an estate.”

If you’re at a stage of life where your insurance needs are changing – or even if you want to prepare for those inevitable changes – I encourage you to contact Mark at our office – 610-262-5524 – and ask him for an analysis of your insurance needs. Learn more about life insurance.

Beth

Meet The Team

One of our goals with this blog is to give you a chance to get to know us a little better, so each post we will introduce another member of our team and talk about their job, their specialties and their lives. Of course, we have to start with Jon Chandler, who has been an integral part of Peters Insurance for 21 years.

Jon Chandler

Jon is a Lehigh Valley native who grew up in Macungie and graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in Marketing and Communications. Jon specializes in commercial insurance and works with concrete and excavating companies as well as auto mechanics and print shops. He is a Certified Insurance Counselor and is currently studying to become a Certified Risk Manager.

“Jon is really a well-rounded agent who also handles auto, life and personal insurance,” said Beth Peters Hildebeidel.

The father of two grown sons – one in grad school and the other at college, he lives in the Macungie area with his wife, Joann, a chemist at Merck. Jon is a motorcycle enthusiast who enjoys photography, music and travel – and he is planning to start playing golf.

“The most important thing to me,” Jon says, “is that my clients are doing okay. If they have a problem, I will respond immediately whether they spend $100 a year with us or $100,000.”

Lock Down Your Rates!

Now you can lock down your vehicle insurance policy rates for 10 YEARS thanks to the new Erie Rate Lock endorsement – even if you have a claim! That’s right, a 10-year lock-in opportunity, which means your annual rates would change only if you:

• Add or remove a vehicle from the policy;
• Add or remove a driver;
• Or change your garaging (home) address.

The endorsement can be added when one of the three changes occur or on the policy anniversary date. Get in touch via our website or call us at 610-262-5524 to learn more.