Our Process for New Clients

We are often asked “why” regarding the process we have for working with new clients. We have found it works exceptionally well and is in line with our mission to provide folks better insurance that often costs less than what they’re currently experiencing.

First, we do a brief question and answer interview by phone. That helps us understand what is most important to you, the prospective client. It helps us identify the discounts for which you may be eligible, it helps us close any “gaps” of information so that we can do our best job for you.

If it appears we may be able to help you, we then request copies of your current insurance “declarations” pages. We don’t want screen shots, out of date or partial pages, we want the complete set of current documents. Why? We have two reasons. First, it let’s us “prove” you have insurance which allows an extra discount to provide you the lowest pricing. Second, it allows us to be sure we illustrate our options with coverage as good as what you currently have. We don’t rip coverage to shreds to come up with a better price for you. There’s no point in doing that. We want to be sure we’re seeing all the items that are important. We do this every day and this process allows us to do it quickly and accurately. Our team is able to identify important items on the documents that you may not even have noticed.

Will we offer you something better/more/different? Yes, we will! We are lucky to work with carriers that have exceptional products, some of which you may not be familiar. When we provide you our illustrations, we’ll highlight those so that you can make wise choices for your insurance program.

Insurance isn’t about price. It’s about value and professional, licensed advice to protect you and your family from the catastrophic things that can change your world in a heartbeat.

This is the process we follow. It’s allowed us to provide insurance for many people who refer others our way. They are the same people you see giving us satisfied Google Reviews. If our process is not to your liking, you are able to work with other agencies and companies who may not practice the same way. We enjoy a retention rate of over 95%. That means that most of the folks who join our agency stay with our agency. We’re also proud to note that 100% of our team are licensed agents in the state of PA, which requires continuous education in the field. If you’d like to have us work with you, please reach out to us.

Home Insurance Rising Prices

Not a day passes where we don’t receive a phone call from a client regarding an increased home premium. Why?

First, we have provided many of them with an auto policy that has a “LOCKED” rate, which they love. It’s a more predictable line of business and we are able to offer it with that type of stable rate.

Home insurance, however, isn’t the same. Now, like no other time we’ve seen before, we’re having incredibly volatile, severe and frequent losses thanks to Mother Nature. The claims are larger in dollar value than in previous years, too. Since Covid, we’ve seen large increases in the construction costs for both material and labor. And unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s going to settle down anytime soon. Storms keep happening and many are catastrophic in their impact to residential communities.

The cost to re-insure large losses has also risen. The cost to the insurers is higher. Some insurers are unable to see enough investment income to offset the claims being paid. The numbers are troubling.

If you google about increased home insurance premiums, you’ll quickly find a bigger concern than rising prices. Instead, you’ll find some carriers are actually pulling out of states where they’ve done business for decades. Some are restricting the writing of new business. Some are non-renewing existing customers. It’s a huge concern for our customers, our agency, and our communities.

So, while increased pricing is always a sensitive point, it’s important to realize that the new and bigger problem is going to be availability of coverage. Finding an insurer with a strong financial rating that is able to “weather the storm” is of utmost importance. Staying with a company whose reputation for great claims service matters. We only represent companies who are able to pay, and pay fairly, when the claim situation presents itself.

One of the best ways to lower the premium cost is to consider a higher deductible. When deductibles rise, premiums drop. And vice versa. Right now, most of our clients have $1,000 or $2,500 deductibles on their home policies. This helps them submit claims only when they are too much to handle personally. It keeps their reported claims frequency down which is important for managing premium.

We continue to represent companies with only the strongest financial standing and exceptional reputation for claims service. We are always happy to share information that helps folks understand the financial climate and be partners in the management of their insurance programs.

Surprising Home Deductibles!

Read your policy. Or let us read it for you. Many folks don’t realize their home insurance carriers have made a “special” deductible for wind and hail events. And while 1% of anything sounds like nothing, that’s not the case. These nice folks whose home rebuild value is $269,000 would experience a $2,690 deductible when/if they have this type of claim. We’re going to be offering them more coverage for less premium. Most important is our deductible for the home will be $1,000 for any covered property claim. Period. (FREE REVIEWS EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK FOR PA RESIDENT HOMEOWNERS WHO DO NOT ALREADY HAVE ERIE INSURANCE. CALL US. 610-530-0304)

When it gets real…

As insurance agents, we have a unique perspective about insuring people’s homes, autos, and lives. The general public often thinks the premiums are too high. They say they’re getting ripped off by paying and not having a claim. Trust me, not having a claim is the best scenario.

Insurance and how it works is actually quite logical. Because many pay a premium, we are able to pay claims to the few who may experience them. No one could ever successfully “insure themselves” for some of the huge losses that can occur. This “sharing of loss” is at the core of how and why insurance can work.

Life insurance is one product that we agents seem to whine about. We ask our peeps several times. We know we can be tiring. We know you roll your eyes when we remind you. We know you don’t like to think about what it means. We sometimes feel uncomfortable asking, but we still do it. Why?

Every now and again, we get “the” call. I got one this week. Time stands still when the family member tells you that someone with whom you crafted a life policy has passed. You immediately remember sitting at your desk with them. Sometimes it was at their kitchen table. In this case, I think I actually sat in a booth at a local fast-food restaurant. It was twenty years ago. The person was under 40, with two young children. Healthy. In fact, the person snagged what we call our “walk on water” rate. It was less than $1 per day for a 30 year policy.

A few days ago, the surviving spouse called me. The insured passed suddenly and unexpectedly. The insured was younger than I am. The spouse was in a state of disbelief as he relayed the story to me, clearly in shock about how things happened so quickly. I listened, realizing that the exact same set of circumstances could happen to any of us, any day, any time. Within sheer moments, we are here and then gone. Listening to someone cry while telling you such a personal story is hard.

When you think you have no words, they come out anyway. You hear them coming out of your mouth and can’t believe you’ve managed to find the right ones. That is, if there are “right” ones. Nothing you say changes what has just happened. Nothing you say brings their loved one back.

Since the call, I’ve run the conversation through my mind again and again. Was there something else I could’ve said? Something more I could’ve done? The simplest offer to meet and help complete the forms seemed to be comforting. Saying how sorry I was sounded so short and empty in my head. Yet, their response let me know the words were appreciated.

I read through the obituary. I realized the person had many facets of a life that I did not know. I smiled as I read about some personal passions and activities that we shared, but I hadn’t known. I read about the people and pets who would miss them forever. When the rubber hits the road, as they say. It doesn’t get more real.

This wasn’t the first life insurance claim I’ve had in these 25 years. But every time I’ve had one, it feels like it is. Being in this place is new and scary for the surviving family member. Each time I have a huge realization of how the monies paid will be used to keep some things “as normal as possible” for them.

This insured had called me for more life insurance a few months ago. They thought their mortgage would’ve been paid off by now, but it wasn’t. They’d taken on some additional debt and they felt they should consider an extra policy. They didn’t move forward as rates had risen considerably now that they were 20 years older.

Knowing that some of their financial challenges will be solved with the life insurance policy helps me realize how important it is for us to keep providing them. So when I ask you about it for the “umpteenth time”, please know that it’s because I believe the value it can provide is well worth me sounding like a broken record. Most folks don’t buy life insurance until they’ve been offered it several times. It’s true! But every soul to whom I’ve sold it has said, “Thanks for giving me a little push, I’m glad we got that done. Now I don’t need to think about it again.”

If you haven’t addressed this yet, please do. Talk to your personal insurance advisor. It’s important.

Squishmallow Drive for TKP Kids!

The Kindness Project is a local organization that provides support to our foster-care community. With two locations, (Emmaus and Stroudsburg) they provide clothing, toys and other items to folks who need immediate help at the critical time of placement.

Placement of a child can occur quickly and without much notice. The foster care family may not have time to secure all the things needed for that specific child. By having the “store” available to them, they can visit and snag important things right away. If you check out their website, you’ll see that they need all kinds of things. Find them at KindnessProjectLV.org

We are organizing a donation drive similar to the one we did a few years ago when we asked for your help with snagging fun, festive hats for the kids in a pediatric oncology unit. We are hoping to have some fun by gathering SQUISHMALLOW toys! I didn’t know what they were, but a quick “Google” schooled me to find they are very cool, colorful toys that are definitely a sweet comfort item. They would be appreciated by a scared or apprehensive child in this type of situation. There are about 500 different ones! They range $3 to $60, based on size.

I even found one named Lola, like my dog! She’s pink! How perfectly precious! Picture above. I even learned that every Squishmallow has a “back story” that you can read. Just like people. We all have a story that makes us special, that makes us who we are!

We will be accepting NEW Squishies up until Thursday, August 11. (Other stuffed toys are totally fine, too. However, they must be new, not used. Allergies and other factors require us to specify this part, sorry!) They can be delivered to our office location at 339 Franklin St., Alburtis PA from 11AM-4PM Monday to Friday. If you need a different time, please reach out to me at 610-530-0304.

Please share this with your friends and neighbors. When we work together, we can make a huge difference in someone else’s journey! Thank you!

Hosfeld Insurance, LLC aka InsuranceChix.com

Time to do it!

It’s time.

It’s been a long time since we did our community fundraiser stuff. Covid. Moving into our new Alburtis office. Lots of reasons.

Many of you have attended, donated and participated in the past. Thank you for sharing our enthusiasm and being so willing to help others in your community!

On Wednesday, July 27th, we’ll be at Funk Brewing Company and Triple Sun Spirits Company (518 Bank Street) in Emmaus from 4pm to 9pm. “Tacos with a Side of Kindness” will be the event. Find it on Facebook. Music from Kinda Sorta Maybe, a local band that will wow you! Flavor Nation will be making amazing tacos. The food and drink folks are generously donating a portion of sales to TKP. It promises to be a FUN night. A little birdie told me there might even be a “life-sized” chick on site!

The Kindness Project (TKP) has become a very important puzzle piece by encouraging folks to explore the foster opportunity and supporting those who’ve already committed to being foster families.

Save the date. Follow our Hosfeld Insurance and InsuranceChix.com Facebook pages for updates!

We do insurance. Just insurance.

Why does this matter?

Right now, everyone wants to snag a piece of the insurance puzzle. Folks who are “account representatives” but are unlicensed. Folks who really do other stuff but add insurance into the mix because it’s an easy “add” on. Like fries with a burger.

Insurance is not the fries with your burger.

Insurance is it’s own discipline and requires time, energy and passion to do well. Some of us have dedicated decades to it. My agency is nearing that quarter century mark. We still admit that we don’t know it all. We learn new things daily. We take continuing education classes to maintain our professional licenses and stay sharp on what’s happening in our industry. We love insurance. We pride ourselves on doing for others what we’d do for ourselves. We live to protect your family and your stuff. That’s ALL we do. That’s who we are.

The reason for my post is to share what happened to a client of ours this week. When she went to refinance her home, she was told she was paying too much for her insurance. They would be able to save her tons of money and get her even better coverage. They could help with her home and vehicles. She’s a smart lady. They assured her they would give her “much better” programs.

Want to know what she no longer had on her policy? The changes they made were so drastic, she would’ve had a financial nightmare at claims time had she gone forward with their version.

• She no longer had Guaranteed Replacement Cost on her home. GRC means “no cap”. Instead, she had a specific dollar cap and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Maybe your house will be fully rebuilt. Maybe not.
• She had a rider saying if she had a loss to her roof, it would not be paid at any type of replacement cost figure; it would be depreciated based on the age of the roof. This could cost the average homeowner several thousand dollars of their own money should a roof claim occur.
• She had only a small list of things that were covered, not the broad “comprehensive” perils we offer
• Deductibles were changed
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage stacking options had changed
• There was some language about deductibles that could vary. We’ve seen this on many competitors’ policies for wind and hail events. Instead of having the same deductible as stated on the policy, those events engage a percentage deductible instead. Imagine if you were going to absorb a deductible equal to 2 or 5 percent of your home’s value. That’s a big number, isn’t it? Do the math.
• Oh yeah, and no local agent who will help you with issues, general questions or claims down the road. They have 800 numbers for all of that. Do you know how many calls and emails we get in a week where folks just have a simple question or two? When we answer calls and emails promptly, some folks are surprised. Many don’t expect a “same day” response.

She asked us to help take care of undoing the new policies with the other company. Happy to do so, no problem at all. Trying to obtain fax numbers so we had “proof” of receipt of her signed cancellation was near impossible. Phone trees ended up with extensions no one answers, calls were simply transferred and then dropped, folks refused to share a fax number with me until I told them the reason I was faxing. This task was hovering on the edges of comical and irritating. The recorded message continued to tell me that if I wanted more immediate service, I should create an account and log on to the portal at the URL address that was spoken so quickly it was unintelligible. Imagine dealing with that when you’re trying to report a claim? Or even just calling to clarify something on a billing statement. Or ask a simple question about your policy. All I wanted was a semi-smart human.

Rant over. Bottom line? I don’t want my CPA doing my dry cleaning. I don’t want my yoga teacher preparing my taxes. And I don’t want anyone other than a professional, licensed and local person doing my insurance. Nor should you.

“Should I still be driving?” asks your parent. Now what?

When we’re kids, our parents know everything. They take care of us. They’re in charge. They keep us safe.

Heads up. As we both age, we must do the same for them.

Over the years, we’ve had more of our older drivers call us about this very thing. The conversations vary. They are difficult because they spark memories for me of my own mom’s experience. As she got older, I made a point to let her drive us so that I could observe and identify any changes in her abilities. She was good. Until she wasn’t.

As an adult child, have you driven with your parent lately? Are they safe? Are they able to see and hear well enough to operate a vehicle? Are their reaction times good enough to respond to other vehicles moving around them? Are their judgment skills adequate to evaluate challenging roadways, signs, traffic patterns and actions of other drivers? Today’s roads are not yesterday’s roads.

When my own mom started to lose her vision, she didn’t delay. She was dead certain that she couldn’t live with herself if she caused an accident and hurt someone. Or worse. She was lucky to have enough family to support the decision and take her to appointments and errands. While she was quite sad when we re-homed her car to my niece, she was also very relieved to know that she did the right thing. It relieved the burden of worrying about whether she waited too long.

Please listen to your aging relatives and friends. Often, they will tell you they have concerns about their own driving, if you listen. They don’t want to be a burden. They don’t want to admit they are failing. They don’t want to appear weak, old, or unable. They are scared. They may actually be waiting for you to bring up the subject.

Perhaps the best way is to ask a simple question. Ask “Are you at all concerned about your driving?” and see what they say. Some are waiting for their kids or their doctor to TELL them they need to relinquish their license.

Too often, we hear these things from the adult children after the accident occurs. They’ll tell us they knew the parent was starting to have difficulties or didn’t seem “quick enough” anymore. They’ll mention that they had noticed little scrapes on the car but didn’t want to ask about them.

Repay the favor. It’s our turn to be the grown-ups, whether we like it or not. #KeepThemSafe

Referrals and Why They Matter

If you’ve never been a small business owner, you probably haven’t REALLY thought about why referrals matter so much. With the pandemic, the snow, the “new way” of doing business virtually makes referrals matter even more.

In “the good old days”, I would get out and about and meet people with whom I’d build relationships. I’d learn about what they did, what they sold, what kind of referrals they’d like to receive. They did the same about me. It’s called “networking” and its part of building communities and growing small businesses. Why is it enjoyable? Most of us folks crazy enough to go into business for ourselves have one thing in common. We like people. All kinds of people. Hearing their stories about what matters to them, learning what hobbies and interests we have in common, these are the things that are the “glue” in any relationship.

In addition to liking people, we like what we do. Whether its fixing cars, designing kitchens, or providing insurance advice, we are passionate about it. We see it in a way that most folks never will. I’ve been accused of eating, sleeping and breathing insurance. I like to identify risks and find ways to manage them, find ways to protect people and their stuff. I like to help guide them through the maze of having a loss, whether it involves their kids, their home, their car…it’s a time when I can help someone with something that overwhelms them. That is a great feeling that nothing else can top.

If you’ve never “been in business”, just imagine doing it. Where would you find your new customers? How would you let them know what you do? Most of us don’t want to be pushy, but we have to be consistent and keep asking for business. Why? Because people don’t just walk up and knock on our door. Well, some do. But we find the best source to be the folks introduced to us by our existing clients.

When I ask you to refer others our way, it’s not just something to say. I mean it. I want to continue to grow my business with people JUST LIKE the ones I already insure. I like you and I want more people just like you. I need your help with the introduction. Some of you might not know how to do it, how to say something, how to connect your friends or family to me. It’s one of those things that is easy if you let it be. When we do something that wows you, tell someone about it. When we help you solve an issue and we do it quickly, efficiently and with a human voice you know, tell someone about it. Just by telling your story to them may make them ask more about us. We are constantly told that “my old agent never returned my calls” and “all I ever get is their voicemail” and “my agent never explains things to me.” My guess is that these folks might like to meet us!

How? Tell them when you chat! Shoot them an email about your experience and share our phone number with them. Tag us on Facebook or whatever social media platform you use, just a quick shout out and suggestion that others might like to reach out to us.

If you’re pleased with the service we’ve provided you, please share us. We need your help and we can’t do this ourselves. Your friends will thank you and we’ll be “over the moon” with appreciation. And Lola will HOWL at that moon, too!

Have your friends call 610-530-0304 or email me at Donna@HosfeldInsurance.com (Pennsylvania only!) We love to improve coverage and save money! We live for it!

Pet Insurance 2.0

As an insurance agent, I get questions from clients about all kinds of insurance. Some we handle daily, some we don’t sell at all. Most recently, my opinion was sought regarding pet insurance.

Having become a new mom to Lola, a supremely perfect Coton de Tulear, here’s what I know. I researched many of the popular pet insurance carriers and their policies.

When I hear people asking where they can find a “cheap” or “free” pet, it astounds me that they are not realizing that some of the biggest costs to being a pet owner involve things beyond the “acquisition cost”. Whether you get your baby for free, for $50, or for $5,000, please know that the costs over his or her lifetime will be far, far greater. Even for a healthy pet, there are ongoing costs for food, grooming, boarding, flea/tick/heartworm medications, toys…and veterinary services. Most of us spay and neuter, so that’s one cost you may anticipate. However, you could end up having a pet that is diagnosed with a serious medical condition that requires more care or medication than you anticipated. Your pet could be hurt accidentally and need expensive imaging and diagnostic services as well as surgery with anesthesia. How are you preparing to deal with that? Once you’ve fallen in love with Fluffy, trust me, you’ll do everything in your power to make sure Fluffy receives proper care. But what happens when and if it’s not just a $200 bill for a “once and done” type visit? How much of your savings are you willing and able to use for an emergent or ongoing problem situation?

A quick Google will reveal the leaders in the pet insurance field. Ask lots of questions and be sure to review a policy document (not just a brochure summary) and its exclusions. Exclusions reveal what is not covered and it can vary. Some carriers will allow the office visit charge to count toward the deductible or reimbursement. Some do not. It can make a big difference over time. Some will grant a nice discount if you pay the year in full. Some have superb mobile applications where you simply scan the invoice and type in some info to submit a claim.

As with an insurance, decide what you want to have covered. If you choose to pay preventive care yourself, the premium will be lower. Make sure the lifetime maximum is adequate. While $10,000 sounds like a lot of money, it won’t go far for a pet getting chemotherapy or a complex surgery. Pick a deductible that is comfortable for you. Remember, the higher the deductible, the lower the premium. The sooner you buy the insurance, the cheaper it will be. And, yes, it will increase as your pet ages.

I chose ASPCA for my pet insurance company. There are others that make folks happy, too. But do your research, ask questions, review exclusions and make smart choices regarding the costs you’re willing to bear yourself. Just like most insurance, you hope you’ll never have to use it. But should you need it, the value is well worth the cost.