Cities IG - 12-14-24

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Happy Saturday. Happy to be here with you.
This is Lindsay Washington.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Got lots to discuss today, so we're going to go
ahead and get right into this show. So we are
through Medicare Season, what we refer in our office as
Medicare Season, which is the annual enrollment period for Medicare
customers where you can change your party prescription drug plan
or your Medicare Advantage plan, which runs October fifteenth through

(00:26):
December seventh.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
So we got that all wrapped up. We had a
great busy time.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
We're happy to see all of our customers get caught
up on everything that's been going on with everyone. So
we were thrilled and excited to see everyone. However, towards
the end, it did get a little crazy as a
lot of letters went out. So I'm sure you've heard
about it or know someone if you were not impacted
that received their letter. If you are on an ETNO
plan in regards to Genesis and the Mercy one buyout

(00:53):
and them still being in negotiations with ETNA, so you
may received a letter that your doctor is no longer
in network while they are completing these negotiations.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
That is true.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
They are still negotiating and we do not have any
additional information at this time. However, if you are on
an ETNA Medicare advantage plan and they do not come
to a negotiation where your doctor is in network, we
do have the open enrollment period which is January first
through March thirty first, and during that time you can
make a one time change from a Medicare advantage plan

(01:25):
to another Medicare advantage plan. So in this instance, you know,
if you have it at a plan your doctor is
no longer in network, we'll be able to get you
switched to a different plan where your doctor will then
be a network. So everyone can, you know, get through Christmas,
take a deep breath. Let them try to negotiate it
out again. They did this earlier in the year where

(01:45):
they were able to reach a negotiation.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
It was just you know, at the eleventh hour. So
assuming that.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
That takes place again, then no worries, you don't need
to make a change. If you're happy with your plan,
all will be well. If for some reason they are
not able to figure it out, we do have that
open enrollment period where we can switch from a Medicare
advantage to another Medicare advantage plan and that is.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
January first through March thirty first.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
So we will be able to get you in sit
down with Rob again if we already met with you
this year and we decided to hold off, or for
the first time, we get you switched over if we
need you, if Mercy One or Genesis and cannot come
to an agreement. So with that being said, we are
happy to get through the initial Medicare season.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Hopefully they can come to an agreement and all will
be well.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
If not, we will be happy to get you taken
care of during that open enrollment period to get you
switched over. There is still plenty of time to get
some Christmas shopping done, so if you are finding yourself
with nothing going on this weekend, feel free. Leclaire has
the Shop Christmas Shop Hop going on today, so if

(02:56):
you are wanting to get out and get some good deal,
we have that option available. A lot of the shops
have specials going on with different discounts and things available
going on today and tomorrow, so.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
If you get out and about come downtown Leclair.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
The Twelve Deals of Christmas are still going on at
the Distillery, so they have a different sale kind of
going on every day with them lots and lots of
great deals through their twelve Days of Christmas. So if
you're usually finding yourself preferring their spirits, then definitely pay
attention to those deals because you can definitely find some
good savings through their twelve Deals of Christmas through the distillery.

(03:38):
Also Crafted QC has a Christmas Junk Journal event going
on tomorrow, and.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
It's kind of an interesting.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Opportunity to get out and do something different and capture
the magic of Christmas with a Christmas junk journal. It
is going to be a workshop where I apologize, So
they're going to provide all of this stuff. You can
bring some items if you want, and what you're gonna
do is put together a junk journal which captures the

(04:15):
essence of Christmas. It is designed for all skill levels,
so if you're a season crafter or just a curious beginner,
this is a great workshop for you. They'll guide you
through the process of creating a unique and personalized Christmas
junk journal using an arrate of festive materials including Christmas
scrap book, paper, embellishments. There will be fellow crafters there

(04:39):
and you can be inspired by each other. Again, all
materials will be provided. The class fee includes your very
own Christmas journal. Just bring holiday cheer and enthusiasm. Again,
if you have some additional extra touches you want to bring,
bring those along. So that is going on tomorrow at
one pm at Crafted QC. So if you're looking for

(05:01):
something fun and different to do this weekend, that is
available as well. Also coming up next week, something that
is fun going on here in Leclaire is the Elf
Academy and that will be hosted at the library on
December sixteenth, and that will be from.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Six to seven point thirty.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
It looks like a really great fun event, so if
you're looking for something fun to get out and do,
be sure to get out and check that out. Also,
there's a paint night coming up at Green Tree Brewery
with Art with Care. I've done a few of those
paint classes with her and it is always a great time,
and also done a few at that event location. So
if you are looking for something fun and you need

(05:41):
to do, there's still lots of fun Christmas activities out
and about.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
To be had. We do have great Christmas light displays
going on.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Around Leclair as well as I know at the Botanical Center.
We're getting ready to go check that out with our
family here in the upcoming week. So really looking forward
to continuing the festive spirit and all the things exciting
going on in the quad Cities that offer us and
allow us.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
To do that. So some less fun things to talk
about back to you.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Know, work, if you will, home and auto or property
and casualty.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
So we've been seeing lots and lots of changes on
that side. Auto seems to, you know, have kind of
leveled out. So I've actually been seeing a few policies
that are renewing with a.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
Slight decrease, I mean twelve dollars decrease over a six
month policy, but it's a decrease, it's not an increase.
So we are happy to start seeing some of those
types of renewals rolling. Again, that's not every company and
that's not everybody's situation. But if you are staying claim free,
if you're hitting a new tier, if you're going from
a three year claim free to a five year claim free,

(06:50):
a lot of those things are adding up and really
helping get to where we're seeing some renewals that are
not gouging the pockets on the auto side. However, on
the wo home side, renewals are still coming in at
thirty forty to fifty percent increases, and that is, you know,
with no claim activity, with no changes other than underwriting

(07:13):
for the carrier, and renewal premium increases.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
So a lot of that is happening.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
In addition to just general rate increases on the home
you also may be seeing or noticing additional changes on
your declarations pages for those home renewals. Please please, please,
I cannot advise you enough pay attention to those. Take
out your declarations page or pull it up online from
your previous year and pull it up next to your

(07:41):
renewal declarations page. Pay attention to your deductible. Your deductible
may have changed. It may not be bright, big and
bold on your renewal deck that shows that it changed. However,
it may have gone from three thousand to five thousand.

(08:03):
It may have gone from one thousand to one percent.
One percent would be one percent of your dwelling coverage
or your coverage A It's not one percent of the loss.
So if your dwelling coverage is three thousand dollars, your
one percent deductible will be three thousand. If your dwelling

(08:25):
coverage is five hundred thousand. Your one percent deductible would
be five thousand.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
So take a look, pay attention. It may not have changed.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
However, some carriers are taking on just renewal new base
deductibles that are going into effect, So again it's something
to pay attention to. I had a guy I was
working with. I do some of his policies his home,
and so with a different carrier, we worked on quotes,
got him a new quote. My quote was higher. However,

(08:57):
I was quoting off of his prior year deck. He
looked at his new deck and he says, oh my gosh,
my deductible is five thousand.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
It is not one thousand like it was. And I said, okay,
you can call and see if.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
That's a standard change or if you can get that
back down and what that premium adjusts to. But again
without us, you know, taking a look at it and
reviewing comparing new quotes, he would not have noticed that
that change was made and had no idea it was
not again big bold and highlighted. He had to search
for it to find it where it was listed on
the deck page. So just pay attention, take a moment.

(09:32):
This year to just really read through those policy renewals
and take a look at your prior deck to make
sure that all the changes, if any changes are made,
that you're comfortable with those changes, and if not, call
and see if they can be readjusted or if you
is now at the time, you know to get some
new quotes. Again, there are options to place your home

(09:55):
coverage and the writing has loosened up a bit, so
I am getting quotes.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
Return for properties no problem.

Speaker 2 (10:03):
New business requirements and they each vary by state and
by carrier, but we are tending to see higher wind
hail deductible requirements in both Iowa and Illinois per carrier,
as well as some carriers having different all peril deductible requirements.

Speaker 1 (10:20):
So if you currently had one thousand dollars deductible, most.

Speaker 2 (10:24):
New carriers or you may see are requiring maybe a
twenty five hundred dollars peril deductible or if not a
twenty five hundred dollars peril deductible, maybe a twenty five
hundred or a five thousand wind hail deductible. So just
pay attention to that or consider that. Also, again, what
deductible are you comfortable with carrying? If you had a loss,

(10:46):
would a five thousand dollars deductible be unattainable. If so,
then you need to look for different options. If you
have five thousand in savings, then you.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
Could access that.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
You may want to look at increasing your deductible because
cause you can maybe save a a a little bit
of premium where if you go a couple of years
without a loss, it may, you know, be worth it
to save on the premium versus at the time of
the loss.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
So again, play with numbers and compare.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
Also review some of your other coverage limits, UH to
see if you're.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
Deductible is now five thousand.

Speaker 2 (11:22):
You know, it doesn't make sense to only have five
thousand water store backup coverage if you're gonna have to
cover the first five thousand of that.

Speaker 1 (11:28):
Anyway, So think about those things.

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Pay attention again to those home renewals and compare it
to last year's decage, just to see what differences there
are and if those can be reversed or if there
are other adjustments you can make to UH save a
little bit in premium. Again, even without a loss, you're
probably gonna see that home renewal coming in a little

(11:52):
bit seper then we'd like it's a great time to
get new quotes.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
Also, be sure a lot of.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
My home customers a few years ago we had some
great packages and we were able to put them into
where they have deductible savings accounts or UH different loss
forgiveness packages. Definitely, definitely consider those factors before you make
the switch. Some of those options may not be available.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
With UH the new policy.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
So you you may have a credit to where your
deductible was really only five hundred, So is you know,
saving one hundred dollars on this premium worth it where
you're d you're gonna pay five hundred more out of
pocket because you're losing that five hundred dollars you know,
deductible credit, those things all matter and can make a
big difference, you know, especially at the time of the loss.

Speaker 1 (12:43):
Also, pay attention on those home renewals.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
If your roof coverage has remained the same, so many
many years ago you had replacement costs on your home,
it was the roof is replacement cost?

Speaker 1 (12:56):
Your coverage is fine. Few years ago, well they started
implementing things. If you know your roof wasn't fifteen years
or newer, maybe you could only get actual cash value
coverage on your roof.

Speaker 2 (13:09):
Sometimes you were grandfathered in, so if at the time
of issuance it was fourteen years old, you just keep
your replacement costs. Now, some of the things may have
changed to where once your roof is ten years old,
whether it was eligible or not previously, you now only
get actual cash value replacement cost or versus replacement costs
on the roof. So take a look see if there's

(13:33):
new endorsements or things that say actual cash value versus
replacement costs, and ask your agent about those coverages and
what that means for payout difference is what a different
payout might look like.

Speaker 1 (13:45):
Again, you don't want to learn.

Speaker 2 (13:47):
About the change when you're you know, going to replace
the roof, you're paying the contractor and you learn you're
only getting you know, five thousand dollars for that roof
because of depreciated value versus you know, twenty five thousand
to replace it. So make sure that you pay attention
to all of those things, and again take a moment
to call and ask the agent. They should be able

(14:09):
to review those with you and get you all the
answers to you ahead of, you know, time of a
loss catastrophe. So again, pay attention to the home declarations page.
Be thrilled if your auto goes down a little bit
or stays roughly about the same.

Speaker 1 (14:27):
Also, it may be time.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
To take auto policy with a different carrier for a
few months if your carrier allows them to be separated,
to save on the auto to kind of offset.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
The home increases.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
And then you can always you know, look at wrapping
that auto back around at the next home renewal to
get that discount back on there from the MALSI policy. Again,
there's a few options to find some savings. I may
just take a couple of phone calls to your agent
and to figure out you know, coverages and all of
that good stuff to make sure you're set up going

(15:02):
for the best policies for the coverage for your auto
and home into your renewal year. Again, the Medicare enrollment
period or annual enrollment period is over. Happy to have
got caught up with everyone and seeing all the customers
that we did during that time, which is October fifteenth

(15:24):
through December seventh. Now getting ready to enjoy some Christmas time.
If you are one of those individuals that has some
concerns with the ETNA and Mercy One.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
Negotiations have no fear.

Speaker 2 (15:39):
If they are unable to reach a negotiation, we can
get you switched from Medicare advantage plan to another Medicare
advantage plan January first through March thirty first, so that
you can get back on a plan with your doctor
and network. If you need to make an appointment or
have questions, give us a call five six, three three,
five nine eight five four.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
Hope you guys have a great weekend.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
If you're looking for stuff to do, shop, shop and
hop with Claire is going on today? Also, lots of
fun activities for Christmas coming up here in the next
week or so in Leclair.

Speaker 1 (16:12):
Can't wait to talk to you guys again and have
a great one.