It’s Fed Day, and members of the Federal Reserve gather in
Washington for their regularly scheduled Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
meeting to discuss monetary policy.

Mortgage Bonds opened a bit lower this morning, being weighed down
by today’s pending $21B 10-Year Note offering, and as tensions in Europe seem
to be taking a breather for now.

However, Mortgage Bonds have been supported by key technical
levels, which I will continue to monitor. For now I recommend floating.

As a broker, part of what I do for my clients is watch the market so I can advise them
to lock in their interest rate at the best time possible.

If you’re thinking of buying a new home in the next few months or are just wanting to refinance
I’d be happy to speak with you to get you on the right path.

I have clients I’ve been working with for several months to repair their credit and put them in a
good position to purchase the home of their dreams.  You can email me at
tanya@crownmarkgroup.com.

With the recent weather we’ve had, here are some examples of frequently asked questions.

Q. Will Allstate pay for a hotel if the power is going to be out for a few days?

A. Allstate will pay the reasonable increase in living expenses when a direct physical loss we cover makes your residence premises uninhabitable. So if it’s just a power outage and there is no actual damage to the house, we would not pay for a hotel.

Q. Does deductible apply to food spoilage?

A. Yes a deductible would apply.

Q. If insured buys a generator to provide power to his house while there’s a power outage, will we reimburse them for the cost of the generator?

A. No, homeowner’s insurance will not pay for the generator.

Q. Will the homeowner’s policy cover damage to insured’s car caused by a fallen tree limb?

A. No, damage to an automobile should be filed under an automobile policy.

Q. How are trees covered that have fallen due to a windstorm?

A. When a tree falls due to wind – insurance may cover up to $500 to remove the tree debris if the fallen tree damaged property covered under the dwelling or other structures coverage. Insurance pays reasonable costs to remove the tree from the structure it damaged, and then up to $500 for the tree debris removal. If the insured has the Yard & Garden endorsement….insurance may pay up to $1000 for tree debris removal and the tree does not have to damage dwelling or other structures.

Q. If the wind partially uproots a tree and it is now leaning over the house, will insurance pay to have this tree removed before it does damage to the house?

A. No, insurance will not since the tree has not fallen. The company would expect the homeowner to take steps to prevent the tree from causing damage.

Q. Does insurance cover a tree that is hit by lightning?

A. Insurance may pay for the replacement and debris removal up to $500 total. If the insured has the Yard & Garden endorsement…insurance will pay up to $1000 for any one tree damaged by lightning.

Q. If a neighbor’s tree falls on our insured’s house due to a windstorm, whose policy pays to have the tree removed?

A. If the tree was dead and the neighbor realized that but did nothing to take care of it, then the neighbor may ultimately be responsible. If it was a live tree, then our insured’s policy would provide coverage. In either scenario, the insured’s policy would likely provide coverage subject to policy provisions and applicable limits.

Q. Will insurance cover food spoilage due to power interruption?

A. Yes, subject to policy specifics, insurance will pay for loss to contents of freezers and refrigerators on the residence premises caused by a power outage off premises. Deductible does apply.

Q. Do we cover damage to electronics and appliances caused by a power surge?

A. Coverage would be provided based on the individual homeowner’s policy language as long as the cause of loss was due to a power surge.

With more people on the roads during the summer months, it’s even more important to make sure your insurance fully protects your needs. Unfortunately, there are many driver’s on the road who are either uninsured or underinsured for liability coverage by having the state minimum or no insurance at all. This could end up to be extremely costly to you if that person hits you, totalling your car, or even worse, significantly injuring you or your passengers.

Call your insurance agent for a policy review. It could save you thousands of dollars and a lot of pain.

With Americans living longer, the country is facing a situation where nearly half (48 percent) of those ages 45-70 have no financial plans in place to protect themselves against outliving their assets and the rising care of healthcare according to a new survey from the Society of Actuaries (SOA).

Additional findings show more than one-third are worried about running out of money during retirement, but only 20 percent plan to purchase an annuity or other form of guaranteed lifetime income to protect their assets.

“It’s apparent that Americans, specifically the baby boomer generation – many of whom will be eligible for retirement the beginning of the new year – have not saved enough money for retirement,” says Anna Rappaport, FSA, MAAA and president of Anna Rappaport Consulting. “With the challenges in the housing and financial markets over the past few years, coupled with the fact that people are living longer, many baby boomers are finding themselves unprepared to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. As actuaries, we cannot stress enough the importance of having a plan in place that addresses all of the risks individuals may face in retirement, such as spending available assets too soon, meeting financial care needs, paying for the rising cost of healthcare and adjusting financially and otherwise to the loss of a spouse.”

Americans are continuing to rely on Social Security more heavily, with nearly three quarters (71 percent) of respondents saying they plan to claim it before the age of 70. Actuaries like Anna Rappaport emphasize the importance of claiming Social Security as late in life as possible to help secure more guaranteed lifetime income in retirement and help hedge against the risk of outliving assets.

Looking at other actions Americans take to protect themselves and hedge against potential future risks, the SOA survey found that 75 percent of Americans ages 45-70 protect their tangible assets, such as housing, through home or renter’s insurance; however, only 19 percent plan to insure the extra costs of disability and well-being by purchasing long-term care insurance.

“While long-term care insurance may be a complex and somewhat costly product, it can act as a financial safety net should people need extensive care in their old age,” says Dawn Helwig, FSA, MAAA and consulting actuary for Milliman, Inc. “Purchasing a long-term care policy or combination product can help mitigate the potential risk of having to pay out-of-pocket for unexpected health-related costs down the road.”

The SOA’s survey findings were based upon a nationally representative online survey of 1,006 individuals, ages 45-70, and had an error rate of plus or minus 3.10 percentage points.