ALLCHOICE Insurance :: Blog

Identity Theft is the number one white collar crime in the United States.  According to the Federal Trade Commission, Over 10 Million people fall victim to Identity Theft each year.  Stories of Identity Theft are all around.  Whether you heard about a neighbor or friend who had some mysterious “stuff” show up on his or her credit, or the news of over 130 Million personal records being jeopardized by a former government employee, the threat is there.  Unfortunately, most people still have no form of protection for their personal identity.

Fortunately, there are numerous companies offering varying plans that claim to protect your identity.  Unfortunately, most of these “plans” can’t live up to the promises that they have made.  One of the largest players in the Identity Theft market spends a lot of money on advertising his program.  The commercials show this guy handing out his social security number to people on the street, and even has a billboard truck riding down the road displaying his social security number.  “Wow!  If that guy does that then his system must really work!”  Not so fast!  This guy, who goes around touting his own system has had is Identity Stolen at least 8 times.

Let’s face facts.  There is no solution out there that can 100% Guarantee you that your identity will not be stolen.  The thieves that master Identity Theft are one step ahead of these protection systems most of the time.  So, the question that arises should be, “what can I do?”  First, you must change the way you think.  Identity Theft is an ever evolving crime.  You can never account for or protect all of the ways that your identity could be stolen.  Instead, I want you to think of protecting your identity the same way you think of protecting your home or automobile.

Just like your home or automobile, you take steps to protect those assets.  You make sure you keep the asset in good working order.  You lock doors.  You remove fire hazards.  You do a multitude or things to help prevent losses.  However, you know that no matter how much you do, there is always a chance that something will cause your precious asset to be harmed, like a fire or hurricane.  So what do you do?  You purchase an insurance policy for those risks that you just can shield from loss.

Identity Theft should be viewed in the same light.  Here are a few steps you can take to reduce your exposure to Identity Theft:

• Monitor Your Credit Report
• Don’t Give Out Personal Information Indiscriminately
• Be Careful With Your Mail
• Guard Your Trash
• Only Give Out Your Social Security Number When Necessary
• Pay Attention To Billing Cycles
• Exercise Caution Online
• Remove Personal Information From Old Computers
• Monitor Your Motor Vehicle Report
• Review Your Social Security Statement
• Monitor Your Medical Records

Now that you know the precautions and steps to take to reduce your exposure, it is now time for you to look for some “insurance”.

Future Articles will provide more information on exactly what Identity Theft is and the best type of “insurance” to buy.

About The Author:  Jack Wingate is the President and Co-Founder of ALLCHOICE Insurance in Greensboro, NC.  For more information about Identity Theft, Jack Wingate, or ALLCHOICE Insurance please visit http://www.allchoiceinsurance.com

A recent report shows that sales of Fixed Indexed Annuities reached record levels during the second quarter of 2009. According to the report, total sales of Fixed Indexed Annuities reached $8.3 Billion. This $8.3 Billion surpassed the previous record, set in the second quarter of 2005, by nearly $800 Million. While the record is impressive on its on, the fact that the record came at a time when Annuity Carriers were attempting to decrease the amount of new sales by cutting premium bonuses, reducing commissions, and placing moratoriums on the amount of new business.

The fact is, despite the efforts of the annuity industry to decrease new annuity sales, many people are seeking a “flight to safety”. Over the past 12 months, there has been a huge decrease in the values of Amercian portfolios. As the United States Equity Markets experienced record levels of volatility, many people saw their retirement savings and other investments decrease dramatically. The sad truth of this problem is that a large percentage of the recorded losses came directly from the portfolios of Baby Boomers.

While the Baby Boomer generation may not ever reach “break even” on their investment losses suffered during the crash, it is apparent that they are not willing to take a chance on losing more. So why is the destination of the “flight to safety” Fixed Indexed Annuities? To those who understand the Fixed Indexed Annuity, that answer is very simple. The problem is that many people simply do not understand this product.

The Fixed Indexed Annuity, simply stated, is Fixed Insurance Product that guarantees the owner (or annuitant) that his or her principle (amount given to the insurance company) will never decrease (lose value). In addition, the annuity can increase in value if the performance of an Equity Index (most commonly the S&P 500) performs favorably during your contract. While there are hundreds of different Indexed Annuity products that calculate earnings in a multitude of ways, the theory remains the same. You may be asking yourself, “what’s the catch?” The catch is that in exchange for the Insurance Carrier providing a guarantee of your principle and giving you the possibility of earning market linked returns, the Insurance Carrier wants time and a percentage of the earnings.

The fact is, most Fixed Indexed Annuity products have Surrender Periods of 5-12 years. If you decide to take your money out of the contract during this Surrender Period, the Insurance Company will charge you a fee (called a Surrender Charge). This Surrender Period allows the Insurance Carrier to take your principle and make long term investments. The other caveat with the Fixed Indexed Annuity is that the Insurance Carrier also retains a portion of the contracts earnings. Simply stated, they take out the possibility of loss but also limit the upside earnings. To understand this concept, let’s look at an example:

A person places $100,000 into a Fixed Annuity Contract with XYZ Carrier. On the date the contract is issued, the S&P 500 Value was 900.00. 12 Months later, the S&P 500 Value was 1,080.00. That is a 20% increase in the underlying Index. At the contract anniversary, the Insurance Carrier credits the Indexed Annuity with a $15,000 (15% increase). The remaining difference is retained by the carrier.

As you can hopefully see, the Fixed Indexed Annuity offers two important benefits to those who choose them. First, they provide the contract owner 0% chance of loss. Second, they offer the contact owner with an opportunity to earn higher returns than the average Fixed Annuity of Certificate of Deposit. There are other benefits of the Fixed Indexed Annuity that we have not discussed, but you can see why so many people are turning to the Fixed Indexed Annuity as the destination of choice for the “flight to safety”.

We have been working on a good sized Apartment Complex (around $20 Million total insurance value) in Eastern NC. The complex is currently insured by the “on your side” guys. While we have numerous markets for this type of risk, we started with Travelers Insurance as they have been pushing their competitive position on Apartment Complexes. It seems they are/were quite right. While we have not received the commitment yet (looks like Tuesday), we are around 30% less expensive.

Understand, we quoted apples for apples and even added a $5 Million Commercial Umbrella Policy, and were still that competitive.

Mariea Snyder, an ALLCHOICE Insurance customer, is the new World Amateur Kickbox Champion.  Over the weekend of July 25th, Mariea, and her husband/trainer Steve Snyder, traveled to Orlando, FL to compete for the International Kickboxing Federation Championship in the bantam weight division.  Although, Mariea had previously won numerous kickboxing fights and titles, winning the prestigious IKF Championship is most definitely the crown jewel (or belt) in her collection.

Mariea & Steve Snyder own one of the most prominent Martial Arts Studios in the Triad, Living Defense Martial Arts.  LDMA offers full complement of Martial Arts including TaeKwon Do, Kickboxing, and true Brazilian JiuJitsu.  Mariea’s crowning as the IKF’s World Champion lends further credibility to LDMA’s programs and instructors.

On a personal note, I have been training a LDMA for a little over a year, and have seen the hard work and determination that went into Mariea’s training and she should be commended.  The Snyder’s run a 1st class Martial Arts Studio, and more importantly they are 1st class individuals.

For more information about Mariea & Steve Snyder, or Living Defense Martial Arts, please visit the ALLCHOICE “Member Center” and select “Links”, or visit their web-site at http://www.ldma.biz