Secure, No Matter What

Home. The word itself is solid, warm and comforting. But what if all that were swept away in a single moment? Could you rebuild, start again, make it what it was before?

Many Americans’ homeowners insurance doesn't cover the full cost of replacing their home in case of total destruction. In fact, most Americans are underinsured by 38 percent (source: Marshall & Swift/Boeckh). That means that if your home cost $200,000, to rebuild, you could be out of pocket up to $76,000.

Things get even trickier when you take into account the rapidly rising cost of labor and building materials. Maybe it cost $200,000 to build your home 10 years ago, but today it could cost significantly more.

But when you purchase ErieSecure Home^SM, you don’t have to worry about any of that. With this special homeowner’s coverage, you’ll be able to replace your home 100 percent--guaranteed.

Is your home covered 100 percent? If you’re not sure, it’s time to find out. Call us at Serfass Insurance today, and let’s talk about your family’s needs, and how we can make your home secure, no matter what happens.

Protect What’s Yours with Life Insurance

Protect What’s Yours with Life Insurance

Congratulations! It’s what you hear when you:

A) get married

B) have a baby

C) get a new job 

D) buy a home

And when you hear it, it might be a good time to evaluate or re-evaluate your life insurance needs. You can protect the lives of your loved ones, protect your legacy, protect everything most important to you with life insurance.  The best time to look at life insurance, really, is when you experience one of these big life changes.  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Marriage: How much life insurance do you and your spouse need now that you share expenses and financial goals?  If something were to happen to you or your spouse, would your expenses be covered and would your financial goals be met?  

New baby: Children are expensive little buggers! And we’re not just talking toys and birthday parties. We’re talking daycare, clothes, food, college…would you be able to pay for those items on one salary —or no income at all?

New job: It’s only human nature to increase spending when more money is coming in. Will your family be able to maintain their lifestyle if the income stops?

New house: Could you stay in your current home if something happened to your spouse? A lot of people, unfortunately, cannot. The costs of home ownership go beyond just the mortgage. Utilities, taxes, unforeseen repairs and other maintenance costs can cause your family to be uprooted at a time when they need stability most. When you purchase homeowners insurance, make sure you ask about life insurance as well.

How much do I need? And what type? These are the questions we can help with. We can explain the difference between term, whole and universal life insurance products from Erie Family Life* and help you choose a product that’s right for your stage of life—and your budget.

So next time you hear that big “Congratulations!” give us a call. We’ll help you keep you and your loved ones protected.   610-681-5785

*Erie Family Life insurance not available in New York

Not all companies are licensed or operate in all states. Not all products are offered

in all states. Go to erieinsurance.com for company licensure and territory

information.

Trust

It’s amazing how often we trust each other every day with issues great and small. We trust that the cashier at the grocery store will be honest and give us the right change. We trust that when we get into our cars, the other drivers will be attentive and safe, and we’ll arrive at our destinations without harm. We trust strangers around us every day to treat us properly and keep us safe.

But some decisions about trust deserve to be more carefully considered. How will you afford the retirement you want and deserve? Who will take care of your family in case you can’t? Weighty decisions with big consequences.

Whether you realize it or not, you already know someone you can trust with these things: us. You already trust Serfass Insurance to take care of your car. Maybe you trust us to protect your house, too. And if you haven’t considered protecting your future and your family in the same way, it’s time to do so.

Let’s sit down and really talk about life insurance and retirement investments. In this case, you can’t just assume that everything will turn out all right. Keep trusting us to help you make the right call. -KS

Excuses, Excuses. What’s Yours?

Five reasons people make buying life insurance anything but top priority

Buying life insurance rarely makes the top 10 on our to-do lists—and we have plenty of excuses as to why. Here are top reasons people push it off, and why that might not be the best idea: 

1) “I’m covered through work.”

Employer-sponsored life insurance is a great benefit to have. But work benefits are usually limited. What’s more, they don’t automatically go with you if you change—or lose—a job. 

2) “I’m healthy.”

The fact is, the best time to buy life insurance is when you’re in good health. The younger you are and the healthier you are, the better your rates will be. 

3) “I’m not insurable.”

Most of us are never as healthy as we want to be. But you might be surprised to find out that you are, in fact, insurable, regardless of age or health. It’s worth it just to ask. 

4) “It’s too expensive.”

There are many types of life insurance available, and there’s usually something that will fit in everyone’s budget. Once you break it down, life insurance is basically a dollars-a-day expense.

5) “I’m single and don’t have children.”

Not being married or having little ones around now doesn't mean there aren't other plans in store for you in the future. Plus, if you are in your 20's or 30's and have debts such as a car and a home, it’s good to get insured now while the cost is the most reasonable.

Is today the day?

The truth is, we don’t usually think about items such as life insurance until someone asks about it, or worse, someone we know experiences a life crisis that puts things in a new light. But why wait? Let us be the one to ask you about it, rather than you experiencing a loss that jolts the issue to the top of your list. 

We can help you find an Erie Family Life insurance policy that fits into your budget and covers your needs for your stage of life. Plus, if you’re an ERIE auto and homeowners policyholder, you can save on your premiums when you add a life policy from Erie Family Life*. Give us a call today to learn more. 610-681-5785

*Erie Family Life insurance products are not available in New York. Related discounts vary by state and are subject to eligibility requirements. 

Disclaimer:

Not all companies are licensed or operate in all states. Not all products are offered

in all states. Go to erieinsurance.com for company licensure and territory

information.

Demystifying Life Insurance

Do your eyes start to glaze over whenever anyone starts to talk about life insurance? Term life, whole life, universal life, what does it all mean? And the chances of you ever needing to use it are so low, why bother learning all the jargon?

Think again. Life insurance is a crucial planning tool for the people you love. Whether it’s making sure that your kids can go to college, your spouse is taken care of or just leaving some extra money behind to your heirs, you can’t ignore life insurance. So let us make understanding it a little easier.

There are three major types of insurance we offer: term, whole and universal. All are great policies with different purposes. Let’s break it down:

• Term Life is life insurance that you purchase for a specific period of time, in increments of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. Maybe you want to have a policy as long as the kids are still in school, or until your mortgage is paid off. Term life lets you make sure there’s enough money for all of these things without a lifetime commitment.

• Whole Life lets you adjust how you use your life insurance policy as your needs change. While you’ll always receive death benefits, a whole life policy also includes a cash value that you can draw upon. Maybe it’s to pay medical bills or to help out with retirement—it’s there for you to use as you need, and to adapt over time.

• Universal Life is a balanced plan offering you a strong death benefit protection as well as plenty of opportunities for investing and growth on a tax-deferred basis.

Still confused? Sit down with us and let’s talk about which of these kinds of insurance fits your needs, both today and in the future. Don’t leave things to chance: protect your family. 

“Not all companies are licensed or operate in all states. Not all products are offered in all states. Go to erieinsurance.com for company licensure and territory information.”

Nothin' But a Number

Many consider this a rude question, but we're going to ask it anyway:

How old are you?

Don't worry, your secret's safe with us. But it's an incredibly important question. Not because it determines how creaky your knees are or whether or not you can rent a car -- but because it determines where you should be on the road to a secure retirement.  

When it comes to investing for your retirement, the rule of thumb is the earlier, the better. The earlier you start investing, the more time your money has to grow.

But, even if you haven't had time to let your money grow, it's still not too late to invest. Better to start when you're 40 or 50 than just to throw your hands up and not invest anything at all because it's “too late.” It's never too late—you just might have a little catching up to do.

No matter where you are in your investing strategy, we want to talk to you about how annuities, IRAs and other investments can help lead to a better financial future for you and your family. 

“All insurance products are subject to terms, conditions and exclusions not described here; we can answer any questions you may have.”

Insurance Tune-Up

You know that your car needs its oil changed every 3,000-5,000 miles. You know that your heating and air conditioning system needs to be checked out every year. But what about an insurance tune up?

At Serfass Insurance, we do our best to make sure you're up-to-date on all changes in your policies, changes in the law, and other information you need to have. That's our job, after all. But it never hurts for us to sit down every year and make sure you have all the coverage you need at the price that fits your needs and your wallet.

Why is this so important? Because your life changes. Maybe when you first started working with us, you were a fresh-faced graduate with a car, and only needed auto insurance. When you bought your first house, we were there to help you make sure you were covered in case of fire, burglary and other homeowner hazards. All of this is common sense.

But did you remember to start saving for retirement? Or when you got married and had your first child, did you buy life insurance to cover your family in case of the worst? If not, it's not too late. Let's sit down and really talk about what matters to you in life, and what's worth protecting. Let's tune up your insurance, and make sure everything is still working. It'll pay off in the long run.

“All insurance products are subject to terms, conditions and exclusions not described here; we can answer any questions you may have.”

Annuities for Any Budget

Some people think that annuities are expensive, that you need to have thousands of dollars in the bank to buy into an annuity. While there are some annuities that require a large single payment, Erie Insurance offers many other options that can fit into many budgets:

• Flexible Premium Deferred Annuity (FPDA): Think of the FPDA as the “pay as you go” model of annuity. Rather than a large single payment, this annuity is funded over time with either scheduled or intermittent payments into your account. This allows you to fund the account slowly without a large initial payment, and can be a great choice for building a retirement account. You can enter a FPDA for as little as $300.
• Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA): If you need an immediate source of income, an SPIA may be right for you.* It does require an initial payment, but you begin receiving income right away with no waiting. These payments can be limited to a certain period of time, or can keep paying out for the rest of your life.
• Single Premium Deferred Annuity (SPDA): If you have $10,000 or more to invest in your future, an SPDA is an option. Choices include 3, 5 or 7-year guaranteed payout terms. Depending on the amount of the deposit, there may even be a first year bonus.

Don’t be scared away from annuities because you don’t have thousands to invest. Call us today, and let’s talk about whether an annuity fits your needs and your budget.

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*Surrender charges and other penalties may apply to early withdrawal of principal.  See policy for details, or call us to discuss.

Caring for Your Loved Ones

We go to great lengths for our loved ones. We work hard to provide them with a life filled with happiness, comfort and opportunity. In fact, there’s almost nothing we wouldn’t do for our loved ones. We re-arrange our schedules to never miss our kids’ sporting events. We put in extra time at work to save up for that special family vacation. We rush out of the office to make sure we’re home in time for dinner with our loved ones.

But what if you died tomorrow and were no longer around to provide for your family? Without your income and all the other things you do for your loved ones, would they be able to maintain their current lifestyle and keep future plans on track?

That’s where life insurance comes in. It can’t put your family’s life back to how it was, but it can keep your loved ones in the world they’ve always known. So if you think you need life insurance (or more than you currently have), now is the time to do something about it. What can say “I love you” better than a promise to provide for the ones you love, even after you’re gone.*

Contact Us

For information about life insurance policies that are available through Erie Family Life, contact our agency. We will help assess your life insurance needs.**

*Story is reprinted courtesy of the Life Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE), a nonprofit organization. Go to lifehappens.org for more information.

**Erie Family Life insurance products are not available in New York.

ERIE^® insurance services are provided by one or more of the following insurers: Erie

Insurance Exchange, Erie Insurance Company, Erie Insurance Property & Casualty

Company, Flagship City Insurance Company and Erie Family Life Insurance

Company (home offices: Erie, Pennsylvania) or Erie Insurance Company of New

York (home office: Rochester, New York). Not all companies are licensed or operate

in all states. Not all products are offered in all states. Go to erieinsurance.com for

company licensure and territory information.

Guarding Your Investments

About 80 million baby boomers are getting ready to retire in the next few years. Are you one of them?  If so, Serfass Insurance has plenty of options for your retirement needs, including traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, annuities, and 401(k)s. It’s never too late to start preparing for retirement, and we can help.

Have you chosen a life insurance policy?  Picking a policy can be a major decision, but Serfass Insurance has affordable options for everyone. Depending on your age and situation, we can help figure out the best plan for you and your family.

Do you need help with retirement planning or picking a life insurance plan? If so, don't hesitate to contact us . We’ll help you figure out the best plan for you. And if you know anyone who needs help with retirement planning, send them our way. We’ll take care of them. 

“Not all companies are licensed or operate in all states. Not all products are offered in all states. Go to erieinsurance.com for company licensure and territory information.”

Getting Serious About Life Insurance

No one likes to think about life insurance, much less talk about it or buy it. It’s uncomfortable and a little scary, acknowledging that we won’t live forever. But remember: life insurance isn’t about the people who are gone. It’s about the people who remain.

Life insurance is the ultimate safety net. It ensures that even in the event of your death, your loved ones are taken care of. Maybe it’s ensuring that your kids can still go to the college of their choice, or making sure that your spouse still has the golden years you two dreamed of. Or it can be as simple as making sure funeral arrangements are paid for so friends and family aren’t burdened with final expenses.

It’s time to stop pretending that life insurance doesn’t exist. Let’s sit down and talk about your needs, your options, and how you want to protect your family in case of the worst. You’ll be amazed at the peace of mind it affords you. No matter what happens now, your family will be provided for. There’s no better feeling in the world.





“All insurance products are subject to terms, conditions and exclusions not described here; we can answer any questions you may have.”