Annuities in the New Year

Do You Have Any CDs Coming Due? Would You Like To Earn a Higher Return?

A New Year…a time to look back and reflect on our lives, and look forward to what we hope for our future. As we make resolutions this New Year, planning for your financial future should be one of the first items on your “to do” list! If you don’t already have a plan, NOW is the time to begin investing in your retirement plan – the earlier you begin, the more money you will have at retirement. Even one year can make a big difference in your payout at retirement. Who wants to work longer because they can’t afford to retire?

What is an annuity?
An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company to provide you with a future income stream. You pay the company a certain amount of money over a period of time, and in return the company will disburse checks throughout your retirement, within the stipulated annuity period. Payouts can be delayed for a number of years after retirement, or they can begin immediately. And if it is set up to be paid over your entire lifetime, you can never outlive it!

Why annuities?
With the uncertainty of the volatile market we are facing, and may continue to face for many years, annuities offer an extremely safe way to grow and protect your retirement assets. There are guaranteed returns - a guarantee you just can’t get in the stock market. In addition, interest is tax-deferred and annuities are estate assets that pass directly to the named beneficiary.

Annuities may just be that stable, safe-haven for your money that you are
looking for. Certainly much safer than storing it under the mattress, and
undoubtedly less risky than playing the stock market.

Don’t put your future on hold! Call 330-334-1561 or 1-800-334-1561 to speak with Patrick O’Neill to get more information on setting up an annuity.

Big Wrestler--- Little Protection

I was shocked to hear that Hulk Hogan, a retired professional wrestling star and entertainer, is in deep financial trou­ble after his son’s car accident. After all, Hogan is worth millions of dollars, and can surely afford appropriate insurance coverage to protect himself, right?

So what was the problem you ask? He did not have an umbrella. Hogan was worth an estimated $30 million in August 2007 when his son Nick crashed Hogan’s car and left his passenger with a serious brain injury. Hogan was way underinsured and will have to pay out of his pocket anything over the $250,000 limit he carried.

Now most of us don’t have quite that much wealth to protect, but imagine if it were you in a similar situation. Could you afford to pay a claim against you out-of-pocket… even if you’re underinsured by only an extra hundred thousand or two? It’s very unlikely that most of us could.

These situations are ex­actly why we always recommend at least $1 million umbrella liability protection. The low premium of just a few dol­lars a week is a very small price to pay when it could protect you and your family’s financial future in the event of a serious accident and subsequent lawsuit. Contact us today to find out how little it would cost you to invest in an umbrella policy.

Equipment Breakdown Coverage

Keeping Up When Equipment Breaks Down

Why is it that breakdowns always seem to occur at the most inopportune times... when a big order is due, or when you're in a rush to finish a project? That said, even a normal or typical equipment breakdown on a "light" work day could be a very costly event, and can cause significant hardship for business owners and for their employees.

The good news is that there is such a thing called "Equipment Breakdown Coverage" and it is available from your independent insurance agentcy such as The O'Neill Group in Wadsworth, Ohio.

Equipment Breakdown Coverage (sometimes also referred to as "machinery insurance") covers the costly damages that can result from an equipment breakdown, malfunction, or shut-off.

This coverage can help you through a tough mechanical or electrical failure and ensure that your business will remain on its feet while the system is being repaired or replaced. The equipment breakdown endorsement adds coverage for mechanical, electrical and pressure equipment breakdown which may otherwise be excluded from coverage in the standard commercial policy. I have even seen the coverage pay for an indirect loss such as lost business income while the machinery was being repaired!

If you believe your business could benefit from an equipment breakdown endorsement, or would like to find out more on how this endorsement could benefit your business, please feel free to contact me or one of the other Protection Specialists at The O'Neill Group for an analysis of your needs.