First Tech Insurance Services

A day late and a dollar short can be a tragic understatement when it comes to purchasing insurance coverage.

Nobody can predict when they’ll need insurance. Whether it’s insurance for your home, auto, life, identity or other valuables, people purchase insurance to protect themselves and those they love—for peace of mind. You want to know that in the event of a catastrophic incident, you and your family will be financially safe. The time to buy policies is before you need them.

How does insurance work?
When you buy an insurance policy, you are known as the insured, or policyholder. You make regular payments, called premiums, to the insurer. Most policies only pay for losses that are specifically identified in the policy, so you should always read a policy carefully and discuss it thoroughly with your agent before purchasing any insurance.

Insurance companies use a process called "underwriting" to evaluate your risk factors and estimate the likelihood that you´ll file a claim. The higher a company determines your risk factors to be, the more it will charge in premiums (as the company believes it is more likely that it will have to pay you). If your risk factors are too high, a company may not sell you a policy. Each insurance company uses its own underwriting formulas to calculate risk factors. 

Almost all types of insurance policies have a "deductible." A deductible is an amount you must pay out of your own pocket before the policy will pay toward a covered loss. If you have an auto policy with a $1,000 deductible, then an accident that results in $5,000 in damages would cause you to pay $1,000 toward the cost of your repairs while the insurance company pays the remaining $4,000. You can normally choose the deductible you want. The higher your deductible is, the lower your premium will be. Keep in mind, however, that if you have a high deductible, you´ll have to pay more if you have a claim. 

There’s a lot to consider when picking an insurance plan, but First Tech is here to walk you through all of your options. If you still have questions, contact a First Tech Insurance Service agent in your area today or call 855.855.8805.

 

First Tech Insurance Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Tech Federal Credit Union.