I can’t say enough about Henry Glover. He was fantastic. He answered all of my questions and helped me with some insurance for my grandmother also. He even told me that she should stay where she is because he couldn’t get her a better deal. He put our needs above his needs…Overall this was just an incredible experience and a breath of fresh air after the last agent I was dealing with. I will be recommending him to everyone I know and look forward to a long business relationship with him. Thank you!
A Deep Dive into Umbrella Insurance
Umbrella insurance — sometimes called excess liability insurance — is not a requirement like car insurance or homeowners insurance. Instead, it’s like an extra security net that protects against the unexpected things in life. For example, anyone can find themselves in an expensive lawsuit that diminishes their current savings and puts them in debt for years to come.
Umbrella insurance can be especially beneficial for people with certain jobs, hobbies or property. Someone may want to consider picking up umbrella insurance if they:
- Participate in activities that increase their chances of being sued
- Own a trampoline, pool or dog (all of which could potentially injure visitors)
- Have a high net worth or significant savings and assets
- Are employed or expect a high earning potential
- Own or rent property
Don’t assume that just because you don’t have a million dollars in assets that an umbrella is unnecessary. The goal of an umbrella policy is to protect existing assets and your future earning potential from liability claims against you that would be covered under an umbrella policy.
Buying Umbrella Insurance
Umbrella insurance is relatively inexpensive for the value. With a coverage limit that starts at $1 million, it’s nice cushion from the start. The average cost could be $150-$300 per year for $1 million in coverage, but the rates vary by insurer, your risk history, and the assets that you are insuring. Most umbrella carriers will write coverage up to $5 million, but you can go significantly higher based on your needs and underwriting approval.
There are some requirements for umbrella insurance. You’ll first have to carry auto and property insurance to qualify. You’ll also need to make sure that have the minimum amount of liability on those policies before umbrella coverage can be added. Your insurance agent will be able to advise and structure your policies with the appropriate coverages and discounts.
What It Covers
Umbrella insurance covers a variety of costs, but can slightly vary by insurer. It pays for legal defense costs, as well as another person’s property damage, injury treatment or funeral costs. It can also cover lawsuits that involve libel, slander and defamation of character. Umbrella insurance is especially valuable for landlords because of the liability tied to renting a property that you own.
It’s also important to note that there are certain things the insurance won’t cover. For example, intentional and criminal acts will not be paid for by umbrella insurance. It also won’t cover injuries or damage that your business is liable for, your own injuries, or damage to your own belongings.
How Much Umbrella Insurance You Need
It’s recommended that you buy enough umbrella insurance to cover your net worth, including your savings and other assets. For anyone sure they’ll be earning a significant pay raise in the near future, potential income could also be factored in.
Whether we like to admit it or not, accidents happen and things go wrong. Insurance is a way to safeguard against some bumps in the road we don’t plan for. An insurance agent can help you decide if umbrella insurance is a wise purchase. For many people, the peace of mind and increased financial security are definitely worth their while.
Industry Trends in Disability Insurance
Since 2007, May has been coined Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM), a time when the insurance industry and the Council for Disability Awareness aim to help people understand the importance of income protection.
“More than a quarter of 20-year-olds will experience disability for 90 days or more before they reach 67.”
Everyone wants to avoid thinking they will be part of that worst-case scenario, but it’s a reality for many people. Short-term and long-term disability insurance are the two basic categories, and they can either be provided through an insurance agency or an employer.
For most Americans, the ability to earn an income is one of their greatest assets.
DIAM is one factor that has positively influenced disability insurance trends in recent years. As of 2017, there was a 2.2% growth in the disability insurance agency since 2012, meaning it was a $19 billion industry last year (and growing).
In addition to heightened awareness, the size of the workforce also plays a role in creating opportunities for the disability insurance industry to expand. Since 2010, the U.S. unemployment rate has been steadily falling, and it is now at a low of 4%. More employees in the workforce mean more policies, even if the percentage of people covered by disability insurance remains stagnant.
One factor that could potentially have a negative effect on the disability insurance industry is the number of motor vehicle accidents each year. An accident can injure drivers, passengers and bystanders, leaving them to miss work for an extended period of time. In the coming years, the number of motor vehicle accidents is expected to decline. While that is overall a positive thing for our country’s safety, it could be a small threat to the disability insurance industry.
However, that potential threat should be compensated by the massive amount of outreach being done by various groups to help raise awareness about insurance. Especially fueled by the Disability Insurance Awareness Month initiative, there has been an increased number of companies and organizations posting about disability insurance on social media. In today’s era, this is one of the most effective ways to reach a broad market, especially millennials who are beginning to make up a greater percentage of the workforce.
While no one wants to be in a situation that requires them to need disability insurance, it is sometimes a part of life. The recent industry trends indicate that the disability insurance industry will continue to grow at a strong rate for years to come.
How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
When it comes to identity theft, people always think, “That would never happen to me…” until it does. If you aren’t actively protecting yourself from identity theft, you should start now.
Thieves can swipe anything. Name, social security number, email address, phone number, medical records, passwords, etc. Once they have this information, they use that information to commit fraud. This could be anything from stealing your tax refund to opening credit cards in your name (ruining your credit) to receiving medical treatment.
When it all boils down, your personal identity is more valuable than the cash in your pocket, so it’s imperative that you do your best to protect it.
How to Know When Your Identity has been Stolen
In truth, the average person may not know immediately that their information is in the wrong hands. Three warning signs are:
- Noticing unexpected charges on your credit card
- Seeing that your credit score has dropped significantly
- Receiving notice from a debt collector (which is only suspicious if it’s not due to debt you acquired on your own)
Precautions You Should Take
There are things people should do on a daily basis to ensure that their identity is safe. In truth, there is never a 100% guarantee that you can protect yourself from identity theft. However, taking the right precautions can significantly lessen the risk.
The basics include building a strong password and setting up two-step identification anywhere your personal information is stored. Beyond that, you should be selective when giving out your personal information. Always check that a web page is secure before entering your credit card, don’t fall for “phishing” scams, etc. Essentially, trust your gut and err on the side of caution.
If you don’t have enough time in the day to monitor your own accounts, credit score, personal information, etc., you can always turn to the professionals. Many banks allow you to set up real-time alerts so you know when your card is used, but that is only one piece of the puzzle.
Many insurance companies (like my own Red Rock Insurance Group) offer identity theft protection services. In a time when even your children’s identity can be stolen without your knowledge, you can never be too safe.
For many, it’s well-worth the peace of mind that comes from knowing your information is constantly being monitored and protected through monitoring, alerts and recovery.
About Henry Glover
Henry Glover of Birmingham, Alabama, is the Founder and CEO of Altasurance (formally known as Red Rock Insurance), an independent insurance agency servicing clients with a variety of insurance needs. From auto insurance to life insurance, Henry Glover has crafted a team of agents to offer expert-level support and direction for your insurance inquiries. Henry founded the insurance group in 2009 and has built it to reach within several local markets. The small team of under a dozen employees is currently expanding as their success continues to grow.
Henry didn’t always know that the insurance industry was where he would build his legacy. From a young age, Henry Glover knew that he wanted to be successful. He never cared if he started a soap factory or an insurance agency, he just wanted something he could call his own. Henry didn’t know soap, but he did know insurance, so he went with insurance.
Educational Journey
Henry’s entry into the insurance industry was a bit of a roller coaster. He began school at Auburn University, studying software engineering. He loved software but hated school, so he decided to drop out even though his parents were paying all the costs. They were obviously irritated, and immediately cut him off from their payroll and stopped paying his out of state tuition. To find a job, Henry responded to an ad in the classifieds (back when the classifieds were a thing), and applied for a job selling insurance. Little did he know, the job was selling life insurance door-to-door. But Henry had to make ends meet, so he stuck with it and ended up being very successful. Henry Glover quickly became one of the top producers in the state, but realized that the business model and the job were not sustainable for his future.
Being the salesman that he is, Henry Glover made a deal with his parents that he would go back to school. This time, he decided to take out student loans, as he had been out of school long enough to qualify and get in-state tuition. The deal was that if Henry successfully graduated, his parents would have to pay off his student loans. It was a win-win situation as Henry took all the risk should he decide again that school wasn’t for him. In reality, Henry didn’t really didn’t care about college, but his parents did. They were thrilled at the prospect of rewarding their son after graduation.
However, there was a problem. Henry was basically having to work his way through school because student loans didn’t pay for everything. He worked for an insurance agency that specializes in Property and Casualty Insurance (different from what he does now with Auto, Home and Commercial Insurance). The problem was what he called the “student salesman dilemma” — as he worked on commission only, he often had to decide between closing a sale or studying for a test. He always wanted to close the sale, but he was on the hook for his school loans if he didn’t pass the class. You see, both had a economic cost/benefit and it was too hard to choose. Barring this realization, Henry did the responsible thing and quit his insurance job to take an hourly job, first as a cook, and eventually in a jewelry warehouse. But working for that insurance agency did set the groundwork for what eventually became his insurance agency’s business model.
Henry Glover finally graduated from college in 2006 with a degree in Economics and a minor in Computer Science, making his parents proud…and leaving them with the student loan bill.
Career
After college graduation, Henry Glover of Birmingham, Alabama, pursued a career in the banking industry, but he didn’t quite receive the same thrill that he experienced when selling insurance. He always knew he would get back into insurance, it was just a question of how.
After about 2 years of gaining sales and service skills through his banking position, Henry decided he wanted to create his own success from the ground up. He spent time getting to know his bank clients who owned businesses, learning from their success and failures and finding out what he would be getting himself into. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for the challenge on his mind, Henry Glover went back to the industry he knew best — with a few extra skills that would help to set him up for success.
Henry Glover has been working in the insurance industry long enough to know that times are changing. The world is becoming digital, and 75% of the insurance market is run by a combination of ‘captive’ and ‘direct’ insurance carriers. ‘Captives’ are large local sales forces like Allstate, Nationwide, State Farm, etc., and the ‘directs’ are companies that bypass a sales force and sell directly to the consumer (i.e. Geico, USAA, etc.).
However, Henry doesn’t bat an eye when it comes to worrying about his competitors. Because there will always be a demand for those larger entities, he chooses to focus on the nuances within the rigid insurance industry in order to set Red Rock Insurance Group apart from others. Red Rock knows insurance, and Henry knows that customers are most satisfied when there is a happy mix of both digital and traditional practices within their business model.
Having a knack for technology, Henry Glover has also become quite the experienced programmer. He’s developed several pieces of tech, not only as a hobby, but for his company as well. In his spare time, Henry enjoys educating himself on various technical aspects of development and invention. This draw to technology has been passed down to his 8 year old daughter as well, who loves bonding with her father over the subject.
Henry Glover currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama. Red Rock Insurance Group continues to grow and reach new audiences, and expand upon their successes so far. For more information about Henry Glover and Red Rock Insurance Group, stay tuned to his blog featured here.