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Abri's Insurance Checklist for 2021!

1/19/2021

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It's the new year, and it's time to start fresh. To make the most out of your insurance plans this year, here is our insurance checklist for 2021! 

Hello readers, and welcome back to the blog! Goodness, it's 2021 already! As much as we were happy to see 2020 go, it's a little wild to think how quickly last year seemed to fly by! From all of us at Abri, we want to wish you a very happy and healthy new year! A new year is so exciting, it means growth, change, and adventure. You might buy a new home, a new car, get married, retire, or finally get the opportunity to take that trip you've been planning for years! We will be here for all of your insurance needs, changes, and upgrades to help support and care for you and your loved ones this year. A new year, in its harsh reality, also means that there is the opportunity to face bad weather, unexpected illness and injury, accidents, and much more. We will also be here to help you with all of your insurance needs to cover and care for all of these situations to keep you and your family as safe and protected as possible!

A new year also means making the most out of each of your insurance plans, and we want to make sure you're getting the most out of what you're paying for every month. To do that, we've created our very own insurance checklist for 2021. We ended 2020 with an end of the year checklist, and now we are kicking off 2021 with a checklist to make this the best year yet! 
  • We are sure that you're no stranger to making goals, plans, and resolutions for a new year. How about starting the new year off right with a resolution that you can stick with and start on the right foot with? Good news, it's simple and easy. Start this new year off by sitting down and reviewing all of your policies and coverage that you have for every aspect of your life. From home to health insurance, make sure you know exactly what you're paying for and will be covered for in 2021. 
  • What does 2021 have in store for you that you already have planned? Are you having a baby, retiring, moving, or buying a new home? If you already have these big life changes heading your way, make sure that your insurance policies are going to have you covered for everything you have planned and for all the possible things you don't have planned. 
  • This past year has lead us to spend a lot more time at home with our loved ones and our four-legged best friends. We appreciate our pets love and company now more than ever. Many homeowner insurance policies don't provide protection, care, or liability for your pets. Make sure to sit down and review your policy for this, or give us a call to update your current policies. 
  • 2020 was an incredibly unique and incredibly difficult year for small business owners. Did you begin your very own small business in the comforts of your craft room or beloved "she-sheds" and it has grown bigger than you thought possible? Are you looking into buying your very first insurance policy for your new small business in 2021? Now is the perfect time to start talking with us and getting started with that. Did you have to sell or close your business or part of your business at the beginning of the new year due to the impacts of 2020 and the pandemic? We are also here to help make that difficult process a little easier by helping you to change your insurance policies to reflect these changes! 
  • Like we mentioned at the beginning of this blog, a new year can rush in all kinds of wonderful and exciting things. It also has its share of difficult and unexpected expenses. While we hope these situations never happen to our clients, we want to make sure you're ready for anything! Are you and your auto insurance policy prepared and ready for the instance a car hits you and the driver doesn't have insurance? Remember, most basic car insurance policies just offer coverage for when you hit someone, and not the other way around. What happens if you're the one hit by someone who has no coverage? While this might cost a little more in your monthly premium, it will save you more money and a headache in the long run. Sit down and review your policy for uninsured motorist coverage. This will help you recover from an accident with someone who is uninsured, and it will even protect you if you're a pedestrian and you're hit in a hit and run situation. While it's sad that you can't rely on everyone, make sure to rely on yourself this year. We can help keep you safe no matter what. 
  • While life insurance and your life insurance beneficiaries might not be what you want to think about when starting a new year, it might be more important than you think. When you pass, whoever is listed as your beneficiary on your life insurance plan will receive your death benefit, no matter what your will states. Make sure your beneficiary and your other important paperwork match your intentions exactly as you want before the year gets away! 
  • Are you taking full advantage of your insurance companies? Almost every insurance company has its own app that can help manage your information, policies, payments, benefits, and more with just a click of a button. Make sure you've downloaded them onto your smart devices and that you're making the most of your policies. Some of these apps even come with opportunities to track your driving records and your health and wellness to help you save money or get money back. Why wouldn't you want to take advantage of that in the new year? 
  • A new year always means new goals and aspirations, many of which take money and savings to achieve. One of the best ways to save money with an insurance plan is to have umbrella coverage or to bundle your plans. Using an umbrella plan can offer you more protection with everything you need insurance for, it can save you money, and it can also help you manage and work with fewer insurance companies. Why work with multiple companies, have multiple bills to pay, and different companies to call or contact when you need help when you can pay, manage, and work with just one or two? 
  • All professionals know the ins and outs of their industries, insurance is no different. Learning more about your policies, digging deeper into the insurance world, and truly understanding exactly what you and your family need in your unique and individualized coverage can be the best gift you've given yourself! Why not get a jump start on this new year and schedule a personal insurance review? These one on one meetings with us can help you tackle and check off all of your insurance to-do list items in one sitting. We might even be able to catch a few forgotten to-do list items, or help remind you of a few things you've forgotten to do or include in your current insurance plans and policies. 
  • A new year means new paperwork and documents to keep in your car, your wallet, and organized at home. You also need to make sure you keep track of last year's insurance documents when it comes time to do your taxes. Your insurance company will also be sending you specific documents to help with your taxes, so it's a lot to keep track of! Make sure to put your new documents in their proper places when you receive them, don't wait and let them get lost in piles of mail. Put your health insurance cards in your wallet, your auto insurance information in your car, and your home insurance and other policy information in a safe and secure location in your home. Having copies and putting them in a portable and fire and waterproof box is also not a bad idea. This way in times of emergency, it can be taken with you, or if your home is subject to fire or other natural disasters, your important insurance documents will be safe. 

These are just ten easy steps and ideas to put on your 2021 new year's checklist. They don't even include trips to the gym or cutting carbs! You can even schedule an appointment with us at Abri to make sure all of your insurance policies for your life here in Charleston, South Carolina are all in perfect order. All of us here at Abri want to make sure you have the healthiest and safest new year. So please take this checklist to heart, and please reach out to us right away if you need to change or update your policy in any way. It's better to be prepared now at the beginning of the year before anything happens over the next 12 months ahead of us. We're Abri Insurance and we are here to make sure you have the best coverage for life in the Lowcountry! 

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End Of The Year Insurance Checklist!

12/24/2020

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It has been an incredibly challenging year, but with everything organized and in its place, one last thing you'll have to worry about at the end of this year and the beginning of next year are your insurance plans! 

Hello readers, and welcome back to the blog! Can we all just sit back and relax and acknowledge that we did it? We made it through this year, we made it through another open enrollment period, and we are just about to step into a bright and fresh new year! We did it! We have so much to be thankful for, and we are so grateful for all of your support. We are happy to have helped so many of our returning customers find insurance plans that fit them perfectly for yet another year, and we are excited to have helped our new customers find the perfect insurance plans for their needs! Welcome to the Abri family! We are honored to help you, be here to support you, and keep you and your family safe and protected! 

While our last blog was all about rushing to use up your benefits now that you may or may not have hit your deductible, this blog is going to be a little extra holiday gift from us you. There is so much to wrap up at the end of the year, and so much to prepare for when the ball drops at midnight and we all step into the new year. To really make the last few days of 2020 count and to get the best foot forward for 2021, we wanted to give you a checklist of sorts. In this blog, we are going to be talking about important end of the year things to do and not forget about when it comes to your insurance plans. We are also going to be talking about some of the best things to think about and do with your brand new insurance plans for your brand new year! 

You've purchased all your gifts, sent out your holiday cards, decorated, baked, cooked, and planned. Your holidays are ready to go, but what about the rest of your end of the year affairs? Have you wrapped up everything you needed to with your insurance for 2020? Well, let's go through this list together, and let's see if your hard work has paid off or if there are a few last minute things to do with your insurance plans before we start toasting to 2021! 
  • We already covered a lot of this first checklist item in our last blog, but it is still worth mentioning again! Please remember to spend your HSA funds if your money and benefits don't roll over into next year! Also, take advantage of hitting your deductible. If you need any medical treatments, procedures, or even just your contacts or prescriptions filled, get all of that done now! 
  • Don't forget that tax season will be here in no time. Have all of your 2020 health insurance documents organized and ready to provide for all of your tax purposes. 
  • For all small business owners, make sure to check your insurance policies to make sure that your insurance is meeting all requirements for your state. This is also very important for tax season. 
  • For your car insurance, now is the time to review your policy too! Are you or an insured family member going to be continuing working from home in 2020? If so, you might want to change your policy to reflect this. Are you adding a child who just received their permit, or removing one who is getting their own car insurance? Also, double-check that you and all of your vehicles (motorcycles, motor homes, extra cars) are all insured properly! Have you been unhappy with your current insurance provider? We can help you with that, and we might even be able to find you a better auto insurance plan so you can get exactly what you want and need for much less. Also, don't forget to look for discounts, research if you've earned any rewards, or can work towards some for 2021! 
  • It's also time to review your home insurance plan. We all spent a lot of time at home this year, and a lot of us took advantage of that time to build extensions on our homes, built new patios, built new sidewalks, outdoor kitchens, new storage spaces, and garages! Make sure that with all of these new changes that you've made, that your current policy covers and protects everything! Also, for those who were unable to fix up or put money into their homes this year due to unemployment and other difficulties due to the pandemic, double-check that your insurance policy will help and cover any future repairs that will be needed. Also, for all of our readers here in SC and the southeast, the hurricane season was very mild for many of us. Who knows what that means for 2021. Are your home and your current homeowner's insurance policy ready for the possibility of some very big storms? What about flooding? 
  • 2020 was strange for a laundry list of reasons, and there is just so much we can't explain. Some of those things might be inheriting some amazing pieces of art, jewelry, a car, or other precious items from family members or friends. These might be the first items of their kind that you've owned that you want to protect with an insurance policy. Do you have an existing policy that will give these precious objects protection, or do you need to be speaking with us at Abri to get better insurance coverage? 
  • After all the gifts have been unwrapped and the decorations put away, make sure to take some time to update your inventory list of all of your valuables and belongings in your home that you want to keep track of and covered if anything were to happen to them. You'd be surprised how many items you can add to this list in just one year. Keeping up with this list every year can make sure that you don't get overwhelmed and prevents you from leaving anything out. Also, you never know when a disaster might hit. During the changing seasons, your home is in potential danger for what might be coming your way. Be prepared now before it's too late. 
  • Is this the year that you want to bundle your insurance policies? If you haven't yet or you haven't made time to, why not do it now before the new year starts to get ahead of you? 
  • While it might not get cold enough here in Charleston for our pipes to freeze or for it to snow, it's still a great time to do a once over and check in with all of your appliances and home systems. This is a great way to catch any big issues ahead of time so you don't have pipes bursting, refrigerators leaking, and exposed wires causing water or potential fire damage to your home when you may or may not be covered properly. We hope seeing potential accidents will lead you to update your policies and get you covered for these kinds of accidents in your home. 
  • If you have made any improvements to your home this year, please also make sure to share them with your agent! 
  • Life brings changes when we least expect or plan for it. Make sure to know all of your insurance plans inside and out so you know exactly what will be covered, even if you can't plan for what life might bring next. 
  • Has there been a change in your income? If so, see if this applies to your plans (like auto insurance) to see if you can negotiate your monthly premiums. This can keep you safe and help you not break the bank. Sometimes in these situations, it causes insurance holders to sacrifice the quality of their plans to save money. Double-check and work with your providers to see if there is something that can be done instead! 
  • Have you had any big life changes this year? Get married? Have a baby? Retire? If you have a life insurance plan, it's time to go back and check-in with your plan to make sure it reflects these changes. If you don't have a life insurance plan, then these big changes are the perfect examples of reasons for getting one! 

There you have it! What a list, and what an impressive amount of things to think about and get done before January 1st! We know that it might be difficult to make time to go through a checklist like this, but we promise that each of these bullet points is extremely important. If you are unsure about your insurance policies, have questions concerning life changes 2020 has brought you, or you are interested in upgrading your plans or finding a new provider, Abri is here for you! From all of us at Abri, we wish you and yours a very safe holiday and an even safer new year! 

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The Realities of Reaching Your Deductible

12/18/2020

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Coming to the end of the year means hurrying up and getting all of your health procedures done because you have or will be hitting your deductible. What does this really mean for you and your health? 

Happy December, everyone! As we are quickly coming to the end of open enrollment and gearing up for a brand new year with a whole new deductible to meet, the rush to get in all of our doctor's appointments now and go through with all of those proceeds you've been waiting to get done is on before next year begins! However, this year might get in the way of that due to COVID restrictions and regulations, and the fact that this year has gone by so quickly. With so much going on in our insurance world, in your health journey, and with the holiday season being here, we wanted to dive a little more in-depth about hitting your deductible and what this can and cannot mean for your health and your bank account. 

First and foremost, we do want to stress that your health is the most important thing in this equation. If you need healthcare or a medical procedure done, please get it done. Don't wait to meet your deductible to get the healthcare that you need. If it's something you need now to stay healthy, to improve your quality of life, and to help keep you safe, get it done now. While money can be daunting when it comes to going to the doctor, there are so many options out there for you. First, please speak with us here at Abri if your health insurance coverage isn't providing you with enough coverage. We will continue to help you find a plan that is affordable and will provide the coverage you need for your health care needs. If we can't apply this new plan right now, we will help you pick out the best plan possible for the new year and help you navigate your medical expenses now.

Next, speak with your doctors. Many doctors, offices, and hospitals do provide payment programs and options, they just don't advertise them. To find out about them, you have to ask about them. So please ask! Also, we understand why you might have chosen a plan that has a low monthly rate and a high deductible. You might not be able to afford a plan with a higher monthly premium, so you're okay with having a higher deductible. However, if you do choose this and choose to wait to reach that deductible to finally get the treatment you need, it could turn out to be much more expensive than just getting a higher monthly premium plan. What happens if you're sick and wait too long to get the care you need? You could cause serious damage to yourself that requires more treatment, medicine, and surgery to help keep you healthy and alive. These medical procedures and treatments can end up being way more expensive than if you had just gone to the doctor in the first place and more expensive than getting a higher monthly premium. So please think about that, and please put your health first. 

However, if you are still going to wait to hit your deductible, there are a few things we wanted to share with you. Even if you don't hit your deductible, you should still get the most out of your insurance plan as you can before the year is up. You've waited long enough, you've paid for it all year, research what you can give back to yourself, and take advantage of it. Don't just plan for the end of the year, consider next year too and how these visits can help you now and in the months to come. Also, don't forget, if you have hit your deductible for 2020, your deductible will go back to zero once 2021 rolls around! 
  • For those who have reached their deductibles or who are very close to reaching them, now is the time to think of the basic exams and procedures you need to get to promote your healthiest self. Think about the basics! Get your yearly physical, get your prescriptions refilled, get lab work done, a colonoscopy, a mammogram, and the yearly visits you need to promote your best health and life. 
  • Once you've reached your deductible, this is also a great time to get those procedures many consider a waste or not important, remember they are still important to you. Visit like this can include trips to your dermatologist, a visit to your physical therapist, having a bone density test, covered reconstructive surgery, weight loss programs, and covered treatment, or attend a sleep study to finally control your snoring! 
  • Remember that a ton of people are just like you. They have been waiting until the end of the year to finally get all the appointments they need. So, if you want to get them and take advantage of the fact that you've reached your deductible, plan and schedule them early! If you don't get the appointments you want at the end of the year, cancel them and get planning for next year. Let these and other appointments go towards next year's deductible. 
  • Make sure to keep all of your receipts and records for all of these procedures and appointments for tax purposes and if your tax company fights you hitting your deductible or not. You will have the paperwork to prove that you did indeed.
  • If you have an HSA (health savings account) please make sure that you know if your plan is a use it or lose it situation, or if unused funds will roll over into the next year. If your HSA doesn't roll over, please make sure to utilize your funds now; get your prescriptions filled, get more contacts, get that pair of glasses you've been wanting, stock up on those kinds of things, and get seen for the appointments and procedures that you can before the end of the year! 
  • The Los Angeles times makes a very good point when it comes to your calculations about reaching your deductible. Be very careful with your calculations and when picking the procedures that will help you reach your deductible. There can be a lag in getting all of your paperwork finished and claims received this time of year. This time constraint can cause a big financial headache between you and your insurance company, and another between you and your doctors office. Be prepared to deal with this, and this is another reason to hold onto all of your paperwork! 

Lastly, we are here to help you find the best insurance plan for you. Has this open enrollment season made you realize how difficult it can be to find the plan you want? Were you unhappy with your insurance this year and didn't hit your deductible or get the care you need? We can help with that! As the year winds down, make sure you add contacting us to the top of your list to make 2021 a more stable year for you and your health insurance plan! 
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Best Tips For a Pain-Free Open Enrollment

11/18/2020

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The dawning of November means the beginning of open enrollment. If you are new to the process or you're looking to make it a much easier process than you've experienced, that is what this blog is all about! 

While the idea of turkey and stuffing is on the minds of most of our readers, November is an incredibly busy month for us and it has nothing to do with picking out what sides to match our turkey or the perfect pumpkin pie. While these are things we still make time for and hope you get a ton of enjoyment out of, November for all of us at Abri means one thing; Open Enrollment! While we want you to enjoy the most out of your Thanksgiving and the last bit of fall here in Summerville, if your insurance plan is expiring and you will be needing new health insurance coverage, we hope you make open enrollment one of your priorities over the next month. We are here to help you through every step of this process and want to make it an extremely pain-free experience. That is why we wanted to dedicate this blog to multiple ways on how you can make it a pain-free process and what some of the best ways to handle open enrollment are. Don't stress, you've got this! 

Open enrollment for 2021 began on November 1st and it ends on December 15th. Every year you only have a little over a month to search for, research, and choose your next best healthcare plan. Just a tad overwhelming. For our readers new to the blog and the insurance world, you might be curious about what open enrollment actually is. According to the dictionary, open enrollment is "a period of time during which one may freely enroll in or change one's selection of health insurance plan or other benefit programs that is ordinarily subject to restrictions." The short version is that your health insurance plan is expiring and it's time to get a new one. Sounds relatively easy, right? Well, we are here to make it as simple and as easy for our clients as we possibly can. Sadly, this is not the case for everyone.

Enrollment is a short period that pushes people to pick their plans very rapidly and has also been created to limit adverse selection. What makes it hard, even when you know all year that you have a short period to buy your plan, getting information about what your options are and what's available to you can be difficult to find or very confusing. That's where we can come in. If you are looking for an independent plan on the marketplace and outside of what your employers may or may not be offering, we can search the whole market with you and your family's needs and best intentions in mind. This can help you save time, save stress, save money, and help guarantee that all of you and your family's needs will be taken care of. 


While you begin your journey and begin the search for health insurance, we wanted to provide you with a list of tips and suggestions on what to be thinking about and what to avoid while you're searching in the market. 
  • Don't be fooled, please be in the know. Many insurance plans can simply be rolled over into the upcoming year, but that's not always the case. Please don't just assume that this is how it will be for you. Pay close attention to your policy and know if you will need to be looking for a new plan or not. Also, pay attention and discuss with your policyholder that even if you're rolling your policy over, double-check if anything is changing in your policy before you blindly decide to roll over your plan for this upcoming year.
  • Be aware of what kind of needs you and your family require and know how much you can pay for any out of pocket expenses, and know what kind of deductible will be best for your family. When considering a new plan, please take note of what services and plans your family needs. Are all of you relatively healthy or do each of you need consistent doctor visits? Is there a type of coverage that you want outside of basic medical care in your plan? Is there a set of doctors that you love and they are inspiring you to remain in their network? All of these questions need to be answered with your family and will dictate what you need to purchase. Don't buy an incorrect plan just because it's a good deal. Also, beware of low monthly payments and high deductibles. You might find a plan that has a low monthly rate, but that will more than likely be linked to an impossibly high deductible. This might be a great month to month expense for you, but you might end up spending more than you needed to reach your coverage or get the plan you needed, but instead, you're paying a ton out of pocket and never reaching your deductible. 
  • While it is hard to find the best doctor for you and your family, it might be more expensive to stay with a previous doctor especially when you're not even visiting them that often. Sometimes choosing to stick with a certain set of doctors means choosing an expensive plan that you don't even really need to have. Sometimes it is worth switching plans and doctors to save you and your family some serious money! 
  • Think about big changes that could be heading towards you and your family when choosing your next plan. Are you planning on having a baby in the upcoming year or possibly leaving or starting a new job? Is a child going off to college or are you and your spouse about to retire? No matter what big changes are heading your way, make sure you are aware of how each of these changes will affect your life and make sure your new potential plan reflects the support and care that you need to for these new chapters in your life

Now that you've read through this blog, are you feeling better about open enrollment? Regardless if you are or not, please remember that we are here to help. We know that you have many difficult questions to ask yourself to make sure you and your family are covered and cared for. We are here to do the rest of the heavy lifting once those decisions are made. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to us now before open enrollment closes! We are excited to work with you and love being a part of the Summerville community!

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