What “helping” means to me professionally

Insurance is one of the most important bills you pay every month, quarterly, semi annually or annually. It is also one of the least favorite bills for people to pay every month. Why? Because some people may never file a claim in their entire LIFETIME! I am also willing to bet that if it wasn't a mandatory law to carry insurance, some people would be probably not even buy it. But that is where you are wrong!

Insurance is piece of mind. It's a feeling you can't describe. It's something that you can benefit from when tragedy occurs. Imagine being a recent hurricane victim and you lost everything! Your 200,000 dollars (or more) home was destroyed. Your 40,000 dollars worth of cars are flooded down the street. Who can you turn to at such a tragic time? Your INSURANCE!

I never wish anything bad upon my clients, but when the unfortunate occurs, There isn't a better feeling in the world than to help them out from beginning to end. So you ask, what does "helping" mean to me?

1. Answer my customers phone calls or emails right away! You would be amazed how many people can't get in touch with their insurance agents or companies. We do our best to return everyone's phone calls right away if we can't answer their question on the first call. All of our agents have their cell phone numbers printed on their email signatures and business cards. We encourage our customers to calll us on our cell phones if it is after business hours! Do you have your insurance agent's cell phone number?

2. We are "trusted advisors". In the insurance agency, Agencies benefit the most by keeping you as a client as long as possible. Hopefully forever! It is not a business where we can just "sell" you something and never have to deal with you again. We encourage people to buy the best coverages to fit their lifestyle. Because lets face it, If we don't give someone a coverage they should have, They will most likely have a claim and the claim may get denied and you lose a customer forever!

3. Being there when the customer needs me! Sounds simple right? I have been awaken in the middle of the night from phone calls from frantic customers who just had a car accident or had a horrible event occur at their home. And I take care of it as best as possible.

4. I have a goal to see that all our Auto claims in our office are paid within 3 days! And close to 95 percent of them are. I had a customer about a week ago have an auto accident on Thursday and had a check in their hands for the repairs on Friday!

5. Telling the truth. When you tell the truth, you don't have to stop and think "What did I tell that person again"?

6. When I tell you I am going to do something, I am going to do it! If I can help you, I will tell you that. If I can't help you, I will also tell you that.

I wake up every morning with one goal in mind. Providing World Class Service to all my policy holders and future policy holders. In the Insurance industry, there are certain things insurance agents can't control such as market trends or pricing. But I can control the Service and Value I provide to a customer. And I try to do that everyday through our Twitter and Facebook pages along with my daily activites in our agency. Tune in next week!

Life Insurance and Why do I need it?

Are you recently married? Did you have a new additon to the family? How much will my kids college be in 15 to 20 years?

These are all great questions and if you can answer them, It would probably be even a better decision to have a life insurance policy. Life Insurance can get pretty complicated so I am going to try to make this as easily to understand as possible.

1. You should have a life insurance policy if your family depends on income from you. If something tragic was to happen to you, Your family would need to continue to be able to pay the mortgage, car notes, utilities and much much more.

Other common people to have life insurance policies are business owners, especially if they have partners in business. Also elderly people who are dependant on others for help such as financially or personally.

2. There are many different life products out there. Term life, and Universal life are probably the two most common.

Term life is exactly what it is called. It is good for a duration of time such as 10, 15, 20 or even up to 30 years. These tend to be less expensive so if you are tight on money, this is a great alternative until you can beef up your finances.

Universal life is usually for the duration of your life and usually will have a cash value attached to them. This is nice in case you get into a bit of a crunch down the road, it acts sort of like a savings account. You can borrow against the policy or take money out of it in the future with the intent of putting it back at some point.

3. The trick is to ALWAYS pay your life insurance policy. Do not let it lapse because you basically lose your money if this happens. Make it a priority that when you do decide to buy a policy, it is something affordable and a payment that you can definitely manage to fit in your budget.

I can't emphasize the importance of a life insurance policy. When you are gone, the greatest feeling it to make sure that your family will be taken care of and they don't become a burden on someone else.

So please, if you are recently married, have kids, buy a policy NOW. The longer the wait, the older you get and thus the more your premium becomes. There is just too much information to fit on this blog so if you have further questions, please feel free to contact us on any of our social media pages, or at our office at 734-434-1500.

The Importance of an Insurance Agent

      So, It's 8 in the evening and you are at a Red light stopped waiting for it to turn green. BOOM! Someone hits you from the back. Don't panic is the first thought. Be Calm and just take it easy. But how easy is it going to be to file a claim and get my car fixed after? Will I have to pay my deductible even if it wasn't my fault? Oh gosh, I hope they fix my car soon is the next thought to enter your head. Well, I purchased this insurance online and while it was the cheapest quote I got, I wonder if the service after the sale is going to be "delivered". The answer, Probably not as pain free as if you had an Insurance agent to do this for you. Here are a just a few things Insurance agents prepare for you to have a stress free claim experience:

1. You can call our cell phones even after hours. We print them on all our business cards for a reason. Can you call a 1800 number and talk to the SAME person everytime you call? If you have an agent now, Do you have his cell phone number?

2. We have Preferred body shops to work with you and they GUARANTEE the work for the lifetime that you own the vehicle.

3. We gather all the facts and call in the claim for you and set you up with a "drive thru" appointment at our Claim service center. That's right, I said drive thru. We have inspectors waiting for you and you will get a Check for the repairs on the spot!

4. Insurance agents don't want to just sell you a policy and "move" on to the next customer. We want to build relationships and have you as a customer for life!

5. While it may be "cheaper" in the short run to buy insurance really fast online, You will be paying more in the long run when you really need to use it.

6. Customer service is promised and it's delivered way after the sale takes place.

While we may not always be the "cheapest" company, We are the best VALUE and we are the best for PROTECTION and SERVICE! Have any other questions? Feel free to contact us on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin. You can always call or drop in our agency. We always have fresh coffee available too and We don't charge for it.

www.allstate.com/shafikkhalil

Want Affordable Insurance? Listen To This!

I run into lots of people on a daily basis. Some are prospects and some are already customers. They all have one IMPORTANT thing in common. They want the best insurance at a low low price. For some, this could be a reality and for others, Not so much. There are PLENTY of factors that determine your insurance rates, Here's a list of a few:

1. Keep your credit squeaky clean! For some people, this is harder than for others. Most Insurance companies now a days will run some form of a credit score or insurance score. The better the score, the better the rates. This process gives insurance companies an idea of what kind of risk they are insuring. With this process, they can give you a fair rate depending on your credit history.

2. Don't get any moving violations! Pretty obvious right? Some people just can't avoid the law. Take small steps in preventing this, such as: write yourself a "note" and stick it right next to your speedometer. Sounds goofy, but it does work. Typically one violation in the last 5 years doesn't affect you but any more than 1, pull out that wallet because most likely, you will be paying more.

3. What's your zip code where your vehicle is garaged? This is an important factor for everyone and most people don't know about it. If your living in a higher crime area, you will be paying more for insurance. So next time you move, think about that long and hard! In Michigan, Some examples of  higher cities to insure home and auto policies are Detroit or Dearborn.

4.  Do you OWN your home? With just about every insurance company, If you bundle your home and auto policy together, you will see significant discounts. Even if you just own your home, you will get a discount.

These are just a few tips on how to save money and get more affordable insurance. There are tons more so please feel free to ask me any questions on Facebook, or Twitter. Also feel free to give my agency a call at 734-434-1500.