It’s a most misunderstood tenet of life insurance that it only pays out when the insured passes on. Actually, "life" insurance means for your life. 

We mean that those insured can enjoy the benefits of a life insurance policy during their lifetime without touching the death benefits. From using the policy as collateral on a loan to using it to pay for long-term care, life insurance policies are about life and death.

For What Could You Use The Money?

The policy’s cash value reverts to insurance companies such as Southwest Insurance Center upon the insured’s passing. If you don’t use the money, you’ll lose it. 

For example, assisted living isn’t the only expense seniors face as they age. In-home nursing care, adult day care, and nursing homes are just a few examples of the uses to which life insurance monies can be put.

What You Should Know About Life Insurance

There are ways to customize or optimize a life insurance policy to suit the changing needs of the insured:

• A waiver of premium rider removes the policyholder’s need to make premium installments if the insured becomes disabled.
• A disability income amendment pays the insured monthly if the insured can’t work for a long time due to a debilitating injury.
• If the insured is diagnosed with a terminal illness, an accelerated death benefit endorsement permits the insured to claim the complete death benefit. 
• A portion of the accelerated death benefit amendment is the long-term care endorsement that can pay for nursing, long-term care homes, and nurse’s aides for at-home care.

Losing a parent or spouse in Austin, TX, or anywhere else is devastating. Southwest Insurance Center is here to mitigate the devastation with life insurance. Give us a call or drop in the office to learn more about it.

If you were the official grower of Green Giant green beans, then you’d probably be an Austin, TX company by now. As such, you’d need commercial insurance to cover company buildings, trucks, property, worker’s comp for employees, and much more. Here at Southwest Insurance Center, we know what you need to be commercially protected. Here’s why.

What Is Commercial Agribusiness Insurance?

Insurance is about the financial end of accidents and misfortunes. Commercial agribusiness insurance covers equipment mishaps, crop disasters leading to decreased income, liability, and more:

• Buildings and their contents
• The grounds and personal property
• Crops, trees, flowers, and seeds
• Livestock including poultry
• General liability

Should You Get Commercial Agribusiness Insurance?

Yes. If you own a vineyard, for instance, and bottle your own brand of wine, then you need commercial agribusiness insurance. You need it to sell grape juices, jams, and jellies. Do you fish to sell your shrimp, oysters, and lobsters to local restaurants and grocery stores? Insurance would be a good idea. Do you slaughter your livestock, process it, and sell it? You need insurance. Do you put up tomatoes, beans, berries, and other produce? Do you sell what’s left over to Austin, TX stores after you provide for family needs? You need insurance.

What About Farmers With On-Site Traffic?

Farmers and ranchers who allow the public to pick corn, apples, strawberries, and pumpkins in October or pet the baby livestock on their property are open to different types of trouble. General liability insurance doesn’t cover this kind of thing, so ask us if there is a rider or umbrella policy that you can buy to protect your farm.

Agribusiness is a maze for which you need protection. We’ve listed a few things here, but please drop in or call Southwest Insurance Center to learn more about commercial agribusiness insurance.

Investing in an RV can be an excellent idea for those in the Austin, TX area. When you are an RV owner in this region, you will have a large vehicle that can be used for road trips, camping, and other excursions. This RV will provide you with a  safe mode of transportation and a comfortable place to sleep at night. As you are looking for an RV, you must also get insurance for it. An RV insurance plan is needed here for various reasons. 

Protect Investment in Asset

A reason to get an RV insurance plan here is to protect your investment in the asset. When you look to purchase an RV in this region, you will be making a significant investment and asset purchase that you will want to enjoy for a long time. With a complete RV insurance plan, you will get the support you need to replace or repair the asset if you incur a loss. 

Comply with Insurance Obligations

The RV insurance plan is also necessary to comply with any insurance obligations. It is very common for RV owners in Texas to take out a loan, and the lender will require that you meet these insurance standards to protect their collateral. You can remain in good standing with such obligations if you carry coverage. 

In the Austin, TX area, having an RV insurance plan is a practical necessity for any owner. When looking for your next RV insurance policy here, it would be ideal to start your search by calling the Southwest Insurance Center. There are a lot of choices to make when looking for this coverage, and our team with the Southwest Insurance Center can provide the guidance you need to select a new plan. 

Do you have an auto policy and a home policy? If you have both policies, you might not have the coverage you need for serious accidents. It’s essential to be able to pay for an expensive accident that has injuries. Your home and auto policies will each have some liability coverage. However, they might not have very much. Many policies have enough for an accident that doesn’t have expensive injuries. However, many can’t pay for one that does. That’s why you may need umbrella insurance. Call us at Southwest Insurance Center in Austin, TX to find out more. 

Adding More Coverage

When you already have a home and an auto policy, you add to your coverage by getting umbrella insurance. It adds extra liability coverage to both policies so that you’re far better covered in a serious and expensive accident. With umbrella insurance in place, you can have better peace of mind. You’ll know that even if there is a serious accident, your finances don’t have to be wiped out by it. Trying to pay for an accident when your insurance doesn’t measure up can be highly difficult for most people. 

How It Works

When you have an umbrella policy, it comes in after the first policy does. So, your auto or home policy would respond first to the accident and pay as much as it can toward the accident. Once it reaches its limit, though, it would have to leave the rest to you. When you have umbrella insurance, it comes in to pay for the amount that’s left. Umbrella policies have enormous maximum payouts and don’t cost much money. They’re known for being a cost-effective way to get more coverage. 

Get Umbrella Insurance

Call us at Southwest Insurance Center in Austin, TX when you need coverage. 

 

Riding a motorcycle in Austin, TX, and through the Hill Country is an exhilarating experience but comes with risks and challenges. One such risk is the damage or loss of expensive motorcycle accessories like saddlebags, after-market parts, or customization. Fortunately, motorcycle accessories coverage can also offer insurance up to these extents, protecting you against financial loss. Southwest Insurance Center discusses the coverage options for your motorcycle accessories, how to protect them under an insurance policy, and the considerations for obtaining additional coverage.

What is Motorcycle Accessories Coverage?

Motorcycle accessories coverage is optional insurance that offers financial protection against losing or damaging your motorcycle’s accessories. It can cover a wide range of accessories, including but not limited to customized parts, extra chrome, saddlebags, custom exhaust, and more. This coverage is not included in standard motorcycle insurance policies, so you may opt for it separately.

Get Your Motorcycle Covered Today!

The primary benefit of motorcycle accessories coverage is that it can protect you from financial loss if your accessories get damaged or lost due to an accident, theft, or vandalism. With this coverage, you can rest assured that your investment is protected, and you won’t have to bear the entire cost of replacing or repairing your accessories. Moreover, suppose your accessories, such as a customized exhaust or a navigation system, are essential to your motorcycle’s functionality. In that case, this coverage can help ensure you have the same level of protection on your bike as when you first purchased it.

Motorcycle accessories coverage is an integral part of any motorcycle insurance policy that offers financial protection for your valuable accessories. Interested in learning more? Contact Southwest Insurance Center today for more information. We are here to answer all your questions about motorcycle insurance in Austin, TX.

Leaving something behind for your family’s financial benefit is always an intelligent choice. To do this, you need to have a life insurance policy. There are two main types of life insurance that you can pick from. Each of them works a little differently from the other. It’s a good idea to know what each of them is like and how you may benefit from each of them. When you’re ready to get life insurance, call us at Southwest Insurance Center in Austin, TX to get started.

Whole Life Insurance 

Whole life insurance comes with a lot of great benefits. It’s a type that doesn’t have an expiration date. When you start with a whole life policy, it stays good regardless of age. One reason this type is so popular is that you can keep it your whole life and not worry about outliving the policy. It also comes with another vital benefit. These policies start building a cash value over time. After a few years, there is a cash amount that you can borrow against to take care of a financial emergency. Whole life policies are more expensive than term-life policies, but their benefits keep them a popular choice.

Term Life Insurance 

With term life insurance, it will expire after a certain number of years if the policyholder doesn’t pass away during its term. When a term life policy expires, you are no longer covered by life insurance. However, these policies are generally much more affordable than a whole life policy. These policies often fit into people’s budgets better and make getting a larger amount of insurance coverage possible.

Get All Types Of Life Insurance

Call us at Southwest Insurance Center in Austin, TX when you need life insurance to help care for loved ones.

Families are often hesitant to discuss life insurance details. Although these can sometimes be uncomfortable conversations, they are also important conversations. At Southwest Insurance Center serving Austin, TX, we want to help our clients feel comfortable and empowered when discussing this topic. Keep reading to learn more about discussing life insurance with your parents.

Why It’s Important

Discussing life insurance with your aging parents is important because when parents pass, adult children are usually the ones who handle arrangements. These adult children need to know the details of the life insurance plans that are active. If there are no life insurance plans active, adult children will want to discuss the importance of finding a plan to relieve the financial burden in the future.

Questions to Ask

When discussing this important topic, you will want to ask specific questions to ensure that you have the information you need to handle your parents’ final arrangements in the future. You will need to know who holds active policies, how much the policy will provide, and any other details concerning the policy such as loans that have been taken out against it.

You will also want to take note of your parents’ wishes concerning their final arrangements. It will be very important to them that they feel heard and that their wishes are respected in a compassionate way.

If your parents do not have an active life insurance policy, you will want to discuss with them the importance of shopping for something now, so that their final wishes can be handled in the appropriate way without additional financial burden.

If you would like to learn more about our insurance products, please contact us at Southwest Insurance Center serving Austin TX, and the surrounding areas.

Are any small business owners reading this post in Austin, TX? Here at Southwest Insurance Center, we love supporting small businesses in any way we can. Austin is a fantastic place to start a business and run your own company; the rich culture, tourism, sights, and sounds all make for a great backdrop to building your dream business. But does you venture have commercial insurance already?

You’ve probably looked into commercial insurance throughout your time as a small business owner. Commercial insurance can be very overwhelming; how much coverage do you really need? Is it worth the cost? We’re here to explain the ways that commercial insurance can protect your small business, give you peace of mind, and help you grow.

Commercial Insurance Protection

1. Commercial liability insurance protects your business against lawsuits or claims from third parties about your business.

2. Commercial property insurance protects one of your greatest investments – your office, workspace, warehouse, or other location where you conduct business. If your property is damaged in a fire or other natural causes, property insurance protects your building.

Property insurance also covers your inventory, machinery, and other items that are essential to the functioning of your business (that are housed in your workspace).

Remember that insurance exists to mitigate the risks associated with the policy. If operating your small business has substantial risk, looking into commercial insurance is a wise decision so you can protect your investments and your bottom line.

If you’re a business owner in the Austin, TX area and are interested in looking at the coverage options we offer, contact Southwest Insurance Center today. Our team of experts can help you decide what the most suitable commercial insurance coverage is for your business to thrive.

Anyone who lives in Austin, TX has likely shared the enjoyment that boating can offer both residents and tourists of the area. Southwest Insurance Center is here to answer all your questions about boat insurance in the great state of Texas.

Many marinas in Texas now require boat insurance in order to park your vessel on their property. Other than that, most boating insurance is for the peace of mind of the boat owner, as we can’t control every water situation we’re in, whether you’re the best boat captain on the water or not. 

Boat insurance can protect you in the event of an accident. Whether you’re at fault or not, boater’s insurance provides a financial cushion that will give you great peace of mind every time you get on the water with family and friends. 

If you’ve spent any significant sum of money on your boat, investing in boat insurance is a wise move. Don’t throw away the thousands of dollars you’ve invested in your vessel by not properly insuring it before you get out on the water to enjoy it. 

Standard coverage for a boat includes:

1. Physical damage to the boat that occurs during an accident, dangerous weather, etc

2. Property damage to another person’s property in the event of an accident

3. Theft or vandalism to your boat that needs replacing

As you can see, a simple insurance policy can set you up with a great amount of protection in various scenarios when out on the water. If you live in Austin, TX, have a boat, and need some guidance as you build a plan that will protect your assets, contact the team at Southwest Insurance Center. Our team of experts can help!

There is nothing quite like the open road on the back of a motorcycle! That being said, you are going to need to protect yourself and your bike in case you are involved in an accident. Just like with automobile insurance, you need to make sure that you have motorcycle insurance. 

So, what is included with your insurance? 

Liability insurance. You need to have liability insurance if you want to own a motorcycle. This will protect you by covering the cost of damage to the property, along with the medical bills of those that are involved in the accident. 

Comprehensive insurance. This is optional, but it may be in your best interest to have some. This will cover your motorcycle if it gets stolen or damaged due to things that are beyond our control, such as fire and storm. It also covers vandalism. 

Collision. This insurance covers any damage that may occur to your own motorcycle if you are at fault. 

Uninsured and underinsured motorist. If you want to protect yourself against others on the road, you are going to want to have uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance. This will cover any damage to your motorcycle, along with any of your medical bills that aren’t covered because the other driver didn’t have enough insurance. 

You can decide how much insurance and what types of insurance you want to have. However, if you have a loan out for your motorcycle, you may be required to have a comprehensive collision policy. Talk to a professional to help you find a plan that fits into your budget, while still protecting you. In Austin, TX, contact us today at Southwest Insurance Center.