Gwen Jaques Insurance

Life insurance beneficiary designations play an important role in making sure assets are passed along according to your wishes. While many people set these up once, it’s worth revisiting them from time to time. Swipe through to learn more.

If you’d like to review your current policies or talk through your beneficiary designations, feel free to reach out anytime. We are always happy to help.

After-school activities can be a rush of spending time with friends, attending clubs or sports, and students making their way home. Reviewing a few key safety tips before your students leave school can help keep them safe and everyone on the same page.

🔵Set up a check-in routine, so your children contact you as soon as they arrive home. A family locator app or a GPS tracker on their backpack can also give you real-time peace of mind on their route home.

🔵If your child will be home alone, establish clear rules about locking the door, who is allowed to visit, and what to do if someone unexpected shows up.

🔵Talk through internet safety with your child, reminding them never to share personal information, including their name, address, or school, with anyone online.

🔵Make sure your child knows what to do in an emergency. That means knowing where to shelter during severe weather, where to meet outside in the event of a fire, and who to call if they need immediate help.

🔵If your child walks or bikes home, review the route together and make sure they know to avoid shortcuts through unfamiliar or secluded areas and to never accept a ride from someone they do not know.

We hope you find these after-school safety tips helpful for you and your student this school year.

As a reminder, if you need anything this school year, do not hesitate to reach out to our team. We are here to support you.

Have you heard of term life insurance and are wondering if it might be right for you? Term life coverage is designed to provide a financial benefit to your chosen beneficiaries if you pass away during a selected coverage period, often 10, 20, or 30 years.

Here are a few reasons many people choose this type of coverage:

🔹It can be a good fit during life’s busiest financial years, when others may be relying on your income the most.

🔹Coverage may be more affordable when purchased earlier, as premiums are often based on factors such as age and health.

🔹You can choose coverage that aligns with your goals, like paying off a mortgage, supporting children through college, or preparing for retirement.

🔹It can provide protection at a lower cost, allowing individuals to obtain higher coverage amounts for a lower premium.

🔹 Some policies offer flexibility for the future, with options to convert to permanent life insurance later on.

If you’d like to explore coverage options or see what a policy may look like for your situation, feel free to reach out. We’d be happy to answer questions or put together a quote for you.

Twenty-five years ago, the world changed, and the courage, resilience, and unity that followed reminded us of what we are capable of in our darkest moments.

On Patriot Day, we pause to honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and to pay tribute to the first responders, volunteers, and everyday individuals who showed extraordinary strength when it mattered most.

We remember. We honor. We will never forget.

If you manage a commercial fleet, driver training is probably something you think about often, and for good reason. Over 90% of workplace vehicle accidents are caused by driver error, which means the quality of your training program has a direct impact on your risk exposure.

One solution for driver training that's gaining traction among fleet operators is simulation-based training. Swipe for reasons why this training method is worth considering.

If you have questions about how your training program might affect your commercial coverage, I'd be happy to talk it through. Otherwise, I’m here if you have any general questions about your commercial auto coverage. Feel free to reach out anytime.

Labor Day is all about celebrating the workforce, and the best way to honor hard work is to take a real break from it. So to celebrate, our team is fully committing to the cause by penciling some cat naps into our schedules this weekend.

A quick heads-up: The office is closed on Monday, September 7th. We will be back on Tuesday, September 8th — recharged, refreshed, and ready to get to work.

We hope you have a long weekend full of good food, good company, and zero emails!

This Life Insurance Awareness Month, we want to highlight an unfortunate reality: too few Americans have adequate life insurance. The good news is that there are several simple steps you can take to better protect your family’s future.

Swipe for key statistics and steps to consider. As always, we are here to help ensure you have the right life insurance protection. Reach out today for assistance with any of the steps we’ve recommended or to further explore coverage for your family.

Before your kids head out the door, make sure they know how to get to school safely, no matter how they are getting there. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

🔵Walking to school? Stick to sidewalks, cross only at crosswalks, make eye contact with drivers before stepping into the street, and always walk in a group when possible.

🔵Riding a bike? A properly fitted helmet is non-negotiable. Remind students to ride on the right side of the road with traffic, come to a complete stop before crossing, and choose a route with minimal intersections and light traffic.

🔵Taking the bus? Students should stand at least 6 feet back from the curb when waiting for a bus, wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before boarding, and never walk behind or in front of a bus without making eye contact with the driver first.

🔵Getting dropped off? If you drive your child to school, obey school zone speed limits, follow your school's drop-off procedure, and never pass a bus that is loading or unloading children.

🔵Teen drivers? Review the basics of safe driving. This includes, but is not limited to, having all passengers wear seatbelts, putting devices away while driving, and driving the speed limit.

We hope you find these tips helpful as students transition back to school. As always, if you have any needs or questions, do not hesitate to reach out to our team. We are happy to help.

Wildfire season is here, and ensuring that you and your loved ones are prepared is a crucial step. Beyond memorizing evacuation routes and packing a go-bag, reviewing your homeowners and auto insurance policies can be a key step to help prepare in case the worst were to happen.

That said, it’s a good idea to confirm that your homeowners or renters policy covers fire, smoke, and ash damage, and check your auto policy if you want coverage for your vehicle as well, since that typically falls under a comprehensive auto policy rather than homeowners coverage.

Additionally, look at your additional living expenses limits and ask yourself honestly whether they would cover your costs if you were displaced for several weeks or longer.

If you have questions about your current coverage, or if you want to talk through layering on policies to help protect your belongings in case of a wildfire, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We are here to help protect what you have built.

Did you know there’s more than one way to walk away from a life insurance policy that no longer fits your needs? A life settlement allows you to sell your policy to a third party in exchange for a lump sum. This can be a strategic option when premiums become burdensome or your financial priorities shift. Swipe through to learn more about what policies may qualify.

If your life insurance policy no longer aligns with your goals, it may be worth exploring your options. Contact us to discuss your situation and determine whether a life settlement is a good fit for your financial strategy.