Who Should Be Your Primary Beneficiary?

One of the first things you do when purchasing life insurance is to determine who will be your beneficiary. At Freeland Insurance, the licensed and bonded agents can assist Oklahoma City, OK residents in choosing the right person to be the recipient of the proceeds from their life insurance. In most cases, a spouse or partner is often the most common choice, but there are times when choosing someone else may be necessary.

Spouse or Partner

For most life insurance policies, the insured normally chooses their spouse or life partner to be the beneficiary of the proceeds from a life insurance policy. If they are single, it can be a business associate or the executor of their will. A life insurance policy is purchased to help a wife or husband to remain financially stable for a period of time after the loved one passes away.

Caring for the Children

If the deceased has small children and the spouse is financially secure on their own, the beneficiary may be chosen to monitor the proceeds once they are placed in a trust. The trust fund can be used to pay for the children’s needs or can be set aside for their education. Beneficiaries are often chosen based on the fact that they knew the insured’s intent prior to their passing.

If you live in the Oklahoma City, OK area and are interested in purchasing a life insurance policy, the agents at Freeland Insurance can help you choose a beneficiary that will take care of the proceeds of the policy when the time comes. Call and schedule an appointment today so that you can decide who will take care of your family and keep their best interest at heart.

Factors to Consider When Shopping For Home Insurance

Your home is one of the most valuable assets you own that’s an investment and also a shelter for you and your family. While there’s little you can do to prevent certain disasters, especially natural disasters, from destroying/damaging your home, you can have home insurance with Freeland Insurance to help you recover fast in case of a disaster. However, simply choosing a policy doesn’t mean your home is completely secured. It important to consider if the policy you are buying will completely secure your Oklahoma City, OK home, otherwise, you may lose when certain unknown risks crop up. Some of the factors to keep in mind when shopping for home insurance include:

Contents of Your Home

Do an inventory and correctly estimate the value of your home contents to help you determine how much coverage you want for them. Ensure that you have full coverage for high-value items such as high-end electronics, fine art, special pieces of jewelry, sports equipment, etc.

Additional Endorsements

Find out what additional coverage options your insurance provider offers to fill in all the gaps in coverage and dive into maximum protection. For instance, personal property replacement cost, jewelry, earthquake, flood endorsements, and much more.

Terms and Conditions

Go through the policy document, especially the terms and conditions you’ve agreed to and ensure any existing errors, including spelling mistakes, are rectified as soon as possible. Never assume that it only contains the inclusions and exclusions communicated to you by the agent

Compare Insurance before Purchasing

Home insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all policy. Different insurance providers offer different coverage options as well as different terms and conditions. Therefore, consider shopping around and comparing insurance policies before settling for one.

At Freeland Insurance, we provide affordable and reliable home insurance policies to the residents of Oklahoma City, OK and its environs. Our agents will help you determine what coverage options you need to secure your home completely. For more information, contact us today.

Insurance for Service-Based Businesses

Service-based businesses are one of the largest sectors of our modern economy. Cleaning services, landscapers, medical professionals, and other workers who don’t produce or sell real goods in the Oklahoma City, OK area have unique insurance needs. The experts at Freeland Insurance suggest that all service-based businesses carry these policies to protect their business interests.

  • General liability coverage helps you pay for costs associated with injury, accident, or loss caused by your business. This includes legal fees for the defense of your business and employees, medical payments for the injured party, and court-ordered fees and restitution. If you rent your commercial property, general liability protection will pay your landlord if you damage or destroy the property.
  • Professional liability insurance protects direct service providers from the legal costs of defending themselves against libel, slander, and even copyright infringement. Claims of false advertisement are also covered under these policies. Medical professionals like doctors, nurses, and psychologists depend on malpractice coverage, a type of liability insurance, to ensure they stay financially solvent in the face of legal claims.
  • Commercial auto insurance is more than a legal requirement. The right auto insurance policy ensures that your service or delivery vehicle is always available. Your employees are covered by your policy. If they are involved in an accident while completing their job duties, your commercial auto insurance policy guarantees that you’ll have the funds to repair or replace your service vehicle quickly.
  • Umbrella insurance policies are secondary coverages. All insurance policies have limits. In the case of a catastrophic loss, your primary coverage may not be enough to replace your lost property or allow you to rebuild. An umbrella policy provides additional funds on top of what your primary policy pays. These low-premium plans are a great way to ensure you’re ready for whatever is thrown your way.
  • Do you have the right protection for your service-based business? Contact Freeland Insurance in the Oklahoma City, OK area for a personalized review of your business needs.

Three Ways Umbrella Insurance Can Save the Day

Lawsuits happen everywhere. It’s true in Oklahoma City, OK, and it’s true in the rest of the country. Most people have basic coverage, but many don’t understand the opportunity that stems from an umbrella policy. At Freeland Insurance, we’ve seen it all. These are the three biggest ways umbrella insurance can protect you.

Legal Guidance

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of umbrella insurance is that it prevents you from facing lawsuits alone. When you have an umbrella plan, it is in the insurance company’s best interest to make sure you have top shelf representation. That helps you in finding a good lawyer, and it ensures that you have a good legal plan from the start. Too many people have lost horribly because they represented themselves. Umbrella insurance prevents that mistake.

Reputation

Umbrella insurance isn’t just about protecting your assets. Many policies include clauses for libel, slander and false arrest. If someone levels accusations against you that threaten your future, you can call in the big guns. Your insurance company is better equipped to handle these difficult cases than most individuals. In many cases, winning a defamation case doesn’t just protect your reputation. You may also win a countersuit for damages.

Dollar Bills

Ultimately, this is the primary motivation for having umbrella insurance. It makes sure you aren’t bankrupted if you are liable for damages. The vast majority of times, these cases arise from an honest accident, and none of us are above having a mishap. Umbrella insurance covers the costs of your accident to keep it from ruining your life.

Life in Oklahoma City, OK, can be full of adventure. Umbrella insurance is one of the key defenses to prevent that adventure from mutating into catastrophe. Talk to your Freeland Insurance Agent to make sure you have good coverage.

Why do lenders require flood insurance in addition to home insurance?

Mortgage lenders may require flood insurance as part of the lending requirements, especially if the home is located in an area that is considered having a high risk for floods. These areas are designated as a “Special Flood Hazard Area” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Homeowner’s insurance does not usually cover flood damage. Flood insurance is a special type of coverage that is a separate policy. If the mortgage is federally insured or regulated, such as an FHA loan, and the home is in a high-risk area for floods, then having flood insurance is mandatory.

Even if a lender does not require flood insurance, it may still be a good idea to have it because weather patterns are changing and the risk of flooding may be there even if the home is not in a designated Special Flood Hazard Area. EcoWatch reported in 2017 that there is increasing flood risk due to the changing weather patterns that are causing routine flooding in areas that were not previously susceptible to flooding.

If you are looking to buy a home, check with an insurance agent at Freeland Insurance in Oklahoma City, OK and they can help determine if the home is in a flood zone. Sometimes real estate agents do not mention the need for flood insurance until the home someone wants to purchase is already in escrow. FEMA has maps available for the public that show where the flood zones are located. If the home is near a flood zone but not within the boundaries, it still may be a good idea to have flood insurance. Just a few inches of water that enters a home can do serious damage and create the need for costly repairs.

Contact an insurance agent at Freeland Insurance in Oklahoma City, OK for any flood insurance or other insurance needs.

3 Tips for Getting More Out of Your Health Insurance

Your health insurance policy isn’t just a long-winded contract full of terms and contingencies you don’t understand, it’s a blueprint to how you can take care of yourself no matter how old you are or what specific options you may face. Here are a few tips from Freeland Insurance if you live in Oklahoma City, OK and you’re hoping to get more out of your insurance.

Ask Questions

This is a standard piece of advice for all of your insurance policies, but one that often isn’t practiced because most people simply don’t have a good deal of interest in their policy. But biting the bullet and asking the tough questions is a good way to get a better handle on how insurance works in all situations. It can also make you as aware of the services that aren’t covered as opposed to the ones that are.

Apply Common Sense

It’s impossible for insurance companies to predict every possible event that may occur to a person, which is why policyholders may want to think before they make certain decisions. While it’s true that you should never assume anything specific, you can also apply relatively basic logic when it comes to whether or not a certain service will be covered. In other words, if you have major medical insurance only, your policy isn’t likely to cover dermatology visits for cosmetic purposes only.

Call Freeland Insurance

Our insurance agency is built on helping the people of Oklahoma City, OK get the most out of their policies — no matter what their priorities or budget happens to be. For more information about our services or to receive a health insurance quote, give us a call today. We can help you get a handle on health insurance!

Does Commercial Insurance Cover Employees?

Commercial insurance is something that every business can benefit from and it can help protect plenty of things when it comes to your business. There are a ton of things that your commercial policy covers that you may not be aware of and one of them is your employees. For those in the Oklahoma City, OK area, the agents with Freeland Insurance can help you to find the right policy for your individual needs. Commercial policies can do wonders for employers if they have the right one in place.

For starters, your commercial policy is going to cover your employees for a range of things. It helps cover them if they are injured on your property first and foremost which is one of the most important things. Instead of you having to pay the full medical bills of an employee that is injured on your property, you can use your policy to help pay their medical bills so that you do not have to worry about how to help pay if they are injured.

For those that have a policy in place, you can specify how much is going to be paid if an employee is injured and how the employee can go about collecting. For the most part, your commercial policy is going to protect your employees from bodily harm while on your premises.  Though this might not seem like a terribly common occurrence, you will be surprised to find that more people are injured in the workplace than you might imagine. For those that live in the Oklahoma City, OK are, the agents with Freeland Insurance can help you find the policy that is going to protect not only you but also your employees while they are on your property.

Does a Daycare Need Commercial Insurance?

One of the most rewarding careers is one that involves working with children. Whether it be operating your own daycare center or teaching at a local high school, working with children is a great way to help raise the next generation that will be running our country. As a daycare owner, though, there are many things that you need to take into consideration. Take for example insurance. Does your daycare center have all of the proper insurance coverage that it needs? For now, let’s take a quick look at daycare centers and the various types of insurance they need. 

You will find it very beneficial to invest in commercial insurance for your daycare center. With this type of insurance, you will receive a variety of benefits, including those related to general liability and professional liability coverage. With general liability coverage, this will help provide coverage for claims that relate to property damage. For example, if a child is injured on your business property and has to go to the hospital, you will have to pay for the involved expenses. With the right insurance policy, though, you can have peace of mind in knowing that you won’t have to dip into your own pocket to pay for the medical expenses or the damages that are sustained by your property. 

The best way to determine what type of insurance coverage your daycare center needs is by speaking with a qualified insurance specialist. To learn more about commercial insurance for daycare centers, please don’t hesitate to contact Freeland Insurance today serving the Oklahoma City, OK area. A professional insurance agent can help you assess which types of insurance will be the most beneficial for your daycare center. 

Does Your Commercial Insurance Policy Provide Adequate Coverage for Company Vehicles?

Many business owners make the mistake of thinking that their company vehicles are covered by their property and loss insurance which is often not the case. If you are a small business owner and would like to ensure that all of your business assets are properly covered, Freeland Insurance is here to help.

We are a full-service insurance agency that is proud to serve the greater Oklahoma City, OK area. Our agents are fully trained in multiple lines of coverage and can work with you to determine that your business has the comprehensive coverage that it requires.

Comprehensive Commercial Vehicle Insurance

Coverage for injury or damage, caused by your company or someone else, is crucial to protecting you in the event of an accident. Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability coverage (BI/PD) covers you in the event of an accident and will protect you from major financial loss, no matter who’s fault the accident may be. Medical Payment coverage will help to defray any medical costs that are incurred due to the accident.

Coverage for uninsured motorists is another level of protection that is available. Our agents can work with you to determine which of the different lines are appropriate in your situation, and also calculate the appropriate coverage level. Vehicle insurance is an important part of protecting your company and all of your hard work.

Please give us a call today at (405) 692-6106 to schedule an appointment to ensure that your company vehicles are adequately covered, no one wants to learn about gaps in their insurance policies after a loss or damage event has occurred! Freeland Insurance is proud to serve the greater Oklahoma City, OK area and looks forward to working with you! Call us today.

Home insurance surprises

Freeland Insurance serving Oklahoma City, OK  works hard to make sure that you have all your insurance needs.  But you need to make sure with your insurance agent that everything you need is covered.

Things your homeowner’s insurance might not cover

It’s always best to ask your insurance agent what you might need.

Sewer backup: If a sewer backs up into a home, it can do some serious damage to floors, walls, furniture and electrical systems — and it’s typically not covered by a standard policy.

Floods: Frankly, flood insurance is a different insurance.   Make sure, if this is an issue, that you include it in your policy.

Sinkholes: Most home insurance policies will not cover damage associated with ‘earth movement,’ such as an earthquake or sinkhole.

Mold: Depending on your insurance this may or may not be covered.  Sometimes, it’s pricey, but depending on where you live this is something you might want to add. With a leak or flooding, get rid of the water asap, so mold doesn’t grow.

Construction work damage: If you are renovating your home it probably isn’t covered by your policy, a rider might be added.   If you have a contractor, it would fall under their liability insurance.   Make sure they are covered.

Jewelry, antiques, and fine art: Most standard policies have limits for other expensive collectibles. The best way to protect these items is to get a separate insurance rider that specifies exactly what these items are.

Earthquakes: Earthquake damage is not included in standard policies.

Stolen/destroyed cash: It’s difficult to convince the insurance company that you had thousands of dollars stashed away in your home when it was destroyed. So keep it in a safe place or keep minimal cash on hand.