Christmas dinner has been put away and the used wrapping paper bagged and carried out. Many websites are now posting how and where to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and showing various retrospectives on the year in review. I think this is a great time to look back over the last 12 months, and peek into what’s coming for Texans and their home, car, health, and life insurance.
Christmas will arrive in two days. The phone is very quiet and email has become almost non-existent as clients, friends, and business associates prepare for Christmas. Sheri and I attended our last holiday party on Tuesday and we’re now finalizing our preparations to spend time with our kids and 8 grandchildren. It promises to be a wonderfully noisy time filled with plenty of hugs, laughter, stories, gifts, and too much food.
At the end of each year, there are several articles and blog posts published on end of year financial planning and moves to make. Some are written to address end of year tax moves you can take now, while others address items to rebalance your portfolio better, open an IRA, and improve your financial position now and in 2017.
The Takata airbag recall been going on for a couple of years now. It began to take off when the New York Times reported the company was aware of a dangerous defect with its airbags. 11 days later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration called for the recall to be expanded nationally from states with high humidity such as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and along the Gulf Coast states.
I am talking with a prospective client who’s buying a condo later this month. She was unware of an option on the condo insurance quotes I prepared for her which is important because her new home has a mandatory Home Owner’s Association for the complex. In fact, regardless of whether you own or are buying a home, town house, or condo with a mandatory HOA, this one option should be included with your home insurance. It’s loss assessment coverage and it can save you thousands of dollars.
Earlier this year, the Department of Labor released a ruling subjecting all financial advisors who provide investment advice for retirement accounts to meet a fiduciary standard. What has been interesting to watch are the reactions from both the insurance industry and those in the investment broker and advisor community.
