Jessica's Insurance Guidance and Tackling Everyday Choice Paralysis

In this episode, we sit down with Jessica, owner of Sterling Group Insurance, to delve into the often misunderstood world of insurance. Jessica shares her extensive knowledge, having been in the insurance industry since 2006, and offers insights into both business and personal insurance coverage. From the intricacies of general liability to the often-overlooked cyber coverage, Jessica guides us through making informed insurance decisions.

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Today we're here with Jessica. Jessica, can you introduce yourself? Hi, I'm Jessica. I am the owner of Sterling Group Insurance. I've been in insurance since 2006 and that is my specialty.

Yeah, no, I would say that sounds fun, but, it's not, it actually sounds not fun. insurance can be a very difficult business to be in. It's definitely, the clients that you have that really appreciate your expertise, they are great and it's great to be able to save people money and help people through all of the decisions that have to be made with insurance.

But at the same time that you also get people that think that every little thing that happens wrong with the company is your fault and when really we have no control over that. And so it can be a very thankless job at times. Yeah, I know my reverse dislike [00:01:00] working with certain insurances because of their policies on the roofing, but that we never have directed it at any of the agents we're working with.

We actually like the agents because the agents are like, yeah, it is. If you have a good agent, if a company is, you know, they have a high turnover rates. I'm not sometimes it's actually pretty common to get a newer person that might not know all the ins and outs and sometimes they make wrong calls.

I mean with any company there's a chance you can get a bad adjuster and, but if you work with a good agent will help you through those times. We are not licensed adjusters and we cannot make anybody do anything outside of the scope of the company. Of the policy that you have, but if they are not doing what's in the policy, they're not handling something right.

An agent can help you through that, around that over that, and advise you on what to [00:02:00] do. Can maybe sometimes help you go around the, a bad adjuster and get to their supervisor and get help that way. So there are, even though we can't really force anything, they, we do have a couple of tricks in our bags and we can help.

 In insurance, what are some of the most overlooked or misunderstood things that get covered? Okay. Well, it does depend on what kind of insurance. We're talking about, and since we're both entrepreneurs, I'll start with kind of the business side of things.

So when you are, looking at insuring your business, a lot of people know about general liability and that is what you need in some cases, but there are other things that you may have exposure for a lot of people who are new in business. This is not something we're ever taught, you're not taught this in school.

So you really do need to sit down with a professional to analyze what you personally have going on so they can make [00:03:00] recommendations. But a lot of times people come to me and they're like, well, I'm working with this other company and they require I have these coverages X, Y, Z, which isn't always exactly what you need.

So general liability is always a good start. But there are some things it does not cover that you might need. One thing that I see very often is if you use your personal vehicle in the course of business, it can cause you a problem, it can leave your business open to be sued if you do not have a commercial policy, or if you do not have your vehicle rated for business use.

So there are some personal lines carriers, depending on what it is you're doing, that will rate your vehicle for, business use and sometimes that is a cheaper alternative than having to get. a commercial [00:04:00] insurance policy for a vehicle. Commercial auto does tend to be more expensive than personal.

And also, there's a big separation there, a personal auto policy is not going to cover business use of the vehicle, and a business, a commercial auto policy is not going to cover personal use of the vehicle. There's only one company that I know of that allows you to say yes, I'd like You know, this is mainly a commercial vehicle, but I may occasionally use it personally.

So it is important to evaluate your auto policy to make sure that you are covered if you are running a business errand or if you're running to a job site. If you are taking people with you, that is another, thing to consider, but then also There is, sometimes you can add this to your general liability policy, sometimes you can't, it depends on the company and again what you're doing.

It is a product you can get stand alone, because another issue you run into [00:05:00] is if you do not own a vehicle, you cannot insure a vehicle. So if your business does not own a vehicle, technically it cannot insure it, so if you're the one on the title and not your business, It's supposed to be insured under your name and one another cheaper alternative workaround.

Even if you have a personal vehicle rated for business use, something that I strongly suggest for people to carry is non owned and hired auto coverage. So it still works. It, that side of it protects your business, not you personally, but your business. And that way, if you are in an at fault accident and, it realized like, Hey, I was on my way over here to do something for my business or I'm on my way to this job site, then all of a sudden your business isn't, could be potentially sued for that because you are on company time when [00:06:00] that happened.

And so that protects your business. A lot of times the limits for that start at a million dollars. So it's a good. Cheaper way to cover it if your business does not own a vehicle, or even if you have employees that are running errands for you in their personal business, that it's an absolute must to have that covered.

 Another coverage that is often overlooked is errors and omissions. General liability is kind of more of a slip and fall type coverage is what a lot of people say. So sometimes if you're a home based business that doesn't have clients actually coming in your door, general liability might not be the thing you actually need.

omissions insurance. So that way that covers if you give somebody advice that's not quite right, or if you forget to tell them about [00:07:00] something, it's, that's what covers those types of scenarios. If you give advice and it creates a financial loss for someone that you do business with, then that coverage, will help you in that scenario.

Scenario. And then another very overlooked one is cyber coverage. A lot of people think they don't have to have it. I don't do anything online. I don't sell anything online. I don't. And really, you know, or people think I'm not a big enough business. people aren't going to target me because I'm not a big business.

And the reality is small businesses are targeted just as much if not more than large businesses when it comes to that. And it doesn't even, you don't necessarily have to sell online to have a problem with that. If you take credit card payments, even in person credit card payments. There's an electronic transaction that happens there that can [00:08:00] be hacked.

 It can be, you know, if you have that kind of coverage, there's different things it can cover, if you have anybody, any kind of personal information on anybody, like their name and their address and their phone number, if you store anything like that, Electronically, that's, that is also something that can be hacked, um, and some policies will even cover paper documents if something happened to, you know, if you don't keep things online, but you keep things on paper, some policies will actually cover a breach for that as well.

There's lots of different options and lots of different reasons to have that. That is a very overlooked, thing, there's also ransom coverage in that a lot of small businesses get targeted where they get hacked and their information is held for ransom. So that is. A coverage that is, could be really important to some people so you don't lose all your files.

 So those, on the business lines, those are [00:09:00] probably the three most misunderstood, overlooked, people don't even realize it's an option sometimes. And yes, you might work with somebody that says you have to have that general liability, but even though that's a good one to have, it's good to evaluate your business to see if that's really your biggest exposure.

Because if you're not a brick and mortar store, that's probably not going to be your biggest concern. And then on the personal side of it, Auto insurance, one of the biggest things I see left off of there is loan or lease coverage. It works like a gap insurance so that if you owe more on your vehicle than what it's worth, it will pay the difference.

And a lot of people know about getting that from the dealership, but most companies, not every single one of them, but most auto insurance companies has an option to endorse something like that on your policy. And [00:10:00] just for example of what the price difference can be, I can use my own in greater, this is back in 2012 when I bought a new vehicle, but it was, The dealership was wanting to charge me 50 a month for gap insurance to add it onto my policy was 16 a year.

So it's usually much more beneficial to add that to your policy if they offer that than it is to get it from the dealership. And then for home, usually there's a lot of little things that aren't usually covered under a normal insurance policy. Policy unless they are endorsed on and people might not realize that one of those things is water backup coverage.

This can be from something in your house, or if you're on a city line, it can be something. That happens at your neighbor's house or somewhere down the street that clogs things up and brings water out through your [00:11:00] toilets or through your drains. And that is not something that is normally covered under a run of the mill homeowner's policy.

That is something that has to be endorsed on. And it does depend on the company is the options they allow, but most of them start at 5, 000. For coverage for that, and then some of them will let you choose higher limits, and that is a very overlooked thing and a very misunderstood thing that people just don't realize that's not usually covered unless it is specifically added to the pop.

Another thing that. is overlooked with homeowner's insurance is service line coverage. A lot of people do not realize that you are actually responsible to maintain and to fix your service lines from your meter to your home. And so if you have to dig up, a water line or gas line, that can be really costly.

And it's [00:12:00] not something that most insurance companies cover unless you actually endorse it on. So it's also usually not a huge price driver to add that. It usually adds 10, 000 of coverage. specifically for that. Again, different, states, different companies do things differently. I am licensed in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri.

So that's what I am speaking to mostly Arkansas, it's something you can check with your company and see what they offer. You can usually get that kind of coverage through your utilities as well. They usually offer something like that. And what I've noticed is, okay.

Here, at least, when I have seen the comparison, what it costs for you to get it on just one utility, like to say you just your water, it's usually the same, About the same price on your policy, but your policy will cover more than just one service line where if you get it through your utility company, it's only for that particular [00:13:00] utility.

So if you have water and gas that are buried, it's usually cheaper to go ahead and add that to your policy rather than have it. through the water company and through the gas company. And then let's see, there was one more I was thinking of for homeowners insurance. there's a lot of little things about homeowners insurance that people don't always realize.

You do have to be really careful. Make sure you answer the questions honestly. Yeah, go ahead. Make sure you have the full amount for the roof, not just the cash value for the roof, because the cash value is like 30 percent of the cost of the roof sometimes. Yes, that's another thing that people don't always understand and that is getting harder to find, especially if your roof is of a certain age, because the whole idea is that insurance isn't supposed to cover normal wear and tear.

Insurance is supposed to cover apparel that could [00:14:00] happen. So if you have a 50 year old roof, that has hail damage all of a sudden, it is pretty normal for them to depreciate those. But there are companies out there, especially if your roof is newer, I would absolutely make sure that, try to get replacement costs on your roof rather than actual cash value.

If you can, if you have a 20 year old roof or older, some companies won't do it after 10 or 15 years. That might be harder to find and you are going to pay quite a bit more once your roof starts getting older for that coverage. Some companies will, at a certain time frame, switch you from replacement costs to actual cash value.

But what people don't realize about that is when you have actual cash value coverage, it's minus your deductible, whatever you choose that to be could be anywhere from 500 to 5, 000 or more. And then they [00:15:00] also figure in depreciation. So depending on the age of your roof, if you have a brand new roof, that's not going to be as big of a concern because it's not going to depreciate more.

But once you start getting into 15, 20 years on a roof, You know, for a 40 year roof and you're at the 20 year mark, it's going to be depreciated by half, at least. So that's, it is absolutely something to consider when looking at your home insurance is, I really, actual cash value policies are a thing where, and it is a name your coverage.

Type you can get that for your entire house, and I've seen people try to do that to save money But the reality is if something happens it can leave you with hardly anything Because there are And agents don't always explain this. There are some nuances to that type of policy. So yes, you could come in and say, yeah, okay, it might [00:16:00] take a hundred thousand dollars to replace my home, but I only owe 50, 000 on it.

The bank only requires me to carry 50, 000 because that's matches the loan. And that can make it where it seems cheap, but. They're all of those policies, at least in the state of Arkansas, they have what they call an 80 percent co insurance clause. So if you have an actual cash value policy, And you have a claim and just for easy numbers, let's say you are insured for 50 percent of your replacement, so you're going to be minus your deductible minus depreciation and then because you are not insured for at least 80 percent they are going to ding, take off an additional, 30%.

For that claim to make up the [00:17:00] difference for that 80 percent co insurance, which can really leave you with not very much. So, if you, And agents don't always take the time to explain that because, sometimes people are really pushy and they come in and they're like, no, this is what I want.

I will write one on a very rare occasion, but I really discourage it. A lot of times the savings is not substantial. I mean, if it is, I completely understand having to stay within a budget and doing what you can. But usually, It's about the same price to get replacement and it's just so much better and it's such an easier thing to work with.

You're going to know what you're out because it's going to be your deductible and that's it. So that's, that is something to absolutely watch for on homeowners insurance. And then there are also other little things like marring coverage and matching [00:18:00] coverage. A lot of policies. if your damage is just cosmetic and didn't actually, threaten the structure at all.

A lot of times what you see without a tail damage, if it just dented your siding, but didn't really hurt it, it's just cosmetic. A lot of companies will not pay for cosmetic only unless you have marring coverage. So that's another thing to ask about. A couple of places include it. But most do not and a lot of them are starting to move away from covering it without an extra charge again It's not usually a huge price driver And then matching coverage what that does is again It's usually at least in this area hail damage that we see where this would come into play, you know It's not uncommon for a storm to come in from one side.

And so only part of the home gets covered Damaged and on the other part. And when you are start replacing siding or start replacing shingles, the [00:19:00] insurance company is only gonna want to replace the part that's actually damaged. And if you find yourself in a situation where they can't match, I mean, they will try to match what you have, but if they can't, you have a siding color that's been discontinued or shingle color that's been discontinued.

If they cannot match it. Bye bye. then they're just going to replace it with what's closest to it. So you could end up with two different color siding on your house or two different color shingles on your house. And if that's something that bothers you, if that's not something you want to take a chance on, you can usually endorse matching coverage on there, which will pay extra money for the whole thing to be redone, so that way you're not having to mix and match there.

On that point, check with your code enforcement, because if code enforcement says that it has to be matched, then insurance has to follow that anyway. Actually, if you're in that situation and you don't have that [00:20:00] endorsement, I would think your ordinance and law coverage should kick in for that. most companies include that in their policies, but not all of them do.

So it's one of those things you want to ask for. Is ordinance and law coverage, especially if you have a little older home and what that does is if you get into a claim and that claim discovers that something in your house is not up to code, then it provides extra coverage for you to go ahead and bring it up to code.

In the course of that claim. So, like you said, if code enforcement requires that it be one color, even if you don't have the matching coverage, the ordinance and law coverage should kick in and cover that or, you know, sometimes people get in, they'll have a leak or something and they'll tear into a wall and realize their plumbing is not up to code or their electrical is not up to code, then that coverage will kick in and help go ahead and get that taken [00:21:00] care of.

well, you've got a claim going. So yeah, that's another important coverage. It is usually included, but not everybody includes it. So it's something to definitely ask about and look for in your policy. Yeah, 1 of the people I work with is a roofer and we come across all different kinds of policies that have been done in all different kinds of ways.

And some of them are quite interesting how they got put together to say the least. But sometimes we'll have the adjuster come back and say they don't have ordinance and law. They don't have it. I don't care. You still have to. Yeah, you have to at that point, you're out of pocket for it because it has to be done.

I have to do the thing. So that becomes something if your insurance isn't covering ordinance and law. You've made a big [00:22:00] mistake because now that's coming out of your pocket because your roofer, your electrician, your plumber, whoever has to do the thing to get it up to code, they're not paying for that out of the goodness of the heart.

They might have the goodest heart on the planet, but like this is a job and they're trying to get paid for doing it. Absolutely. And that's, yeah. And it is one of those things. If they are a reputable company, they can't leave it. email without it being up to code. And so that is a good one to, to look for.

Absolutely. And then also if you know, something other people don't always realize too is if The use of your home changes, you really need to let your agent know. Cause there's different types of policies and the type of policy you have might not be good if your situation changes.

So, if you have a home that you've lived in and you have a normal run in the mill homeowners policies, even if it [00:23:00] has all the bells and whistles, if you start running it out as a vacation rental. Your homeowner might not be okay with that. So you need to double check. Some will allow you to endorse that on there and we'll cover it.

Some companies will not cover it at all. And if you give an insurance company a loophole to not cover you, they're going to take it. They're gonna take it. So that's another thing. Read your policy. People are like, Oh, I can't understand it. And then when I usually, when I've been told that I can't understand my policy, I've asked them, have you actually sat down and tried to read it?

And usually the answer is no, because there's this broad understanding that most people have that I, that's over my head and I'm not going to be able to understand it. So I'm not even going to try. And that's really, we got to get over that. Because that's your contract with the insurance company.

That's a legal binding document and they have to do what is in that contract. And you have to [00:24:00] do what is in that contract to have your coverage. And that's when I sell different policies. It doesn't matter the company. I all, it's pretty common that I have people come back.

Well, I researched your company and I found all these complaints and not my company, but the company I'm presenting the quote with. Yeah, the actual insurance company, because I'm sales and service. But, I researched this company and I see all these bad reviews and I'll even ask them to show me, what you're talking about.

The majority of bad reviews on insurance companies come from people not understanding how their policy works. They think, oh, I pay it. It's going to be one of those things. That's kind of auto insurance, jumping back to auto insurance. One of the things that is just great on my soul is the term and it's something everybody uses.

Everybody uses it except for some of us old school [00:25:00] insurance professionals is the term full coverage. I hate that term. I refuse to use it. It is very misleading. It makes people think that everything is going to be fully covered no matter what. And the reality of it is even if you have all the highest limits, all the bells and whistles, there could be a situation still that arises that is not fully covered.

And it's a terrible phrase. It's kind of, a joke within the insurance community, if you come at an insurance agent and tell them that you want full coverage, you have just let them know that you have no idea what you're talking about. And a lot of times people get that from finance companies and it's just become a thing.

I even see other insurance agents use it, but. If I tell you have full coverage and then something isn't covered, that leaves me open to be [00:26:00] sued. That CYA is very important. Yes. An insurance professional, if other insurance professionals are watching this, never ever use that term. Go through and examine it.

Take the time to explain to the client why you don't use that term and what their coverages are. And if you've been doing this long enough, you know what the finance company is looking for. Because if you start asking people, what does that mean to you? Everybody's going to give you a different answer.

You know, for a finance company, one of the car lots that I work with, they require that you have liability, comprehensive, and collision. And that's it. They'll tell you. Oh, you have to have full coverage, but all they actually require is liability, comprehensive, and collision. They don't require uninsured motorists.

They don't require underinsured motorists. They don't require that you have personal injury protection coverages. They don't require that you have towing. They don't require that you have rental car coverage. They don't require that [00:27:00] you carry gap insurance. Those are all things you can add that, still say full coverage, but they're all, they're really carrying.

About when a finance company or a mortgage company tells you that they want to make sure the thing that they are Lending money on is covered. They want to make sure there's enough coverage on your house that if it burns down They're gonna get their money They want to make sure that there's enough coverage on your car that if you total it or somebody else totals it That their car is covered and they will get paid.

That's all they're concerned about So two things for car and for insurance on a business anyway I don't know if it's specific to a car because i've seen it on Just the general liability sheet that's come across my desk a thousand times So one of them is the insurance for rented stuff. So, if you have to go rent a Bobcat, you have insurance instead of having to pay whatever outlandish [00:28:00] price the company that you're renting from wants you to pay, you say, I have that coverage, and then you have to give them your COI, of course.

And the other thing is, when we first moved here to Arkansas from Texas, That's where we moved from. My brain doesn't know where I moved from lately, okay? I moved too much. But, Kim had hired somebody to mow the grass. You know, because we weren't here, we were moving in still. We didn't have time to mow the grass enough to keep the HOA or community, whatever it's called here.

Like, it seems to me every house in Arkansas is in an HOA, so whatever. But, The guy, the day we got here got in a car accident, but the person didn't hit his car, they hit his [00:29:00] trailer and destroyed his brand new lawnmower and some other equipment that was in that back.

I only remember the lawnmower because that was like, oh, that's huge. Why would you do that? I used to own a lawn chair business, expensive piece in that situation. I already know. But he had to fight with his insurance because nobody wanted to cover the equipment he had that got destroyed. So is there on your end something you can do?

Cause I'm not really sure. Like I said, I don't understand that part of it, but like is there insurance that a company should have that would cover their equipment? In the back of the truck in case somebody decided, Hey, I'm an idiot. I'm going to hit your trailer today. Yes. And really the person who hit them, it should have been covered from their insurance.

It really should have, cause they [00:30:00] were at fault, but yes, there is a way, you know, there are other things that can happen to equipment. I owned a lawn care business before I did insurance and I absolutely had equipment come out missing out of the back of my truck. So that's called inland marine insurance and it depends on the company that sounds like it's the correct insurance Bound insurance for a lawnmower.

We're gonna know you know the ocean. What do you mean marine? I don't know why I didn't name it. It's been crayons for the Marines that are going to be hungry and soon. Like, so yeah, Inland Marine, that's what covers your equipment. And you, sometimes you can add that on to your general liability. Sometimes there are some policies that will allow you to do what they call a BOP, business.

Oh goodness. A BOP is more than just general [00:31:00] liability. It's a business owner's policy. There we go. It will encompass more like usually a BOP is where you can add the non owned auto that I talked about and you can add Inland Marine to it. And if your policy doesn't offer that, you can get a separate standalone and that is what it's called.

I didn't name it. Inland marine policy. And some people do call it contractor's equipment. There is some something like that as well. It depends on how big. your pieces are. So there's a couple of different ways to cover it. There can be a blanket coverage, but even within a blanket, there is usually restrictions that if you're a piece, if you have a piece of equipment, that's over 1, 500, they want it listed out instead of just under a blanket.

Different companies are different. I have one that's anything over 5, 000. They want listed out. And, that is the piece that would cover a scenario like that. If for some reason, maybe the [00:32:00] person that hit them didn't have enough insurance to cover everything. That happens a lot, unfortunately. That is something, that's another soapbox I have.

State minimum insurance for auto insurance. I actually tried to figure out when that was put into place for Arkansas. You have to have a minimum of if you were in an at fault accident, somebody got hurt, it would pay up to 25, 000 per person, up to 50, 000 per accident and up to 25, 000 for property damage.

Well, I don't, the Arkansas insurance department does that. They cannot tell me when those limits. I remember doing that research. I remember doing that with you and we couldn't find anything. It was just, it showed up sometime in the 70s and people have just been, Oh, that's how it's done. Right. They could tell me that the minimum limit, Like, the fact that [00:33:00] you had to have minimum limits was set up in the 50s, but they couldn't tell me what those limits were when that was set up, and they couldn't tell me when the 25, 50, 25 comes into play.

But I know from my own personal experience of the

24ish, let's see, I don't know, for the over 20 years that I have been driving, that it has been the same. And if you think about what inflation has done over just that time period, I don't feel like it's kept up. I mean, if you even think about hitting a Tesla with that coverage, you're going to get sued because if you do not have enough coverage to cover an accident that you may cause, you then become personally responsible for the difference.

So, you know, yes, it does cost more to have more coverage, but it can cost you a whole lot more to not have. Enough coverage. It's been, especially ever since COVID hit, I have [00:34:00] seen Fender benders. I know someone that got hit in a parking lot. They were backed into it and they owned a BMW.

Somebody backed into them. The only thing damaged on that car was a head. That was it. That's expensive on a BMW. They could not find the part. The part is not available. There was no part to replace it. They could not replace the headlight. They ended up totaling that vehicle because they could not make it back to what it was.

That ended up being a 50, 000 claim. Over a headlight. So it really is important to have enough coverage. So if you have minimum coverage and you're responsible for 25, 000 of that and not to stereotype, but usually people pick minimum coverage because that's what they can. So. That's a situation I wouldn't be able to afford a 25, 000 [00:35:00] headlight.

So I'm, you know, that's awful expensive. I see those sports cards, right? The Ferraris and stuff like that. Them are on the road. I'm keeping my eye on that because. I ain't hitting it. It ain't happening. It's not coming into my wheelhouse because I know that if I'm in an accident with somebody who's driving a Ferrari, my insurance is going to love what they're going to do next because they're about to get more money from me than I can probably afford for the rest of my life.

Because my dumb butt just hit a 50 billion car. It can get real ugly real quick. Well, even I said, you know, I mentioned the Tesla's earlier. I saw one where someone had a pretty new Tesla and I saw pictures of it. This wasn't one of my clients or my, you know, somebody I actually knew, but it's something that I did see pictures of that came through a pipeline of [00:36:00] other insurance agents.

It was hit by like an older Honda Civic and I saw pictures of the actual collision, which was very small. It was the smallest rear end in the world. But Tesla's, Our unibody design, they have special paint and they have electronics all over those vehicles. Oh, that tiny, tiny, tiny little. I mean, it was, if somebody would've hit me in my car like that, I'd probably be like, we're good.

Let's go

into a $75,000 claim. Yep. $75,000 claim over the smallest little rear end in the world. And that's. We're moving towards that because all of these safety features that do make the vehicle safer, they also cost a whole lot more money to replace. So things, you know, I remember a time with even brand new vehicles that would have been a 1, 500 claim to fix a bumper, [00:37:00] you know, or even when prices raised like a 3, 000 claim.

To hit a bump, to replace a bumper, but when you hit something like that, it's just, that's just not what it is anymore. Now there's electronics and computers and special paint and different body styles and you mess up and it's, it can get real costly really fast. That candy, apple red.

And remember they used to have their own different reds. And if you messed up, like that was something that like they couldn't replace it. That was its own color when they made it. And now they have to make a whole new color to put on this car. That's not going to be exactly the same. Yeah, that's a thing that happens.

So it's absolutely something to keep in mind. And I know a lot of people are like, Oh, that'll never happen to me. And then everybody, everybody thinks that. And it could even be something that's not, you know, there are situations in insurance where sometimes it might not technically be your fault. Like you didn't [00:38:00] actually do anything wrong, but you reacted to something else that was happening.

And then it becomes your fault depending on how it hit or what exactly happened. You know, if you have an animal run out in front of you and you swear to hit it and you nick somebody else. That just happens to be in the way, or, you know, or even another vehicle may come in and swerve in at you that makes you react in a way that causes an accident.

And if that person goes on, which they're most likely going to do, then you're going to be at fault. Unless that person stops and says, I actually caused this. Even though I'm not involved in the accident, I caused it because I swerved. Then you're going to be the one at fault. I mean, no matter what happened over there.

And by the way, don't ever swerve to hit. To not hit an animal. And I'm an animal lover, but there's a rule. If it's way small, you know, if it's bumper and lower, you know, rabbits, squirrels, [00:39:00] that kind of thing, run it over, you can go, you know, cry to the Bambi movie later, but at least you're alive, you haven't damaged your car and you can keep on going.

Yeah. On the other hand, watching out for weather and the road type, making sure you're doing the speed for the area you're in, because I know everybody has a lead foot when it comes to that, because lonely road, let's go as fast as we can to get off of it. Don't do that, especially in the evening or after dark.

Because that's when you get deer, and if you're in the right area, mooses, and things like that, and you can't hit them, and walk away from it. And you can't swerve from them sometimes and walk away from it, depending on where you are, your road conditions, that type of thing. So you want to be paying attention to the area you're in, and make sure that you know that if a deer [00:40:00] crosses your path, you can stop in time.

 Not to be a bummer, but when I was living in Washington State, there were a couple of instances that were on the news because somebody going in one direction hit a deer and a person coming from the other direction, that deer went through their windshield and that person died because the first person hit the deer across the road.

Yeah, that absolutely can happen and it can be if there's nobody else on the road and granted you do have to use some discretion because the deer will tear up your car. I've seen some terrible pictures. I've seen, I saw one where Ford Explorer looked like it had been opened up with a can opener and there was nasty all over the place, but there is like a weird.

So if you are in a situation like that. And you hit the deer, but you're okay. Your car might not be, you're okay. That's a comprehensive claim. If [00:41:00] you swerve to hit the deer and run off the road and crash your vehicle, that is now a collision and an at fault accident. So. You do have to use some discernment.

You do have to be careful, but if you cause an accident swerving for an animal that goes from a comprehensive claim, which here in Arkansas, they don't charge for some states do, but even if they do, they charge less for them because it's something you couldn't control. You can't control what an animal is going to do.

And the insurance company recognizes like, this is something that is out of your control. But if you wreck trying to avoid the animal, that becomes an at fault accident on your record. Companies look at that for five years. There are a handful out there that will look at it for three. They will start charging you less after three, but it will cost you more.

Your insurance is going to go [00:42:00] up, for an at fault accident. And your insurance might go up anyways, even if you have a comp claim that's not chargeable, but it's not going to be because of that. And it's not going to follow you around. It's still going to be on your record for five years, but

it's not going to affect your price like an at fault accident will. So there is some discernment. Yes. Do you have to be careful because some of these larger animals can absolutely hurt you. I grew up in Southern Arkansas. I heard horror stories all the time of people hitting deer, but if it's a matter of just it messing up your vehicle, hit the animal.

I mean, you know, if you just have liability, your vehicle is probably not going to be covered, but if you wreck You know, trying to dodge the animal. That's not going to be covered either. And then that's still going to be an at fault accident on your record. So things to consider something that, people don't always think about in the moment.

You know, don't run off the road [00:43:00] trying to avoid a squirrel or a rabbit or a cat. I don't want to hit them either. I don't, I love animals. I don't want that to be a thing but it can cost you thousands of dollars. It can cost you your life. It can cost you your life. You could die instead of a squirrel.

I am quite sure that everybody in your family would much rather you hit a squirrel than die. Yeah. So it's one of those unfortunate things, but something to think about. And like you said, especially after dark, it's really important that you not outrunning your headlight. don't outrun your headlights.

That's the thing. Don't go so fast that you can't stop by the time you see something in the edge of your headlight.

 We've been talking a lot about how in insurance, you have to have, All your base is covered, which means you have to make a lot of choices.

Do you run into people who cannot make those choices?

I do. And it [00:44:00] is a lot. There are a lot of things to consider and everybody's circumstances a little different. I do try to get to know my clients and any good agent should do this. I do recommend people, find a good local independent agent, wherever you are to work with that will take the time to get to know you, And so I can make recommendations.

And then a lot of times, if we're looking at price, these coverages, are listed out on the quote with a price. So you can kind of decide if it's worth it for you to have that coverage. But yes, it is something people do get overwhelmed. I actually had a lady just the other day that she had a lot happened to her that day.

She was wanting to go with me. She was happy with what I quoted her. I had sat down and told her the difference between what she currently had and what my policy is. And she just laid it out for me. She's like, I am so sorry. I am brain dead right now. And she's a very smart person. We all have those moments where the brain doesn't want to do the things.[00:45:00]

And she's like, please help me make some decisions. And so we did, we walked through it. I can't absolutely make decisions for people. but I can help them narrow down what their concerns are. So that's kind of how I try to handle that in my situation. But it's also something I myself struggle with sometimes.

So I can absolutely understand, having that there's too many too much and I don't know what to do and I want to make sure things are right, but I don't know which one's the right one. So it is a thing that we struggle with.

So for me, sometimes, Well, no, for me when I'm working, I can make all the choices I need to make. I can help other people make choices. I can help them narrow things down. I can say, oh, well, these are three tasks that should be done daily. You know, maybe you should schedule them or whatever to make sure that they get done.[00:46:00]

That kind of thing. But as soon as I step two steps away from my desk, and it's no longer about work. I absolutely have like this demon on my shoulder. That's like, no, you're not allowed to make another decision in your life. It's just not how it's gonna work. You're never gonna know you're not making them shush.

Sit down. You can't do it. So like Am I drinking soda? Am I drinking water? I don't know. I couldn't tell you. Am I what am I having for lunch? Again, I don't know some days the choices pile up in like the personal side and I am just like nope I'm gonna do the ostrich with my head in the sand type thing and i'm good This is not the healthy way to do things, and I do have a better solution, so don't worry.

But, [00:47:00] I have gone without eating. Because I literally could not decide between two things to eat. I have too. And was like, okay. Fine, then we're not doing either and we'll see what you think about these decisions the next time around and it's You know one of those. My parents hated me when I was a child Because if they said that I had to eat something or starve if I didn't like it enough, I was starving and there were definitely things my mom cooked that there was no way On god's green earth.

I was eating it None, there was absolutely no option and they actually punished me for like a week straight. They tried to get that same meal, which was like cabbage. I'm not eating cabbage. Screw you and then some. It wasn't happening. So I did. I ate lunch at school and that's all I had for that entire [00:48:00] week and they thought that I would crack.

Guess what? They had to crack because I wasn't. I am very stubborn when I'm Set in my if I have if my brain has said nope, we're not doing it pretty much Nothing can change that unless somebody comes along and says i'm cooking pizza. Do you want some? Oh, yay. I am saved. I am saved by the bell. I can eat something now, right because there's a choice Somebody else cooking.

 But at the same time, sometimes we have to make those decisions. We do need to eat. We can't be just not eating. No matter how stubborn minded we can be. So one of the things we can do is set up different jars. They can be like fancy jerks. You can get fancy with it, get artistic, whatever, or not be artistic and just have a couple of bowls you'd set out on the counter for whenever and have [00:49:00] meals.

listed on them. So like one of the bowls would have or jars would have breakfast on it, right? And in there you have different tags for if you're just gonna have eggs or eggs and bacon or maybe you're gonna have pancakes or maybe you're gonna have cereal or maybe you're gonna have I don't know. Please don't tell me you eat Scrabble.

What is that? That is like everything they don't put in a hot dog, they decide is great for a breakfast thing. So they get like pig nose and things and areas of the body that we don't want to mention. No, not spam. Spam's just as bad, but no, it's called Scrabble. It usually can be found in the breakfast meat section and it's absolutely, like, read the ingredients before you buy it.

Absolutely. Well, there's a lot of things. If you read the ingredients, do [00:50:00] not eat it again. 10 out of 10. Would not recommend you either. If you want to keep eating it, don't, don't read the rec, don't it. , if you enjoy it, don't read the ingredients. If you're thinking you might wanna start, read the ingredients, because I'm telling you, you don't.

Ugh. It's a thing for me, it's whatever. My sister eats it and loves it and I'm just like, I cannot. But like, have your breakfast items, whatever choices you usually have that you like, put them in that jar on a little piece of paper. And then when it's breakfast time and you're like,

 I don't want to eat. Well, then go to the jar, pick out a thing and say, oh, well, I'm having pancakes this morning. That's You can go eat some pancakes. So lunch is pretty much the same where you probably have like sandwich what kind of sandwich because you know There's like 17 different meats you can put in a sandwich.

So Whatever meat you have at the moment put that in [00:51:00] there. Um, or whatever your choices are for lunch Maybe you want to have ramen or whatever Maybe one of those options could be to call, to order something with DoorDash so that you get food that way. Do we have DoorDash here? We do. Oh, okay.

I don't know how many options you have in Bella Vista for it, but yeah, I do have an option where I'm at coming out of Rogers or even coming out of Pea Ridge. And then dinner is 1. I recommend you have 2 different jars, because sometimes by the time you get to dinner, you don't have the spoons to do anything big and you just want microwave.

You know, chicken nuggets or something, right? Something stupid, simple. You can throw in the air fryer for a couple of seconds or in the microwave and you're done. I [00:52:00] love my air fryer. No prep, no, no, whatever. Very minimal cleanup. That is your thing. So you put them kind of meals in one and then sometimes you get to dinner and you're like, you know what?

I have extra time today because I got done with all my stuff early. So as my present, I want lasagna, but I'm going to make it homemade. Or you're like, okay, I have way too much time to deal with life and I don't want to have to think for the next three hours and you have a jar for the big meals. So there's two different moods when you come to dinner.

Cause I know for me, there are days when I'm just like, I have something that I don't have to deal that much for, right? Cause that would be okay. Yeah, if I have something that's too complicated on some days, I'm just like, I'm not eating. It's too complicated. I'm great. I'm a fan of leftovers. I have a vacuum sealer and I like to Overprepare a [00:53:00] little bit because I mean, let's be honest.

It's just as easy to cook There's three of us, but it's just as easy to cook for six as it is for three It just is. And so if I over make things that will do well in the freezer, I can vacuum seal them in portion sizes so that it can be pulled out. You know, like if it's just me having lunch, I can pull out one.

If it's me and my husband having dinner, I can pull out two and air fryer, oven, skillet, whatever, depending on what it is. Leftovers is an option for that first dinner jar, you know, the shortcut one. I, myself, I don't eat leftovers. Mostly because of my life. But, my mom liked to keep things in the fridge too long and then showed them in the freezer after they'd already been in the fridge for too long.

So, like, you couldn't trust anything and so I don't trust anything that's been in the freezer for more than 5 seconds because I [00:54:00] can't see what it's doing in there. So, no, thank you. I'm good. I can't. Well, that, that is something you don't, you do need to be careful of. Usually when I do that, my husband doesn't like.

 I can make something and eat leftovers for a few days and be fine. But my husband does not like the same thing the next day. And so usually when I'm doing that, When I'm putting the meal up, I just go ahead and put it in the freezer because he's fine with leftovers. If it's later, he just doesn't want the same thing the next day.

Like, I have a stew in there right now. That's going to be my lunch for the next few days. And you can use this jar method that gives you your choice. And now let's say on a big dinner night, you pull out something for Liz and it's lasagna. And then you go looking in your cabinets and you find out, Oh, I don't have the noodles I need for lasagna.

I thought I did. That's why this note was in that jar. Right. Okay. Go pick another one from the jar. Not that big of a deal. [00:55:00] And make sure you put lasagna noodles on your grocery shopping list so that you can have it the next time.

But trying to like for something like a meal where it can be just nobody cares It's food right is food and we just need to eat it could type of thing that you don't want to do that with your insurance. Please do not do that to pick a roofer. Yeah, I cannot tell you that that how bad of an idea that is.

 But that, that stops the choice paralysis when it comes to your meals so that you're not starving yourself because that's not a healthy thing to do. That's not at all. And that feeds into that cycle of choice paralysis [00:56:00] because then you're not functioning as well as you could and it just. And yes, I totally get it.

That is a choice for meals. Now, let's say you have to, make choices for insurance. So first of all, you're going to talk to your insurance agent and they're going to tell you, hopefully you have gone with a good one, right? And they're going to tell you what your options are. And then you have to sit down and decide.

What price you're willing to pay and what things you really feel you need and that is something That you have to do now What you can do to make it easier During that sit down with the insurance agent, make sure they tell you if something is non negotiable. Like you have to have this because of your situation.[00:57:00]

There is one choice you didn't have to make because you have to have it. And there are like for home. Especially homeowners insurance and for some business policies, there's some basic coverages that are just going to be in there that it's normal run of the mill, you know, for home like it's, there are a couple of companies that you can piece together, but most reputable companies give you coverage for your dwelling, other structures, personal property, and they use, percentages.

That in each company use a little different percentage and you can evaluate it and make sure it's enough because if you have more outbuildings in your backyard or bigger outbuildings in your backyard, you might need more coverage than what it automatically comes with. But if you have nothing in your backyard, usually you can't take that coverage off.

It's just there. And so it's, [00:58:00] there are a handful of companies that let you take it off, but usually they're like, no, it's just included. And it's there. If you ever build anything, you automatically have this amount of coverage for it. So those things, loss of use, a lot of times it's on there, which that's the, Part that pays if your home were to be damaged or you can't live there, that'll help you pay for somewhere else to live while your home was being repaired or replaced.

A lot of times that's automatically included. I usually do recommend and quote higher liability limits that are normally included, but there's like some, a base liability limit that's usually included with that kind of thing. So there are some things that just usually come pre packaged. So you don't have to worry about like, this is just what it is.

This is what the replacement cost is. That's what these numbers are. And as long as they're sufficient, To cover you, you can just leave those alone. If you have more extensive things or if you have more things that are not attached to your house that are on your property, then you might [00:59:00] need to look at upping those coverages, but as long as they're sufficient for what you have going on and you're comfortable with it, they are pretty mindless and you don't have to think about them because they're just going to be there.

Off topic, but an interesting thing, there's a house, barn, condo, barnium, or whatever, I don't know what that is. Barn demonium? Yeah. Yeah. How is that? Like, cause, yes, it's the same building, would that still just be home insurance instead of home and a barn? Yes. So if you live in a barn pneumonia, there may be companies that won't take it.

There are absolutely are companies that will. There are some types of homes here in Arkansas at least that are hard to find coverage for like geodesic domes. That's a hard one. A geodesic dome. What the crap is that? Have you [01:00:00] ever seen the houses that are like dome shaped but they're like Triangles. That makes sense.

Oh, yeah. I haven't seen a house like that, but, the space, museum is usually like that. There's actually one in Bella Vista that I am aware of. There is one in Bentonville that I am aware of. That, those are, and it's kind of funny, insurance doesn't like things that are outside of the box.

even if they are better because I've actually done a little research on geodesic dome building and they are a stronger structure than a normal home but insurance doesn't like them. So it's because it's something that's a little different it's outside of the box. But a barn pneumonia, yes, if you are living, if it's been converted to living quarters and you are living in it, it would be a normal homeowner's insurance policy that would cover something like that.

 When you're trying to get [01:01:00] quotes from people, I usually, So, here's the thing. My roofers in Tennessee, if you tell them that you're gathering quotes because you want to get, the best deal, first of all, that tells them that you're looking for the cheapest price, and they're not going to be the cheapest price because they don't want to be the cheapest price.

They do quality work. for quality time and being the lowest bidder isn't one of those things. So they will, if I get told when I'm on the phone with somebody, Hey, we're just looking, I have to get four or five bids. Yeah, we're not interested. I'm sorry. So, what's important is before you make the call to do something, and I think this would be the same for the trades, right, is you want to look at them.

You know what I mean? Find out, Find out if anybody you [01:02:00] know has used them, you know, get personal recommendation to go use somebody That is going to be your number one best way to get somebody in the trades to do something because that tells you a Hey, my friend knows them and they did a good job for them.

So they'll do a good job for me B it gives you access to them because guess what? Google is getting rid of People or companies that use service areas instead of, offices. So my roofer could have, is supposed to have an office somewhere that customers come to them to do business.

And that's not how roofing works. If we replace the roof on our building, every time a customer comes to us and says, here's the money, replace our roof. Sure. I have a roof to replace and [01:03:00] we keep replacing our own roof because that's what Google wants us to do. We're going to have a massive problem because duh, Google, that's not how putting roofs on anything works.

Yeah, that's not how that works. And there's so many places. Out there right now that don't work that way. I mean, that's kind of weird. It's like they're taking a step backwards. My one roofer had over 50 five star reviews from between 2019 and 2021. Because that's when he kind of stopped doing it and um, now he's starting to go, you know Trying to go back to that business and do the thing and they won't reopen his google account we've tried for last year to get it open because He doesn't fit the mold that they want him to be in because he doesn't Because he has a service location and not a brick and mortar location.

So that's pretty interesting So you may not be able to [01:04:00] find some of those companies on Google anymore. So that's why I'm not recommending go to Google that will tell you, because that's not always the truth either, because people can pay to get themselves at the top of that list. And, um, but what really is best though, like that's,

Yeah, for trade for insurance, even, you know, wherever you are, find a good local independent. And I say independent because they can shop for you, if you go out and try to shop insurance on your own and you're wanting to check all these different companies, you're going to be bombarded by all these different companies.

You are going to be so overwhelmed with the amount of phone calls and emails and text messages that you're going to be like, Screw it all. Right. Like that. And I've seen people do that. I used to work leads and I don't work leads anymore because people get so overwhelmed by the amount of people that contact them.

And I completely [01:05:00] understand. So even though they ask me, they don't realize like you're actually going to be contacted by so many different people. But if you find one good local independent agent, they can do the shopping for you and you're not bombarded by that. You can develop a relationship with that person.

They can be remote. I am remote. I will still go meet somebody. Like I can set an appointment and go meet with somebody at a location that works good for them. Or I can set up a meeting, via teams. Microsoft at the moment, or zoom or whatever it is that you use for that. And you can still have that face to face relationship.

You can still, get to know that person. And when you work with somebody like that you trust that does a good job for you, they're going to be aware. They're going to be more likely to know the right questions to ask you for your situation. They're going to be more likely to know what's going on with you so they can make recommendations.

Hey, I saw that your [01:06:00] kid just had a 16th birthday. Do they have their driver's license? Do we need to add that to your policy? You know, and there are some things like that. That's another overlooked thing with auto insurance is all companies want you to list all drivers in the house and either include them or exclude them.

And if somebody that's not on your policy is driving your car and has an accident, it can be a roommate, could be a kid, parent, whatever. It gives that company the loophole to not cover it. And so that's one of the, another thing, like, you gotta make sure you give your, be on, there's a few, I tell people, I don't know if I'm allowed to say this here, but I do tell people, there's a few people, handful of people in your life that you cannot bullshit.

Your insurance agent. If you're dealing with like a mortgage person, a banker, a lawyer and a doctor, like those are the people you don't BS those people in your life. You be honest with them so they can help you have things done properly. Another [01:07:00] thing you can do is if you are looking for those trades people, and maybe you just moved into a new area.

So you don't have friends in this new area. You don't know anybody, whatever you do know your realtor. That's it. Our, my roofer gets realtor stuff all the time where the realtor is like, Hey, this person just bought this house. They need you to go look at it. Can you go do that? And we do that all the time.

That's not a big deal. We have a relationship with that person because now we've done something for them. We've looked at their roof and decided whether or not they were an idiot for buying their house. Because now, like, the roof is about to cost them almost as much as the house. It's not quite that much, but it's expensive.

But it's a considerable expense. It's not a roof, it's not a cheap thing. Yeah, it's not cheap, it's expensive. Especially if you have a steep roof with lots of squares, because [01:08:00] that's really just going to mess you up. Those little itty bitty houses with the little itty bitty no steepness to the roof them things are like 11, 000 you're fine

I have one of those little bitty houses with a little bitty roof and not a lot of not steep and not any valleys It's like this But it still I have one quote which it was for a 50 year shingle I had a quote for 25, 000, whoo. No, I didn't. I didn't take it, but that's very high used to roof. Like, I grew up doing construction work with my parents.

And so I was like, Oh, yeah, I think we're going to pass on that one. And that 1 seems like somebody was trying to pad a pocket. Oh, goody. I don't he told me the roof was going to last longer than I would. I was like, shut your mouth.

 But at least that way, the realtor is giving you [01:09:00] recommendations for the roofer, the plumber, and the reason why that can be important is because if, and don't be a Karen, please don't ever be a Karen about anything, but especially in this case, people. Yes. Yeah, but especially in this case.

Now, you've gotten these recommendations because of that realtor and you can tell those people that you got them because of the realtor, but here's what they're going to do. If you're Karen. They're going to go back to that realtor and that realtor when you come back to them like that one didn't work.

Give me another one. They're going to go. I'm so sorry, but I have nothing for you. They have no help for you. But if you have a valid problem and you go to the realtor and say, look, this plumber caused this problem. And now I need to get this fixed as well. Can you, you know, give me some ideas on who else might be better because this guy really messed up this time, even if they didn't [01:10:00] mess up or just like, Hey, I couldn't afford that one.

I was hoping to get, you know, it's an honest conversation conversations, but you don't have to be rude or disparaging people. Yeah, so, my roofers work off of, you know, mouth to mouth and they're networking. So realtors and stuff like that will give them, leads. They don't do door knocking. So if you have somebody, if you have a roofer who has time to just go around knocking on doors, guess what that means?

That means that everybody's insurance is getting ready to go up. That's what that means. It's not even that. It means that that guy has so little business, has so little whatever, that he can't find his own clients. He has to go knock on doors. Right. And the reason I say that is, um, [01:11:00] we see that, you know, there, there are predatory roofers out there that the storm came through.

And so they're going to contact everybody in that area and be like, we can get you a new roof. Like, you even see the ads on Facebook. We can get you a free new route. Through your insurance, which is not true at all. But what happens is if they drum up business that they really didn't need to have and they charge your insurance through that makes the whole idea of insurance is everybody pays into it so that no one person is out a big loss.

Will you get a whole bunch of people with losses and now all of a sudden everybody's rates are going up. And so it's I guess kind of like a trickle down effect, you know, like, yeah, it might seem pretty harmless that one guy replaced your roof and maybe fudged a little bit and because they could, cause the storm went through the area and they got your insurance to pay for it, but then you times that by a hundred by a [01:12:00] thousand by, cause they're not the only ones out there doing that and so, yeah, it is so important to find a reputable company.

 No matter what you're doing Yeah, so the recommendation I have because of my working with roofers Specifically is if they have time to work if they have time to knock on your door That means they're not at all good at what they're doing. They don't know how to network They don't know how to do a heck of a lot of things that could prevent them from having to go knock on people's doors I don't recommend at all, in any situation, almost any situation, I'm going to say almost, That you take at face value any roofer or other trades person, a plumber comes knocking on your door.

You know that there you because door knock. Okay. That's a sky. Don't let that person in your house. You got to get robbed. So, you know, keep a good mind about you, obviously, but [01:13:00] when it comes to roofing, here's an example. Okay, so a couple weeks ago, I had a roofer come knock on my door, and I believe this was in my first podcast, or my second podcast when I was talking with Tanya, and I had a roofer come knock on the door.

And I am not the adult for that in this house. I live with a couple and it's their house. They deal with that stuff. I'm not the adult, but I was the only adult ish type person home. So I needed an adult here adult. So this guy knocks on the door and he's like, I'm really concerned. I can see hail damage on your roof.

And I'm like, No, really? No, you didn't because no, you can't know. First of all, hail damage. Great. Hail damage is one of those things where it's [01:14:00] little indents on your roof, unless you got hit by, you know, basketball size hail. Can't nobody see that from the ground. So no, don't. And he was, he wanted actually,

he wanted me to let him get on the roof and I said, no, no, thank you. You're not getting on my room. So, first of all, that was a knock against him. Cause why are you knocking on my door and try to tell me there's hail from the ground? My roofers could see hail on a, gutter and still not say, Oh yeah, your house is covered in hail hits.

They're going to do an inspection first, but they have to have your permission to do that. They're not just going to randomly knock on your door and say, I noticed all this hail. Because that's not who they are. So it's not how and that's not how it works. Okay. That's not the correct approach at all. Even if you were door knocking, I could see, you know, like, Hey, we had recent storms and [01:15:00] we're offering free inspections.

Would you like me to get up and look and see if there's health? Like, it's still not the best approach, but at least you're being honest. I don't recommend doing that. So yeah, so you have so now i've had this guy knock on the door and he's told me there's hail damage from the ground So there's one tick against him in my book because i'm already going to no you didn't I'll roll my eyes then he goes so Can I go look and I said no i'm not the adult for that.

 I am not the adult for that You'd have to come back another time And he goes to hand me the card You And he made a weird comment and I kind of went, yeah, I work for a roofer. Cause he, I think he kind of made it like, I didn't know what I was thinking because I wasn't letting him on the roof.

And I just kind of went, yeah, I work for a roofer. And he stopped dead in his tracks cause he was walking [01:16:00] towards me. He stopped dead and went, oh, so you can help them through the process with somebody else because it sure as crap ain't Like what? That's what you have to say. Right. So there's that part.

So that one was a little weird. And then I was like, yeah, I can even help them read the exactimate because I know how to do that. Right. He had a blank look on his face. He didn't know what an exactimate was.

And I just kind of was like, I took the card like out of reflex, but I really just wanted to hand it back to him and say, like, I don't hire idiots because if you're a roofer, how do you not know what exact to me is that's what the insurance companies use to tell you the damage that is done to a house and you don't know what it [01:17:00] is.

Excuse me, sir. You have an education you need to go get. You don't need to know how to use it, but you do need to know what it is. Right, right. Don't look like an idiot. Okay. So those 2 things, no, you're not coming anywhere near this roof ever go away. But, the only way I would say that if somebody came and knocked on your door, you might consider.

What they're, you know, they're thing

if your entire neighborhood is getting roofs done and 3 or 4 roofs are by 1 company, then you can go out there and go. Hey, can you check my roof? Or they might come to you and knock on your door because, hey, you're in the same neighborhood, right? I just did the 1 on either [01:18:00] side of you. Would you like me to check yours?

Yeah, that kind of thing. That's the only time, that's the only time one of my guys would knock on somebody's door. Is if, hey, I have three people I'm doing roofs for. One on either side of you and one across the street. Would you maybe want me to look at your roof to see if you're in the same situation?

Right, but then that's still a better approach because it's not I see it from here. Like, yeah, that's the only kind of situation where my roofers are going to knock on somebody's door because it's in the middle of, you know, it'll just finish the pyramid of people's houses in that area that they're already doing, So, that would be the only time I wouldn't say there's somebody knocking on your doors.

Right? And maybe for the plumber, if he's working on your neighbors plumbing, and that plumbing runs to your house next. That might be a thing if you're in an [01:19:00] apartment. And the plumber comes to your house because he's working on the one house, then that's a different thing altogether. The one above you, the one beside you, like, I had a plumber working on one, one time, I had two, we were both on the second floor.

You know, two sides of the apartment, he was working on the one and, he broke my toilet from the other side. So he had to come in to my apartment to, replace the toilet because it broke thing, not your thing. Like, that's somebody's apartment hire to do that. Really not on me, but that's the kind of, you know, for trades people, it really is the real way they're getting money is by you contacting them because somebody they know gave you their number and they will do.

And I'm [01:20:00] telling you now, if you get a trades person, because Tommy, From their BNI gave them your number. They're going to do the absolute best job possible because like BNI members are held to a standard. And if you have problems and complain to your BNI buddy, there could be repercussions in BNI.

So like. And that means that that person could stop, word of mouth thing for him. That sounds weird. I don't like that word. The chamber is also a good resource for the chamber. We have a line of all, yeah, alignable lady, any kind of networking. I would say getting involved in any. Whatever that is for you, Alignable has the online networking.

 I know you can do some of that on LinkedIn. I feel like Alignable is a little better set up for that. And not quite as spammy. But also, you know, Also spammy, but Well, they do send a lot of [01:21:00] emails, but you don't get a lot of individuals like reaching out for you for to things that are, don't even have anything to do with you.

Like I do, I get people like, you're a dentist because when I was 16, I work in a dentist office. , I want you to take that off of there. I need to tell, I think I might have, I don't remember. I don't get in there very often. But, any kind of networking like chamber is usually good. Because when you get into a networking group, whether they're informal or formal, even me, like I'm hesitant to refer people I don't know because I feel like, I'm a business owner and I have a reputation.

That I want to be a certain way. And if I refer someone to you that is not going to do a good job, that looks bad on me. And I feel like it does. Some people may have other opinions of that, but so I actually, when I send somebody a referral, I really expect that person to do a good job. And if they don't, I really do want you to come back and [01:22:00] tell me because I will stop referring someone.

If I keep hearing the same things, granted, you have to take everything in, but, You know, when more than one person starts and comes and telling you that they're having the same experience, you got to listen to that and quit referring someone over something like that because it is. I'm tying my name and my reputation to what you do.

So I think any kind of networking, if you can get even if you're, ask your friends, one of your friends is a networker. Somewhere along the line and they met somebody or at least know somebody that knows somebody or can provide you a good resource of here's. You know, a list of people that we think might be good for you to pick from.

That's always a good place to look for different things if you're looking for a, trade specific. So, Palmer, [01:23:00] refer, whatever, going to somebody, you know, is in B and I will get you your roofer will get you your insurance agent. All right. You gotta be careful because they may not be independent as an insurance agent.

And not that you shouldn't look at other options outside of that because sometimes a captive will be your best option. You will just have more options if you work with an independent. Well, that's why I said that. But, so look for me, I, so I have black and white thinking. It's either right or wrong. And so for me, an independent like you, because hey, I work with you, it would be a smart idea for me to like, get in that bandwagon, right?

So now, like going to, to a specific agent just kind of sounds stupid. It's just how my brain works. I completely know that sometimes that's unreasonable and I shouldn't be doing [01:24:00] it, but my mind is very black or white. Like, I am all in or I'm all out. There's no in between and that can be definitely a problem sometimes.

Well, and the reason I usually recommend an independent over a captive and it's not because a captive is a bad thing or that they can't. It sounds like a bad thing with you calling them a captive. What the crap is that? That's what it's called because when you work with certain companies, you are only an agent for that company.

But if the company, Raises rates or the company does something that the client doesn't like, then you're going to lose your relationship with that agent. There's nothing and it's not even necessarily the agent's fault or your fault. And you've maybe developed a relationship with this person. But then for monetary reasons, or maybe the company themselves didn't handle something right, you know, then you're going to have to go elsewhere and build that relationship again.

If you're working with an independent, then you can keep that relationship and still change [01:25:00] companies. We can, you know, a good independent agent is going to be shopping for you every so often. They're going to know that when you have certain changes, it's good to shop around again. Or if a company just really does you dirty, I can take you away from that company and put you with a different company.

Which granted, I'm very picky in the companies I work with. But again, with any company, there's a chance that you can get a bad adjuster and if it's just a one time thing, I'm not going to ditch the company for a one time thing over one bad adjuster. But if I start consistently getting clients having complaints with a certain company, I will quit working with them because again, that's my name I'm recommending and They are not reflecting the standards that I expect.

So that's what you get really with an independent is somebody you can continue working with, even if a company does something that you don't like, or even if they just raised rates. It's beyond what you can afford, you know, we will have other options. Whereas a captive agent, [01:26:00] you will actually lose that relationship when you move companies, you didn't help my black and white thinking.

Cause now all I see is a bunch of dudes in cages, they're captive, they're stuck. It's fine. A lot of times I can't imagine trying to, and it is, sometimes those people are stuck there. Sometimes there's contracts and stuff. Like I've heard some horror stories from the agent side, so don't, whatever happens with your company, whichever company, please don't take it out on your agent because they have no control over it.

I promise. Captive or independent, either one, it doesn't matter. The agent can't do it. Like it's not their, it's not their fault. They didn't make the rules. They're stuck in a cage. It's fine. They'll get over it. So to go back to, choices when you're faced with choices, find, look, some days [01:27:00] my way to get past things is I go talk to Kim.

So, have a Kim, have a person in your life that you can go talk to no matter what, no matter what about, and if you don't have that person, I have my discord group people can go to. But, find that person, then find that person, and then Yeah. If you don't have that person, find that person. Yeah. Find that person and have person and it maybe more than one person.

Yeah. So that you can get that help because some of those choices that you have to make some days, obviously if you can't decide what to wear some days, that does not give you, license to go try to walk outside naked. It was against that kind of have to find something to put on the booty, the sack or something, just something.

Maybe you could do a bowl for that too, like with your outfits on it. That's for days [01:28:00] like that. Cause I have days like that too, where I'm like, I just. I hate all my clothes and I don't really, but it's just every once in a while you have a day where you're like, I don't want to wear any of this. What do I do?

But you got to wear something. So I think it would be a good idea for that because anything we can streamline. We are bombarded. By so much information and it really is and this is you know for really anything it really is hard sometimes to figure out which information that's correct and which is not because you know we can sit here and say this is this way x y z all day long but that doesn't mean it is so it's it is it can be overwhelming so yeah having some trusted people around you you know if you're blessed enough to have one person that's really knowledgeable on all of these things, I think that's great.

But it may even take, and there's a reason why they say it takes a village, you know, it could be a few different people because this person might know more about these types [01:29:00] of things and this person might be more helpful with those types of things. But that usually comes more from a circus than a village, but hey.

Same concept, whatever works. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but the biggest point is, if you are having problems in your personal life, use workarounds. So you have your jars that you can use for food. You can use it for outfits. That doesn't matter. Yeah, showering for me, the choice to or not to is decided by my hair, because if I wash my hair too many times a week, it starts falling out more.

And, I'm not down with that. So that is kind of the plan there. So, but you could, you know, watch your hair. If you have to shower every day because of your hair, that's perfectly fine. Go shower. Don't try to use. Every two days. I don't [01:30:00] like all of those things that are like put baby powder in your hair and don't shower for an extra day.

And you know what? If you need a shower, guess what? The most, one of the most relaxing places is that 102 degree shower I take. Okay? My muscles relax. I have so much stuff wrong with my body, but I can get into that shower and for just a little bit, my muscles kind of say, oh yeah, I can stop doing the thing.

I am good. And so my body relaxes. And so, yay me. On the other side of that, when my psoriasis are really bad, showering becomes hell. Because when I have psoriasis all over my skin, any spot where I've picked a little bit too deep starts to burn and hurt really bad because it hurts. You know, duh, it's an open wound.

 Right. And so then again, showers become a hell, but like you still have to, [01:31:00] this doesn't mean you don't, right. If you are having problems in your work life, making decisions, Maybe you have to make certain large decisions, but the smaller ones, because there's so many of them, you just can't hiring somebody like me as an office manager.

Or, VA, I am not a VA, I went into a new group this week and I put my, a new job description in, remember that I talked about in networking yesterday. And one of the comments was like, join us in this VA only group. I'm not joining your group, I'm not a VA. What in that said I'm a VA but having that kind of support system most people Vas or even [01:32:00] me we're not out to price couch, right?

so I know that I am willing to work with people on price So come talk to me and I can it's a business decision. I can make those Right. Right. It's one of those things. I don't know how my brain works really. I really don't because it's the stupidest thing ever. I can make all these decisions for work, but let me make, I can't decide if I want a bagel or cereal and it's like, okay, now I'm just not going to eat it.

It's those little ones that get me too. Well, when you were talking about, if you were, Like something at work that you didn't know, which, you know, I volunteer to be a treasurer for two different organizations. And I ended up being a treasurer, not because of any sort of expertise that I have.

 I ended up being a treasurer because the organization at the time I was volunteering for desperately [01:33:00] needed one. And I had a basic knowledge of how to categorize and get things ready to get an accountant to file taxes. I actually, found myself in some situations where I didn't know the answer because I was not experienced, had no background in that whatsoever.

And you can always find resources though. I found a great site that gives free education for nonprofit things, all kinds of nonprofit things. They have a whole big section on accounting and how to give financial reports and what to look for and what it all means. I took a crash course in that and then I stumbled upon, I actually, It is.

It was so funny how I discovered this because I guess I was looking at Facebook on my phone and I stuck my phone in my purse and didn't think about it. I guess I didn't turn it off when I pulled it out. I had a friend up like my friend's post profile was up and like, and every time something like that happens, I'm like, Oh, what have I been pushing [01:34:00] buttons on?

And in her profile, It says she's treasurer. She's a treasurer for a little city that's close by to here. And which is, it was just kind of, you know, I was like, I actually had some questions coming up. And so I reached out to her and she was somebody I hadn't really interacted with in a long time, but she's somebody I kind of grew up with and knew pretty well.

So I just reached out to her and I was like, Hey, I saw you're a treasurer. And I am new to this role. I really wasn't new to the role, but I was new to this situation. I'm encountering the situation that I am new to. I don't have any experience in, and I see that you are doing this. what would you, what do you do?

How do you handle this situation? what is your advice? Or do you know somebody else I can talk to that would work with me on this? And she sat down and talked to me and told me exactly what she did and gave me some great advice. And, you know, even [01:35:00] if you don't have a friend that, that knows the answer, again, like maybe looking in those networking groups or asking your friends, you know, are you in a networking group?

And if you are, do you know somebody that knows about this that would be willing to sit and just share their experience with me? And that goes a long way. And a lot of times you can find someone who will help you for free. Just sit down and have a conversation. And give a little advice, because they never know where that leads.

Then you will start referring people to them because they helped you out. So it's a bunch of synergy. We're again, back to that village or circus, you know, it, you can't take all of it on yourself. You do have to have some resources built. And if you don't have a good support system, So start building one, go start networking yourself, start building those resources and also be a resource, bring something to the table too.

Cause there's, it doesn't matter what your background is. You have knowledge of something that [01:36:00] somebody in that group is going to need help with. So also freely help where you can as well and just build that community so that you do have those people you can call on and say, Hey, you know, What about this scenario?

Something that I should have going by the time your episode populates. I hope, because that seems like an awful long time away. It's really not, but it feels like it right now. Right. But, I am going to be doing a mini course or a course on, alignable joining, some information about alignable, why you would sign up and then going through the signup process, because I'm going to be helping my sister sign up and I'm going to use her, her sign up pages as a way to go through it all, record it and say, okay, so we're in this situation.

This is what we're doing kind of a thing. And this is what you need to have the information you need to have the star because some people [01:37:00] just don't know. And you kind of want to feel, you know, unalignable, just like everywhere else, you want to have a full profile before you start saying, Oh, but nobody wants to talk to me.

Well, maybe that's because all you have on your profile is your name. Yes, they don't even know anywhere. I don't even know what you do. Like, I don't know what pearly gray services means. What do you do? And I got asked because I've met, a lot, the half of my clients that have come to me on my own and not through Dave have all Alignable.

One, two, three. Six, seven, it's been a good referral base for me. I got asked to give my advice on how to do that because not a lot of people are [01:38:00] seeing my success, but I cover a lot of ground, being, business coach, office manager, social media coach, scheduler, everything that I do.

Makes me just like that little bit more interesting. My circus is a very well run circus, but it's still a circus. You know, you've seen that meme, I'm sure, where I don't have ducks, I have squirrels. They're not in a row, they're at the circus. Yeah. Oh no, my ducks aren't in a row. My ducks aren't in a row, they're in the back of a police car.

Really, my closing, you know, because Insurance is different in every state and with every company.

So whenever taking any kind of advice over the internet, like what we're doing today, you always, that's why I say get a local. independent [01:39:00] agent because they are going to be familiar with the laws of your state. They are going to be familiar with the way the companies that they work with work. Every company is different.

Every state's different and every company is different in every state. So, you know some I see that even working Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, there's a lot of similarities. there's a lot of things that are still going to be the same that I talked about. But you know, like a coverage may even be the same coverage, but they call it something slightly different.

 So always, always consult with somebody that is familiar with your state and with the company that they are presenting to you. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you don't understand, please ask questions because at the end of the day, if you have to use your insurance, it can be your livelihood at stake.

So it's really is important that you understand it. It's not as difficult as everybody tries to tell you it is. And if you really don't understand that is. [01:40:00] benefits of having a good agent that you can call and ask those questions. And even if they don't know the answer, cause you know, like me, I deal with several different companies and so sometimes I do need to double check like what this specific company will do.

There are some things I just know, but then there are some little things that I'm like, let me double check that. That's an acceptable answer. You know, double check and get back with me and let me know. Just don't be afraid to ask questions and consult with somebody that is familiar with your state law.

Do we need to like, say, Hey, if you would like to contact me for anything about Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, what I'm going to do is I'm going to put contact information in the description, social media, that kind of thing. And if you are in the states that Jessica mentioned there, you Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.

Then you can contact her if you are in a different state or a different Country [01:41:00] because I don't know who's going to be able to see this at whatever point then You would probably need to contact somebody local and not contact jessica, but jessica is local to Oklahoma arkansas missouri and you can contact her for those areas.

It's all right All right. Yes Okay, thank you for joining us, Jessica, and we'll see you in the next step.