AIA Insurance Services

By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN and RICHARD DANIELSOLN

Nearly 455,000 Tampa Bay homes could be damaged by hurricane storm surges, the most in any major metro area except Miami and New York City. And rebuilding all those homes could cost $80.6 billion.

That’s according to a report released Wednesday by CoreLogic, a global property information firm, as the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season officially kicks off with two named storms already on the record books.

CoreLogic said 454,746 Tampa Bay homes are vulnerable to hurricane flooding, a number that represents about a third of all the area’s homes. Of those, 92,103 are in what CoreLogic calls the “extreme’’ risk zone. That means they could be affected by even a relatively modest Category 1 with winds from 74 to 95 mph and a surge in the 4- to 5-foot range.

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Floridians are no strangers to hurricane preparedness. In the face of an emergency, we know to secure our property and stock up on nonperishable food and water. But another important aspect of emergency preparedness is often left undone: financial preparedness.

In the aftermath of a hurricane or other emergency, you shouldn’t have to worry about searching for account information or retroactively trying to remember the details about all of your possessions.

Luckily, emergency financial documents are among the easiest things to prepare, ensuring you have everything you need readily available during an emergency. This toolkit is designed to help you organize your financial information before and after an emergency. Keep several copies in safe places that you can access easily and, in the face of an emergency, keep a copy of this toolkit with you at all times.

Download Your Emergency Financial Preparedness Toolkit

Check out the recent article published about our agency in a local newspaper:

AIA Insurance Services
These days, finding great customer service can be a challenge. Many online “bargains” turn out to be not-so-smart purchases when you need service after the sale, and get stuck in a cycle of phone calls that get you nowhere.
AIA Insurance Services is a modern company with traditional values. “Our customers are the entire reason we are in this business,” said Tom Torgersen, the company’s president. “We put them first and do our best to provide excellent service as well as competitive rates.”
AIA is a full-service, independent insurance agency located in the Dolphin Village shopping plaza in St. Pete Beach. They are available Monday through Friday to help you in their office or by phone. Tom and his team are appointed with many different carriers for all types of insurance, from health and life to home owners, flood, auto and more.
“We’re busy planning ahead for the Open Enrollment season in healthcare,” Tom said. “Many of our groups renew in the fourth quarter, so we’re gathering quotes and looking for ways to save them money. We’re also taking continuing education classes and obtaining the necessary certifications to guide consumers through the confusing new world of individual health insurance, both on and off the Federal health insurance marketplace,” he said.
With the new health care reform law, or ObamaCare, in effect, the rules have changed regarding when you can apply for an individual health plan. Open Enrollment will run Nov. 15, 2014 through Feb. 15, 2015, for the 2015 calendar year. This period is the only time you can apply for non-group health insurance – UNLESS you have lost coverage due to a qualifying life event such as a divorce or loss of a job. If you lose coverage, you become eligible for a Special Enrollment period spanning 60 days from your loss of coverage.
Medicare Open Enrollment is Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2014, for the 2015 calendar year. This is when you can add or change your coverage, or choose to sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan to supplement your benefits. The exception to this rule is, of course, when you “age in” to Medicare on your 65th birthday. Recent census data show 10,000 Baby Boomers become eligible for Medicare every day! Are you one of them?
AIA Insurance Services is located at 4615 Gulf Blvd., Suite 104, St. Pete Beach. They are conveniently located in the same plaza as Publix®. Their office is open Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm. Please call 727-577-7222 or for more information.

AIA Insurance Services would like to welcome the clients of the McGee Agency in Sanford, Florida. You may have heard about Cynthia McGee’s unfortunate passing last January, which left her insurance agency without a licensed principal agent. We have been able to reach an agreement with Cynthia’s family to take over the servicing of many of her clients’ policies. We will do our best to honor her memory and her intentions by providing excellent customer service to her clients.

I personally have over 32 years of experience in the insurance industry, and my agency has appointments with 20+ companies that write Homeowner’s Insurance. Additionally, we write Auto, Marine, Health, Dental, Life Insurance, and Employee Benefits. We are able to provide excellent coverage solutions at competitive prices. Our customers are the entire reason we’re in this business, and we take pride in how we treat them.

For any service issues or questions about your insurance policies, please contact us at:

Phone 727-577-7222

Toll-free 866-450-9222

Email  [email protected]

We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Tom Torgersen

President, AIA Insurance

A watershed moment … as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius finally admits that health insurance premiums are rising because of the President’s health insurance takeover, per the Wall Street Journal: Ms. Sebelius’s remarks come weeks before insurers are expected to begin releasing rates for plans that start on Jan. 1, 2014, when key provisions of the health law kick in. Premiums have been a sensitive subject for the Obama administration, which is counting on elements in the health law designed to increase competition among insurers to keep rates in check. The administration has pointed to subsidies that will be available for many lower-income Americans to help them with the cost of coverage. The secretary’s remarks are among the first direct statements from federal officials that people who have skimpy health plans right now could face higher premiums for plans that are more generous. She noted that the law requires plans to provide better benefits and treat all customers equally regardless of their medical claims. “These folks will be moving into a really fully insured product for the first time, and so there may be a higher cost associated with getting into that market,” she said. “But we feel pretty strongly that with subsidies available to a lot of that population that they are really going to see much better benefit for the money that they’re spending.” Ms. Sebelius added that those customers currently pay more for their health care if their plans have high out-of-pocket costs, high deductibles or exclude particular types of coverage, such as mental health treatment. She also said that some men and younger customers could see their rates increase while women and older customers could see their rates drop because the law restricts insurers’ ability to set rates based on age and gender.”

Property insurance carriers always want to know if your roof is “HIP” or “gable”.  The type of construction impacts the Wind Mitigation features of your home or other property.  Below is an explaination of the two roof types.

Hip V Gable