Personal Insurance

Homeowners Insurance

Properly protecting your largest asset is the first step in a well thought out personal insurance program. Wheeler & Taylor’s licensed professionals will walk you through every step of the way to ensure that you are properly covered in the event of a loss. A properly written policy will include the following:

Basic Protection You Need For:

• Dwelling – Coverage that provides money to rebuild or repair your home.
• Other buildings or structures on your property – Coverage for detached garages, pool houses, stone walls, etc. that are not covered under your dwelling coverage
• Contents – Your personal belongings (i.e. furniture, clothing, appliances, etc.)
• Additional living expenses – Coverage that will provide funds to rent other living accommodations while your home is being repaired or replaced.
• Liability – Coverage that provides legal defense in the event you are sued for negligence (i.e. slip and fall, injuries, etc.)

Optional Coverage For Additional Security:

• Guaranteed Dwelling Replacement – Your home will be replaced regardless of the actual cost at the time of loss.
• Replacement Cost on Contents – Eliminates any depreciation to your contents at the time of loss.
• Water/Sewer Backup or Sump Pump Failure – Provides coverage for water backing up into the home through sewers and drains. Coverage is also provided for sump pump failures.
• Equipment Breakdown – Provides coverage for sudden mechanical failure for in-home electronics and equipment including furnaces/boilers, AC/heating systems, appliances, etc.

Additional Coverage Available Includes:

• Ordinance/Law – Provides coverage for the additional costs associated with bringing a home up to current building codes.
• Identity Theft – Provides coverage for theft of your identity and associated costs to get your identity back.
• Refrigerated Food – Provides coverage for food spoilage after a power failure.
• Underground Utility Line – Provides coverage for damage to underground utilities (i.e. water, electrical, sewer, etc.) that service the home.

Automobile Insurance

To properly protect yourself from the ever-present danger of significant liability awards, it is imperative that you maintain the proper level of coverage for your individual risk and security profile. Wheeler & Taylor’s personal insurance experts can help you navigate the myriad coverage complexities to find the right combination and balance for your personal situation.

A properly written policy will include:

Standard Auto Policy Coverage

• Bodily Injury – Coverage that responds to injuries to another party.
• Property Damage – Coverage that responds to damage of another’s physical property
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist – Coverage that responds to your injuries when another driver does not have insurance or does not have enough insurance.
• Personal Injury/Medical Payments – Provides coverage for you and other’s injuries regardless of fault.

Optional Coverage

• Comprehensive / Collision Coverage – Provides coverage for physical damage or theft to your vehicle.
• Substitute Transportation – Provides coverage to rent a car in the event your car is undriveable.
• Towing / Labor & Roadside Assistance – Provides coverage to tow your vehicle to the nearest repair facility or provide roadside repairs (tire, fuel, etc.) in the event of an emergency.

Personal Umbrella

A personal umbrella provides broader coverage and higher limits above and beyond the limits of your homeowners, automobile, and watercraft polices. It is designed to eliminate your out of pocket expense as a result of a lawsuit or judgement.

Boat & Yacht Insurance

Whether you’re dry docked or enjoying life on the high seas make sure you’re covered by one of our comprehensive Boat & Yacht Insurance Plans. Due to a yacht policy’s complexities, a properly structured boat or yacht policy is imperative to recovering after a loss.

Coverage Available

• Hull Coverage – Provides physical damage coverage for your boat or yacht.
• Medical Payments – Provides coverage for minor injuries regardless of fault
• Uninsured/Underinsured Boaters – Provides coverage to you for injuries caused by another party where they don’t have insurance, or don’t have enough insurance.
• Protection & Indemnity (Liability) – Provides coverage for injuries or property damaged caused by your vessel. Protection & Indemnity will also provide coverage for pollution caused by your vessel.
• Emergency Towing- Provides coverage in the event your boat/yacht needs to be towed.
• Personal Effects- Coverage provided for personal property brought aboard the boat/yacht.
• Hurricane Haul-Out – Provides coverage to haul boat/yacht due to impending hurricane or tropical storms.
• Trailer – Provides physical damage coverage to listed trailers.

Life & Disability Insurance

Everyone should consider the role that Life and Disability Insurance can play as an important part of planning for your future and that of your family. Structuring your plans involves an understanding of your objectives and meeting those objectives with the proper coverage and product.

Life insurance will protect the future well-being of your family by immediately eliminating the financial fear and insecurity that your family may feel following a devastating loss. Life insurance can pay medical bills, funeral expenses, pay off your mortgage, fund education, and provide financial security for you or your family. The right product can also help fund your retirement, accelerate your mortgage payoff, and is self-completing if you aren’t there to pay premiums.

Disability Income can protect your assets and family’s financial security in the event you are temporarily or permanently disabled and unable to work. It will help meet your financial obligations while retaining your current assets.

Whether it’s Income Protection, Estate Planning, or providing for your family now or in the future, we will guide you all the way. Our knowledge and experience from both an underwriting and claims perspective will help you understand, navigate, and structure the best and most cost-efficient way for you to fund the right plan.

Our state-of-art systems can streamline the quoting and underwriting process. We can often handle the entire process directly over the phone. Products include:

• Term Life Insurance- Provides life insurance coverage for a specified amount of time, typically 10, 20, or 30 years. The premium is fixed and guaranteed during the period elected. Does not build any cash value. Typically the least expensive way to purchase life insurance.
• Whole Life Insurance – Permanent life insurance, as opposed to a specific period insurance such as Term Insurance. It is designed be there your entire life (whole life), and to accumulate value in the form of Cash Value and Dividend Value. Cash and Dividends value from the policy can be borrowed against, or removed and used at any time for any reason, including to pay the policy premium. Typically, the highest cash out of pocket but with potential for savings and tax advantages over time.
• Universal Life – A hybrid between term and permanent Insurance. It can be structured with a flexible death benefit and flexible premium. It can also be customized to run for a specific period of time. Frequently, the cash value is modeled and built to offset the life insurance cost later in life to keep the premiums level throughout the policy years.
• Annuities – Financial vehicles that can provide you with a steady stream of income immediately, sometime in the future, or at retirement. Payments into an annuity can be made in a lump sum or with payments over time. Payments received from an annuity can guarantee a steady stream of income for the period you choose. Payments can be received for a specific number of years or the rest of your life.
• Disability Income – Provides income in the event you become partially or totally disabled and unable to work. It provides a monthly income benefit that allows you to continue paying your financial obligations. Disability Insurance often gets overlooked by consumers, with many believing that if they have workers, compensation coverage that they have proper coverage. Unfortunately, workers’ compensation only covers you for events that take place while you are at work. Disability covers you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Often times the most tragic of situations is a family member becoming suddenly disabled. They are unable to work and their living and care costs may accelerate. Disability Income insurance effectively deals with what can be one of the most difficult financial situations that can develop for a family, and plans can be tailored based on desired monthly benefits and plan duration.