About Jacquerot Insurance
Six years ago we set out to create a different kind of of insurance agency - an agency that focuses on risk management as opposed to just selling random policies. We realized early on, that risk management is a critically important component of wealth management. It's the part of wealth management that ensures that the assets one has accumulated are not lost in an auto accident of a fire.
We assembled the brightest minds in insurance and build one of the fastest growing agencies in Santa Cruz. The formula was and remains very simple: "Provide solid risk advice to people who have something to lose". That pretty much describes everyone who owns their own home.
We didn't stop just providing insurance - we're also a full-service agency for wealth management, providing a wide range of mutual fund, annuities, and other powerful financial tools such as tax advantaged variable universal life policies.
Most brokerage houses will have you believe that maximizing your 401K and/or IRA is the best avenue to secure your retirement. I dare to disagree. The conventional argument is that most people will find themselves in a lower tax bracket when they retire than they're currently in while in their working/earning years. Not the case for most people, unless one plans on going into poverty when they retire - will that be the case. There may be some expenses that one won't have to carry when retiring (such as a mortgage), but other than that I think most people hope to sustain their current life style into their retirement years. Perhaps even travel more and enjoy life in other ways that time did not permit during their working years.
The past few years, most brokerage houses in their advertisement encourage people to increase the funds set aside for retirement because we as a population (on average) live longer. The impact on the retirement nest egg for the next generation of retirees will then have to be larger than the previous generation's. As a result, obviously additional funds will have to be committed to retirement savings to make sure they don't run out of money before the all inevitable death. True. Except THE only financial product (other than pensions and other life lasting income streams)that can ensure retirement income until death - is an annuity - which of course is not mentioned in this conversation, because traditional brokerage houses don't offer annuities. It's a insurance product offered only by major insurance companies. This is where our expertise in Wealth Management comes in.
Let's talk insurance first
Most people go through life, not realizing that if they ever have a major auto accident, they will likely lose a good portion of their hard earned assets. That's because most people are heavily under insured. The liability limits necessary to handle a bodily injury claim far exceeds the limits most people carry. The State of California has zero limits on personal financial liability (some other states do, in fact), and the sky is the limit when it comes to personal injury. The reason that the payouts we see on our claims side are going through the roof these days, are fairly simple. Just ask yourself if the cost of medical care in this country has gone up the past 10-15 years and you have the major reason for this. in addition to the being liable for someones medical expenses, hospital bill (trauma centers are expensive), ICU, helicopter rides (heavens forbid), you're also responsible for the things like loss of income, rehabilitation etc.