Tim Shaw Insurance Blog

You should be prepared for the coming increase in Homeowners Insurance and the timing couldn't be worse.  With double digit unemployment and record foreclosures, this is not good news for our clients but more importantly, it's also not a time to be price shopping. Now is the  time to VALUE shop! (read the links below).  We can't ignore the facts.

The 2008 market wipeout showed the vulnerability of the popular retirement savings accounts (401(k). But the data is telling us that even in the long run, consumers need better options. If you have even peeked at your account statements in the past year, it’s painfully obvious that something is wrong with the way we save. The 401(k) was never meant to replace the employer-guaranteed pension fund, supplemented by Social Security, as the cornerstone of our nation’s retirement system. The ugly truth is that the 401(k) is a lousy idea, a financial flop. In the past two years that has become all too clear. From the end of 2007 to the end of March 2009 the average 401(k) balance fell 31% according to Fidelity. In a system where one year’s gains builds on the next, the disaster of 2008 will dent retirement savings long after the recession ends.