Over on my other Leavenworth real estate blog  I have posted my latest interview. Here are some excerpts from my interview of Eric Kossian of Leavenworth Insurance.

1. What does an insurance broker do?

Geordie, an insurance broker locates and shops insurance products to protect clients from the financial risk of loss due to such things as fires (property), accidents (liability), death and unsecured retirement investments and income. While most agents think in terms of selling product that is incorrect; we are in the business of asset protection. Some examples of personal assets could be an owned home, cars, income- your ability to produce it, your life (yes, it is a financial asset), and investments. We then use a wide variety of insurance and annuity products to safe guard assets. A good insurance agent asks you lots of questions about everything in your life. This exposes risks which are currently being self insured. A good agent then shows the client options to reduce risk by reducing or moving all or part of the self insured financial risk to others. Having been an Underwriting Specialist for a huge insurance company, I have a keen eye for risk.

2. What special insurance products do you offer for the Leavenworth market that other agents or companies might not offer?

While I office and live in Leavenworth, my clients and my advantages are statewide. I can insure most log homes at the same rate as frame construction ( a big savings). But specifically, the most frequent & obvious area I can help people is eliminating the risk (1 in 5 chance, nationwide after a claim) of not having enough insurance to cover the replacement cost of your home. Almost all "replacement cost" policies are capped and the rest is your out of pocket expense. However, I have found a company that removes the cap and will simply replace your home in the event of total loss (and they almost always cost less!) But generally, I provide better risk analysis. Last week, among the clients I insured were 2 multimillionaires and a young fireman who owns 4 homes. They all had significant gaps that could have cost them hundreds of thousands in the event of a claim and I was able to show each of them things on their existing policies where they could save money. It was very satisfying to help them and I actually get paid to do help! They also have simple investment and retirement income risks that are easy to avoid which I am helping with. Why take unnecessary risk if you don't have to? Make sure you have the "big things" covered.

3.What kinds of clients can you help the most?

The more one owns the more I can help.

4. What things in a home or things about a home make it difficult to insure?

Homes generally qualify for preferred insurance if they have had updates to the electrical (Romex wiring and 100 amp panel min.), plumbing (no pressurized galvanized pipe), the roof is in good shape, there are no major foundation issues (large cracks, major settling, post & pier or rock & mortar foundation). They also cannot have any type of home business (unless approved 1^st)- including renting out their home for a nightly or vacation rental. Finally, they cannot be more than 5 miles from a fire station or on a road that is inaccessible in winter.

You can read the rest of the article about Leavenworth Insurance here.