Personal insurance · Schiller Park, Illinois
Most families find out what their policy covers on the worst day they have had. We go through it with you first — what it would take to rebuild, what happens if someone is hurt, and what your family is left with.
What We Cover
Four policies do most of the work. They are meant to fit together.
A house, a condo and a rental are three different problems
What you own, what the building owns, and what is simply yours inside somebody else’s walls are not the same thing to insure. The first question is which of the three you actually are.
The number that goes stale quietly
A policy written when you bought the place was sized for what it cost to build then. Materials and labour have not stayed still since. If nobody has looked at yours in a few years, that is where we start.
Before the teenager starts driving, not after
A new driver in the house changes the price and it changes the risk. There are usually choices about which car they go on and what they qualify for, and those are far easier to make in advance than to unpick later.
Where the limit stops
A serious accident can cost more than the policy you bought for an ordinary day. Where that leaves you depends on your limits and on what you have built up — which is worth knowing before it matters, not after.
Umbrella
Call (773) 657-3860One policy over both, not a third thing to keep track of
It sits above the home and the auto you already have rather than replacing anything. That is also why people are usually surprised by what it costs.
Who ends up asking about it
People often assume it is something for the wealthy. Equity in a house, savings, a business, and a new driver in the family are the reasons it comes up.
Term for most households
Term covers a set number of years — usually the ones where the mortgage and the children overlap. Whole life exists for situations that call for it, and we will say so when yours does not.
The one people get to last
Nobody wants to spend an afternoon on it, and it is the one people most often wish they had done sooner. It is also a shorter conversation than most expect.
How They Fit Together
A car accident that is your fault does not stop at your car. If the claim is bigger than your auto limit, what is left of it can come after what you have built up — including the equity in your home.
Umbrella
Keeps paying after both of them run out
Home
Liability limit
Auto
Liability limit
Life sits outside this entirely
Nobody sues you. It is the one that answers a different question — what your family lives on if you are not there. Most people get to it last, and that is usually the one they wish they had done sooner.
Also Covered
Flood
A separate policy. Your home policy does not include it.
Jewelry and valuables
Rings, watches, art, instruments, and collections.
Recreational
Boats, RVs, motorcycles, campers, classic cars.
Pets
Accident and illness cover for dogs and cats.
Vacation homes
Second homes and seasonal property.
Health
Individual and family plans.
Cyber
Identity theft and online fraud at home.
Home business
The work you do from home that your home policy will not cover.
How It Works
Four steps. You will know what you are buying before you pay for it.
The house, the cars, who drives them, and roughly what you have built up. One call is usually enough.
Request a QuoteEnough to rebuild, and enough that a bad day cannot reach past the insurance. This happens before the price.
Several companies at once, and we tell you where the cheaper quote is cheaper because it covers less.
What each option costs and what each one leaves out, side by side. Nothing is bound until you say so.
Call (773) 657-3860Once You're Covered
You buy once a year. Documents, changes and claims happen all year.
The card for the glovebox, the declarations page for the mortgage company. Ask and we send them.
A new car, a new driver in the house, a move, a renovation. You call, we handle it.
Where the number is, what they will ask you for, and what happens next. We go through it with you.
Questions
It can matter a great deal, and it is the most common gap we see. A policy written years ago was sized for what it cost to rebuild then. Materials and labour have not stayed still. The number that matters is not what the house would sell for and not what you paid — it is what it would cost to build it again. If nobody has looked at yours in a few years, that is worth a phone call.
Call us before they are on the policy rather than after. A new driver in the house changes the price and it changes the risk, and there are usually choices about which car they are assigned to and what discounts they qualify for. Those choices are much easier to make in advance than to unpick later.
It sits on top of the liability limits you already have on your home and your car, and it keeps paying after those run out. It exists for the bad day that is bigger than the policy you bought for the ordinary day. It is usually one of the least expensive things on a household policy, which surprises people.
Yes, and it is the practical reason most households consolidate rather than the price. The home, the cars, the boat, the umbrella and the life policy in one office means one phone number, and it means somebody notices when a change to one of them leaves a gap in another. That is harder to see when the policies live at four different companies.
One call, and you will know where you actually stand.