The Merriam Insurance Agency

A close relative of mine has always been a saver. He would squirrel away money and only bought used cars rather than new. When it came to wanting something that was new, even if it was on sale, he would instead choose to purchase used if in fact he couldn’t build it himself in his basement workshop! I have always appreciated his sense of economy and frugality. But he is now of the age where he has had to sell his house and move into an independent living arrangement. The cost is high due to there being staff on duty should he or his wife need help. After living in that arrangement for a couple years, his wife began to show signs of serious memory loss, aka dementia and Alzheimer’s. After several months of worsening behavior, it became evident that she needed to move to the memory care unit. Suddenly my relative’s rent went from $3,000 per month for both of them to an additional $5,500 per month just for his wife! Then, within a couple more months her Alzheimer’s caused her to forget how to walk and the facility staff informed my relative that it was time to move her to the full-blown nursing center. This raised her rent to $12,500 per month, in addition to the $3,000 that my relative continues to pay for himself. A total monthly cost of $15,500 is causing him to blow through a lifetime of work savings at an alarmingly fast pace. If […]

Merriam Insurance is proud to announce the acquisition of a local insurance agency, Armor Risk Management, Inc., based in Ravena, New York. The Ravena office will be our fourth location, joining Schenectady, North Creek, and Colorado Springs. The principal of Armor, Don Slattery, is retiring after a long career in insurance. We are proud to have been chosen to continue caring for Armor’s clients, while offering the benefit of increased access to top-tier insurance companies. Both our companies trade on the personalized service that we are committed to giving each client. The acquisition was announced on Monday, May 6, 2019. Financial details of the transaction, which closed on Monday, April 29, 2019, have not been disclosed. In a letter addressed to his former clients, Donald Slattery, owner of Armor Risk Management, Inc., said, “Merriam Insurance has the expertise and stability to be an excellent long-term partner for you. I intend to keep my insurance with them for the rest of my life, and encourage you to do likewise.” Merriam Insurance is a fourth generation, award-winning, family-owned, independent insurance agency, founded in 1895. We offer clients insurance and risk management from a select group of insurance companies. We provide personal and commercial insurance, and employee benefits plans, including group health insurance and in-house TPA services. Contact us today to learn more.

Buying a Home? What you need to know. Buying a home, be it the first or the fifth, can be an incredible roller coaster of emotion, combined with copious amounts of information on subjects or terminology you may or may not recognize, such as radon, easements, and gutter quality. Since homeowner's insurance is purchased after you have already selected your home, it is not unusual to ignore it altogether during the home-search. It is, however, a significant expense, one which will most likely cost you $600–$1,200 each year you own the home. Since the average person stays in a house 7 years (longer as you get older), you are looking at an average expense of over $6,000 in insurance costs. Here are a few tips to help you get the proper insurance coverage, at a fair price, in an efficient manner: Ask your realtor to research any updates/renovations to the home, specifically in the following areas: Electrical Plumbing Heating/furnace Determine the age of the roof. Many insurance companies will view a newer roof more favorably, especially one that is less than 10 years old. Be precise, if you can. Many homeowners keep receipts of all major updates and renovations, so do not be afraid to ask. Be wary of any shingle roof that has not been replaced in 20 years or more. If that is the case, many insurance companies will not give you a preferred rate. The larger the square footage of the home, the more expensive the insurance. [...]