http://www.TwinCitiesUSA.com/video/Roger-Karjalahti-4-16-11mov

STEVE:  Hi.  Thanks again for watching my video blog this week.  I invited in today one of my favorite agents, and I’ve worked with him a couple of decades, and that’s Roger Karjalahti of State Farm Insurance.  Welcome, Roger.

ROGER:  Thank you.  I’m glad to be here.

STEVE:  Well, Roger, when I have a first-time homebuyer or even people transferring in and coming in and meeting with you, what are the things that you need to discuss with the person about what they need to get in an insurance policy for their home?

ROGER:  Well, there’s quite a bit of importance to the insurance policy when you first buy your home.  Of course, you need a binder for closing and that you need to take care of with an insurance agent.  But that insurance agent needs to go over a lot of things with you.  It’s important that you get the right policy for your home.  If you buy the right amount of coverage, the right amount of homeowners, the building itself, your personal property, your liability.  And that’s what you need to talk to an agent about.

STEVE:  Well, in this interesting marketplace we’re in today, we’re finding sometimes homes are selling quite a ways below reproduction costs.  What are you suggesting to people doing in properly insuring their properties in today’s market?

ROGER:  Well, they need to talk to their agent and go over the type of house it is and the size.  It’s real important to figure the costs of rebuilding that home.  Then they have decisions to make.  Because they’re buying it so far under market, they may not want to insure for full reproduction costs or what we call replacement costs.  And there’s some choices.  They can go at a little bit lower amount to save some premium.  But they need to know how that affects their coverage and what happens if they have a big loss.

STEVE:  It’s a big selection just like people having to select me as a real estate agent.  How do people go through a good selection process in finding a good insurance agent to help them in the process?

ROGER:  That’s a good question.  Through the years, what I find most people feel most comfortable with is a referral from a friend or a business associate.  Otherwise, they’re just going from what they’ve heard about an agent.  It’s important to talk to that agent and make sure you’re comfortable working with him or working with his staff.  Most agents today are going to have staff people who are going to help you with most of the mundane questions.  But you want to talk to that agent about how much you should be covering your house for, what type of deductible you should be carrying and making sure you get your proper certificates.

STEVE:  Well, then there’s the other choice of picking the company that you’re going to work with because there’s a lot of insurance companies that are out there.  Why would somebody pick like State Farm over other companies or the independent companies that might be out there?

ROGER:  People often ask me why they should go with State Farm.  Of course, the number one reason is they should go with my office because I’m going to take care of them.  But the other big reason is State Farm’s the largest company in homeowners in the country.  The reason why is they take care of their clients.  They’re there when a claim happens.  They’re there to help you through the claim process to pay the proper amount to get you back into your home, to take care of you while you’re out of your home.  But the big thing is you’ve got an agent you can talk to that’s going to walk you through it, give you as much help as you need.

STEVE:  Well, Roger, thanks for coming in today, and I know you not only do homeowner’s insurance, but you also do other types of insurances.  In finishing up for the last question, what are some of the lines that you also help people with because I know you helped me a lot over the years?

ROGER:  And thank you for your business all these years.  State Farm besides being the largest home insurer in the country is also the largest auto insurer in the country.  They can help you with your auto insurance.  And an auto and home package gives you a discount on both policies.  Besides that, we do businesses, renters, apartment buildings, life insurance, disability insurance.  We can help you with most every insurance policy you need.  Just give us a call.