LeTip Chester County East met on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Exton, PA. We were joined by a guest representing organic food products.

Our two showboaters were electrician Dan Frame (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and graphic designer Leigh Friedman (Leigh@FullCircleGraphicDesign). Dan provided some promotional items as well as flyers that list many of the services that Electrical Plus offers to their customers. Leigh displayed a wide variety of items that she helped to design, including printed materials, shirts, and a mug. She has helped people and businesses in very different fields to create images and products to promote their company or vision.

Our first speaker was Mike Hoopes, our property and casualty insurance agent (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Mike talked about the growing trend of customers purchasing insurance online and buying the state minimum coverage. True, this tends to give a lower rate for the insurance premium, but it also tends to lead to people having inadequate coverage in the event of a loss. Mike wants to help people get great coverage--not too much nor too little--at a good price. All insurance companies have to raise their rates sometimes, but Mike will make sure that his customers know why rates are going up when that may happen. He knows that customers are frustrated when they see an unexpected surge in their insurance premium. Mike is happy to be a resource for all insurance questions, and he will look at anyone's current policy to see whether it can be improved. In addition to home and automobile coverage, he can write policies for boats, ATVs, snowmobiles, or business insurance. Mike also highly recommends renter's insurance for anyone who is living in a rental space, including college students.

Our second speaker was Dave Kozak, our life, health, and disability insurance agent (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Dave spoke about life insurance and gave an example of a higher-end policy that he wrote for a family who wanted to use their life insurance policy as a vehicle to provide money to pay for college tuition for their three kids as well as a second home after they retire. Not everyone is able to afford payments of the amount that this family is investing, but Dave can help people at various financial stages to find a policy that will help them not only to provide a death benefit but also to supply benefits while they are still living. There are tax advantages to building wealth in this way, and Dave is ready to help any individual or family to acquire a policy that fits their budget, needs, and goals.