Happy New Year!

We know 2020 has been hard on everyone. That’s why we made it our mission, despite everything, to do good things for our family of clients and our communities. We did more than ever and actually had a little fun while we were at it.

Early in March, we gave away over $1000 in gift cards from local restaurants. Then in September, we had a “Back to School” giveaway, including a drawing for two notebook computers and lots of other prizes; toys and games, school supplies, and “Family Fun Kits” to make getting back to school just a little bit easier. It was great seeing people smile!

Helping the Homeless with YOUR Referral Dollars

The last quarter of the year is always special at JPI. We dedicate our referral dollars to local homeless shelters in October, November, and December. It feels good to give and you can help by telling your friends about our great service! For every client referral we get, we donate $20 to our quarterly charity partner(s).

In addition to giving away some great prizes companywide, with your help JPI raised $1500 for local missions, including Tri-City Union Gospel Mission, Christian Aid Center of Walla Walla, Union Gospel Mission of Salem, and Portland Rescue Mission during the last quarter of 2020.

At JPI, we know you can choose any insurance carrier. That’s why we appreciate you for trusting us with your personal insurance needs. If you know of someone else who could benefit from our services, won’t you please tell them about us?

For every referral we receive throughout the year, we donate $20 to our quarterly charity partner. Through the first quarter, we are partnering with local police foundations to help individuals and families in our community who find themselves in crisis.

Loving People Through Insurance

Thank you for your business! We’ve really lived our purpose of “Loving People Through Insurance” this year. With your help, JPI donated over $8,000 in 2019 and $6500 in 2020 to local nonprofits through our referral program alone!

If you’d like to know what we’re up to, follow us on Facebook in 2021 for more giveaways, insurance tips & information, and stories about the many ways you can help JPI make a positive impact on our communities.

Left: Owners Joe & Jon presented a check to Tri-City Union Gospel Mission. Center: Executive Director Jason Wicklund accepts a check on behalf of the Christian Aid Center of Walla Walla. Right: Our Salem team presents a check to Union Gospel Mission of Salem.

Here at JPI, we’re happy to say goodbye to 2020. Thankfully, the year hasn’t been all bad… Some of us were even able to find a few good things to say about 2020. COVID-19 made time with family and friends even more precious than ever. It gave many of us a true sense of purpose, too. Some of us said we were more grateful for even the little things now. Still… There’s an old Irish tradition that says open your door at midnight to let the old year out and the New Year in. For 2020, we’re thinking it would be good to open the garage and windows as well. Really. This year just needs to go!

Ringing In the New Year

Sooo, how are you planning to celebrate? In case you’re looking for ideas, here are some traditions from around the world.

If you interested in improving your luck in the New Year, try this Southern tradition. Simmer up a pot of Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens. They say the two together represent coins and paper money and will bring you good fortune. Since my mother’s family hails from Texas, this is my go-to for New Year’s and apparently, I’m not the only one in the office.

A few folks here hope to travel more next year. If you too are hoping for a year filled with travel and adventure, try this idea from Columbia. Run around the block as fast as you can, carrying an empty suitcase.

Or maybe you’ve heard about eating 12 grapes for good luck. And in case you’re wondering… It’s actually a thing. They do it in Spain on New Year’s Eve. Mexico, too. The 12 grapes represent the 12 months of the coming year and they’re eaten at the stroke of midnight.

How about a tradition for procrastinators? For people who follow the Lunar Calendar, the New Year isn’t celebrated until February 12th. That should give you plenty of time to prepare yourself for the Year of the Ox.

Of all the ideas I heard floating around the office, the best idea I heard by far was an annual tradition of making, not a New Year’s resolution, but a dream board that matches your goals for the coming year.

However you celebrate, we wish you the very best in 2021. Thank you for sticking with us through a tough year!

Make a Vision Board in 5 Easy Steps
1. Select a board… Any kind of board will do. Pick something you’ll like to look at.
2. Go through magazines and collect images, words, and quotes you love.
3. Begin arranging them on your board, embellish with markers and stickers if you like.
4. OPTIONAL: Save a spot in the middle for a fabulous picture of you.
5. Display it where you’ll see it every day.

A police foundation is a charitable organization established with the aim of improving policing in our communities. They help raise money for programs, equipment, and community outreach not provided for in city budgets. Locally, police foundations are dedicated to the mission of professional development and community partnership. Several have established Community Care funds that allow officers to have a more hands-on approach when it comes to helping in the community.

Community Care funds are used to provide help and hope to families and individuals in crisis. Oftentimes, law enforcement officers are the first to encounter these people when they most need a helping hand. Officers can access funds for food, gas, a taxi ride or night in a hotel, or whatever may be needed in each unique situation. In many cases, officers would do these things at their own expense.

You can help local police foundations by donating or volunteering your time. Businesses can help by sponsoring some of the charitable activities the foundations get involved in, like food giveaways.

And since local police foundations are the benefactors of our referral program throughout January, February, and March, you can even help by telling friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers about the great service you get as a member of the JPI Family!

For every referral we receive, we donate $20 to our quarterly charity partners, whether we write a policy or not!

Our New Year’s Resolution to YOU

As your independent agent, we work for you. That’s why all of us here at JPI Insurance Solutions have renewed our commitment to reach out to each of our clients annually. We take great pride in working side by side with you. We’ll ask the questions necessary to be sure your coverage is keeping up with you. We’ll do the legwork for you and help educate you on your options and make the best possible decisions for your unique situation. We want to be sure you’re getting the best value and have the best protection we can offer.

Your JPI Service Team
We have some exciting news for you, too. In the last year, we’ve expanded our office and dedicated an entire team to serve you! Every agent on your team is familiar with your policies and reviews them every year. While you can still work with the agent you know, you now have a whole service team dedicated to your needs and check in on you each year.

Annual Client Reviews
Is your insurance keeping up with you? Annual client reviews can uncover some crazy things. For example, maybe you bought an expensive luxury item or toy for yourself, or as a gift for your spouse… or perhaps you received one. Did you know homeowner policies have limitations on coverage for certain valuables? Do you know what your policy covers? If not, discovering this during your annual review is much better than finding out AFTER something bad has happened to that item!

At JPI, we feel it’s our job to help you understand your insurance coverage, what it covers and what it doesn’t. And to present you with the best options for your unique situation. Expect a call from your team in the coming year. We’ll do a brief annual review with you and help make any necessary updates to your coverage.

Or maybe you’ve inherited an heirloom or collection that exceeds your current limit. You may not think to call us right away. But when we call for your annual review, we’ll ask you just four basic questions that will help us evaluate your coverage and risk.

1. Does your auto and home liability cover your net worth?
2. Is your biggest asset, your home, properly insured?
3. Have there been any big changes or purchases over the past year?
4. Would your family suffer financial hardships if you died prematurely?

At JPI, we feel it’s our job to help you understand your insurance coverage, what it covers and what it doesn’t. And to present you with the best options for your unique situation. Expect a call from your team in the coming year. We’ll do a brief annual review with you and help make any necessary updates to your coverage.

Loving People Through Insurance
This is what we mean by our mission statement, “Loving People Through Insurance.” We can’t think of a better way to show you how much we care about each and every one of you than helping make sure you understand what coverage you have, how it works, and whether or not it’s adequate for your current situation. Here’s what a couple of our agents had to say about our motto for 2021.

“Taking pride in working with clients side by side protecting their assets, educating to make proper choices, and rising above the expectation in every transaction.” ~ Becca

“Loving people through insurance is to communicate with our clients effectively – asking the questions that lead to gaps in coverage and advising them on the benefits of having adequate insurance.” ~ Julie

“It means writing insurance with integrity, coverage that takes care of the client not your pocketbook.” ~ Tyler

We’d like to thank you for trusting us with your insurance needs and we look forward to serving you in the coming year. And if you love the service you receive, please tell your neighbors, friends, and family. Not only does our business run on your referrals, your referrals help us give back to the communities where we live and work.

Are you turning 65 soon? If so, did you know the average couple will spend more than $285,000 in health care expenses in their retirement?

That’s why throughout October and November of this year, JPI Insurance Solutions sponsored “Health Care Happy Hour for Retirees” with Mark Rogers, a Certified Long-Term Care Specialist (CLTC) and Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF). You may have missed the live streaming events, but you can still catch the entire series by clicking HERE or visiting our website.

As you approach retirement, you need heath care more than ever. Shouldn’t you take some time to review your options? Insurance Advisor Mark Rogers unpacks Medicare options in depth and dives into other health care expenses. Enjoy, learn, and share with friends on how to be more efficient with your Medicare planning!

In his series, Mark covers the “Medigap” plans that have been around for the last 40 years and the Medicare Advantage plan structure. He looks at the Medicare Part D the prescription plan structure, as well, and discusses dental expenses and dental insurance options.

Mark and his special guests help you better understand your options and navigate the Medicare system to make the best decisions for your unique situation. He even covers long-term care expenses, as they apply specifically to residents of Washington State, explores a common method of paying for these with the help of your IRA or 401K, and dares to talk about how to handle those “final expenses.”

If you’ve been playing 2020 Apocalypse Bingo, chances are you’ve filled your card by now.

Yup, it’ been a year! Most people will be happy to see 2020 end. Some are asking to review the terms and conditions of 2021 before they ring in the New Year.

We’ve seen it all this year; an international pandemic, subsequent TP shortage, murder hornets, a national coin shortage, mystery seeds from China, threats of the Yellowstone Super Volcano erupting, nuclear fireworks, bears with nun chucks, super lice, square dancing hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, R.O.U.S (Rodents of Unusual Size) in a Texas Swamp, Sam Elliott shaving off his mustache… and we’re not even making these up! Well, we may have made up that one about Sam Elliott.

Here’s the craziest part… We’re still here. We made it through by leaning on each other… figuratively… from at least six feet apart… while wearing masks. Anyway, everyone here at JPI would like to thank you for sticking with us through it all this year. We especially want to thank everyone who supported our community initiatives. We’ve done our best to support small businesses and contribute positively to the community through it all and many of you were right there to help us do it.

It’s been a year for the books alright, but we hope you found a silver lining in the extra family time or maybe newfound faith in the way things have of working out.

We also hope that throughout the holiday season and long past, and after all the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, you’ll remember to Shop Local to support your friends and neighbors… The same people who support our community by doing things like sponsoring kids sports and donating to local nonprofits.

We send our very best wishes to all of you in the coming year, but would anybody mind if we jumped ahead to 2021 now?

National Coin Shortage

Nuclear Fireworks

Square Dancing Hurricanes

Super Volcano

While 2020 may go down in history as the year we’d all like to forget, for me at least there were some memorable moments.

In late December, my parents celebrated their 60th Anniversary. In February, my wife Heidi and I went on an amazing cruise. In July the family made a quick trip to Yellowstone. And finally, in late August I managed to slip away one more time when my brother visited from Maine. Together we took a fly-fishing trip on the Columbia, then golfed two fine courses in Spokane and Coeur D’ Alene.

As I write this, I’m in Nashville, Tennessee at Ramsey Solutions attending the EntreLeadership Master Series. I’m learning a ton from Dave Ramsey’s team to help me lead my own team into the coming year.

And speaking of my team, JPI started 2020 strong with a workshop on company values, culminating in this mission statement – “Loving people through insurance!”

I couldn’t be prouder of my team and how they’ve exemplified this commitment to our clients during a difficult year. When the virus hit hard, our agents reached out to their clients just to see that they had everything they needed. Agents made and delivered masks to health care and essential workers. They lead efforts to bring relief to small businesses and recognize first responders. Some even ran toilet paper out to client homes!

As I was fishing and out of internet range, the worst fires in modern Oregon history hit Western Oregon. They were devastating to dozens of our clients and again, my team reached out with compassion to those who were hurting. I was especially proud of the agents, family members, and friends who volunteered in the fire region and in Salem at the fairgrounds.

We’ve really lived our purpose of loving people through insurance this year, and renewed our commitment to reach out to our clients annually with four basic, but important questions:

1) Does your auto and home liability cover your net worth?
2) Is your biggest asset, your home, properly insured?
3) Have there been any big changes or purchases over the past year?
4) Would your family suffer financial hardships if you died prematurely?

Perhaps 2020 has been a year many would like to forget – but here at JPI, we like to think what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! So, here’s to a strong finish to 2020 and no repeat of the year’s chaos in 2021!

The beginning of October marks the start of the last quarter of 2020 and I for one think this year cannot end soon enough! Still, with three months to go it’s time to announce our fourth quarter charity partners.

For the past two years, JPI has given to our local missions during the holiday season. The onset of winter cold usually sees an increase in need, and we do our best to help them help those individuals, families, and children in crisis. In Kennewick, we’ve developed a relationship with Tri-City Union Gospel Mission. In Salem, it’s Union Gospel Mission of Salem. And in Walla Walla, we work with the Christian Aid Center. Each of them offers a hand up to people when they need it most.

And this year we’re introducing a new charity partner! We’ve had an office in Portland, Oregon for some time but for the first time this year, we’ll be including the Portland Rescue Mission in our end of year giving. Portland Rescue Mission has been around since 1946, offering food and shelter to people in need.

This is where YOU come in.

Perhaps you’ve heard of our referral program. Many of our clients already know how it works. When we give you great service, we ask that you tell your friends and family about us. If they call for a quote, we donate $20 to the quarterly charity partner, whether we write them a policy or not!

With YOUR help, we can reach out to our local missions and help others when they need it most.

District by district across Washington and Oregon, school officials are determining how learning will look this academic year. Many schools will continue remote learning for an undetermined amount of time. Others are re-opening part or full time for in-person classes, with physical distancing measures in place. And, in light of all of this, some parents are considering home school.

No matter what your situation, if you have school aged kids you’re looking at some significant changes in your routines this year. Here are a few tips:

1. If you can look at your situation as a shared challenge, your child will too.
2. Establish a quiet place for work and study for each child, if possible.
3. Find a routine that works for your family and stick with it.
4. Check in with teachers often and utilize available school resources.
5. Vary activities and plan breaks… and SNACKS!
6. Network with other parents where possible – Some parents have Facebook groups for the school so parents can interact.
7. Reach out for help if you’re having trouble with any of the necessary requirements for your child’s success.

Don’t forget local resources either, like your public library, Parks & Recreation Department, and book & game stores.