The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

24 19t5 Tax Preparation Guide it's no en an Individual Retirement Account today and live comfortably ever after. Ask us for the whole story. Mc HENRY SAVINGS k LOAN ASSOCIATION MIcHenry Savings *«0 10** AltOCiAtlO*^^ said 1209 North Groon Stroot, McHonry 815-385-3000 10520 Main Stroot, Richmond 815*678*2061 10402 North Vino Stroot (Huntloy Contor on Routo 47) Huntloy 312-669-3333 SAVERS HOURS: 9:00 om to 4:30 pm Monday. Tuesday, and Thursday 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Friday. 9:00 am to 1 00 pm Saturday. McHenry Office Drive in windows open Wednesday 8 00 am to 2:00 pm. Closed Wednesday in Richmond and Huntley. bt»ur«4 U 00 .000 by F*4»r«l laving • • loan Inturanc* Corp. Cost of living effects your insurance needs By Jimmy Thornton *+ Copley News Service » Even is the inflation rate is under control, the cost of living still may be climbing. . These increases could have a direct effect on your insurance needs. Therefore, now is a good time to pull out the insurance folders and review how you are covered in the event of house fire, car wreck, death or injury of wage earners and dependents and such things as theft of silver, gold and jewelry. You should figure out how far your insurance would go at today's prices. Maybe you bought a $50,000 life in­ surance policy when you got married -- a time when that sum was sufficient to tide over your mate in the event you died. It would not go as far today. But there is good news concerning your insurance needs. Most types of in­ surance are at bargain prices today compared to years past. If you don't have an agent, you may want to have an independent representative shop through several plans to get the most insurance for your dollar. You pick up the phone and say, for example, "My budget will allow me to spend $40 a month more on life in­ surance. I have a $50,000 policy with the Forever Life Co. and want to either convert it, drop it or add to it, whichever gets the most for my money." Something like that. Muriel Peary, assistant regional manager for the Insurance Informa­ tion Institute, gave the following ideas on insurance: •If you have a home, you'll want it in­ sured at replacement value. You should look at escalating policies, which automatically increase your coverage each year. That may keep in step with inflation. You still should review the policy periodically to make sure it is indeed up-to-date. She cited a $200,000 home as an ex­ ample. The escalator would increase every quarter by, say, 3 percent to keep up with the rising living costs. After a year, coverage would be $200,000, plus 12 percent. To get a rough idea what your home is worth (remember, you don't insure the land or foundation) call real estate a g e n t s f a m i l i a r w i t h y o u r neighborhood and ask what homes like yours are selling for. The trend is toward smaller homes these days -- around 1,500 square feet. If that size house would suit your needs, but you live in a 2,500-square-footer, you may want to adjust your insurance to a smaller dwelling. If the larger one is destroyed, you could replace it with a smaller structure and still be com­ fortable. •Tenants should get rental policies that would cover loss of goods destroyed in the event of fire. She said many people believe the landlord's policy covers them when it actually doesn't. •If you are paying off a car loan, you will be require to have comprehensive automobile insurance. In addition to that, there are state re­ quirements on liability insurance that generally are far too low, according to Peary. While it's true cars generally depreciate, things like medical treat­ ment on people injured and resulting lawsuits as the aftermath of an auto ac­ cident rise with inflation and sometimes far beyond. So keep your liability coverage up-to-date. •To reduce the cost of any policy, ask about deductible provisions. For exam­ ple, you may feel you can afford to ab­ sorb $250 in case your car is damaged, so you are willing to exclude up to $250 from coverage. Ask the agent about deductibles that are available. •If you have gold and silver items that were given to you years ago (look at those old wedding gifts), you will find they are much more valuable now. Most home policies protect your jewelry, etc., up to $1,000. Beyond that, you will need a special floater to in­ crease coverage over the $1,000 cutoff to reflect the real value of your precious things. A jewelry floater generally costs $2 to $3 per $100 value, and you must list everything covered. Home furnishings also are protected by home owners insurance equal to about half the house coverage. You should keep in mind inflation increases the cost of such things as appliances, stereo equipment, etc., all of which could be destroyed when, say, a Rus­ sian satellite makes a beeping entrance through the roof. •Peary pointed out that employers often provide health insurance coverage for workers, but if you are on your own, the cost is "very high" -- but not as expensive as it would be if you happened to be hospitalized without in­ surance. People who retire on Social Security usually are covered by Medicare and one supplementary policy to act as an insurance safety net to cover what Medicare doesn't. Peary advised senior citizens never to buy more than one supplementary policy, assuming you find a policy that adequately covers your possible needs. A few last pearls of wisdom from Peary: •She said there are temporary health policies available for people between jobs and in need of coverage. •She said you never should let in­ surance go unchanged from year to year.