Invest in these great companies to work
Experienced agents are all too familiar with the misconceptions clients have
Companies that treat their workers well are increasingly being viewed as good investments.
Job perks that are good for workers — competitive wages and benefits, a healthy work-life balance, ample family and sick leave, and a workplace culture committed to diversity and equal pay — also tend to boost a company’s bottom line. Given that, here are companies that are great places to work and great investments.
Home Depot: Employees at the leading home-improvement chain were deemed essential workers during the pandemic, which meant the retailer’s 413,000 store associates had to report to work. But executives took steps to protect workers during the pandemic, says Derek Deutsch with ClearBridge Investments.
The investment thesis for Home
Depot shares remains sound. Americans are spending less on meals out, travel and entertainment — but more on home improvements. Analysts expect Home Depot to increase revenues by nearly
18% and earnings per share by 15% for the fiscal year ended in February 2021, according to earnings tracker Refinitiv.
Mastercard: Credit card payment processor Mastercard is on the right side of the global move away from paper money to digital payments. It is also on the side of its nearly 19,000 employees. Among companies in the S&P Global 1200 stock index, Mastercard ranks in the top 20 in terms of human capital management, according to Sustainalytics, an ESG ratings firm.
Mastercard is poised to profit from growth in e-commerce and digital payments, which has accelerated during the pandemic. Mastercard saw contactless payments rise to 41% of in-person transactions during the third quarter, up from 30% in the same period in 2019.
Salesforce: That Salesforce has a “chief equality officer” and a “chief people officer” speaks volumes about its commitment to its 49,000 employees. Salesforce ranks fourth on the
2020 “World’s Best Workplaces” list, published by corporate consultant Great Place to Work.
For investors, Salesforce is a growth juggernaut. For eight straight years, tech consulting firm Gartner has ranked Salesforce first in the large and fast-growing customer relationship management market, in terms of market share measured by revenues.
Last August, keepers of the Dow Jones industrial average added Salesforce to the blue-chip stock index.
Starbucks: The giant coffee chain announced a round of pay hikes taking effect late last year. Since the pandemic, Starbucks has rolled out a program that gives all U.S. employees access to 20 free sessions a year with a mental health therapist. It has established a $10 million relief fund that offers one-time grants to employees facing financial hardships.
For investors, Starbucks has not been immune to COVID-19. For the fiscal year that ended in September, Starbucks reported a 14% drop in comparable-store sales globally. But fiscal 2021 is shaping up to be a better year. Analysts expect the company’s earnings to more than double, to $2.81 per share, in fiscal 2021 compared with the previous year. Sales are expected to increase 21% to $28.5 billion over the same period.
Target: Target is another essential business that stayed open even as COVID-19 shut down broad swaths of the economy. Target thanked its 350,000 front-line workers by twice doling out bonuses of $200. It also followed through on a move outlined in 2017 to boost the pay of new hires to $15 an hour.
Target’s digital sales skyrocketed
155% in its third quarter, and earnings more than doubled compared with the same period a year ago. When results are posted for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, analysts expect a 42% jump in earnings per share; sales should tack on 18%, according to Refinitiv.
Insurance is notoriously complicated, and few people have the time or desire to pore over their policies. But some basic knowledge can go a long way — and that’s where an insurance agent can help, by clearing up some of the most common misconceptions they encounter.
Here are five things agents say are helpful for customers to know.
1.
Insurance doesn’t cover everything
When it comes to insurance, “Most people don’t understand the details,” says Andrew McGill, agent at The Insurance Shoppe in Collierville and Nashville, Tennessee. For instance, they often don’t realize that most homeowners policies won’t cover flood or earthquake damage. If your home is at risk for these disasters, you need separate coverage.
Auto policies generally cover only personal use of your car, so if you’ve picked up a side gig delivering groceries or meals during the pandemic, you likely need additional coverage, says Keya Pratt, agent and CEO of Pratt Insurance LLC in Richmond, Virginia. Otherwise, accidents you have on the job may not be covered.
Insurance policies of all types also generally exclude wear and tear, says Katherine Navarro Wong, a State Farm agent in Santa Rosa, California. She often gets calls from policyholders asking if their insurance will pay for things like broken dishwashers or aging gutters.
The answer is no. Insurance is designed to cover sudden, accidental damage, not regular maintenance. “We’re not going to replace (an) old pipe,” Wong says, “but if the pipe accidentally burst and ruined the wall and the flooring,” that would be covered.
2.
A gap in coverage can be costly
There are various reasons you might let your car insurance policy lapse, whether you’re having trouble paying your bills or you no longer own a vehicle. But this could cost you, Pratt says. “People tend to shop insurance after they’ve already canceled their insurance, (but) unfortunately that’s a huge negative” when calculating your price.
After a gap in coverage, insurers view customers as riskier and charge higher rates.
You can avoid this by shopping for quotes before your policy expires, buying nonowner car insurance if you’re between vehicles and asking your carrier for leniency if you’re struggling to make payments.
3. You can’t get cover
age for something that’s already happened
If you get into an accident and your car needs repairs, you might want a rental vehicle to help you get around. But by that point it would be too late to add that coverage, Wong says. Your auto policy would pay for this only if you had rental car
damage that you’re at fault for.
A lawsuit “is going to be more devastating than losing your laptop (or) ring,” Wong says. Including legal fees, the cost can total hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially if someone is seriously injured.
To protect yourself financially, buy enough liability insurance on your auto and home insurance policies to cover your net worth.
5.
coverage in place when the accident happened — not if you added it the day after.
The same goes for other insurance. For example, say a storm leaves an inch of water in your basement, but you haven’t purchased flood insurance. You can still buy coverage for future disasters, but
it won’t pay for damage your home has already sustained.
4.
You shouldn’t skimp on liability insurance
Many people focus on buying enough coverage for their belongings, but the liability insurance on your policy may be even more important. It pays for injuries or property
Your agent is there to help
Confused by your policy’s fine print? Don’t struggle through it on your own, says Jana Schellin Foster, agent at Nevada Insurance Agency Co. in Reno, Nevada. “We’re here to take care of you and walk you through this process.”
Foster advises interviewing agents to make sure you trust them and they have the services you need.
Once you’ve found an agent you’re comfortable with, Wong recommends touching base once a year or whenever there are changes in your life. This might include getting married, buying a new car or renovating your home, all of which could trigger updates to your insurance.
The most important thing to have in your agent is trust, Foster says. “You get so busy with your kids and your job and whatever else you have going on; you shouldn’t have to think about what you need your insurance to do.”