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Insurance — It Doesn't Have to be that Complicated T HE FIRST THING I SAY TO MY clients is, 'It doesn't have to be that complicated,'" says Lauren Bottger, voted Best Insurance Agent by Ranch & Coast readers seven years running. "Insurance is something you need whether to drive a car, own a home, or prepare for your family's future. You simply want to know it will do what you want it to do should something happen." at may take some education, which is why Bottger, who founded her Rancho Santa Fe-based agency ten years ago, is always ready to make time for clients, whether in person or on the phone. "ere is something to be said about being able to speak with someone," she says. "I signed up for my first auto policy online. I didn't talk to anyone. I didn't know what anything meant." Bottger didn't own a home at the time and recognizes it's not necessarily a big problem when you're 22. But once you purchase a home, things change, and she understands well how a bad auto policy can put one's home at risk. Good insurance is something that can help a person sleep well at night, and in that sense is among the greatest of luxuries. Having spent the last decade helping clients with their insurance needs, Bottger is not only extremely experienced when it comes to auto, home, and life policies, but also equine and collector car policies, as well as other specialty insurance needs. But she's quick to point out that insurance is only one part of a financial plan. As an advisor, she works closely with realtors, loan officers, financial advisors, and estate planners to make sure a person's entire financial portfolio is fully coordinated. One thing that has changed significantly in recent years involves living benefit riders that can now be attached to life insurance plans for critical and chronic illnesses. "Traditionally, long-term care policies were 'use it or lose it' policies," Bottger says. "ey are expensive and if never used, all those premium payments are lost with nothing in return for the insured or their family. People are living longer, and the new riders offer a lot more flexibility, because in the end it is still a life insurance policy designed to benefit survivors." e new riders allow for a person to take an acceleration of life insurance benefits while alive to pay for medical expenses, for a spouse to take off work to care for their husband or wife, and many other unexpected circumstances. e critical illness riders cover 13 medical conditions including heart attack, stroke, cancer, blindness, paralysis, and other major ailments. e chronic illness riders offer the same in the event the insured is no longer able to perform two of six daily living activities and requires personal care. Bottger admits to being something of an insurance geek, though her entry into the field was somewhat serendipitous. When her daughter was starting preschool at Horizon Prep, Bottger applied for an internship at a boutique insurance agency in the Ranch, wanting to be nearby if she was needed. at was 11 years ago, and Bottger was not only good at the work, she found it satisfying, leading her to establish her own agency the following year. 858.216.6039, lauren.bottger@american-national.com, americannational.com BILL ABRAMS Focus business Lauren Bottger @ranchandcoast ranchandcoast.com 62 SEPTEMBER 2022 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE