Day: October 31, 2018

Get More With an Insurance Broker Who’s There For You by Melissa LaScaleia The lineage of Moore and Associates dates back to the late ’70s when Melvin Truett began working in the insurance industry, with Nationwide.  In 1985, he moved to the beach to open his own small insurance agency, eventually purchas­ing Moore and Associates in 1991. That same year, Melvin’s son Sammy came to work for him, and the two have been op­erating Moore and Associates in Surfside Beach, collectively, since that time. “My dad and I are here on a daily basis,” Sammy says. “I call myself the fireman. I put out the fires in the office if there’s a problem.” Before father and son took it over, Moore and Associates had been oper­ating as an insurance agency in Surfside Beach since 1979, and the name was known throughout the community. After the purchase and transfer, Sammy and Mel­vin chose to keep it the same so the com­munity would still recognize the services they offer. Today, Moore and Associates is a full service insurance agency offering property, casual and commercial coverage. Last month, they commenced carrying life and health policies with Colonial Life and Health Insurance, an addition for which the entire team is very excited. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with them,” Sammy says. “They’re one of the biggest health and life companies in the world. They offer so many products for individuals, as well as products for businesses.”  “The best part of what I do is dealing with the public,” he continues. “And being there for my clients when they need me. Especially in the wake of Hurricane Florence, people need agents that they can trust to help them with their claims. We process all claims for our clients through the individual insurance company, but we’re there for them every step of the way if they need anything during the process.” The biggest challenge that Sammy sees for people is that they don’t understand their policy, what they are protected from, and are covered for. This is what he and his team are ready to help their clients address.  “It’s knowing, do I have enough coverage? Does a standard policy cover floods? Many people don’t think they need flood insurance because their home is not located in a flood zone,” Sammy says. “But over 50% of floods happening now are coming from areas that aren’t in traditional flood zones. Look at Conway, Georgetown, and Socastee. You can’t predict it. It’s just Mother Nature, and the topography of the land is changing too.  “As greater numbers of homes are being built closer to the water, it becomes harder for the storm water runoff to flow efficiently. And you can’t control for rain; with this past storm, the water simply flowed north to south. Flood insurance is worth looking into because it’s not that expensive.” Sammy advises that the best terms to have as part of your policy are replacement costs on your home and home contents. “A lot of people think their deductible is based on their loss, but it’s not,” he explains. “It’s based on the actual cash value of your home. If you have a twenty-year-old home, it will be depreciated. Whereas if you have a replacement costs policy, you will get an exact replacement. We discourage people from buying actual cash value policies.” He uses the example of a two-year-old television. If lightening strikes it and you have a replacement cost policy, you are entitled to replace it with what you had, no questions asked.   “A lot of times, after a storm is over, people are devastated, and they can’t remember what they have,” Sammy says. “I tell people to go throughout their house and videotape your possessions, room by room, so that you have it for future reference. “When people evacuate, I tell them to take their insurance policy with them, and to make sure they have our number. When they return, call us, and we’ll start the process for you. We’ll have an adjuster go out in 24 hours or sooner. We often go out ourselves and take pictures and do the leg work. We’ll never give them an 800 number.” During Hurricane Florence, Moore and Associates created a new system to operate remotely so that if they lost power, their customers would be able to reach a live person and not a recording. It’s a system that they’ll keep in place moving forward. As a way to help educate the community, Moore and Associates offers an informational video series about all things insurance related that people can watch on their website. On it they address some of their most frequently received questions. If you’re looking for advice on a certain topic and they haven’t done a video about it, contact them, and they will create a video for you. “We have a very experienced staff, most of whom have been with us for fifteen to twenty years,” Sammy says. “We understand the industry, and we’re not going to give you the absolute lowest price just to get your business. We educate our clients on the differences between policies, what they’re paying for, and what they get in return, and help them to choose what’s best for them. We want to make sure they know exactly what they’re getting. “People can call us on the phone, or just walk in the door to talk to us. You don’t need an appointment; we’re very approachable. If you like, you can also go to the website and fill out the quote form, email it to us, and we’ll contact you.” Moore and Associates Envelope Facebook Phone Internet-explorer

This Locally Owned Used Car Dealership Makes Things Right by Melissa LaScaleia Bill Garofalo is somewhat of a local boy, having spent the majority of his life liv­ing in Myrtle Beach where he attend­ed both Socastee High School and Coastal Carolina University.  He had always loved cars, and he was eager to begin his career in that field. So in 1988, he left school to work for a Nissan dealership in Georgetown, where he spent the next eight years gaining experience in automotive sales and building a strong clientele in the Georgetown area. Eager to take what he learned and do things differently, he left to open his own indepen­dent used car dealership in Georgetown, Competition Cars. In 2005 he relocated near the Market Common, and today the business is in its 23rd year. In an industry that often garners consumer mistrust rather than acco­lades and loyal fans, Bill’s pride for what he offers the community and how he does it, shows, and sets him apart. His Facebook page is full of glowing testi­monials from satisfied customers, some as far away as Chicago, Canada, and Europe. He has a strong client base, and many long-time patrons continue to drive up from Georgetown to purchase from him. “As a kid I was a car guy,” Bills says. “I’ve always had a passion for them.” Here Eric Clark polishes a 1970 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible in the showroom of Competition Cars. — Photo Meganpixels Parker “As a kid, I was a car guy,” Bill says. “I’ve al­ways had a true passion for them, and I was always able to communicate well with peo­ple. This career is such a good fit for me.” Competition Cars has won the Best Pre-Owned Car Dealer Award by the Myrtle Beach Herald and Carolina Chronicle for the last six years in a row. In lieu of having a manager, Bill personal­ly handles each deal, and he’s the only one buying cars. Often people call him looking for a particular vehicle, and Bill is able to find them what they want. “I want to manage the deal because I want to take responsibility to make sure that everything is low pressure, that the deal is done right for me,” he says. “The only time I’m not at work is when I’m on vacation or buying cars. I’m there, it’s my baby. “I know when someone comes in my door, I have to stand out in their mind. There are a lot of op­tions out there. If I have a car you want, my goal is to work with you to get to the price point and payment you want, at the pace that feels comfortable for you. Sometimes a customer wants it now, or to take it to a mechanic, or think about it. And that’s al­ways fine. I just like to take the discomfort out of the buying situation by meeting cli­ents where they’re at, to work with them, not against what feels right for them.” The team of Competition Cars from left to right: Anthony Garofalo, Gail Sommers, Bill Garofalo, Shane Stockdale and Erik Clark. — Photo Meganpixels Parker Everybody knows that used cars can have problems, so Bill puts a 3 month, 3,000 mile warranty on every car he sells, which he pays for himself, unless the car still carries its own factory warranty.  Even after the sale, if it’s been under a year and it has a small prob­lem, Bill won’t leave anybody hanging. He is known to help in many ways— to recom­mend a trustworthy mechanic, even some­times fixing or servicing your car himself to minimize the cost of repairs.  “If someone has a problem, I’m here to make it right. I’m not here to sell anyone a bad car,” he says. “I’m looking for them to write a thank you letter to show their appreciation that I can hang on my wall. I know that down the road they will come back or refer a friend or relative to me, so my goal is to keep everybody happy to the best of my ability. Supporting community is what helps sustain your business.” In keeping with that, Bill maintains a generous spirit with adolescents in the community. “I came to Myrtle Beach when I was a kid and grew up here,” he says. “So it’s important to me that I help the kids in this community by being supportive to their fundraising causes. My doors are always open to them, and I love to help them out in any way that I can, when I can.” Competition Cars Open M-F 9am-6:30pm; Su 1pm-4pm Envelope Facebook Phone Internet-explorer

Offering Enriching Cultural Travel Experiences That Create Lifelong Travel Memories by Melissa LaScaleia Pampered Journeys offers unique, customized travel excursions for those looking for exceptional trav­el experiences. The company is the brainchild of Marina Foy, who’s had the trav­el bug in her blood since she was a child.  As an adult, she satiated it via a career in corporate America that took her into the world of lux­ury travel and exotic locales. Seven years ago, after twenty-five years in the medical industry, she relocat­ed to Myrtle Beach to take care of her mother and to have the support of family nearby, and began Pam­pered Journeys. “My whole idea of traveling is to take in the culture and also to be well taken care of while I’m on the cultural journey,” says Marina. “So that’s how I came up with the name. I love the words of Maya Angelou: ‘People will forget what you said and what you did, but never how you made them feel.’ I use those words as a guide when putting to­gether a trip for my clients.” Marina offers high-end, experien­tial, and very personalized travel trips for her clients. She isn’t a traditional travel agent, and does not offer cookie-cutter tours. “I take a special occasion in a per­son’s life, like an engagement, birth­day, anniversary, graduation, or re­tirement, and wrap it into a unique travel experience,” she says. “I specialize in travel that has a fo­cus around food, wine, wellness, and art; I also customize excursions around European River cruising and smaller specialty ships, which are very popular right now. “One of my goals with my busi­ness is to build strong community around the theme of travel. So I organize a lot of group travel trips and excursions amongst like-mind­ed people: a European wine tour, a family wanting to spend some qual­ity time together, or a golf pro and her or his following from a country club.” Marina is also launching a wom­en’s travel group. Whether you’re single or married, this is a group for women who want to travel with others who have the same interests as them. “I get to know my clients, what’s important to them, and what they want so I can put together the best aspects of what a place has to offer for the experience they’re seeking,” Marina says. “My whole idea of traveling is to take in the culture and also to be well taken care of while I’m on the cultural journey,” says Marina, here standing with a stand-up banner highlighting her services. — Photo Meganpixels Parker Marina also writes a travel newslet­ter for busy professionals and active retirees, or those short on time who want solid travel tips. “When planning a trip, I don’t think that cheap necessarily equates to a good time. The focus is on the type of experience you want to have and getting it for the best value. Then we go from there. If your first pri­ority is the cost, then you’re not ad­dressing what it is that you really want to experience. My ideal client wants to do one great trip, not three or four that they come back from and say, ‘Uh, it was okay.’” 90% of the time, Marina has al­ready visited the place that her cli­ents want to see. Additionally, she’s affiliated with a world-wide luxury consortia which vets suppliers and can give her the most current in­formation about hotels, restaurants, and the cultural fabric of any loca­tion. — Photo Meganpixels Parker “Things change all the time with hotels, restaurants and events; as time passes, politics, economics, and culture change, and it affects the feel and fabric of a place in large and subtle ways,” Marina says. “This isn’t the sort of information that you can find on the internet or trip advisor.” And because of her affiliations, she can often upgrade her clients or se­cure free perks that aren’t available through other avenues. Booking on the internet, with a cruise line, or tour operator, there is much less of a feeling of personal responsibili­ty and customization. Being a small business owner, Marina’s main goal is to work for her clients and give them the best experience that they desire. “From listening to my clients, I can tell how to orchestrate a trip for them that will be truly memora­ble,” Marina says. “There are a lot of people now who want a true cul­tural experience. And that’s what I can provide.” Pampered Journeys Sign up for her bi-monthly electronic communication for people short on time, covering travel related topics with a focus on food, art, wine and wellness. Email for the women’s travel group. Facebook Phone Internet-explorer At