Insurance Admin

Your kids are great but did they go? -

Your children are grown, and you think the First National Bank of Mom & Dad is closed. Think again!

The recent Wall Street Journal article "The Big Squeeze" almost half of adults aged 40 to 59 has provided financial support for at least one adult child last year, with 27% providing the primary support. In contrast, 21% of this group provide financial support to a mother age 65.

The point is that you may still need that old policy of life insurance that you plan to drop because your kids are great. And when you have grandchildren, the window of the bank's drive-up is open 24/7.

If you are their means for financial support and are no longer here to provide, how is your turn to family for help? The government? Social Security? Friends and other family members?

Maybe it's time to take a financial inventory and make sure that you take personal financial responsibility for the care of your family. If you need professional help, find an agent or advisor LIFE Locator agent.

Woops: Do not let your Lapse life insurance policy -

Everyone knows that sinking feeling when you realize that you forgot to take care of one important point . It could be something as minor as forgetting to set the DVR for your favorite reality show. Or maybe something important, like leaving home with a pot of boiling water on the stove. As a quick punch to the gut, the panic hits you like no other. I felt the same sense of panic when I realized I had to leave my life insurance policy lapse.

Like most young and growing family, my life insurance needs have changed over the years. When I married, I bought a long-term policy for $ 250,000 to take care of my beautiful new wife if something happened to me. After our first child, a new wave of responsibility hit, and I felt the need to take a long term $ 500,000 additional policy.

A few years and a second child later $ 750,000 life insurance do not seem like enough, so I took an additional $ 1.5 million long-term policy. The three policies were with three separate carriers, which makes keeping track of when the premiums were due a bit of hassle.

Since we liked to pay insurance premiums on an annual basis, we waited until we premium invoice in the mail mailed out a check prior to the life insurance company. In recent years, it went without a hitch, until now I have had a seemingly innocent conversation with my wife.

Uh oh ....

Two small premium policies had dates that were close enough. With the bonus of $ 250,000 maturing, I considered dropping it and just keep the two biggest political. I made a comment to my wife, who usually handles all the bills in our house, to go ahead and let the forfeiture of the smaller font. Be a horrible delegator, I did a bad job of explaining it to the company that was that, so instead of letting the $ 250,000 policy lapse long term, it left the policy lapse wrongly $ 500,000.

Woops ...

To make matters worse, I did not catch the mistake until several months after the date of the premium was due. Remember that panicked, sickening feeling that I talked about? This is when it hit, and oh boy, he hit hard. My mind started racing on what I need to do to get the policy reinstated. I knew I was still young and very healthy, so the worst case was locking in another affordable life insurance policy should not be a big problem. But knowing that the subscription process could sometimes take four to six weeks, it is something I am not crazy to go through again, not to mention the fact that I'm not a big fan of being bitten by needles

Placing on the phone

at the first opportunity, I'm on the phone and called the insurance company, preparing for the worst. After obtaining the representative of customer service on the phone, I realized it was not as bad as I had originally planned. I learned that most insurance companies allow a so-called "grace period". This grace period is a time, about 30 to 31 days after the premium was due that allowed you to send in payments of premiums and your life insurance policy will continue without interruption.

Apparently I'm not the only one missing payment of life insurance, thank you God. As I mentioned, I'm well beyond the period of pardonable through, so in the world of life insurance my police had officially expired. The representative of customer service informed me that all I had to do was request a form called the application for reinstatement.

Once I completed this form and mailed in control of the entire annual premium of the policy would be restored. She did tell me that if I had health problems that occurred after the policy had lapsed, I must say that on this form. As you can see, for someone who has some type of high-risk pre-existing condition that could be fatal.

How to avoid this

I am one of the lucky ones who was not injured, leaving my lapse policy, but I certainly do not want that to happen again. Instead of manually sending a check to our life insurance premiums, we now have it on auto-draft. In this way, we must experience it again!

Disability Divide-Misconceptions That could be costly -Many people get their benefits through work and consider them as an important part of their total compensation package. Last August, the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA) interviewed over 500 HR professionals whose job is to help employees understand, navigate and take advantage of these benefits. This may he published study " Disability Divide: Employer study ;" Here are some ideas shared HR professionals:

• 73% said they thought that employees of their company considered "the ability to earn income "as their most valuable financial resource ... more valuable than their retirement savings, homes or medical insurance. Yet only 26% think that their employees considered "very important" to prepare for the failure , and only 26% believe that their company's employees were prepared to financially survive a disease or a related loss of income injury.
• In a previous research project when CDA surveyed more than 1,000 employees, the employees themselves had similar responses. They overwhelmingly said "their ability to earn income" was their most valuable resource, but when asked their level of agreement with various statements about their attitude about the preparation in case of disability, the they were most likely to agree with was: "I never really thought"
• most HR experts believed employees should plan on disability. at a young age, but acknowledged the fact that most do not provide until they are in their 40s, or 50 years, or never. This impression is confirmed by the facts: about 100 million members of the US civilian personnel have no private disability insurance
• Finally, most professional human resources and. employees significantly underestimated the risk of suffering a disability during their working years

Here are some facts :. staff Disability Quotient (PDQ) calculator: a man aged 35 , average height and weight, office tasks, average life style, non-smoking no further health history faces a risk of 13% of long-term disability before retirement . F or a 35 year old woman with a similar risk profile, chances are about 18% she will experience long-term disability before retirement. During the investigation, when the ADC asked the employees and HR professionals what they thought the chances were of disability, most respondents either 1% or 2% -. Much lower than the realityDu income Only possible Quotient (QIS) calculator those same 35 years, if winning $ 50,000 per year today, is likely to win something like 2.4 $ million before end career mostly an almost incomprehensible sum.If the type of 35 years had $ 100,000 in cash, they would go to the ends of the earth to avoid losing. Yet, given their earning potential $ 2.4 million, with a risk of loss in the range 13-18%, most employees say "I've never really thought about protecting it." Something wrong with this picture Some takeaways: everyone who needs their income to survive financially, which is almost everyone who works for a living , needs to protect that income. the risk of loss and the value of potential loss are simply too high to ignore at any age.Historically, it was considered less important for employees to protect their income as they approach retirement because many had defined benefit pensions, most had savings, dependent children were long gone, and the houses have been paid. for many in their 50's and even 60 years today, the current result is very important because they are struggling to save enough for retirement when house prices and many investment portfolios have stagnated, many are still supporting children and some grandchildren are even supporting and parents. Thus, income protection remains important.For younger workers, many will never see a pension plan, future rights may not be as robust, they are likely to share the cost of their benefits and make decisions about which benefits are most important, and most change jobs relatively frequently. The bottom line is income for this group will be more important than it has ever been, and take personal responsibility for income protection is obviously important Bottom line :.

• The risk of disability is still too high to ignore, regardless of your risk profile. Low risk does not mean risk.
• If you need your income, and most people do, you must protect your income.
• The time to protect your income is now; once disability occurs, there is little planning can be done.
• For younger employees, it is easier to get disability insurance, and the cost will be lower when you are younger. Make planning income protection at a young age not only protects the largest amount of revenue for the longest period of time, it also protects its insurability. Just because you're healthy and can benefit from the income protection insurance today does not mean you'll be able to do tomorrow. There is always a risk that future circumstances, health and moreover, it can be difficult to find an adequate income protection.

What a living will is (and why you should care) -

Do you have a living will? Fewer than one in three Americans have a living will detailing if they want survival medical care if they are unable to communicate their medical treatment preferences, according to a new survey by FindLaw.com. This means that you could potentially leave legal problems for your family if they are unable to communicate your medical wishes.

A living will, also known as a directive or health care directive to physicians, is a document in which you can indicate your instructions in advance what medical treatment you want to receive in if you are unable to communicate those wishes because of an illness or disability to communicate. In certain conditions, allows doctors to refuse or withdraw life support systems. In the absence of a living will, medical decisions are usually made by a spouse, guardian, health officer or the majority of parents and children. But if family members disagree and doctors have trouble deciding on appropriate medical care, the issue may have to decided in court, and this could be a significant legal, family and financial problems.

"Without a living will, there is no clear direction for families and healthcare professionals to follow in terms of what types of care should be given or withheld in the event you become incapacitated or unable to communicate your medical treatment preferences, "says Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney and editor with FindLaw.com." living wills and health care directives allow you to specify what treatments you want and that will take decisions when you are not able to. otherwise, misunderstandings and disagreements between the family and other caregivers can lead to delays in treatment or carrying out actions that are contrary to your wishes . things must be specified in advance by a living will. "

It is important to ensure that your life will be consistent with your state laws of residence. This is especially important when you have homes in several states.

It is also extremely important for your health care guardian (the person appointed proxy your health authority) to have copies of all these documents. Keep the original in a place where family members can find it easily. Depending on your state, you can sign multiple copies, each witnessed and certified, and give an original to the persons concerned, such as family members and family physicians. However, if you change your mind and revoke or change your living will, make sure you destroy all originals and copies.

These are important decisions to be taken with careful consideration and advice of your lawyer. If you do not have a living will and a medical power of attorney, please contact your advisor today. The cost of preparing these documents is nominal. The cost of not having these documents and need could be huge.

Are you ready financially? -

Fifty percent of the US population represents only 2.7% of all health spending, while 5% accounts for 49.5% of all expenses health, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The life expectancy at birth of an average American was 62.9 years in 1940, five years after Social Security was created. Life expectancy is now 78.7 years (source: Center for Disease Control). As a result of this increased life expectancy will require $ 293,000 to pay for health care after retirement which is not paid by health insurance, according to Kaiser. Are you financially ready for this?

Are you financially prepared to raise your children? A child born in 2012 will cost a higher income families (those making at least $ 105,000 of income before taxes) $ 399.780 in 2012 dollars (in the amount of current value) and $ 501,250 dollars inflation adjusted 17, and that's not including college (source: Ministry of Agriculture). How it will be paid if you were to die or become disabled today?

Will you rely on your family business? Only 30% of family businesses survive to the second generation, 12% in the third and only 3% in the fourth and beyond. Many times this is due to a lack of planning and lack of liquidity. You can provide planning. Life insurance can provide money.

A crisis of underinsurance
According to Statistics LIMRA in 2012, men and women are less likely to own life insurance today than they were in 04, and the likelihood of being without life insurance has dramatically increased for every age group since that time.
• Only 61% of men and 57% of women have some sort of life insurance half as much coverage in 04.
• The likelihood of having husbands life insurance decreased in all levels of low-income, middle and at ease, since 04.
• women of all ages on average smaller amounts of individual life insurance than men of the same age.
• On average, women have $ 129,800 of individual life, while men have $ 187,100 of individual life insurance coverage.

Now is always the best time to take personal accountability to determine whether life insurance should be part of your planning and how much is appropriate. Whether you choose to search online or pick up the phone to call your agent or advisor, the time has come to take action. Do it today!

5 events that should trigger a life insurance examination -

In recent weeks I have received a number of questions from readers of my blog requesting to replace their life insurance. Jim asked to change his whole life policy because it could no longer afford it. I have another email from Nancy. Because her husband died, she wondered if she needed to raise her existing coverage. The circumstances surrounding these individuals are different, of course. But there are distinct life events that should trigger a review of your life insurance

Here are the top 5 events :.

1. Births, deaths, marriages and divorces: Whenever there is a major life event in your family, it makes sense to review your insurance coverage -life. Indeed, these changes generally alter the reality of your finances big time. In the example above, when Nancy's husband died, she suddenly became responsible for all the family. Although she is in her 50 years, she has absolutely need more life insurance.

Keep in mind that in both directions. For example, when your children become independent, your costs are low and you might not need as much life insurance. Similarly, if your spouse gets a great job, it could also reduce your need for life insurance.

2. Change in Financial Position: In the introduction, I mentioned Jim. He lost his job and cover life insurance, too. On top of that, he did not have the income to keep premiums at its existing coverage. So he needed more assurance, but he also needs to reduce its premiums. He spends the term whole life to achieve both objectives. In his case, he really had no alternative.

But other changes in your financial situation could mean that you need less life insurance. If you sell a property or business for example, you could suddenly have so much cash that you really do not need life insurance.

3. Retirement: If your retirement plan works, you have enough money to retire passive income generated by investments and pensions. Depending on your situation, this could mean that you no longer need life insurance. On the other hand, if your spouse would not be enough to income if you were to disappear after you retire, you may need life insurance.

4. Tax Changes right: At present, very few people need to worry about estate taxes, but that could change at any time. If you end up having a taxable estate, life insurance is a great way to solve this problem.

5. Every two years: If you read between the lines, you can see that many of these trigger events are impossible to predict. And even if you know something will happen, you can not guarantee that you will be insurable when they do.

This is why the most important trigger is the time. Insurance is designed to protect your family against possible future risks. Nobody is going to sell you a life insurance when you are in an ambulance or lying in a hospital bed. Sure, you can buy a life insurance without physical, but there are limits. That is why it is important to have the right cover in place against foreseeable risks. By all means, if one of these triggering events that happen to you, reevaluate your life insurance coverage. But even better, reassess your requirements every two years just to be on the safe side.

Understanding Insurance Ratings life -

Everyone who applies for life insurance is evaluated for coverage. Insurers offer coverage and premium rates in accordance with the risk level of an applicant. To that end, insurance companies generally place candidates in the categories relative to their risk involving their health and lifestyle choices. Smoking, for example, as a behavior associated with health risks will have an impact on the category to which a candidate will be affected. Sometimes a person, because of health problems or lifestyle factors, can not fit into standard categories and will, instead, be assigned a table rating. While obtaining a policy is still possible, table dimensions are associated with higher premium rates.

The life insurance applicants and basic classifications
After completing a medical examination, your insurer will review your test results and other factors such as the history of family health and lifestyle choices and you stand in one classification or category. Although the choice of words may vary, most candidates in search of life policies as a long-term policy, for example, fall into categories such as select, preferred, more preferred and standard standard. In addition, smokers have their own classifications such as smoking and smoking favorite standard

What are the average basic classifications
Preferred Select.? Sometimes referred to as preferred elite, super favorite, or most preferred, that category is associated with excellent health, weight and profile of normal size, and not other factors that might suggest an increased risk for health, such as death of a family member due to heart disease before age 60, for example.

Preferred :. This category is associated with good health, but there may be some minor problems, like a slightly high cholesterol, for example,

more standard: Although associated with optimal health, there may be some factors that prevent the applicant from falling into a favorite category such as hypertension or overweight

standard :. This category is associated with average health and a normal life expectancy. Minor health problems may be present or, perhaps, the weight is not optimal. Factors such as these coupled with the death of a parent due to the disease before age 60 could also be related to this category

favorite Smoking :. This category is for a person who would otherwise be included in regular favorite category, but smoke. Some insurers place an occasional smoker in this category, as someone who smokes cigars occasionally

Standard Smoking :. A smoker who is healthy otherwise standard will be placed in this category. Since some providers offer non-smoker rates, someone in this category is likely to pay more than a non-smoker for the same type of policy.

What happens when an applicant does not fall into a category?
Many candidates do not fall into these categories but are still eligible for coverage. Their health or lifestyle may prevent them from falling into a standard classification, but they can still be assessed according to their risk coverage. Insurers call this new classification system rating system table. Instead of privileged or standard, an applicant may be given a score table with a number or letter to indicate their rating. According to that note, the applicant pays an additional percentage if approved for a life insurance policy.

Understanding Table Notes
Table evaluations allow an insurer to assess also an applicant in accordance with their level of risk. The rating allows the insurer to provide coverage, but at a higher rate depending on the side of the table from that caller. For example, a candidate who has a rate of A table can generally expect to pay the regular rate of 25%. Someone with a table of G rate can expect to pay the regular rate of 175%. Usually the table rates are issued to applicants who have specific health conditions. If the condition is considered stable, the insurer will provide coverage and charge rate associated with trading on the table from that caller.

Determining your table Note
Your insurer will assign table dimensions to their conclusions. If you have had a heart attack within the last five years or have a condition like diabetes, you will have a table rating. Of course, these conditions must be considered stable. An insurer may refuse to provide life insurance anyway at their discretion. For example, if you have suffered a heart attack in the past month, you will likely be denied a policy until sufficient time has elapsed for your heart condition to be considered under control.

Table notes and life insurance
Table ratings carry a higher rate, of course, but they help insurers to assess risk. In addition, they also allow someone with a health condition to obtain life insurance that can be extremely important to the applicant and their families. If you are assigned a table rating, your insurer can discuss how that determination was made and why the rate is priced as it is. These table notes are mostly standard time in the industry. However, some life insurance providers are well known for providing coverage to people with existing health conditions and may have more optimal rates and different coverage criteria as other suppliers.

Obtaining Coverage
If you are denied for life insurance by a company, you can still qualify for the cover of another. The key is to work with a knowledgeable agent. Moreover, health is not the only determining factor. The notes of the table can be allocated for other reasons, such as a criminal record or a history of impaired driving. Again, investigate all of your options when seeking coverage; if a company can deny you another may be happy to provide you even if at a premium rate of increase.

Giving Tuesday -

We all spent time in the last days "consume" ... turkey, pie, football games, irresistible items on Black Friday, awesome in online on Cyber ​​Monday.

now it's time to balance it all. No, I do not mean diet or stop shopping, I say give. Today is #GivingTuesday, a movement of a national day of giving which raises funds and awareness for important causes everywhere. Organizations, especially nonprofit organizations, participate in their own #GivingTuesday campaign to raise awareness and dollars to their cause.

Life Lessons Scholarship Program for non-profit, part of the LIFE Foundation participates in #GivingTuesday. Life Lessons scholarships help students experiencing financial difficulties due to a dying parent with little or no life insurance, get a college education.

You can help change a life by just $ 10 or $ 15 on #GivingTuesday to this important program. And what is more powerful than to help someone get an education so they can serve?

The following are testimonies of students who received a scholarship life lessons.

"life lessons The scholarship allowed me to pursue my passion and get a better education." -Zack Willard, whose father is dead, leaving no life insurance

"life lessons The scholarship helped me to give 100% to my education again!" -Melina Ahmadpour, whose mother died, she and her sister without life insurance or financial support

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"the Life Lessons scholarship supported me in difficult times, and I will always be grateful for their help!" -Takashi Yanagi, whose single mother died without life insurance

Make your tax deductible contribution here and join the "Celebration Generosity" by being a part of #GivingTuesday.

- I am a life insurance policyI received this from a page of permanent life insurance description entitled "Just a life insurance policy." The original author is unknown, but it appeared the style and wording have been written some time ago, but it is still relevant today. I wanted to share with you.

I aM a LIFE INSURANCE POLICY

I am a piece of paper, a drop of ink and a few cents premium.I promise to pay.I help people of visions, dreams, and achieve economic immortality.I education for children.I am saving.I am the property that increases in value from year year.I lend money when you need it, no questions asked.I pay the mortgage, so that the family can stay together in their own homes.I assure you people dare to live and the moral right to die.I create money where none existed before.I am the great emancipator of need.I guarantee business continuity.I retain the investment.I am the employer tangible proof that man is a good husband and father, and a woman a good wife and mother.I'm a declaration of financial independence and economic freedom.I am the difference between an old man or woman and an elderly man or lady.I give money if the illness, injury, old age or death cuts off the breadwinner's income.I'm the only thing you can buy on the installment plan that your family does not have to end up paying for.I am protected by laws that prevent creditors to assess the money I give to your loved ones.I bring dignity, peace of mind and security for your family.I provide investment capital that drives the wheels and motors hum.I guarantee the financial ability to have a happy holiday and the laughter of children -... even if the parent is not thereI am the guardian angel homeI'm the life insurance

The No. 1 reason people do not buy life insurance and why they are wrong -
"It's too expensive!" Is the common refrain when Americans are asked why they do not receive the life insurance protection they need. But, and it is a big but- 80% overestimate how much it costs .
For the fifth year, life happens in partnership with LIMRA study to produce the insurance barometer, which looks at consumer trends and "consumer perceptions of the life insurance, retirement and financial well-being.
"We have always seen over the past five years as consumers think life insurance is more expensive than it really is," says Marvin Feldman, CLU, CHFC, RFC, president and CEO of life happens. "We need to help educate the public about how affordable life insurance can be."
Other findings:
view the complete 2015 Insurance Barometer Study, go to www.lifehappens.org/barometer.