We bring together a team of financial planning professionals dedicated to helping you achieve peace of mind in a complex world. The personal check list of goals is SO very important here. As well and State requirements.
Life Insurance
How Do I Chose the Right Type of Life Insurance To Protect My Family?
Making a decision about the right type of life insurance to purchase is a very important one. Some of the questions you might have are: (What exactly is life insurance? How does it work? And what is it really for?).
What Are My Choices …
Consumer tip: The general rule of thumb for income replacement is 8 to 10 times your current income. Of course this is only a general rule. Your situation could be much different, so consult your agent on exactly how much coverage to get.
Tell Me More About The Two Basic Types of Life Insurance…
Life insurance options might seem like a mystery, but just keep in mind there are really just two basic types: Term Life Insurance and Permanent Life Insurance. They both have advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right one for yourself will depend on your unique situation. Before making your decision the choice may not even be an “either/or” decision— for you the right choice may be a mix of both term and permanent life insurance options.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance offers some good advantages. For example, monthly premium rates are generally lower even for very large coverage amounts, making this a very cost effective option to get maximum coverage for a minimal price. This makes term life insurance a practical option for young adults, and parents with young, dependent children who usually have a monthly home mortgage payment to make.
There are some potential disadvantages to term life insurance that should also be considered. Mainly because, the policy has a fixed coverage period (or term)—typically 10, 20, or 30 years—. Although you may have an option to renew a term life insurance policy after it has expired, the cost may be higher to do so, with less affordable monthly premiums. A second type of life insurance coverage—permanent life insurance—might offer you better options when planning for your later years, beyond the typical term life insurance policy lengths.
Permanent Life Insurance
Permanent life insurance differs from term life insurance in specific ways. Rather than offering limited-term coverage, permanent life insurance policies—sometimes called “whole life insurance”—provide a pay-out to your designated beneficiary, in most cases, no matter how long you have lived. Permanent life insurance might be a good choice for you when considering your golden years, well beyond child-rearing and mortgage payments.
While monthly premiums for permanent life insurance may be higher than for term life insurance, over time this cost is offset by the accumulated “cash value” component of a permanent life insurance policy. What this means is that interest earned on the money you have paid for your policy can actually reduce your monthly premium as you age. In contrast, term life insurance premiums continue to get more expensive as an individual grows older and one’s health declines. For this reason, a permanent insurance policy may turn out to be a considerably cheaper option for you, if you live a long time.
Long Term Care Insurance
What is Long Term Care Insurance?
Long term care insurance is an insurance product which pays for long term care services in many settings, such as at home, a nursing home, assisted living facility, and adult day care facility.
Many people elect to buy long term care insurance so they will not need to deplete their savings should they need long term care services. Long term care insurance can help ensure that financial resources and support are in place when you need them.
How Does Long Term Care Insurance Work?
First, you must apply for coverage. If you are approved for coverage, pay your premiums, and you meet the insurance carrier’s criteria for benefit payment, you will be reimbursed for covered long term care services up to the amount of daily benefit after you satisfy the Waiting Period.
What to Look for in a Long Term Care Insurance Policy
Since there are so many different long term care insurance plans and insurance carriers who offer them, it’s important to make sure the plan you select will meet your foreseeable needs. Some plans cover facilities-only care, while others cover facilities care and home care.
When you are shopping for long term care insurance, ask these important questions:
1. What is the financial rating of the insurance carrier?
2. Does the carrier have a history of filing for rate increases with state insurance departments?
3. What inflation protection options are offered?
4. Is the policy priced according to the most recent National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) guidelines? (This helps ensure the plan’s premium stability.)
Annuities
An annuity is different from most other retirement savings vehicles, it’s actually a contract between you and an insurance company. In return for making one or more premium payments, the insurance company agrees to provide you an income stream, usually during retirement.
Long Term Disability
Long-term disability – Some experts contend that long-term disability insurance is the most important insurance you can purchase. This can be partially attributed to advances in medical care; some diseases and injuries are now disabling rather than deadly, meaning that the incapacitation can be lengthy.
Mortgage Insurance
Mortgage protection insurance is known as decreasing term insurance. Decreasing term insurance is a life insurance policy that pays out a lump sum in the event of the death of the policyholder during the term in which your policy runs. However, the sum assured (the lump sum paid out) decreases over the term of the life insurance policy. Mortgage Protection Insurance is often used to protect a capital and interest repayment mortgage, where the outstanding balance of the mortgage reduces each year.
Contact us today to discuss your situation.
