Life And Health Choices

You can trust in what experts say about a subject - as long as you understand your own personal situation is unique and that no single solution fits all. Let's take the subject of having term life insurance . Financial experts such as: Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, and Clark Howard have weighed in on the matter of having term life vs. whole life and other life insurance products. Consider the purchase of term life by asking these questions: - What are the main reasons to buy any insurance? - How much insurance should I buy? - When should I buy insurance? The answers can address more than one question. That's good! It makes things simpler. Give me a reason to buy term life. 1. You got married. You have had an addition to the family. You bought a new house with a mortgage attached. They are really all the same reason: you've had a "life event" and now your life has changed. You need to protect those changes. 2. Term Life is more affordable and eas...

Term Life Insurance including Living Benefits Ben and Barbara are a young couple, healthy and in their early thirties with two young children, ages 6 and 3. They both had jobs and between the two of them, they managed to provide a good home and a comfortable lifestyle for themselves and their kids. Like most families, they realized they needed a little more living space and a larger yard to enjoy. Ben and Barbara found that new home in a well established neighborhood which was close to everything. The lender offered them mortgage protection insurance which would pay the mortgage if something happened to either of them. It was pricey and didn't fit their budget. Besides, if they moved or paid off the mortgage, the coverage ended. Solicitations from agents hounded Ben and Barbara and the more they looked, the more confusing term life insurance became. They had many questions but they hated the pressure from salespeople. Then they found a website which allowed them to ...

Do you have a health insurance plan? Good to know should something happen to you, or your spouse, or a dependent, that their medical needs will be taken care of. The cost of procedures, tests, treatments, hospital and doctor costs are all taken care of. Right? Do you know what your plan's deductibles are?  Co-pays ?   What is the plan's maximum out-of-pocket costs ? How much of the total cost would you be on the hook for? The most you have to pay for covered services in a plan year is the amount paid on deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance. Your health insurance plan pays 100% of the costs of covered benefits. The out-of-pocket limit doesn't include your monthly premiums. It also doesn't include anything you spend for services your plan doesn't cover. For the 2020 Obamacare plan year ,  t he out-of-pocket limit for a Marketplace plan is   $8,200   for an individual plan and   $16,400   for a family plan. Private plans, includi...

A man goes to see a fortune teller. She begins with: "your name is Steve",  - "wrong". "Your favorite color is green",  - "wrong". "You have a dead uncle who passed away 2 years ago",  - "wrong". "Your wife's name is Carol", - "wrong". "You have 2 children named John and Christian", -  "wrong". Getting  flustered the fortune teller asks "What in hell do you do then?"  "I investigate fraud". It's no laughing matter that some people will try anything once and try it a second time if they can get by with the first time. Insurance companies have entire departments dedicated to finding fraudulent claims. Did you ever see "Double Indemnity"? Most people who try to run a scam on their insurance company get caught. After all, this is a multi-billion dollar industry whose entire business model depends on weeding out the truth from the lia...

You Can Ace This! You've completed and submitted an application for life insurance coverage. And now you wait........ Ads for life insurance quote a very low premium for a hefty amount of coverage. The fine print tells the truth...those are "super-preferred" rates, the least risky health class for the insurance company. The reality is only a very small percentage of people qualify as super-preferred. Insurers also classify applicants as preferred, standard or regular, or substandard. The insurer may even "table rate" an applicant meaning even higher premiums for the same coverage. If you have applied for a larger amount of coverage, $500,000 or a $1,000,000 or more. If you have a medical issue or a medical history which you have disclosed in the application, you may be required to complete a medical exam. What is a paramedical exam? Applications can pass through an insurer's underwriting, the process of vetting an application to approve or decline...

Congratulations! You've just completed and submitted your application for term life insurance . And now you wait to hear if you have been approved for coverage. Just as with anything in our lives, acceptance makes us feel we are part of something, having more value. Rejection hurts. While you are waiting, you begin to wonder if anything could go wrong: Did the agent get all the information and submit to the insurer in good order? Delays and more waiting will result from an application missing information. Did you forget something that might have an impact on the insurer's decision? Results of that medical exam you had to take could show something you weren't aware of. Waiting is the hardest part. Let's go back to before you've had to do this worrying... and waiting. You've just started your search for coverage and you are comparing term life quotes . The premium has to be within your budget. Ads online and commercials on television are pitching this th...

Leaving A Job Means Needing New Health Insurance. Frank is an industrial engineer with a local firm and has more than 20 years experience and 6 years at his present employer. He has a wife who works part-time and a teenage daughter. His company was recently purchased by an international firm and everyone knew there would be cost-cutting measures. Frank was one who did get cut and what he knew was also going to happen was the loss of his  health insurance . Frank made a decision to not look for new employment. Instead, he decided to go into business for himself as a consultant. He also knew he had to evaluate  self-employed health plan  options. Frank didn't have any major health issues. He did go to a doctor for routine exams every year and he had hypertension which had been treated and was under control. Even with Frank, his wife, and daughter all being in above average health, he feared his options would all be expensive and have  high deductibles . So what ...

Happy Presidents' Day......or is it Merry Presidents' Day? I really love these Monday holidays making for a three day weekend. It's a great break from the routine and it gives us yet another reason to celebrate, shop and buy things! 😁 February is the month of romance. Valentine's Day is about that someone special in your life. The month of championships and big games like the Super Bowl. The month of movie awards. The Academy Awards celebrate the best the entertainment industry has to offer, and of course… Presidents’ Day. George Washington. Abraham Lincoln. FDR. Donald Trump? Can’t forget that. Anyway, what better way to get in the February spirit than by buying some life insurance coverage?  Hear me out.  After all, a   term life insurance policy   is a great way to help financially protect the people you love at an affordable price.  Here are a few reasons to get that coverage right here, right now, in the glorious second month of th...

A Few Things You Should Have in Order Before You Go. We plan a trip and make sure we have everything we need like tickets, schedules, clothing and necessities  packed, car gassed up, etc.  The same should be true when we depart for the last time. My mother passed a year and a half ago. She was 93. She had all her business in order: an updated will , a living will , power of attorney representative including a healthcare power of attorney . She also had paid-up insurance, her funeral arrangements made and pre-paid with the funeral home. As difficult as her passing was, I was at peace knowing she was at peace and all the above was in order for her final journey. Getting Ready for the Trip Although a person can prepare their own will, it's better to employ an attorney and have them prepare several other documents: Standard Will -  creating a will is the smartest way to stay in control over who gets what of your property, who will administer your estate, and ...

Get Your Money Back If You Never Use it. Mike is a 35 year-old who just bought his second home. He's married, has a great wife and 3 children, ages 9 , 7, and 2. That new home is going to provide them much satisfaction and great memories in the future. Right now, Mike sees it as a 30-year, $300,000 responsibility he wants to protect as well as the wife and kids. The group insurance Mike has through his employer is not enough to cover his entire mortgage and he's looking for additional insurance on his own. He's heard about Return of Premium insurance and is considering this option. Mike is building his 401k at work and is following other retirement strategies. Does this Return of Premium work into his retirement picture? Insurance companies began offering return-of- premium   riders  on their term policies in the early 1990s as a solution to the "live-and-lose" dilemma presented by traditional term policies. As the name implies, this rider will allow a  p...