Greg Sanders

About Greg Sanders

This author Greg Sanders has created 58 entries.

Life Insurance Costs Three Times Less Than Most People Think

Unlike most products, life insurance is surprisingly inexpensive for most people.  I hate to see young people postpone buying life insurance until they can afford a “decent” amount.  The most important time to buy life insurance is when parents have young children.  It is very affordable to buy just a 15-year term for $500,000 for each spouse.  You can always upgrade by purchasing a longer term policy and/or a higher face amount at a later time.

I have personally witnessed two fairly young people put off buying life insurance.  

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Life Insurance Riders: Do You Really Need Them?

All life insurance companies offer add-ons or “riders” to their policies.  Some of these riders can be worth the additional premium, depending on your unique situation.  I will cover the most common and important riders to consider.  The types of riders vary among the carriers and the life insurance products they offer.

Waiver of Premium                                                    

This rider is the one most frequently added to life insurance policies. The Waiver of Premium rider comes into play in the event of a disability.  

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Life Insurance: Getting the Beneficiary Designation Right

Failure to update beneficiaries is one of the most common oversights with life insurance policies. If someone gets divorced and fails to update their beneficiary designation, then the death benefit goes to the ex-spouse (assuming they were the primary beneficiary.) This will occur even if an updated will says otherwise.  Most people think a will supersedes a life insurance policy designation, but it does not. Just ask any lawyer! There are exceptions to this, such as when a decedent can be shown to have been incapacitated or “unduly influenced”,

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Excellent New Dental Plan — No Waiting Periods

I rarely promote a particular insurance product, so this is an exception. There is a new dental insurance plan available for individuals and families in Georgia (and some other states), that is really good.   What makes it so good is that it pays a very high percentage for major dental work and has high annual maximums to choose from.  However, what makes this product unique is there is no waiting period for major dental work.  Now, this feature is standard for most group plans,

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Child-only Health Insurance Now Available Again in Georgia

According to a recent announcement by the Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s office, all health insurance carriers in Georgia are required to offer “child-only” policies again — starting January 1, 2013.

This is very good news for a lot of families who have been forced to keep children on expensive group plans or find alternate coverage for their children. Sometimes parents can’t qualify for a personal plan or find it too costly, yet they want their children to be covered.

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Health Insurance in Georgia When COBRA Ends

I received a call today from someone who didn’t know they had options when their COBRA coverage ended. I receive these calls on a regular basis.  Most people opt for COBRA when their employment terminates and they don’t have another viable option. COBRA is an option that is well known and employers are required to make this continuation of coverage available to all eligible employees.  The alternative to COBRA is an individual/family plan if one doesn’t obtain new employer coverage.

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Always Ask About The Cash Discount

The amount of money that can be saved by paying cash (instead of using your health insurance) can be astounding in many instances.  It is important to do your research and find out how much a test, procedure or surgery will cost.   Although there has been a lot of positive movement in the area of “cost transparency”, it is still not easy to shop for health care.  In a recent article published in the L.A. Times, it was discovered that the cash price for a C.T.

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Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage?

For people turning 65 or losing group coverage after the age of 65, Medicare can be a welcome relief.  The medical benefits are much stronger (in most cases) and the premiums are relatively low.  Medicare Part A (hospital) is free and Part B (medical) is close to $100/month, depending on income.  So far, so good.  However, most people will want to supplement Medicare Part A and Part B since they still face a lot of risk for out-of-pocket expenses —

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Free Prescription Drug Cards in Georgia

Most people have a major medical plan with prescription drug coverage.  So, why would someone want a free Rx card?  Well, it is becoming more common for insurance companies to exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions.  When this happens, the carrier won’t cover any doctor visits or drugs related to the pre-existing condition(s).  A lot of money can be saved by someone who has a discount Rx card in this situation. 

If someone does not have any major medical coverage,

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Never Pay More than $100 for Accidents and Injuries

As most people have discovered, a trip to the Emergency Room can be very expensive.  However, in a true emergency, most people don’t worry about the cost.  Insurance companies do worry about the cost and they discourage policyholders from going to the ER for anything other than a real emergency.  As a result,  copays are much lower for trips to an urgent care facility.   Many carriers are now charging copays from $250 to $500 for an ER visit.  The copay for a trip to an urgent care facility is closer to $75.

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