Well, Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, so I thought I’d tie in this post to the theme of love! No, I’m not going to suggest that you purchase a life insurance policy as a Valentine’s gift! However, this is a good opportunity to think about WHO matters most in your life and how much you care for them! Perhaps you will think about how much coverage you currently have, because life insurance is really about protecting the ones you love.
When I started in the insurance business 13 years ago, I heard a few experienced agents mention Clark Howard and why I should learn to overcome the “Clark Howard objection”. In case you’re not aware of this, Clark Howard is a consumer advocate who has a very popular radio show. He is well known in Atlanta and his popularity has grown considerably over the years — in Georgia and all across the nation.
The company I worked for taught new agents to promote variable universal life insurance (permanent insurance) as a way to solve all our clients’
Do you know how much you pay for your health insurance? Almost all of my clients know very well the cost of their health insurance, however, people who work for large companies are usually unaware of the total cost of insurance. They know how much comes out of their paycheck each pay period, but that’s about it.
This year — as a result of the Affordable Care Act — employers with 250 or more employees are required to disclose the total cost of health insurance on W2s,
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.
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.
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”,
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,
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.
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.
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.
