life insurance atlanta

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Does Clark Howard Really Give Bad Advice About Life Insurance?

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’

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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 Ratings Are Important

The financial stability of a life insurance company is very important.  When shopping for term life coverage, don’t just look at the lowest cost premium from an insurance company you recognize.  Make sure you look at the ratings by A.M. Best, Moody’s and other rating agencies. Consider the Comdex ranking also.  The Comdex ranking is a composite of all the ratings that a company has received relative to all other insurance companies. The Comdex ranks companies on a scale of 1 to 100.

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Term Life or Whole Life Insurance?

Two Categories of Life Insurance

Most people make the distinction between two major types of life insurance as Term and Whole Life, but the more accurate terms are: Term and Permanent life insurance. Those are the two broad categories of life insurance; whole life is just one type of permanent life insurance.  Sometimes “whole life” and “permanent life” are used interchangeably.  With the advent of several unique product designs in the past 10 or 15 years,

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Instant Term Life Insurance Quotes — Is Quicker Always Better?

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When purchasing life insurance, it is important to determine what is important to you.  In today’s  fast-paced world, we place a high value on time management and efficiency.  If we have a choice of shopping online for a gift or visiting several brick and mortar stores, we quickly see the benefit of the Internet.  However, when shopping for life insurance, getting things done as quickly as possible isn’t always the best policy. 

One of the popular mega-sites offering life insurance received the following review from U.S.

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The Right Way to Get Quotes and Apply for Life Insurance

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I received an email from a client last year asking me to contact his investment advisor. My client’s investment advisor had referred him to another life insurance agent, but the rates he received were not the same as the rates I quoted him. Below is an excerpt from the email (I was copied on the email).

“Tim,  Greg Sanders is the agent I have been using and his rates seem a little better than Tony’s….Greg has been very responsive and professional in my dealings with him…..always good to have options … 

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Laddering Term Life Policies

The term “laddering” is commonly used with reference to financial products such as CDs, but it can also be used with life insurance. Simply put, laddering is a strategy employed to have more than one financial product “expire” or mature at different dates to benefit the owner.  With respect to CDs, this concept protects against reinvesting a large amount of money in a poor financial climate.  This concept has been applied to life insurance since the need for life insurance tends to diminish over time as debts are paid off and assets grow in value.

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Should I Buy Life Insurance Online? Yes…and No.

Generally speaking, people are comfortable shopping online for most items.  The Internet is a great tool for gathering information and advice prior to making a purchase — and this especially holds true for life insurance.  There are numerous sites online that provide instant quotes and solid, basic information about life insurance.  Some sites are more “salesy” than others, but it doesn’t take long to sift out those sites and focus on the ones that are professional and helpful.

The popular mega-sites have call centers that make it very easy to ask questions and apply for coverage. 

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