Health and Life Insurance

Our agency can provide you with an individual health insurance policy that is crafted to meet you and your family’s specific needs. We work with several different top-rated insurance companies, and will place your account with the company that will provide you with the coverage and benefits you want.

Some of the health insurance products we offer include :

• Individual Health
• Individual Dental
• Individual Vision
• Long-term Care
• Medicare Supplement
• Supplemental Benefits

Individual life insurance coverage is also available through our agency at very competitive rates. Whether you are looking for temporary term-life coverage or for permanent whole-life coverage, we have the right plan for you. We represent only top-rated companies because we know your family depends on the stability of your life insurance carrier.

We can also help insure high risk individuals. Please contact us for more information.

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Life Insurance Questions

 

Q: What is life insurance?

A: Life insurance is a contract, or policy, between you and an insurance company to provide money to a designated person, or beneficiary, in the event that you die during the time the contract is in force. You pay money, or premium, during your lifetime to the insurance carrier, who, in turn, promises to pay money to the designated beneficiary at your death. There are several different types of life insurance, and you should discuss the type you need with your insurance provider.

Q: Do I need life insurance?

A: If you can afford it, there are several reasons why you may need life insurance. The most important reason is to have enough money to provide for dependents such as young children, non-working spouses or elderly parents, should you die and be no longer able to provide for them.

Also, your survivors may need funds to pay for extra expenses that may arise due to your death, such as funeral expenses, or other expenses to pay off bills and debts.

If you have no dependents or have adequate financial resources, you may not have an actual need to purchase life insurance. However, some people who do not “need” life insurance still purchase it anyway. This can be a means to leave money to a beneficiary or beneficiaries while minimizing tax consequences.

Another category of people who might want life insurance are business owners or people with substantial estates. Since these people have needs that require more planning, they should usually consult with professionals or specialists in

insurance-related law, accounting or estate planning because legal business agreements or trust documents may need to be dran-up.

If you are someone in this last category, you should contact the appropriate professionals if you need their advice.

Q: How much life insurance should I own?

A: Rough "rules of thumb" suggest an amount of life insurance equal to 6 to 8 times annual earnings. However, many factors should be taken into account in determining a more precise estimate of the amount of life insurance needed.

Important factors include:

• Income sources (and amounts) other than salary/earnings
• Whether or not the individual is married and, if so, what is the spouse’s earning capacity
• The number of individuals who are financially dependent on the insured
• The amount of death benefits payable from Social Security and from an employer sponsored life insurance plan
• Whether any special life insurance needs exist (e.g., mortgage repayment, education fund, estate planning need), etc.

It is recommended that a person’s insurance adviser be contacted for a precise calculation of how much life insurance is needed.

Q: What about purchasing life insurance on a spouse and on      children?

A: In certain circumstances, it may be advisable to purchase life insurance on children; generally, however, such purchases should not be made in place of purchasing appropriate amounts of life insurance on the family breadwinner(s). It is of utmost importance that life insurance be purchased for the primary breadwinner of your family before contemplating the purchase of life insurance on children or on a non-wage earning spouse. In a dual-earning household, it is important to protect the income earning capacity of both spouses. Life insurance on a non-wage earning spouse is often recommended for the purpose of paying for household services lost at this individual’s death.

Q: Should I buy term insurance or cash value life insurance?

A:Although a difficult question--one whose answer will vary depending on circumstances--several principles should be followed in addressing this issue.

It must first be recognized that in any life insurance purchasing decision, there are at least two basic questions that must be answered:

• "How much life insurance should I buy?" and
• "What type of life insurance policy should I buy?"

The question contained in (1) involves an "insurance" decision and the question contained in (2) requires a "financial" decision.

The "insurance" question should always be resolved first. For example, the amount of life insurance that you need may be so large that the only way in which this needed amount of insurance can be afforded is through the purchase of term insurance because of its lower premium.

If your ability (and willingness) to pay life insurance premiums is such that you can afford the desired amount of life insurance under either type of policy, it is then appropriate to consider the "financial" decision--which type of policy to buy. Important factors affecting the "financial" decision include your income tax bracket, whether the need for life insurance is short-term or long-term (e.g., 20 years or longer), and the rate of return on alternative investments possessing similar risk.