Real life story of when Life Happens

• Term – Typically the most affordable. Term insurance covers a specific period of time typically 10, 20, or 30 years. Many people will purchase Term to cover the years when they have children at home and a larger mortgage because you can get more coverage.
• Whole Life – Covers you for your Whole Life as long as you make the premium payments.  There are other benefits to a Whole Life such as it builds cash value, you can borrow against it, and some offer living benefits.  It’s a great product that never expires so as you age you have the peace of mind that you will always have something to protect your family.
• Return of Premium – This is a term policy that has a feature where the insurance carrier pays you back your premium at the end of the 20 or 30-year term if you have not passed away.  It’s great for people who want coverage during the working years with a family, and when you retire you’ll get the premium you paid during that time returned to you in one lump sum – tax-free.
• Indexed Universal Life – Indexed universal life is a form of universal life insurance and is considered to be one of the most flexible types of life insurance. You also have the potential to build cash value in your policy and some come with Living Benefits features.

• Mortgage protection – Pays your home off or makes the monthly payment to protect your home and equity.
• Living expenses – Covers daily living expenses such as car payment, gas, utilities, groceries, auto insurance, medical expenses, etc.
• Credit cards
• Medical bills and prescriptions
• College
• Funeral expenses
• Childcare
• Moving expenses
• Home maintenance

Mortgage Protection

• No Medical Exam
• No Blood Work or being poked with a needle
• No urine sample
• No Height and Weight Measurements
• The Insurance Carrier Takes Most of the Risk

Keys to Good Mortgage Protection

• Death benefit – Pays if you die from Accidental or Natural Causes
• Level death benefit – it doesn’t decrease.
• Level premiums – Premiums are designed not to change
• You OWN the policy – not the bank
• You name the beneficiary – and it’s not the bank
• It’s Portable – The plan will follow you from loan to loan, house to house, regardless of what state you live in or who you are employed.  Other plans will terminate when you refinance or sell a home.

Your Options For Good Mortgage Protection

• Option 1 – Do Nothing – This is really not an option. This is not about you – it’s about the loved ones left behind and making sure we don’t create a financial hardship for them.
• Option 2 – Cover the entire amount of the mortgage
• Option 3 – Cover a portion of the mortgage(25%/50%/75%) so the loan can be refinanced / reamotrized reducing the payment so the survivor can afford to make the reduced payment.
• Option 4 – Critical Period Coverage – Provides the family with 6 months to 5 years of payments so the home does not have to be sold in a fire sale situation. If the breadwinner dies, the bank ONLY wants the next month’s payment – NOT the full amount of the loan.

Additional Mortgage Protection options

• Disability – Pays your mortgage loan payments if you become sick or injured and cannot work.
• Unemployment – Makes your premiums in case of job loss
• Money back option – Returns your premiums if the benefits are not used by the end of the term

• I can’t afford it. For the price of a cup of coffee a day you can make a huge difference in your families life. My sister died at age 32 and left three children behind with no life insurance. Even a small $100K policy at her age would have been less than $1 a day and made big difference for her three children and the family that took on the additional expense of raising three children. Is your family worth the cost of a cup of coffee a day?
• It’s not my problem my family can figure it out.  Really! You love your family that much that if you should pass you don’t care about the financial situation you are leaving them in?
• Why would I spend that much on life insurance, I can put that in savings.  Yes, you can.  But let’s say you have a policy that is $100 a month and you are diligent about saving every month.  Over 10 years that would only be $12,000. When you get life insurance you can get much more, like $1,000,000 for $100 depending on your age and health, that is available immediately in the event you pass away. We all have best intentions but at the end of the day we are humans with habits and savings is a habit that is difficult for many because too many other things come up.
• My wife can sell the house and use the equity in the home if I die.  How long does it take to sell a home even in a good market, 3 months, 6 months? How will the mortgage payment and all the other expenses be paid during the time that the home is on the market to protect your equity?  The banks don’t care that your significant other passed and still expect to get their monthly mortgage payment.
• I’ll do it when I  get my tax return.  Delaying getting life insurance increases the chances that you may encounter health issues which would cause our rates to be higher or get declined.  I always recommend putting something in place to give you peace of mind that your loved ones are protected even if it’s not as much as you would like.  You can always add more but for the short term something is better than nothing.
• I’m too young and don’t have a family.  Getting life insurance while you’re young is the best time to do it because it will never be more affordable than when you are young, healthy, and there are many options that can set you and your future family for retirement, college for your kids, along with a death benefit.  Every person over the age 50 that I meet with wishes they would have bought life insurance when they were younger.  Fact is the cost of life insurance goes up every year that you age and the risk of health issues increases.  If you are faced with a major health issue you could be declined insurance and not have anything in place to protect your future family and home.

• I have insurance through my work why should I buy it on my own? Most life insurance policies through an employer are canceled when you leave that employer.  Having your own policy regardless of who your employer is, puts you in full control of protecting your family as your employers change throughout your careeer. Even if you are with an employer for 20 plus years and you retire now you find yourself faced with trying to find affordable life insurance when you are in your retirement years.  It will be more expensive and you won’t be able to get as much as you want to protect your family.  In addition, many employer group policies are small and only cover enough for funeral expenses.  Look at the employer policy as a supplemental insurance, not primary.  You should be in full control of your primary life insurance so your family is protected through ever-changing life.
• I’m too old and it’s too expensive.  Not true! One of the benefits of being contracted with multiple companies it allows me to shop for the best company and rate for you.
• I have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or other health issues and can’t get life insurance.  Not true! I have companies that will insure people with diabetes, and other health concerns so don’t let that stop you.
• I don’t want to have a medical exam or someone come out and poke me with a needle. Good news! I have several companies that offer simplified underwriting that doesn’t require medical just a few healthcare questions.
• I don’t want some agent coming to my home spending 2 to 3 hours selling me insurance. Good news! I don’t have that kind of time either and my role is to consult with you not sell you. As a broker and field underwriter, I run options for you based on on your age, health, and needs.  I do all the work before I meet with you and most times we can do everything over the phone and computer.
• My financial advisor told me I can get a better return in the stock market or mutual fund.  Life insurance and mortgage protection insurance key objective is to provide a death benefit in the event you die unexpectedly.  When you buy life insurance you buy a face amount like $100,000.  As long as you make the premium payments you will have the policy in place for the term agreed upon. If the stock market crashes you still have $100,000 death benefit to protect your family regardless of what happens in the stock market. There are types of insurance such as Whole Life or Universal LIfe policies that allow you to build cash value as an added benefit and to supplement your financial plans.  At the end of the day if you put all your money in an IRA or 401K, and you or your spouse die, do you really want to withdraw your retirement money out of the market to pay for monthly expenses? I don’t think so! It makes better financial sense to protect your retirement and the equity in your home with a life insurance policy.