It's Never Too Late! Or Is it?

How many times have we heard the phrase, "It's never too late." We hear it used when people say things like, "I wish I had...", "I'd like to do...", "If only I'd...". Then we say "It's never too late". In areas like this that very well may be the case. Life is to be lived and in many cases you can do those things you've always wanted to do any time in your life. However, there may be areas where we miss the mark and the opportunity comes and then it's gone and it can be too late. I find this to be the case when we talk about decisions made about insurance and benefits people have access to. We see this to be especially true when it comes to disability and life insurance. I'll explain.

With life insurance, this concept is obvious. We only have so many days on this earth. Many of us have the desire to live life to the fullest. That's great until something happens and life ends up being much shorter than we had planned. In our lives, most of us have OTHERS to think about if something happens to us. Sure, you can approach it like, "Hey, I'm dead...what do I care." but if we stop and think for two seconds we realize that the people in our lives matter more to us than that and we need to make some provisions if our "carpe diem" mentality backfires. Death is inevitable no matter the age, health, or life situations. Being prepared with some basic life insurance will help those around you sleep a little better.
Another area is how life can throw us an illness or something that might keep us from being able to get life insurance. I have never seen people more upset and dejected when I get into an application for life insurance and I see that they have some health conditions which will either raise their premiums or cause them to be unable to gain life insurance by normal means. Younger people fall into the trap of feeling that disease and health issues will happen later so they decide to wait. Then one day they wake up with Type 2 Diabetes or they have a heart attack. Suddenly they feel like they have a chink in their invincibility armor and the "what if" question comes up. So, they run out and try to feel better by getting a life policy only to find that their recent situation makes the insurance company say, "Um...I don't think so."
In either of these cases there are always secondary options. With my main advisor capacity using voluntary life insurance through an employer I can usually make someone's day who has had trouble in the past with acquiring life insurance. I've even been able to get someone in cancer treatments get life coverage through work so I know it's possible. If I can't through those means, I have access to other carriers and professionals who offer higher risk policies. Sure, the premiums are higher but that's one of the prices of waiting.

Disability is another tough one but easier to understand. Many times someone is offered disability insurance to cover their paycheck and they pass because they've worked for years and never been out more than a day or two for anything. It's also true that people are more likely to die than suffer a long disability. This is where I will address the ladies. In pregnancy, you're out AT LEAST 6 weeks. Your FMLA keeps your job but doesn't pay you a dime and you have to have been at that job for at least a year before you are eligible to get FMLA. Disability coverage lets you enjoy your time with your little one and have the knowledge of knowing that you will at least get a paycheck or two while you are out. Unfortunately, I get too many calls in a year from clients asking to get on disability insurance who just got back to work from a disabling event or some young lady who found out 3 weeks ago she was pregnant and needs coverage. At that point my hands are tied and it is too late. I have to explain that they can still get the coverage, but that the policy will not help them in the pregnancy or for that condition they just dealt with on this go around.

Waiting is tough for the person, but it's tough on me too. I don't like telling people I can't help them. It's like I'm Superman and I'm trying to save someone from falling to the ground but they lined their pockets with kryptonite. I can try but in the end there is little I can do and that pains me.

So, how do handle these dilemmas? It's simple. When you get offers through work or personal means to help you plan for the future, think twice. Think about others who are counting on you. Think about how it will feel to have to ask to borrow money to get by or have to take out a loan. With benefits, you pay a small price today that could save you and/or your family a lot of heartache and pocket ache.

Do you have people you know who need to hear this? Do you want to help those who aren't helping themselves because they don't know where to go. With us being at the beginning of a new year, it may be time to start adopting the approach of helping others not miss an opportunity to help themselves. Contact me and let's see about setting up an advisory session where I can help you remind people of these valuable things. At least then we can say we tried. I find that imparting education and knowledge in these areas is key and even if they still say "No", they have done so in full light of the facts and possibilities.

Spend the next 16 minutes smiling with Steve Mazan as he reminds us that in some areas it's never too late:

Working American's Financial Advisor

In my line of work, I get called all sorts of things.  I get called "the insurance man" or "benefits guy"...just to name a few.  However, in the time I've been in the insurance industry my most important and needed title (in my opinion) is that of "the working American's financial advisor".

You see, I can advise people on certain things financially. I can explain how certain insurance policies pay interest or acquire cash value.  I can even talk about how an annuity works and how it can help those who need a steady income to happen from a large sum of money they have acquired (usually through being a beneficiary of a life insurance policy). Those things are all important and might land under the "financial advisor" title, but what I'm talking about is what I mainly do almost every day.

In my insurance business, I get the distinct pleasure and opportunity to offer my services to companies. It doesn't matter the company size or industry.  If someone has a job, I can help them (through their work environment) acquire quality insurance that they may need for themsleves and/or their families. Many of the companies I represent and help are the hard-working American labor force.  These are people that keep things moving to create the fiber of our country.  Whether those people work in the office of that company or they are the "hands on" of the company, I am there to help.

So much of what I do is sit with that wage earner and talk about things that, in many cases, they had no clue about with regards to insurance and how it can benefit and help them and their families. These are people who will make it paycheck to paycheck and most likely will never need an accountant or financial advisor or broker to help them with their money or money decisions. I sit with these people one-on-one and ask the hard questions like:

 - "Who would care for your children if something happened to you?"

 - "How long could you go without a paycheck if something happened and you couldn't come into work?"
 - "How would you deal with a bill from a medical insurance carrier that equaled more than what your home costs?"
 - "What would your family do financially without your paycheck?"
The list just keeps on going, but as you can see these questions are all very real. Many times I ask these questions and I get looks of uncertainty as to their answers.  These questions are never meant to scare.  they are always asked so that I know the person I am talking to feels they have done all they can do to protect themselves and/or their families.
Every day I appreciate what I have been given as an opportunity to make a difference in people's lives.  I appreciate every client and every work environment I am allowed to service. I strive to provide each working American I come in contact a chance to better themselves and their families in terms of money decisions and the peace of mind that comes from knowing they have done things to get their affairs in order for the "just in case".

I thought I'd let my friends Brooks and Dunn bring this topic some music...

Are you a business? Do you want your employees to have somebody to help them protect their families through your business?  I can help.
Are you a working American?  There are plenty of questions to consider. I'm here to help.
Step into my office...let's talk business.

http://www.generamsay.com/

If the Situation Was Critical - How Would You Cope?

I love stories that help me help people make informed decisions about insurance and why it's important.  Unfortunately, most of those stories are the bad news stories of people in their time of need.  I met a woman today who relayed her story to me about a critical illness that occurred to her not two years ago.
One of the products that has always kind of baffled me in terms of need has been a critical illness insurance plan. Most of the time, these plans pay a lump sum benefit if you should be diagnosed with having had a heart attack, stroke, renal failure, blindness, paralysis, etc.  All that is well and good, but the question I always has was how would this money they receive (sometimes in upwards of $50K) help?  Today I found that out.
As this very nice woman told me her tale of illness, the first thing that struck me was that once she was diagnosed with having had a heart attack, her doctor recommended she take a year off of work to get better and hopefully heal.  A YEAR?  Exactly how did this doctor think someone who was working full time go into a year long state of disability with no income?  That's not really the doctor's issue now, is it?  Fortunately she had a working spouse who was paid well enough that the bills could be met and she could take her needed time of rest.  Fortunately she did heal.  Today she can have all the EKG tests she wants and there seems to be no signs of ever having had an issue.  That's great for her, but what about the other people this could happen to?
The reality is most lengthy health issues happen just like this.  Unfortunately, most people can't just take time off like this woman was able to do.  They have to do something or risk the stress of going bankrupt or losing all they have.  THAT is why critical illness insurance is there.  If this lady was not in the minority, she would have needed money and she would have needed enough to at least get her through a year.  How far would $50K go for keeping your bills paid for a year?  I think I'd be OK in that situation and one thing I would not be stressing over is money.
So, the next time someone talks to you about critical illness insurance, remember this story and ask yourself how long you think you could go without income if the doctor told you you needed to take a year off to get better.