Change is an inescapable part of life. However, by implementing a sound insurance strategy that identifies potential risks and puts a measure of protection in place, you can help mitigate some of the financial risk.  We can assist you in identifying missed opportunities in life, disability, and long-term care insurance.

We consider life insurance to be foundational aspect of a sound financial plan. It can be an important tool in the following situations:

1. Replace income for dependents. If people depend on your income, life insurance can replace that income for them if you die. The most common case of this is parents with young children. However, it can also apply to couples in which the surviving spouse would be negatively impacted by the income lost through the death of their partner.
    
2. Pay final expenses. Life insurance can pay your funeral and burial costs, probate and other estate administration costs, debts and medical expenses not covered by health insurance.
    
3. Create an inheritance for your heirs. Even if you have no other assets to pass to your heirs, you can create an inheritance by buying a life insurance policy and naming them as beneficiaries.
    
    
4. Make significant charitable contributions. By making a charity the beneficiary of your life insurance, you can make a much larger contribution than if you donated the cash equivalent of the policy’s premiums.
    
5. Create a source of savings. Some types of life insurance create a cash value that, if not paid out as a death benefit, can be borrowed or withdrawn on the owner’s request. Since most people make paying their life insurance policy premiums a high priority, buying a cash-value type policy can create a kind of “forced” savings plan. Furthermore, the interest credited is tax deferred (and tax exempt if the money is paid as a death claim).

What would happen if you were hurt at work tomorrow and couldn’t go in for a few months? What about a car accident or illness that takes a year or two to recover? If you are the primary income earner of your household, it could mean financial hardship, particularly if you don’t have disability insurance. Here’s a look at why disability insurance is an important protection for your personal finances:

1. Disability insurance replaces your income if you get seriously ill. Some of those most common disability insurance claims relate to cancer, musculoskeletal disorders, and depression. While you hopefully never have to deal with any of these unfortunate situations, they are quite common.
    
2. It  replaces your income if you get severely injured. Many professions carry a likelihood of injury. If you do any kind of manual labor, your body is essential in your ability to earn an income. While your employer’s insurance should cover some of your bills, it may not be enough.
   
   You could also fall victim to a surprise injury. A slip, a fall off a ladder, a car accident that isn’t your fault, and other surprises could put you on the sidelines. You don’t get hurt on purpose - that’s why it’s called an accident.
   
   
3. Disability insurance could provide enough income to cover bills while recovering. Hopefully, if you do need disability insurance, it isn’t a permanent disability. Most disability insurance pays 60% of your current income . So if you normally make $4,000 per month, your disability insurance would pay $2,400 per month. That is a long-shot from what you made before but hopefully is enough to get by when factoring in emergency savings.
    
4. Disability insurance may kick in if you can still work but not in the same capacity. Disability insurance generally comes with “any occupation” or “own occupation” rules. This determines what level of disability could qualify you for benefits.

   With “any occupation” coverage your insurance only starts if you can’t reasonably do any job. That means you could have to work somewhere else, or perhaps in a lower-wage position, if you are still physically able to work.

   “Own occupation” means your insurance will pay if you are disabled and can’t do your own job, regardless of whether you can do something else. This is ideal, as you are probably best trained and have the best income prospects with your own job.

5. Disability insurance protects your household from a complete loss of income. If you think going down to 60% of your income sounds tough, imagine it dropping to $0. Unless you have significant savings or a spouse with a paycheck that can carry the household’s needs, a disability could be dire. 

   With disability insurance, things are not necessarily easy. If disabled, however, getting disability insurance benefits is a lot better than not having the option.

Long term care insurance is designed to help you cover the costs of a nursing home or other skilled care as you age. As with most insurance policies, you must consider purchasing it before you need it, as policies become either unavailable or prohibitively expensive once it becomes clear that you need the protection. 

Long term care insurance generally provides financial help for those who need specialized care on a daily basis. And with rare exceptions, once you start needing nursing-home care beyond a rehabilitation stint that Medicare or your health insurance will likely cover, there's a good chance you'll need that care for the rest of your life.

You may want to consider buying long term care insurance if all three of these apply to you:

1. You want to leave an estate to your heirs.
    
2. You have enough retirement income to reliably cover both your expected retirement lifestyle and the long term care insurance premiums. 
   
   
3. Don't have enough in assets to reasonably self-insure against the risk