Archive for March 26th, 2008
Hard to believe it’s been 15 months since my dad was diagnosed with a stage 3, grade 4 bladder cancer. When it breached the wall of his bladder and dispersed to other areas of his body, well, the medical prognosis just wasn’t that good.
When, at age 85, even though he is a physically active and strong guy, he wasn’t able to continue chemo treatments because of how compromising it was to his immune system, the prognosis, medically speaking was going down hill. What the doctors didn’t know was that my dad is a serious believer in God and had so many people praying for him, that they could have just not bothered with prognosisizing (I know that’s not a word).
Last time they checked, some of the cancer was gone and the rest of it seemed stalled in it’s tracks. My dad is feeling great and still getting out for daily walks and snow shoveling. He even hung out with the Easter bunny last week (picture above). Praise God!!!!
Bottom line. Don’t forget to include prayer to a Lord who loves you in your cancer therapy plan. The ultimate life insurance plan.
March 26th, 2008
Probably one of the most common misconceptions about life insurance and the application process has to do with how a decline from one company will impact another application. Clients often worry about the fact that virtually all life insurance applications ask whether you have been rated or declined for insurance before.
It helps to understand that all life insurance companies, whether you answer the question yes, or if they note negative health information from the MIB, medical information bureau, still underwrite each application on its’ own merits. That is precisely why I never take a decline by one company as the final word. The truth is that one company’s decline very often turns into another company’s approval, often at very good rates.
It doesn’t seem like that ought to happen, but each company sets their own guidelines which are generally in line with a company marketing and risk philosophy. Some companies just stick to the letter of the law as laid down by reinsurance companies. Other companies set their own boundaries based on their capacity for risk retention.
Bottom line. Again and again I say, “don’t take a decline as the final answer”. For many of my clients it’s just a place to start.
March 26th, 2008
I’ve talked to so many people that assume they are all set because their job offers a cheap group life insurance plan. I’ll be the first to say that if it’s inexpensive I think you ought to take advantage of it. What is a concern to me and should be to you, is putting all of your eggs in that basket. There are some serious downsides to that approach.
That cheap life insurance is great unless there is an EVENT!!!!! No, I’m not talking about your death. Group insurance will pay like any other life insurance if you die. The events I’m talking about are things you see going on all the time such as 1. A change in your benefit package or 2. You quit or get fired (or downsized) or 3. You retire.
You will be told by the plan administrator not to worry because you can convert your group policy to a personal policy. What they won’t tell you while you still have time to plan is how outrageously expensive that converted policy will be. It is going to go from some barely noticeable deduction from your paycheck to a substantial bill every month. You won’t like what is offered. I guarantee it!
So what to do about it? Always carry some amount of life insurance outside the workplace. Term insurance is inexpensive and guess what? If any of those events take place, your personal term insurance policy will remain just the same. Safe, sane, affordable and guaranteed.
Bottom line. No matter what you are offered at work and no matter how good the deal seems, do the prudent thing and contact your independent life insurance agent and get a personal life insurance policy. You will be so glad you have it because, while those EVENTS used to be rare when folks worked the same job for 40 years, they are more the norm than the exception now.
March 26th, 2008
Hard to believe it’s been 15 months since my dad was diagnosed with a stage 3, grade 4 bladder cancer. When it breached the wall of his bladder and dispersed to other areas of his body, well, the medical prognosis just wasn’t that good.
