Archive for May 18th, 2009
It’s been literally days since I’ve popped a gasket and spewed my lack of respect for AARP all over the place, but they just mailed and want me to renew my membership. Obviously they must think there are two of us out here and their mail is going to the good one, not the evil one.
The last time I got one of their newsletters I it sent me sputtering through the office over watering plants and counting the herd of chickens in the back yard over and over again. My staff is under orders not to have me committed as long as I stay within certain boundaries. But, as you can see, AARP had one of its’ attorneys going off on organizations that change the rules on us elderly folks just when we get to the point where we really need to rely on them.
Shame on those companies and double shame on AARP for doing exactly the same thing and bad mouthing it as if they were pure as the driven snow. Just when I was about over that I got this offer to renew as a member and have access to such things as their term insurance and whole life programs. Well, there went another gasket.
If there is a polite way to say that an organization that touts itself as an advocate, but blatantly offers terrible products at terrible prices, I haven’t found it. Hiding behind New York Life’s skirts doesn’t change the fact that AARP and New York Life have partnered to provide some of the worst products imaginable to folks that due to their age and their money constraints really need someone to stand up for them and give them the best the industry has to offer.
Bottom line. If you are considering buying life insurance through AARP, don’t do it. Even a quick bit of shopping will make it clear that you were about to jump off a cliff with no safety line.
May 18th, 2009
That’s an easy one. If you can think of a person in the company, whether that is you, your partner, a long time key employee or board members that make the whole thing work, whose death would cause a financial stumbling block, there is a need for business life insurance.
In addition, if your company runs any significant amount of ongoing debt, business life insurance on the principals of the company is a must. Business life insurance is there for many of the same purposes we all carry personal life insurance, the difference being that if not handled properly it’s not just your family that can be affected, but the family of your partner(s) and possibly the very viability of the company and the people it employs.
Just a brief overview of a few policies that business owners should consider. Buy/sell agreements are a real must when it comes to businesses where two or more people own the business. Funded by life insurance on each of the owners, it allows the company, upon the death of an owner. to buy out a family’s interest in the business. In most states if an agreement is not in place, the surviving owner either has to come up with the money to buy the family out or, if the family wishes, they can replace the deceased partner with someone of their choosing. From a practical standpoint the surviving partner really doesn’t want to be in a position of having to accept a new partner whether they want to or not. Their options are left open through a fully funded buy/sell agreement.
Key person insurance is often overlooked, but is vital to company continuity upon the death of a key person. That person could be a plant manager, a business manager or an office manager. It is that these people have become so key to the everyday running of the company that creates the need for a key person life insurance policy. With this type of policy, the company becomes the beneficiary and can use the money to overcome the obstacles that pop up due to their loss. It could be that these are the people who kept the customer base loyal. It could be that this was the person that helped the employee base be so productive.
An influx of cash upon the death of a key person in your company can provide incentive money to hire the right replacement person in a quicker time frame. It might provide smaller per employee bonuses to keep the team together and working hard during the transition. There really are no restrictions on the creative use of the money. A business owner might even use the money to fund a retreat for key customers to get their input and the qualities a replacement needs to bring to the table.
If the death of a partner will have an impact on the productivity of the company, the owners should consider carrying life insurance to pay off any debt the company has. The extra slack created by having the debt paid off could be just what it takes to ensure the company isn’t strapped during the adjustment period.
Bottom line. The death of an owner or key employee in a company can wreak havoc with the very ability of the company to survive. A well considered business life insurance policy can ensure a company will have the cash flow to deal with any number of challenges.
May 18th, 2009
Guilty as charged. I am one of those recovering saltaholics that grabs the salt shaker and tops off a meal before I’ve even taken a bite to see if it needs it. I love salt and although I am getting better about at least giving something a taste first, the truth is, well, I’m still recovering and fall off the wagon occasionally.
A high salt/low potassium diet is a pretty reliable ticket to the land of high blood pressure, stroke and some types of asthma. A topic of considerable attention lately has been the unbelievable amounts of sodium found in some of the most popular dishes in some of the most popular restaurants most of go to at least occasionally. Sometimes it seems to me that restaurants offerings are kind of self defeating. They make meals taste good by adding large amounts of salt and it often tastes so good that people are driven to eat every last bite, which unchecked leads to obesity.
Now perspective is a good thing. No reason to freak out if there really isn’t a reason, right? They (whoever they are) say that the maximum sodium intake for an adult should be about one teaspoon daily. I am an admitted saltaholic and if I were presented with a salt free day’s worth of meals, I doubt that I would add an entire teaspoon over the course of a day. That’s a lot of salt!
My downfall comes when I eat dinner out at a restaurant that knows two things for sure. 1. We, as a nation, love salt and want it on most everything we eat and 2. The more salt we eat the more beverages we tend to drink. Chili’s restaurants are one of the most consistent abusers of sodium out there. That one teaspoon is roughly equal to 2300 mg. Just a few of Chili’s sodium busting treats are their boneless buffalo chicken salad which sounds healthy but has 4400 mg of sodium, about twice what you should take in on a daily basis. Then there is their Southern Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burger which tops the sodium scale at 4150 mg.
PF Changs has proven to be the king of salt. Their Hot and Sour Soup Bowl tips the scales at an amazing 6878 mg. 3 times the daily recommended maximum in one bowl of soup. I’m wondering if that soup really, really tastes bad and they hope that enough salt will cover it up.
Given the kind of abuse your body goes through at these restaurants, it’s a wonder that life insurance applications don’t ask where and how often you eat meals out. While hypertension and even a stroke can be underwritten at good rates, if a person is hanging out at the who’s who of salty foods, they have to present a higher mortality risk than those who actually monitor their salt intake at almost any level.
Bottom line. Eating right is simply not part of the American way of life and our habit of ignoring how food is prepared, especially the salt and fat that is used, is a recipe for obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. It may be time to ask for sodium confessions before we order a meal.
May 18th, 2009
