By: Benny Smith
My clients work with me because they worry about how the financial risks caused by death, disability, taxes, retirement, and the costs of long term care will affect their families, business, investments, and other assets. We complete a comprehensive needs analysis with each client to determine his or her financial objectives and how we can create a program to help protect and achieve those goals. Some people with whom we speak are on track but many have gaps, often because they have not regularly reviewed their situations. For those who need assistance, we help them create a strategy using life insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance, annuities, and other financial products. Then we make sure to conduct annual reviews with our clients to ensure that their insurance and savings strategies are up to date, particularly because people have often gone through life or business changes since our last meeting. For those who have benefits through their employer, we review and explain those benefits to see if they are adequate, especially because they are typically neither guaranteed nor portable if you change jobs.
Let me mention three important uses of insurance .Your most important asset is not your car, or your properties, or your investments. It’s your ability to earn an income. If you’re too sick or hurt to work, will you be able to pay your mortgage or rent? Will you be able to continue contributing to a retirement plan? How long will your savings last? Statistically, one in four people will become disabled for at least 90 days during their working lifetime. And the average length of disability is almost three years. This is why we place a high emphasis on the importance of disability insurance, if you can qualify for it
Second, while people are living longer due to advancements in medical technology, they aren’t necessarily doing so in perfect health. Most of us know at least one person who has needed long term care assistance, whether in their own home or in a facility. Among married couples aged 65, there is a 50% chance that at least one spouse will need long term care at some point during their lives.. The emotional, physical, mental, and financial toll that needing long term care can have on a family is enormous. Long term care insurance offers a way to reduce those risks for your loved ones. It is clearly “peace of mind” insurance.
Finally, it can be difficult to quantify the pain of the death of a loved one or business partner. But life insurance not only allows people to reduce the financial burden of death, it allows individuals to protect their dreams for their families even if they are no longer around to physically watch them. Since we buy life insurance to protect against the unexpected, we believe it is important that our clients understand the best types of insurance and the most appropriate amount of protection for their particular situations. There is no single right answer for everyone because each family and business is different.
Our goal with this added service is to provide you, our clients, with one-stop complete insurance planning. We hope you will take Benny’s call and chat with him to see if he might be able to help you and those you love. Thank you.