Life Cycle Financial Planners, LLC

Tag: life insurance tips

  • Best Life Insurance Policy – All Done Online, No Medical Exam, No Blood. One Hour Approval.

    Best Life Insurance Policy – All Done Online, No Medical Exam, No Blood. One Hour Approval.

    Are the premiums higher if you buy life insurance without going through medical underwriting such as bloodwork or a medical examination? The answer is no. You can obtain the best life insurance policy online without a visit from a medical professional. That means the best rates and the best policies are available online. Accelerated underwriting does not mean expensive, guaranteed issue. The insurance company still underwrites each individual policy but in a completely new way. Some life insurance companies are leading the way by using information and data they believe is better.

    Although this may be counter-intuitive, you do not pay more. Buying life insurance online is not “buying direct” from the insurance company either. Life insurance companies do not sell policies direct to consumers. They sell only through licensed insurance agents, without exception. Some insurance companies tried going direct, without success. Life insurance is sold, not bought.

    Behind every online site selling life insurance, there is a licensed life insurance agent. For every sale, the insurance company pays a commission to the licensed agent named in your application. You may not realize a life insurance agent is writing the policy, but in fact, it is required by law. Some of these online agencies are hoping consumers believe there is an advantage in going “direct” and cutting out agents. It helps to know that online sites are no different than any other insurance agents or agencies.

    Why It Matters.

    Now that you know there is an agent getting paid a reasonable, non-negotiable commission, you want to always use the help and guidance built into the pricing of the policy. The insurance companies want educated consumers. Some life insurance buyers may incorrectly assume that buying online is “going direct”.

    State of the Art.

    In conclusion, you can now purchase the best life insurance policy online and get it done WITHOUT A MEDICAL EXAM, without lab tests (non blood or urine) or face-to-face visits, if that is what you prefer. The maximum is $5,000,000 per person and we have companies that write up to age 65 without medical evidence. The whole process can be done within an hour. 

    Contact us for a quote to apply and buy. Reach Ted Bernstein at 561-771-4647 or by email. We are close. People often search for “life insurance near me” or “life insurance agent near me” and we are one of the results. Online, we’re all close for business purposes. It truly is one of the great benefits of the Internet. Check out our 5 Star rating on Google or on our testimonial page.

  • Best Options Before a Term Policy Expires.

    Best Options Before a Term Policy Expires.

    The two most important considerations to focus on before a term policy expires are your current health and the policy’s conversion option. Every option you will face involves these considerations. Whether you keep, convert or sell the policy, current health and convertibility will be factors. The best time to deal with the end of a term policy is well before its end, allowing for enough time to consider a plan based on the options available in the contract. This way, you retain control over keeping the coverage or shopping for a new policy.

    Long duration, guaranteed term insurance is a relatively new product in the life insurance industry. It started getting popular about 25 years ago. Low premiums have enticed many insurance buyers to overlook some disadvantages. For example, let’s assume a 35 year old person bought a 20 year term policy, 20 years ago. Twenty years later, around age 55, the policy is expiring. What we find is that a very large percentage of people in this boat want to extend the coverage, but they cannot. There are many reasons for this which I cover extensively on this site.

    Before a policy expires, you want to be aware of the following:

    1. If the policy served its purpose, you can walk away, assuming there is no secondary market value. If you are over age 70 with some significant health issues, you might want to explore the secondary market to determine its value to a settlement investor.
    2. Another option is to convert your policy to a permanent one from the company that issued the original term coverage, after making sure the conversion privilege is still in effect and available to you. DO NOT ASSUME IT WILL BE. The conversion option is the single most misunderstood provision in term insurance. Most policies limit the time you can convert. Once it passes, you are out of luck and you will then need to prove evidence of insurability to the insurance company. They will want new and updated health information, new blood and other labs, at the very least. They will re-underwrite you again as if you’re a new policyholder. If, however, you are ABLE to convert WITHOUT evidence, you still may NOT want to exercise this option. It will depend on your health.
    3. Another possibility is to buy another term policy if you are insurable. If you are, shop the market with an insurance professional who can find you the most competitive policy at that time. No matter what you do, you are paying for the professional to assist you. If you buy a policy and use no help from anyone, the insurance company will pay the full commission to the designated agent assigned to your purchase. There is no way around this. Like the car business, you cannot call Ford and bypass the dealerships. My point is to take advantage of what you are paying for and find an agent you are comfortable working with.
    4. Or, you can buy a permanent policy. Beforehand, shop the market with an insurance professional who can maximize the value of your purchase, especially with a permanent policy. See point #3. Be selective and try to find a professional with experience, an impeccable reputation and solid referrals.
    5. Another option is to extend the coverage by paying the “renewal” premium offered by most policies. The rate will be much higher than the rate you’ve been paying. This option usually means the insured is in bad health and has no other options.

    The most important thing I can offer as a takeaway is to review the policy every couple of years and talk through these options to be mindful of when the conversion date expires. Planning around that date will prove to be beneficial in the long and short run.

    Give us a call at 561-869-4500 or email me at TB@LifeCyclePlanners to get started. I offer a complementary conversation about anything on your mind concerning your insurance coverage or succession plan.

  • What Happens When A Term Life Insurance Policy Is Ending?

    What Happens When A Term Life Insurance Policy Is Ending?

    I am often contacted by owners of term life insurance policies when the policy is nearing the end of its guaranteed term period. Whether that is 15 or 20 years from when it was issued, people want information about their options at this very important time. Like many things involving insurance, reaching out for a life insurance professional is your best bet. Understanding the options will provide comfort and clarity. Because nothing about life insurance is one size fits all, there are no simple answers here. The end of a term insurance policy brings the need for life insurance into focus again. Typically, healthy people have good options to buy new insurance. An expiring term insurance policy should be treated like the purchase of new insurance. How much coverage is needed, for how long and what type are important questions to consider.

    Deciding how long a life insurance policy should last is one of the toughest decisions we face when buying life insurance. The duration is a huge factor in determining the policy’s premium. The longer you want a policy to last, the higher the premiums will be. In contrast, the sooner you can lock in a permanent insurance rate, the less it will be over time. For those who prefer to minimize future costs, permanent insurance is more economical. Permanent life insurance has a much lower net cost than term.

    Knowing that permanent life insurance has a much lower net cost than term insurance, why do people stay with term longer than they should?

    In a perfect world, everyone wants lifetime coverage for the cost of term insurance. But, when we are young, term is easy on our budgets and life expectancy seems like a hundred years away. Younger insurance buyers are often led to believe they won’t need insurance in the future because:

    1. their kids will be grown
    2. other assets will have increased, and
    3. their spouse won’t need liquidity when the kids are gone.

    In reality, we get older quickly and our feelings about how long we want life insurance change – ask anyone over 50. In our 30’s and 40’s, we might think we only need coverage until retirement or when the kids are self-sufficient. In situations of divorce, everything changes. Many people choose term insurance hoping to replace it with a better policy when cash flow improves, before the term policy ends. Unfortunately, that is not what happens. Data strongly suggests that life insurance reviews are easy to kick down the road. Fifteen or twenty years passes quickly, making the flaws of term insurance painfully clear.

    The number one problem with term insurance is that it lapses before it is needed most. After the initial term period, the much higher renewal premiums may be unaffordable and they catch people surprised and unprepared. A 55 year old may now have health issues. If health has changed, the problems begin to compound. Older age and less healthy combines to make term coverage far less desirable, making this the first time people realize that term insurance may have cost less when they were younger, but it is not better value. It simply cost less in our low risk years.

    What to do with current, inforce policies?

    Life insurance buyers can benefit from innovation, technology and science. However, it is likely that your current policies are not receiving these enhancements. For example, new policies allow people to take an accelerated benefit against the face amount of the policy, at no cost, when they have a health emergency. In the proper policy, a $2,000,000 policyholder is eligible to take more than a million dollar advance from the face amount, under the illness rider. There may be zero cash value in the policy but it remains eligible for an advance because these advances come from the face value, not the cash value.

    In order to take advantage of these innovations, life insurance owners only have to let an experienced agent do a market review.

    Another innovation, apply and buy, allows people to get up to $5,000,000 of coverage approved and issued online, in one meeting, without submitting any doctor records, blood, urine, or taking a medical exam. The rates for expedited policies are exactly the same as they are for people who are underwritten traditionally. There is no additional cost for this remarkable convenience. Whether it is term, whole life, universal life or term to 100, the coverage can be applied for and issued in less than an hour.

    Innovations in cash value policies are equally remarkable. In the right indexed universal life policy, the insurance company GUARANTEES there will never be market losses, only gains. Indexing strategies are transforming the uses of life insurance.

    For people older than 70 with expiring term insurance policies, they should consider selling the policy in the secondary market rather than just letting it lapse. The policy may have no value, but it is possible. A few months before the policy lapses, getting a valuation makes sense.

    Give us a call at 561-771-4647 or email TB@LifeCyclePlanners to get started. I offer a complementary phone call about your current life insurance concerns.

  • How Long Should Your Life Insurance Policy Last? What You Need To Know.

    How Long Should Your Life Insurance Policy Last? What You Need To Know.

    Ninety seven (97) percent of term policies lapse without paying a claim.

    Determining the duration of coverage may be the most difficult decision you face concerning your life insurance coverage. Until you are certain about how long you WANT or NEED your policy to last, it is difficult to determine whether you should own a term policy or a permanent policy. The longer you want your policy to last, the higher its premium will be. But the sooner you lock in a permanent policy, the less it will be. For those who prefer to minimize and control their costs in the future, figuring out the duration issue as early as you can is wise. Permanent life insurance has a much lower net cost than term.

    Since the net cost of permanent coverage is much lower, why do people stay with term longer than they should?

    In a perfect world, we’d like guaranteed coverage to last for life at the cost of term insurance. If it weren’t for its higher premiums, everyone would prefer permanent insurance. As it is impossible to predict the future, maximum duration flexibility is an important feature to have in a policy. As we get older, our feelings about life insurance change. In our 30’s and 40’s, we may feel we only need coverage until retirement or when our kids are self-sufficient. Since term policies require less premium, we choose it hoping to replace it with a better policy before it expires. Unfortunately, that is not what happens. The low term premiums are enticing and the insurance industry is failing to communicate the risks of carrying term too long. This has led to a crisis defined by huge numbers of relatively young people being unable to secure a policy after their initial 20 or 30 year term policy expires.

    The biggest problem with term insurance is that it doesn’t last long enough. Consider that 97% of term policies will lapse before paying a claim. The renewal premiums become unaffordable and catch people off guard and unprepared for higher premiums. If their health has changed, the problems begin to multiply. Term insurance is not better value. It’s simply less costly in the low risk years.

    As we get older, we want life insurance to last longer. Waiting to tackle the duration issue can have sobering consequences.

    Innovation is completely changing the insurance industry but existing coverage must be upgraded as often as possible. Did you know that you can take a $2,000,000 advance against the right policy at no cost. If you have a health emergency, it could be a lifesaver.

    And, you can now get a $5,000,000 policy issued in one phone call, without a medical exam and pay the same rates as people who are underwritten traditionally.

    Give us a call at 561-869-4500 or email TB@LifeCyclePlanners to get started.

  • Term Insurance Rescue Ideas

    Term Insurance Rescue Ideas

    Worried that your term life insurance is expiring soon; without good options? Or it can’t be extended without paying 5x more premium?

    By taking control now, we will help you find the best solution the market offers.

    If your existing policy is going to expire soon because the conversion deadline passed and the term period will expire, there are good options even if your health has changed. Many people bought term insurance in their 30’s or 40’s who may have been advised that 20 years of coverage was sufficient. Today, if coverage is still needed, there are policies that have been designed for you. By following a few simple tips, you will NEVER have a gap in coverage again.

    Creating a customized plan is what people want today from their life insurance policy. Our goals and objectives change over time. Understanding this, we make sure the policies and plans we offer adapt to the changes in your family and business. The best life insurance policy offers maximum flexibility.

    “What is the best type of life insurance policy” is the most common question I am asked about life insurance and “How much should I own” runs a close second. Simply, there is no such thing as a “best” life insurance policy. Each one does very different things. The right insurance professional offers every type of policy because buying life insurance is not a one size fits all strategy.

    For example, if you want premium flexibility, you rule out whole life. If you need coverage for life, you rule out term insurance. The best life insurance policy is inforce when you need it and is competitively priced, today and tomorrow. The premiums can be structured to increase over time as income grows. Some people prefer to pay more today and eliminate or reduce premiums in the future. Customization and flexibility are the keys.

    Pro Tip: Review the policy at least every two years, it’s painless. Every owner of life insurance is best served by reviewing it on a regular basis.

    You want a life insurance policy where you will never have to provide additional medical evidence in order to keep it. This is the biggest problem with term insurance; it’s not affordable after the term period without more health evidence. If you own a term life insurance policy or you are considering a new term insurance policy, let us explain the options available that will put you in control, not the policy. Simple new innovations such as the Installment Payout Option can reduce the premiums annually and give you guaranteed protection for life.

    Term insurance or permanent insurance? Which should you buy?

    For many life insurance buyers, term insurance fails when it is needed most and permanent insurance is too expensive initially. Innovation has made customization possible. To get the best insurance policy for you, make sure to consider:

    All life insurance is NOT created equal. There is nothing to gain by working without a professional. Whatever compensation is paid to the agent is a built-in cost. It is ALWAYS paid whether the policy is purchased online or from a professional.

    Please contact me at 561-869-4500 or email me about a complimentary consultation.

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