Open enrollment is just a month away

It may seem like a long time, but in just a month it will be time again for the Open Enrollment Period for Health Care. On November 15th we have the opportunity to change or keep the coverage we’ve had for the last year. Now is the time to start thinking about whether or not…

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Are you ready to retire?

One of my best friends is facing retirement and isn’t quite sure he’s ready. He has spent his career paying into the Social Security system, so he will have that income; and he has an employer sponsored 401K, his own Individual Retirement Account and some other moderate investments. That should be enough, right? My friend is nearly…

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Life insurance for the living

So often when we purchase life insurance, whether Term Life, Whole Life or Guaranteed Universal Life, the first thing we think of is who will benefit from it; those we leave behind. We seldom think about using life insurance while we’re living. The reality is there are many reasons to use it during our lifetimes.…

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Are you ready for anything?

I’m not so sure I am sometimes. It doesn’t take an accident or illness to let me know that I am insurance poor quite often. The rising cost of healthcare and co-pays for procedures quite often leave me wondering. One thing I don’t want to be lacking in is Income Protection. Knowing that accidents happen and…

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Life threatening not life ending

It was hard not to watch as they hugged and cried tears of joy. I sat across the isle in a restaurant drinking my coffee. They appeared to be sisters by resemblance, and were apparently just given a reprieve from what they had thought would be a final separation. I couldn’t help but overhear the…

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Benefits of a Long Term Care Policy

Most people think of long term care as something they’ll need when they’re elderly, but there are other times when a long term care policy can be of benefit to even those of us several years this side of retirement. Long term care policies have benefits that provide for more than just the care you get…

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Who wants to think about dependence?

The prospect of having to be dependent on someone else for care someday is something no one wants to think about or talk about, but eventually we are all faced with the possibility of long term care. Statistically, some 60 percent of those over 65 will require some kind of assistance in the future, but…

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Which riders do I need?

“Mom, I got a call the other day from our insurance agent,” said my now 20-year old daughter. “She wanted to talk to me about life insurance, but I didn’t know what to tell her.”   My bright young off-spring knows her father and I both carry life insurance policies and have paid premiums on…

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Life insurance for real life

When I bought my life insurance policy years ago, I wasn’t thinking I would use it as retirement income or even think of using it myself in life. The agent did say I could borrow against the cash value if I needed to for certain life events, but I always assumed my life insurance policy…

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Why Return of Premium?

Several years ago I worked with a business owner for whom I had great respect. One particular day I was in the office, she came in talking about estate planning and reported that she and her husband had finally decided to sit down together and plan for both their home and business in-case one or…

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