Life Insurance

We have extensive experience in reviewing and placing life insurance policies. We can provide you a complimentary analysis, simply give us a call to get started.

Under the terms of a life insurance policy, the insurer promises to pay a certain sum to a beneficiary upon your death, in exchange for your premium payments. Life Insurance can help provide you with comfort, knowing that your named beneficiaries will be financially endowed after you pass.

The many uses of life insurance

• Replace the lost income in the event of your death.
• Pay off debts...mortgages, car loans, credit cards, school loans.
• Pay for final expenses and off set estate, inheritance or income taxes.
• Life insurance can create an estate for your heirs.

How much life insurance do you need?

There are plenty of tools to help you determine how much coverage you should have. Your best resource may be a financial professional. At the most basic level, the amount of life insurance coverage that you need corresponds directly to your answers to these questions:

• What immediate financial expenses (e.g., debt repayment, funeral expenses) would your family face upon your death?
• How much of your salary is devoted to current expenses and future needs?
• How long would your dependents need support if you were to die tomorrow?
• How much money would you want to leave for special situations upon your death, such as funding your children's education, gifts to charities, or an inheritance for your children?

Since your needs will change over time, you'll need to continually re-evaluate your need for coverage. We highly recommend reviewing your life insurance just like any other asset in your financial portfolio.

Two basic types of life insurance policies

Term policies provide life insurance protection for a specific period of time. If you die during the coverage period, your beneficiary receives the policy death benefit. If you live to the end of the term, the policy typically terminates with no value.

Permanent insurance policies can provide protection for your entire life, when funded properly. You need to pay the premium to keep the policy in force and payments are calculated so a reserve can be accumulated to make up for the increasing cost of insurance as we age. This reserve is known as the cash value and can be returned to the policy owner upon surrendering the policy. Permanent life insurance can be further broken down into the following basic categories:

• Whole Life
• Universal Life
• Index Universal Life
• Variable Life
• Variable Universal Life

Note: Variable life and variable universal life insurance policies are offered by prospectus, which you can obtain from your financial professional or the insurance company. The prospectus contains detailed information about investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. You should read the prospectus and consider this information carefully before purchasing a variable life or variable universal life insurance policy.

Note: Withdrawals from an insurance policy may generate an income tax liability, reduce available cash value and reduce the death benefit or cause the policy to lapse. All optional benefits such as riders and bonuses are available for an additional cost. The guarantees associated with optional benefits are backed/subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. It is important to weigh the costs against the benefits when adding such options to an annuity/life insurance contract.

Your beneficiaries

You need to name a primary beneficiary to receive the proceeds of your insurance policy. You may name a contingent beneficiary to receive the proceeds if your primary beneficiary dies before the insured.

Generally, you can change your beneficiary at any time. Changing your beneficiary usually requires nothing more than signing a new designation form and sending it to your insurance company.