Business Insurance Group

Life Insurance – How Much Death Benefit do you Need?

Figuring out how much life insurance death benefit you need to get can be quite challenging. Purchasing life insurance is an important decision, and it certainly isnt one that should be made lightly. Selecting the correct amount of coverage is just as important as choosing the right type of policy. When you want to figure out how much life insurance is enough, a life insurance calculator can be very beneficial.

There are several different types of calculators available online. Theyre free and easy to use. You can quickly and easily evaluate your life insurance needs using several different calculations, such as the human life value or multiple of earnings method.

Full Post…

Breakdown of a vet bill: Pet insurance can help

Almost every veterinarian goes into this profession because of passion and love for animals. But unfortunately, theres a misconception that because veterinary care is expensive, its somehow funding vacation homes and fancy cars.

If you ask any veterinarian, one of the hardest parts of our jobs is not being able to provide for every animal equally due to financial restraints of the client this is why I have always been a huge proponent of pet insurance as it helps pet owners afford the highest level of care available.

Full Post…

Eeeeewwww, fleas!

Flea prevention products are widespread and effective, yet flea infestations are still a common veterinary complaint. Fleas are more than just a nuisance; they can be harmful to pet health and your family as well. If just thinking or reading about the creepy, crawly parasites make you itchy, then read on for important information about how to prevent fleas, and why prevention is so important for your family and your pet.

There are more than 1,900 species of fleas worldwide, luckily we really only need to be concerned about one of them, Ctenocephalides felis.

Full Post…

Adults Put Life Insurance in the Backseat

The number of U.S. adults with life insurance protection dropped to an all-time low in 2011, says a study conducted by the Life Insurance Market and Research Association (LIMRA). The worldwide insurance and financial association revealed that 41 percent of American adults had no life insurance coverage at all last year.

The LIMRA study revealed that nearly half of all U.S. adults are going without life insurance policies. This amounts to approximately 95 million people.

The study found that the likelihood of going without life insurance coverage has dramatically increase for every age group since 2004.

Full Post…

Louisiana Drivers Mad That Their Car Insurance Premiums Are Sky High

Many drivers in the state of Louisiana are upset and frustrated because their auto insurance premiums are so high. The problem has been going on since even before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

A study has revealed that on average, drivers in Louisiana pay approximately $2,536 dollars per year on their auto insurance premiums. In comparison, drivers in the state of Maine pay approximately $889 dollars each year for the same auto insurance coverage.

One big problem is the number of uninsured people in the state. Financial issues have caused many drivers to be unable to afford their auto insurance premiums any longer.

Full Post…

Lifetime Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance typically comes in 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 year terms.  The term is the length of time the policy will be in effect.  At the end of the term, you can either renew the policy on an annual basis, which is usually cost-prohibitive, or you can purchase a new policy, provided youre still young enough and healthy enough.

What if you have a need for life insurance after the end of the term period?  This is a dilemma a lot of buyers of term life insurance face.  If you are 30 years older at the end of the term of your term policy, the premiums for a new policy are going to be much more expensive, even if you are in the same health class you were in when you purchased your first policy (which is rare).  Keeping the existing policy in force on an annual basis (with premium increases annually) is usually not the best way to go, as the renewal premiums are, in most cases, going to be much higher than you paid during the policy term.

You can always purchase a permanent policy, either whole life or universal life insurance, which will last your lifetime.  However, if you purchased a term policy and, sometime during the term period, you decide you need something more permanent, you can, in most cases, convert your term policy to a universal life policy.

If you are considering purchasing a life insurance policy now and you feel that you have a need for lifetime protection, you should look into permanent policies, either whole life or universal life. They

Full Post…

Kitty questions, kitty answers

Q: My cat was diagnosed as being hyperthyroid not long ago. We decided to have radioactive iodine treatment for her which we did approximately 1 month ago. She has recently been having bad diarrhea and I wondered if that is normal after the iodine treatment?

A: When it is available, radioactive iodine therapy is quickly becoming the treatment of choice for most cats with hyperthyroidism(overactive thyroid gland). This is one of the many reasons its a good idea to have a pet health insurance policy in place.

Full Post…

Life Insurance or Death Insurance?

Having been in the life insurance business for as long as I have, I have often wondered why it is called life insurance rather than death insurance.  After all, you can purchase Accidental Death insurance, you can buy Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance, but when you purchase a policy to pay your beneficiaries in the event of your death, you buy Life Insurance.

In many of the promotional materials I read about life insurance, its rare to read about the Death Benefit.  You dont often see the words Death, Dying, or other words signifying the end of life.  After all, who (other than casket manufacturers and undertakers) want to talk about death?

In the early days of life insurance, there was a method of selling the product which was often called, backing the hearse up to the door.  With this method, the agent would paint a picture to the wife of the prospect of funerals, of life without a partner, of children running around without shoes, etc.  While I dont, for a minute, want to degrade the wonderful uses of life insurance, I have never been a fan of that type of sale.

Life insurance really is death insurance, as it pays a benefit at the death of the insured, but it would be tough to start conversations by saying, lets talk about your death.  Its not a subject I like to talk about too much, so I understand the insurance industrys use of the label Life Insurance.

There are living benefits to be had with permanent life insurance policies, such as Whole Life Insurance.  With a cash-value build-up, there are living benefits, such as having enough funds for retirement, college funds for the children, or cash to use as you wish like take that trip to Europe that you never got around to doing.  Even though there is a death benefit, I can see calling this life insurance.

Term life insurance, on the other hand, without any cash-value component like its whole life cousin, is really pure death insurance.  There are no living benefits, unless you consider that there are living benefits in knowing that your family will be able to continue living in the lifestyle you set up for them.

Come to think of it, the naming of this insurance product isnt much different than other types of policies most people purchase auto insurance and homeowners insurance.  After all, we dont call them car crash insurance and your home is damaged by a fire insurance.  We do, however, purchase flood insurance and earthquake insurance (at least in California).

 Call it life insurance or death insurance, whether you purchase term or whole life insurance, if you are married and have a family. you should

Full Post…