<![CDATA[DTR INSURANCE SOLUTIONS

<![CDATA[DTR INSURANCE SOLUTIONS - Blog]]>Mon, 13 May 2024 23:11:32 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[“The Pitfalls of Relying on Group Life Insurance”]]>Tue, 16 Jan 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://dtrinsurance.solutions/blog/the-pitfalls-of-relying-on-group-life-insurance

Many folks turn to the Life insurance available to them at their workplace through their group / employee benefits.. click "read more" below to learn about potential pitfalls and things to think about!

The good news is that A) coverage is being obtained, B) IF you’re young it is typically pretty affordable coverage, and C) often medical conditions that would exclude you from obtaining individual coverage outside of work do not apply with group insurance, meaning you can have many pre-existing conditions or be in less than optimal health and still have life insurance. I’m always happy to hear when clients are taking advantage of coverage they have available to them... but there are A COUPLE OF MAJOR THINGS TO CONSIDER before relying on group insurance!

Herein lies the issue - first of all, when you leave your current job, the VAST majority of the time your policy does not come with you… if it does, it’s going to be a guaranteed issue Whole Life policy at unisex smoker ratings… CHA-CHING $$$$, yikes!! If your new job happens to be with a company with comparable benefits, no big deal… but if your new employer doesn’t have the same options available to you OR if you have some medical issues which prevent you from going out into the marketplace and purchasing coverage on your own, you could be out of luck. The other issue is that every single year you get older the cost per thousand increases, and it is NOT a linear increase! I’ve found that once someone reaches around 40 years of age, typically it’s cheaper to obtain the same amount of coverage on an INDIVIDUAL basis (your own policy, not through group benefits)... and the premiums are locked in / won’t get more expensive as time goes on!

Now listen, I’m a huge fan of having group benefits put in place… from a business / employer standpoint, it’s a great way to save some money on taxes at the end of the year as well as compete for new employees - just offering group coverage is better than many small businesses nowadays! If you’re an employee, think of group benefits as SUPPLEMENTING the coverage you have outside of work… policies that YOU own that you can customize and tailor as needed. These are just a couple of things to think about during open enrollment or as you’re looking at your group benefits package!

]]><![CDATA["Why Term Life Insurance?"]]>Mon, 08 Jan 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://dtrinsurance.solutions/blog/january-30th-2018

For the vast majority of my clients, I tend to recommend Term Life insurance as a base insurance coverage for a couple of reasons… click "read more" below to find out why!

First and foremost, it’s affordable! (Especially compared to other options available such as Universal Life or Whole Life… more on those coverages below). Term Life insurance covers a “term” or period of time, be it 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years at most. Unlike your life insurance coverage at work which gets more expensive every single year you get older, Term Life is sold as a “level premium”, meaning the premium never changes over the length of the term. You are effectively “renting” the insurance coverage for that time period and after the term is over, the policy typically goes away. Prior to the term expiring, most large and reputable insurance companies allow you to “convert” the policy from a term policy into a permanent policy (one that won’t go away) like Universal Life or Whole Life WITHOUT having to show evidence of insurability. This may be a huge advantage down the road if you happen to develop some health issues and need your coverage past the term length.

So why not just go for a permanent policy from the get-go? Great question, and great idea… in theory. However, let’s get back to the number one advantage of Term Life insurance… it’s cheap! An individual is typically able to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars more life insurance for up to half or a quarter of the cost (or more!) of a permanent policy. There are a couple of reasons for this - again, with Term Life insurance, the policy will not last forever. The policy also doesn’t build up any “cash-value” or residual value to the policy, unlike a Whole Life policy. Finally, Term Life is sold by many, many carriers which drives costs down and only a small percentage of Term policies actually ever pay out. From an actuarial standpoint (the basis of insurance), the vast majority of people who are approved for a Term policy will outlive that policy… and that’s a good thing! You definitely don’t want to win THAT lottery.

So why go with Term Life insurance? Yes, it’s cheap, but most importantly it often covers the leaner years in the life cycle when one has a young family, is still building a career and moving up the ladder, has a larger mortgage or debts to pay off, and is still relatively young and healthy. Folks in their mid 20’s to mid 40’s are typically great candidates for Term Life because they have so many things going on, so many responsibilities, and so little extra cash to spend! If you have a baby and something terrible happened to you, you’d probably want to care for and provide for that child AT LEAST through high school and into college… cue a 20 year term policy! If you buy a house and get a typical 30 year fixed mortgage, you’d probably want to look at purchasing a 30 year term to cover that debt. Substantial and affordable coverage is what Term Life offers, and that’s why I believe it’s the basis of any sound financial plan.

]]><![CDATA[“In My Client’s Shoes”]]>Mon, 01 Jan 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://dtrinsurance.solutions/blog/in-my-clients-shoes

At DTR Insurance Solutions, we take a look at the big picture and ask ourselves, "If we were in the client's shoes, what insurances would we put in place and why?" Click "read more" below to learn about my thought process!

I am a completely independent insurance broker and I go to the market to shop for insurance coverage. If you’re a Millennial like me,, we tend to look at an affordable 20-30 year level Term Life insurance policy coupled with a Long Term Disability policy to supplement the coverages the client has in place at work. If there aren't good definitions available at work or the situation dictates otherwise, we look at a full, own-occupation LTD policy. From a growth standpoint, sometimes a cash-value building Whole Life policy is the way to go, but frankly, they are often too pricey for most families. Either way, establishing a foundation of individually owned life and disability insurance “ensures insurability” both today and in the future for you and your family.

For folks that are a bit further along in the cycle of life, a Universal Life insurance policy guaranteed to age 100+ often makes the most sense, potentially with a Long Term Care or chronic illness rider to kill a couple different birds with one stone. It’s extremely important to have a plan for getting older and aging with dignity, which is why some form of Long Term Care is vital. Here’s the bottom line - no matter in which direction we head, I'm going to have the best interest of the client in mind every step of the way, no matter what.

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