Insurance Services

Protect against risk with adequate and cost effective coverage.

Our clients look to us to review their current risk management portfolio to confirm coverages are satisfactory and cost effective. Our team has over 60 years of combined experience in developing the most efficient insurance architecture for each client. We keep up to date on product developments to ensure that our clients’ portfolios are taking advantage of market trends in pricing and product offerings. We can provide counsel regarding life, disability, long term care and Medicare planning.

Life Insurance: Life insurance is the sum of money payable upon your death that can provide a surviving spouse, children, and other dependents the funds necessary to help maintain their standards of living, repay debt, and fund education costs. The amount needed is unique to each client’s situation. For example, a person making $100,000 a year with a sizable mortgage and two kids headed to a good (read: expensive) college, you may need as much as $1 million in coverage.

Value-accumulating whole life or universal insurance offers a death benefit protection along with a cash value component that you can borrow against or eventually cash in by surrendering the policy*. Term insurance, on the other hand, costs less but only remains in effect for a specified term of years with no cashout option. For many families, a combination of whole life and term insurance may provide for current and future needs

Disability Insurance: What would happen if you are unable to work for an extended period of time? A long-term disability policy replaces a portion of your lost income so you can get by during the crisis. Employers only cover a portion of all workers with some form of company-paid disability insurance. If your employer does not provide disability insurance, expect to pay up to 40 cents per $100 of monthly coverage to buy it on your own.

It is wise to try to get a noncancelable policy with benefits for life, or at least to age 65, and as much salary coverage as you can afford if you are buying. Insurers will generally cover up to 65% of your salary. We recommend that you should have total coverage equal to two-thirds of your current pre-tax income.

Be aware that even if your company provides disability insurance, you should check to see whether it’s adequate for your needs. Sometimes group disability insurance policies may be capped at six months and although it may provide benefits, it may not cover your expenses.

Health insurance including Medicare and supplement plans: Employees often pay little to no premiums as a part of their medical insurance from their employee benefits. In many cases, you’ll even have a choice between HMOs (health maintenance organizations) and traditional fee-for-service care. Although rates for HMOs are usually cheaper, they typically have more constraints. If you need to purchase health insurance privately, it will be much more expensive - often by several hundred dollars a month - depending on deductibles, coverage choices, and location.

Long-term care insurance: Don’t rely solely on government programs: The cost of a nursing home or at-home care is becoming more of an increased concern with the uncertainty of the future of Social Security and a large aging population. Although Medicaid will pay for the long-term care care, it’s only for patients who meet strict income eligibility requirements. Medicare, on the other hand, pays very little of the cost of long-term care. It’s crucial to include long-term care as a part of your financial planning with Congress always debating the future funding of these programs in the future.

Medigap insurance is intended to help pay for medical expenses of the elderly not covered by the Medicare system, including long-term hospital care, but these policies are expensive and complex. Keep in mind, it does not cover custodial nursing home costs. According to Medicare, about 50% of all nursing home residents pay for care with their own personal savings.

* Accessing life insurance cash values may be subject to certain costs and limitations, and may reduce stated benefit amounts. All guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuer