Life Insurance: Go to "Get a Quote"

Health / Major Medical with Humana One

Dental:  (Over 30 plans to choose from depending upon your county & state.)

Short Term Medical, Student Medical and Major Medical with Time/Assurant Health

International Short Term & Individual Medical:  (not yet available, but coming soon)    

Disability: Go to 'Get a Quote"

Annuity / IRA:  Go to "Get a Quote"

Group Health Benefits: E-mail or call me. Go to "Get a Quote" page for contact Information.

Understanding Insurance Plans:

Before I address several different plans I want to first address why it is important to go through an Insurance Broker as opposed to going directly through the Insurance Company. Many people have a misunderstanding in that they believe by going direct through the Insurance Carrier and not through an agent that their rates will be less because they won't have to pay any commissions. That is simply not true. When Insurance Carriers design a policy, they always build in commissions before filing the product with each State Dept. of Insurance. The prices are fixed as well as the commissions, which are internally built in, and cannot vary no matter which agent quotes the exact same plan from the same Carrier. Agents cannot change the prices of the plans or alter the provisions. Now there are some Insurance Carriers that only sell direct but they are the vast minority and their products are generally not competitive. So here is the reason why it's best to have an agent. A good agent is your representative to help you with any service issues which may come up. He or she is there to help you in the decision making process in guiding you towards the right plan(s) best suited for you thoughout the course of your life. It is a relationship you don't want to be without. Additionally, a Broker, which is an Independent agent, should have many top rated companies to choose from so you know you are getting a competitive, quality plan. Would you go to court without a Lawyer? So why would you go to an Insurance carrier without a Broker/Agent?

Life Insurance:  The first step you must undertake is how to figure out how much life insurance coverage do you need. Some main factors to consider are:  Total current debts, final expenses,( 10-25K) providing for college tuition if you have children and the quality of lifestyle for your loved ones after you have passed away. The rule of thumb in which any good "Needs Analysis Program" will compute is approximately 10 to 12 times your annual income. Sometimes that may be too costly and you may have to either lower the amount until you can afford more or go to a Term Policy for a period of time. One nice feature that Insurance carriers have added to the Life policies is called an "Accelerated Death Benefit Rider". This provision of the contract allows the Insured who has developed a terminal illness, as specified in the contract, to receive up to 60% of the Death benefit as a cash amount. The amount you receive reduces the death benefit by that amount.  Additionaly, there will always be some paramedical exam you will have to take with the vast majority of all Insurance Companies so they can determine your insurability. But there is no financial cost to you and they will come out to your home or work to do the exam. It will normally require a urine specimen, a completed medical questionnaire and they will most often draw a little blood. Always remember that when you apply for an Insurance policy, make the check payable to the actual Insurance Company, NOT the agent and never give cash. Additionally, when considering buying life insurance, you should never take into account what you get from your employer. The reason is that should you ever leave your job or get laid off, you cannot take that life policy with you if it is group term insurance. You should always have your own policies that you are in control of.

Health Insurance and Major Medical for Individuals:  There are many forms of Health Insurance. The most sought after plans are called Major Medical as they provide the most comprehensive coverage for individuals. They have several different deductables to choose from and most offer Prescription coverage as well. coverage is for inpatient and outpatient. To determine the deductible, you should consider how often you have been in the hospital or seen the doctor over the last 3 years or so. If you are in excellent health with no pre-existing conditions and just see your doctor for annual physicals, then you may want to go with a 1,000 Deductible or higher so your monthly cost is lower. With the never ending rise of Insurance premiums, particularly with Group plans, more and more people are seeking Individual policies especially for their dependents. The savings can be as high as around 50% lower than their group rates. However, this is more so for the dependents, not so for the employee as the employer is normally required to pay 50% for the employee only coverage. The other Major Medical Plans which are catching on are called HSAs. Health Savings Accounts. These plans allow you to go with higher deductibles and then you can place money away to a maximum of what your deductible is, into a qualified account, (HSA). In other words the money is Tax deductible and Deferred but can only be used for medical expenses.  There are other types of plans which only cover the hospital charges and not the doctor unless it's a surgery. Those plans are a little less expensive, but often not worth increasing your liability. However it is better to have something than nothing. Most of the time an exam is not required but the Carrier reserves the right to obtain one from you, usually at no financial cost to you.

Short Term Medical: These are Major Medical plans designed for people who are in between jobs or waiting for their probationary period to end at their job before being added to the Employer's Group plan. These plans are simpified issued which means there are only several questions asked concerning your health history and they do not cover any pre-exisitng conditions. You can generally renew them twice within the year. Maximum coveage is usually 6 months to 1 year, depending on the Insurance Carrier.

Student Select Medical: This form of Indivudual health coverage is designed for students. It is permanent coverage but lower in cost compared to other Individual health plans. If you need to transfer schools, your Student Select coverage moves with you. Student Select is not tied to any one school. There's no need to change coverage or re-apply. In fact, you're covered when traveling anywhere in the United States, its possessions or Canada. You are never restricted to an HMO or PPO service area. You are covered year round and since most college plans only cover you until you graduate or very shortly thereafter, Student Select can be renewed as long as it's needed . . . and, of course, as long as the premiums are paid. This product is available in most states.

Disability Insurance: These plans are for the purpose of providing you with an income up to 66% of your current income should you become disabled. You can also select a lesser amount to keep your cost down. Depending upon your occupation you can get coverage that will pay a benefit from 2 years, 5 years, 10 years or until age 65. This is actually one of the most important types of policies to obtain because you have a 6 times greater change of becoming disabled before death at an older age.

Term Life:  Term life insurance are policies that will give you the most coverage for the least amount of money initially. There are 10, 15, 20 & 30 year plans where the rates are guaranteed never to increase for that specific period. However you must be careful when getting quotes from other agents as there are some plans that actually do not guarantee the rates for the full term but for only 1/2 the term. I do not quote such plans as I feel they are inadequate. While Term is initially the least cost, at renewal time, if you want to have a good rate you will have to requalify or else your rate will be exceptionally higher and depending on your age, may be cost prohibitive. There is nothing wrong with Term as long as you know it is intended for a specific purpose and time. Most Term plans will also allow you to "convert" to a more permanent policy like Universal or Whole Life which builds cash values over time.

Universal Life: These type of policies not only offer you coverage when death occurs but also offers cash values for later years. The cash values are determined by what the carrier decides to give you. Economic conditions and profit margins play a role in their determination. These are the better policies to obtain but their initial costs are more than term but in the long run are usually worth it as you typically won't have to worry about rate increases. Keep in mind that Life insurance policies are not investments and don't let any agent tell you any different. Also, life Insurance policies are not designed to pay for your children's college tuition from the cash values, only the death benefit is. An annuity is a much better contract to place your money in to build a college fund for your children but you need to start as early as possible.

Annuities: Are contracts with the Insurance Carriers in which they will pay you an interest rate upon the money you deposit into your account. The interests will fluctuate based upon economic conditions and carrier profits. They usually offer several different types. There are "Fixed" Annuities which are very conservative and currently the interest rates are approximately 3.5 % annually. (2005) Then there are Equity Index Annuities which you have a greater potential to earn much higher interests rates. Some carriers report a 10 year average of 8% return. The great benefit of these types is that your principle is never at risk and you can earn some decent returns. There are also "Qualified" Annuities which are called IRAs. This type allows you to tax deduct what you place into your account (within Federal limits) and your earnings are also Tax deferred. Keep in mind that Annuities are long term contracts and have decreasing surrender penalties for early withdrawals. I also believe these plans are far better than what Banks offer.