Stay informed with the latest news.

Open Enrollment has ended…now what??

Posted: April 9, 2014

In order to make changes to your policy or to obtain new coverage you MUST qualify for a “special election period”.  Qualifying events that entitle you to a special election period are listed below.

 

*Birth/adoption

*Marriage

*Loss of employer sponsored health insurance

*Exhaustion of COBRA

*A dependent turning 26 and is currently covered under their parent’s plan

*Your current plan is up for renewal outside of open enrollment

*Change of income resulting in newly eligible/ineligible for a tax credit

*Loss of eligibility to Medicaid or CHIP

*Divorce/legal separation

*Death of the primary policyholder

*Gaining status as a citizen

*No longer incarcerated

Who needs life insurance and how much life insurance do I need?

Posted: July 31, 2013

Those are probably the two questions I get asked the most on this topic. Many people don’t want to plan for that unfortunate loss of a family member, but avoiding the hard realities of life may leave your family with negative financial consequences in the future.

Life insurance is there as a “safety net” for your family so that they would not suffer financially if you were to die. Anyone that relies on someone financially should have a life insurance policy. Life insurance is the one policy that is guaranteed to pay out one day. According to MSN, “40% of households with children under 18 say that they would have trouble paying their living expenses immediately if the primary breadwinner passed away.” Yet 30% of Americans don’t have life insurance, according to MSN!

In order to know how much you need there are a few ways that you can go about finding that out.
*CNN Money says that one rule of thumb is to purchase enough coverage to replace 5-7 years of your salary or 10 years if you have children. That’s not always the case with everyone.
*Evaluate all of your family’s needs while taking into consideration all of your debts (i.e. house, auto loans, credit cards, etc.). Add up your total debts and take out an insurance policy for that amount at a minimum. That way your family at least has peace of mind knowing that the bills will be covered. Either way is a great idea, but it all depends on what each family can afford financially.

If you have more questions about life insurance or would like a no obligation review, please feel free to contact me so we can discuss how to protect your family’s future.