Newsletter Fall 2018

Life Insurance Awareness Month

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM). This month is dedicated to educating people and businesses on the importance of life insurance and helping them get the coverage they need.

2018 Life Insurance Facts & Stats

According to LIMRA, more than one third (35%) of all American households would feel adverse financial impacts within one month if a primary wage earner died. While most adults do own life insurance, about 1 in 5 say they do not have enough. Approximately 50 million households recognize they need more life insurance.

So what prevents people from owning life insurance? About 40% of people do not know how much coverage they need and what type of insurance to buy. Further, nearly a quarter of people say no financial professional has approached them for life insurance.Another factor is that most people overestimate the cost of life insurance. LIMRA research found that people estimate the cost of coverage to be three times its actual cost!

The top three reasons people gave for not buying life insurance (or for not buying more) are that it’s too expensive, they have other financial priorities and that they already have enough coverage.

Life Insurance 101

Basically there are two types of life insurance: term and permanent. Term insurance is purchased for a certain period of time (i.e. 5 years, 10 years, 30 years) and is only paid out in the event of a death. This type of insurance is useful if someone relies on you financially, or if you want to cover funeral costs, pay off any outstanding debt you may have (i.e. credit cards or student loans) or leave money behind to loved ones when you die. Term insurance is less inexpensive than permanent insurance, but once your term is over, there is no payout.

Permanent insurance is a little different. You have permanent insurance until the day you die. It can be more costly, but permanent insurance builds cash value over the years. You can also use this type of life insurance policy for things like funding college tuition, providing cash flow in retirement or paying for unexpected medical bills. Initial premiums are more expensive than term life insurance, but these types of policies can potentially save you money over the life of the policy if it is inforce for a considerable number of years.

Applying for Life Insurance

Buying life insurance may seem intimidating and daunting. However, the process is actually pretty straight forward:

Meet with an agent
Set up a medical exam
Review and sign life insurance application
Carrier reviews application
Medical records are ordered if needed
The underwriter makes an offer
Policy is issued
Sit down with your agent and review policy
Sign delivery requirements and pay premium to put policy inforce

Many factors are taken into consideration during the underwriting process. It is important to note that things such as age, health and whether or not you smoke, will affect how you are rated and therefore how much you pay in premiums.

The life insurance underwriting process can take anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months. While your agent will do everything to get your application submitted and processed as quickly as possible, there are a few things you can do to help expedite the process:

Disclose any and all information upfront (i.e. medical history, family history, medications, and financial history)
Complete a medical exam quickly
Return any requirements and signatures promptly

Email us today if you are interested in getting a free life insurance quote!

Other Newsworthy Updates

Paid Family Leave Changes for 2019

2019 Rate & Maximum Contribution Changes for 2019

New York’s Department of Financial Services published the Paid Family Leaverate for the 2019 calendar year.

The maximum contribution rate for PFL will go from 0.126% to 0.153% of the employee’s gross annualized wages capped at the New York State Average Weekly Wage (NYSAWW) of $70,569.72 per year.

This means that the 2019 maximum annual contribution per employee is $107.97.

The Department of Financial Services also confirmed an increase in maximum benefits for 2019 to 55% of the NYSAWW, up from 50% in 2018.

Paid Family Leave Benefit Changes for 2019

More time with loved ones. Starting January 1, 2019, the number of weeks eligible employees can take (to bond with a new child, care for a sick family member, or assist loved ones when a family member is deployed abroad on active military service) increases to 10 weeks.

More financial security. The PFL wage replacement benefit is also increasing. In 2019, employees taking PFL will receive 55% of their average weekly wage, up to a cap of 55% of the current Statewide Average Weekly Wage of $1,357.11. The maximum weekly benefit for 2019 is $746.41.

Medicare Part D Notification Requirements

Employers sponsoring a group health plan with prescription drug benefits are required to notify their Medicare-eligible participants and beneficiaries as to whether the drug coverage provided under the plan is “creditable” or “non-creditable.” This notification must be provided prior to October 15th each year. Also, following the plan’s annual renewal, the employer must notify the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the creditable status of the drug plan.

If you have employees who are on Medicare: if you have not already done so, make sure to send these notices no later than October 15th. In order to assist employers in their compliance obligations, CMS has issued participant disclosure model notices for both creditable and non-creditable coverage which can be found here.

What do our clients have to say?

They made it such an easy decision.

Christopher Hayward
Sag Harbor, NY

You get to the point where the relationship is more important then the coverage.

Tim Blenk
President, Tim Blenk Tree Care Southampton, NY

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