I used to work for a company that promoted this philosophy. I worked there for 12 years. I enjoyed my time there and helped a lot of people.

I left there about 8 years ago. I now have my own agency with Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan.

Recently I was in one of my client’s homes and discovered they have a policy from my old company.  I’ve seen a lot of those policies over the years.

Unfortunately,  I’ve seen a lot of people who have Bought Term and Blew the Difference.

Many people will start with an analysis of their financial needs, then they put a plan in place to get out of debt, save money for future goals and put some temporary (Term ) life insurance in place to protect their family until their goals are reached.

Now let’s “fast forward” ten years. The money they were going to save got spent on something and they’ve re-financed back into another 30 year loan because they put the plan in a desk drawer and haven’t pulled it out in many years.

So their term insurance is only going to stay at the low premium for ten more years and the client has no savings, they’re ten years older and have 30 years to pay on their home.

I’ve seen quite a few situations similar to this. Where do you start to correct this? You’ve got to start at the life insurance! Why? It’s the one element of the equation for which you could find yourself no longer qualified.

You could accelerate your loan, save money, make a new plan but the life insurance is not automatic. If the amount of life insurance you now have no longer will last as long as your loans or the face amount is no longer adequate, get started on making changes today.

I can be reached at 1-888-365-7553 or you can check out my website at www.SteveBedgoodAgency.com

I’ve sold Life Insurance for almost 20 years now. In my early years I noticed that people had purchased their life insurance policies, put them in a drawer and basically forgot about them.

I understand that people don’t really like to think about themselves or their loved ones dying. As I’ve asked people “How much money per month will your family need if something happened to you?” The common answer is “I’ve never really thought about it.”

Maybe that’s the reason people don’t do much with their life insurance policies or review their policies very often.

A short time ago I started calling some clients I had sold Term Life Insurance.  I would remind them they were 8 years into their 10 year policy or whatever the case was. Many of them hadn’t really thought about those policies since they were purchased.

What’s in your desk drawer? Have you had a review? Is your policy still adequate? Is it about to expire?

If you don’t have an agent any more,  let’s get together for a review.

Call me at (231) 744-9099 or start with a visit to www.muskegonlifeinsurance.com

One of the biggest reasons to buy life insurance is to provide money to the people you care about in case of death. If you’re single and don’t want to leave money to anyone, you may not need life insurance. But, as you take on more responsibilities and your family grows, your need for life insurance increases. The proceeds from a life insurance policy can replace the income lost to your family upon your death. If you have family plans, you may want to get your insurance while you’re young and healthy. The life insurance death benefit can also pay off debts and expenses, provide money to a charity or organization, and cover final and estate expenses.

Term or Cash Value?

There are two basic types of life insurance: term life insurance, which provides life insurance coverage for a specified period of time (the term), and whole life (permanent or cash value) insurance, which combines a death benefit with a cash value component. Term life insurance generally offers the most protection for the smallest price. Many term policies are renewable, meaning that you can purchase them again for the same term even if your health or circumstances have changed, although the premium will, most likely,  increase on renewal. Some term policies (called “convertible”) will permit you to convert the term life insurance policy to a permanent one at some point without undergoing an evaluation.

The advantage of cash value life insurance is that it offers lifetime protection. Permanent life insurance generally has higher premiums, especially initially, but unlike term insurance, it can also be used as an savings and retirement vehicle. However, some types of permanent life insurance (Variable Life Insurance) can act more like investments, meaning that their ultimate value depends in part on the performance of their stocks and bonds. With term life insurance, you protect you family’s financial future for a smaller premium payment. For a higher premium, permanent life insurance gives you financial protection now and savings for the future. To further compare types of life insurance, call me at (231) 744-9099.

Choose a Coverage Amount

The amount of life insurance protection you should buy depends on how much income your survivors will need, how much you own and owe, and the amount of other life insurance available to you. If you’re married, both you and your spouse should consider buying life insurance. For more information on how to determine the correct amount, you can use my calculators at www.muskegonlifeinsurance.com.

One of the easiest ways to estimate how much life insurance protection you should buy is to think about how much money your survivors would have to pay if you were gone. The process is similar for understanding how much car insurance coverage to buy.

What Term?

Term life insurance is usually offered for periods ranging from 1 to 30 years. Consider choosing a term that matches your need for life insurance protection. For instance, if your main reason for buying life insurance is to protect your 7-year-old twins until they’re out of college, you’ll want to buy a policy with a term of at least 15 years. Different types of term life insurance will have different premiums. Level term, in which the death benefit stays the same over the course of the policy, and renewable and convertible term life policies will tend to have higher premiums, but may offer the protections you want.

Two additional options for term life insurance are decreasing term and a return of premium feature. Decreasing term is often used by people who have a specific debt that is scheduled to decrease over time, such as a mortgage – although it may not be appropriate or cost-effective in all situations. It provides a continually decreasing death benefit, although the premium usually stays the same. The return of premium feature allows you to recover some of your premium payment if you never make a claim on your life insurance policy. It may be available in versions which allow for only portions of the premium to be returned, and may require that you reach the end of the term to qualify for a return. It almost always costs significantly more than other term policies, and thus does not make financial sense for all situations.

Premiums

How much you pay for life insurance will depend on a number of factors, including your age, your health, whether you use tobacco, your family health history, and the type and amount of life insurance you’re buying. Keep in mind that the premium payments may change later with some types of life insurance. If your policy does not guarantee that premiums will stay the same and that benefits will not decrease, that means the insurance company may raise the rate or lower the benefits. Be especially sure to understand how and why the premium and benefit payments are calculated, and what is guaranteed. Although many policies come with example illustrations of how the insurance company expects the policy to perform, your policy may not get the same performance. The best way to make sure your plan is on track is to sit down with your agent at least once a year and review the facts about your policy. If you expect or need guaranteed premium payments and benefits, we’ll make sure your policy provides them.

Steve Bedgood Agency

When we’re comparing life insurance quotes, let’s make sure that the policies and insurance coverage you’re comparing are similar. I’ll meet you at my office or at your home if you’re more comfortable there. And remember, any policy that you buy is only as good as the company that issues it. Find out what rating Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan has received from major ratings services, such as A. M. Best or Standard & Poor’s, The Ward’s Group. These companies evaluate an insurer’s financial condition and claims-paying ability. The company giving you an insurance quote should provide you with this information. You can also contact your state’s department of insurance to find out more about an insurer’s record.

Submit an Application

Once you’re ready to purchase a life insurance policy, you’ll fill out a life insurance application that contains questions about your current and past health history and lifestyle. You’ll generally be required to take a medical exam, arranged and paid for by the insurance company. The answers you give on your application, along with the results from the medical exam and your past health history, will help the insurance company determine whether to offer you a policy, and if so, at what price. Be sure to answer the questions fully and carefully, because intentionally misrepresenting yourself or hiding information can cause the policy to be cancelled. There are many life insurance options and many companies. Why not start with www.SteveBedgoodAgency.com? I can also be reached at (231) 744-9099.

Read and Understand Your Policy

Life insurance contracts aren’t written to be exciting, but read and understand yours. Policy provisions, the amount of benefits, the premium, and other charges you’ll pay will be listed along with other important information such as the beneficiaries you’ve named and the premium guarantee period. Make sure you understand everything in the policy. Under the laws of your state, you have a “free look” period (typically at least 10 days) during which you can cancel the policy without penalty. If your life insurance policy doesn’t meet your needs, it’s easier to change it during this period than later, when you may face cancellation penalties.

Looking for different information? Have questions or feedback? Please let us know

At the age of 50 or over, many people have grown children who have moved out of home and may have their homes paid for at this stage, so why would someone over 50 require life insurance?

Reasons to get Life Insurance Over 50:

• Mortgages or loans may still be outstanding and can be settled by an insurance payout in the event of one’s death.
• Funeral expenses can be covered with the money paid out by a life insurance policy.
• Sometimes other family members such as grown children will purchase a policy for their parents. They do this as a way to plan for the future when their parents are not around.
• Job losses or financial downturns may have caused savings to stop growing.
• With financial troubles in the world, many older kids are returning home or one may be supporting one’s own parents which can make life insurance necessary.
• Leaving cash to beneficiaries. Most of the time life insurance payments are not taxed, so this is a way to leave some cash to heirs which they can keep or use to settle debts.

What are the Limitations for Over 50 Life Insurance?

It is more expensive to take out life insurance over 50 but the expense may be worth it compared to the prospect of one’s partner being landed with debts in the event of one’s death. Health related questions will go back for perhaps 10 years or more and may include questions on immediate family heath issues. Smokers may pay more and one can be expected to submit to a blood and urine test for larger insurance amounts ($50 000 or more).

What Over 50 Life Insurance Policies are Available?

Term life insurance is lower cost insurance because it has a limit such as 10, 15 or 20 years. At the age of 50 or over, most companies will not insure one for longer than 20 years.

• Life insurance over 50 policies are sometimes referred to as senior policies or called final expense. These policies are smaller face value whole life policies designed to provide affordable cover for older people and which will not expire as long as the policy is kept in force.
• Simplified issue life insurance policies are policies where there are fewer health related questions asked by the insurer and older people can qualify a little easier. Also these policies usually provide an immediate death benefit at an affordable rate.
• Guaranteed issue life insurance means that the insurer will waive health questions. But be careful because instead of asking health questions, these policies use a waiting period of up to three years before the policy is in full force and in the meantime, should the insured pass away, the beneficiaries will only receive refunded premiums plus interest or a percentage of the whole face value. Also, the premiums will be higher than simplified policies.

If one has financial obligations such as a mortgage or dependents who are counting on one to pay for college, the best life insurance policy to buy is a standard term life or whole life policy in an amount that can cover a number of family needs, including final expenses.

The Hunt For A Missing Life Insurance Policy

You’re the beneficiary of a deceased family members life insurance policy and the policy is nowhere to be found. What do you do?

Well, don’t panic, because if you find it in the near future, you may still be able to claim the death benefit. Here’s what to do, in Muskegon,  if a life insurance policy is missing:

1. Look through canceled checks or go to the relative’s bank and request copies of any old checks. When reviewing the checks, see if there are any made out to life insurance companies.
2. Ask your relative’s lawyer, insurance agent or accountant and see what information they can give you on your relative’s finances.
3. Call their old employers and see if they bought into the company’s group life insurance.
4. Call the Medical Information Bureau (MIB)—an organization that maintains a database showing if insurers requested your relative’s medical information. If your relative applied for a life insurance policy within the past seven years, the MIB will more than likely have some kind of paper trail to help you find it. In addition, the MIB offers a Policy Locator Service that will search over the last 12 years to locate applications, for a fee.

Naming a beneficiary
If you are making someone your beneficiary, here are a couple of things you will want to do:

1. Be sure to provide your beneficiary with your life insurance policy details, such as policy number, insurance agent’s name, company phone number and email address.
2. Keep your records together. To make it easier on your beneficiary, be sure to keep all of your records (financial and medical) together in one place. This will help alleviate any panic or stress if your beneficiary needs to find something after you have passed.

Different kinds of policies

• Term policy—If your relative had a term life insurance policy, and they died during the term and paid their premiums, the named beneficiary will receive their death benefits. If they died outside of the term or failed to pay their premiums, you won’t receive anything.
• Permanent policy—If the policy was in force at the time of death, the named beneficiary will receive the death benefits. If the relative died a while ago, the beneficiary is entitled to the death benefits plus the interest accrued from the date of death.
• Lapsed policy—If your relative had a permanent life insurance policy and they stopped making payments and the policy lapsed, the insurance company could switch its status to one of the non-forfeiture options selected at purchase or specified in the policy. These options include extended term, reduced paid-up, cash surrender value, and loan value. In most cases, laws specify that there are certain amounts that must be returned to a policyholder or beneficiary even if premiums were not fully paid.

Lapsed Policy Non-forfeiture Options

• Extended term uses any built up cash value to buy a term life insurance policy in the amount of the current policy. If the insured dies before the term ends, the beneficiary collects the benefit. Otherwise, the beneficiary gets nothing.
• Reduced paid-up means that the life insurance company uses the cash value of the policy to buy as much insurance as possible. This reduces the death benefits, but keeps the policy in force.
• Cash surrender value refers to the amount of cash value a policy has. This amount is returned to the policyholder or beneficiary and the policy is canceled.
• Loan value is the amount of the policy’s cash value available as a loan. This amount will be returned to the policyholder or beneficiary and the policy will be cancelled.

If the policy lapses due to the death of the insured, the beneficiary will collect the full death benefit. Also, there is no time limit on when the beneficiary can collect the death benefit. The only requirement is that the death certificate is presented to the life insurance company to verify the insured’s death. If the beneficiary never comes forward, then no one receives the money.

Unreported death
If the policyholder dies and the insurance company isn’t informed, the policy will lapse. In this case, the life insurance company will send letters informing the insured that payment was not received and their policy may lapse if this continues. If there is still no response, the insurance company may initiate a search, but if no answer is found, the policy will automatically lapse due to delinquency of payment.

Unclaimed death benefits: are they gone forever?
If a beneficiary doesn’t collect death benefits, and the life insurance company can’t find the beneficiary after a few years, the money is transferred back to the state where the life insurance policy was originally purchased. The full amount must be turned over to the state comptroller department within three to five years of the insured death. There, it is put into a bank account and considered “unclaimed property.”

A database with the names and addresses of lost beneficiaries is located at the state comptroller’s office, and many times, they try to find the beneficiaries to distribute the death benefits to. Depending on your state, you may be able to go online, look in the paper for any unclaimed death benefits, or call the state comptroller or treasurer for information.

It should be noted that if the life insurance company doesn’t know the insured has died, they are not required to turn the money over to the state. If the state doesn’t have a death benefits law in place, then the money will remain at the insurance company and they can continue to search for the beneficiary. Also, it is very rare for money to be turned over to the state, because most insurance companies have their own search techniques to find beneficiaries.

For more information please call me at (231) 744-9099 or start at www.muskegoninsuranceagent.com