4 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Your Life Insurance at Work

4 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Your Life Insurance at Work

For the first time ever, more Americans have employer-provided life insurance (108 million) than have individual life insurance coverage (102 million), according to a new LIMRA study. And while that statistic sounds good, it actually hides a few important facts you should understand.

1. There’s more to the stat than meets the eye. When you dig a little deeper into the study, you find that households that have life insurance coverage through their employer is actually down to 46%, from a peak of 54% in 1984, so the fact is that the percent of employers offering coverage is declining.

2. If you have it, it’s most likely not enough. Most employer-provided life insurance coverage is one to three times your salary. So if you make $50,000, having up to $150,000 of life insurance sounds like a lot, right? But if you try to put that money to work in today’s interest rate environment, you’ll soon find out it doesn’t go very far. And if your family needs to spend $50,000 each year, what are they going to do after the third year?

I would also add that while your salary may be $50,000, what about your other benefits like health insurance? Employers pay an average of $19,000 a year for health care for an employee with a family of four. What if your family had to pay for their health insurance from that $50,000, too?

3. It’s a benefit, not a guarantee. Most Americans believe employers should be required to make life insurance coverage available (73%, according to the same study), but the fact is employers are not obligated to offer it. And remember that just because your employer is offering it now, doesn’t mean they will next year—or at any point in the future. A lot of companies are in cost-cutting mode, and benefits like life insurance can disappear without notice.

4. It doesn’t protect your insurability. Think about what would happen if your health changes while you only have employer-provided health insurance, but then they drop the coverage and you’re no longer able to get life insurance? Or what if you lose your job, or change jobs and the new employer doesn’t offer life insurance as a benefit?

Typically, employer-offered group life insurance is not portable, meaning you can’t take that coverage with you when you leave a job. Some have the option to convert it to permanent life insurance, but what if you can’t afford that option? Buying an individual policy prevents this because it’s something you own.

The bottom line, then, is that it’s good to have employer-provided life insurance, but don’t ignore the larger need you may have for individual life insurance coverage, too.

Use an online calculator like this Life Insurance Needs Calculator to get a working idea of what you need. Then if you need help to figure all this out, reach out to an agent. They can help you get the most coverage for your budget—something that you know will be there in case the worst were to happen. If you don’t have an agent, you can use this Agent Locator to find one near you.

The Twitterverse Talks Financial Fitness and Life Insurance

It’s Life Insurance Awareness Month and what better way to celebrate than gathering Twitter friends and experts to talk about financial fitness and life insurance! We spent an hour today (Tuesday, Sept 12) moderating a very lively and insightful conversation. Here are some great highlights from #LIAM17Chats. Thanks to all who joined us!

Q1: What does it mean to you to be financially fit?

Q2: Do you think finances, fitness and wellness intersect?

Q3: Who should have life insurance coverage?

Q4: In your experience, are there certain types of people who tend to be less aware of their life insurance need than others?

Q5: What are some common misconceptions you’ve encountered about life insurance?

Q6: What’s the best saying or rule of thumb you’ve heard when it comes to life insurance?

Q7: 42% of Millennials think they wouldn’t qualify for life insurance coverage. Why do you think that is?

And some great “after thoughts”! Thanks to everyone who participated!

Join Us for a Special Twitter Chat during LIAM

Join Us for a Special Twitter Chat during LIAM

Join Life Happens as we moderate a Twitter Chat focused around all things life insurance during Life Insurance Awareness Month. We anticipate plenty of activity from consumers, the media, insurance companies, agents, and more. We hope the chat helps promote life insurance awareness among consumers, and allows agents and companies to discuss industry issues, best practices, and more.

Date: Tuesday, September 12th from 1:00 p.m. EDT to 2:00 p.m. EDT
Hashtag: #LIAM17Chats during the above timeframe

Life Happens will moderate the discussion and drive the conversation using the questions below. Pass your answers through company compliance if needed. Remember, the 140-character limit for tweets though, and remember that you’ll have to use the #LIAM17Chats hashtag in each tweet as well.

Q1: What does it mean to you to be financially fit? #LIAM17Chats

Q2: Do you think finances, fitness and wellness intersect? #LIAM17Chats

Q3: Who should have life insurance coverage? #LIAM17Chats

Q4: In your experience, are there certain types of people who tend to be less aware of their life insurance need than others? #LIAM17Chats

Q5: What are some common misconceptions you’ve encountered about life insurance? #LIAM17Chats

Q6: What’s the best saying or rule of thumb you’ve heard when it comes to life insurance? #LIAM17Chats

Q7: 42% of Millennials think they wouldn’t qualify for life insurance coverage. Why do you think that is? #LIAM17Chats

Q8: What are some of the “hidden” benefits of life insurance? Things most people may not realize it does? #LIAM17Chats

Q9: What resources are out there to help people get started evaluating their life insurance needs and find the right policy? #LIAM17Chats

Q10: What is the most important thing you think people should know about life insurance? #LIAM17Chats

Possible extra question:

Q: What’s the best story you’ve heard about the value of life insurance? You’ve got to tell us in one tweet! #LIAM17Chats

Danica Patrick Talks Fitness—and That Means Being Financially Fit, Too!

Danica Patrick Talks Fitness—and That Means Being Financially Fit, Too!

Fitness touches so many aspects of our lives—mind, body and we like to think, finances. What’s your view of fitness?
When you’re taking care of yourself, whether it’s your health or what you eat or your finances, it’s about self worth. Either you’re worth taking care of in all aspects, or you’re not. So developing more self worth is something everyone—including myself—can do.

What does financial fitness mean to you?
There’s the obvious, which is that you have to have enough to support yourself and have financial stability. But then there’s the other side of it and that’s just being OK with less, so knowing no matter what happens you’ll be OK.

“Then there’s the other side of it and that’s just being OK with less, so knowing no matter what happens you’ll be OK.”

I’d also say it’s about not viewing finances as always the driving force, and trying to do things that make you happy and coming to the conclusion that while money can make you happy on a certain level, ultimately your true happiness—your soul happiness—doesn’t come from having a bigger bank account.

How did your parents shape your views on finances?
We didn’t have a lot growing up. We didn’t go out to eat a lot; we didn’t take vacations; we wore the same clothes a lot. But I feel my parents did a good job prioritizing what was important. They raised two kids, and we didn’t feel we wanted for anything. Just cutting out the unnecessary is part of the necessary when you don’t have as much. But they also made it fun. When they bought our house, they spent their last $100 on a picnic table—which is pretty much the same price it still is today!

I also think learning how to do things on your own is part of financial fitness, and that’s something I learned from my parents. If something breaks, you can fix it. If you don’t have food, you can grow a garden. If you’re looking to save money, you can cook dinner at home, which might cost you a few dollars, versus going out, which might cost you $50.

What role does life insurance play in a fit financial plan?
I think part of being fit, in any aspect of your life, is about reducing stress. Life insurance is something you can do that can take a stress out of your life instantly. When you’re younger, you’re spending, and those bills and your mortgage or rent wouldn’t magically go away if something happened to you. If you weren’t around, who’s going to take care of those bills? That’s what life insurance is for.

Life insurance is one of those things that you can completely customize to meet your needs and your ability to pay, so it can be as big or small as you need it to be. Once you have your life insurance in place, it’s pretty straightforward—you just update it every so often to accommodate your needs.

“Life insurance is one of those things that you can completely customize to meet your needs and your ability to pay.”

But so many people procrastinate getting life insurance. What do you think can get them over the hump?
We tend put things off that we don’t know how to do. It’s about asking for help and not assuming you know the way. I didn’t have the answers, so I asked for help. And if you ask for help, there’s always somebody who’s willing to offer it. I also think that whenever you ask for help, you tend to get a better result than if you just decided to go and do it on your own.

Then, write it down. It sounds remedial, but if something’s written down, I tend to do it. Put it on your calendar or to-do list and have that meeting.

We love your Instagram feed and all the fitness photos you post. Any health hacks you’d like to share?
Put yourself first—take care of yourself. Put food in your body like you care about it and want to take care of it not just for today, but 20 years from now. That means eating real food. If it can sit on your shelf for a long time, there’s probably a reason you shouldn’t be eating it.

And second, I’d say do something that pushes you; do something that’s difficult. From a fitness perspective, if you work out and you get done and someone asks, “Was that hard?” and you say, “Not really,” well, then why’d you do it? Do something that pushes you, because you get out of it what you put into it.

You have a book coming out: “Pretty Intense.” Anything you can share with us today?
Live your life with purpose, and have some intentions. So if your intention is to be around for a long time and not have stresses in your life, then limit the stresses as much as you can.

Separating Fact From Fiction When It Comes to Long-Term Care Insurance

Separating Fact From Fiction When It Comes to Long-Term Care Insurance

Few people are prepared to handle the financial burden of long-term health care. In fact, many people have a false sense of security when it comes to long-term care. Let’s separate fact from fiction:

“Medicare and my Medicare supplement policy will cover it.”

FACTS:

  • Medicare and “Medigap” insurance was never intended to pay for ongoing, long-term care. Only about 12% of nursing home costs are paid by Medicare, for short-term skilled nursing home care following hospitalization. (Source: Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, AHIP, 2013)
  • Medicare and most health insurance plans, including Medicare supplement policies, do not pay for long-term custodial care. (Source: 2017 Medicare & You, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

“It won’t happen to me.”

FACTS:

  • Almost 70% of people turning age 65 will need long term care services and supports at some point in their lives. (Source: LongTermCare.gov, November 2016)
  • About 67% of nursing home residents and 70% of assisted living residents are women. (Source: Long-Term Care Providers and Services Users in the United States, February 2016, National Center for Health Statistics)

“I can afford it.”

FACTS:

  • As a national average, a year in a nursing home is currently estimated to cost about $92,000. In some areas, it can easily cost well over $110,000! (Source: Genworth 2016 Cost of Care Survey, April 2016)
  • The average length of a nursing home stay is 835 days. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nursing Home Care FastStats, last updated May 2014)
  • The national average cost of a one bedroom in an assisted living facility in the U.S. was $43,539 per year in 2016. (Source: Genworth 2016 Cost of Care Survey, April 2016)
  • Home health care is less expensive, but it still adds up. In 2016, the national average hourly rate for licensed home health aides was $20. Bringing an aide into your home for 20 hours a week can easily cost over $1,600 each month, or almost $20,000 a year. (Source: Genworth 2016 Cost of Care Survey, April 2016)

“If I can’t afford it, I’ll go on Medicaid.”

FACTS:

  • Medicaid, or welfare assistance, has many “strings” attached and is only available to people who meet federal poverty guidelines.

Whether purchased for yourself, your spouse or for an aging parent, long-term care insurance can help protect assets accumulated over a lifetime from the ravages of long-term care costs.

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