As an independent life insurance agent in the Surprise and Murrieta area, I have access to offer all the best options from the top national life insurance carriers who do business in California. I am often asked to consult with people about their life insurance needs and which product is best.

When it comes to evaluating life insurance products  the goal at Kratos Financial & Insurance Solutions is always  to match the product that provides the best solution for my client’s problem.

Five factors in particular can help pinpoint what type of life insurance coverage is most appropriate for my client:

1. My client’s personal preferences and priorities.
2. The amount of insurance needed;
3. My client’s ability and willingness to pay a given level of premiums (cash flow considerations)
4.  How long do they need a given amount?

and

5. Do those premium dollars need to multitask? Do they need additional benefits a certain product might offer to give them the best solution and coverage?

When it comes to preferences, some of my clients feel like term is throwing money out the window. They don’t  want to pay premiums for 10, 20, or 30 years and have nothing to show for it at the end. Some of my clients have been told all their lives to “buy term and invest the difference.” In reality, both positions are right and wrong. That is why we have an in depth conversation to determine which product or combination of products gives them the most peace of mind and conclude what they are most comfortable with as life insurance is a long term commitment.

Many times we come to the conclusion that a combination of “term + perm” works best for many clients. Most Americans are underinsured and many uninsured, leaving themselves and their family at a terrible risk.  By using a combination of term life insurance and permanent life insurance it gives my clients the peace of mind to take care of children and make sure mortgages are paid off during the term period and have permanent coverage to leave a legacy, take care of estate planning needs, and provide for a surviving spouse in a tax free distribution.

I am an advocate for living benefit life insurance. Innovate life insurance carriers have added no cost additional benefit riders which cover events like the insured suffering a critical, chronic, or terminal illness. Very recently a carrier committed to living benefits life insurance had a critical injury no cost rider approved in California. These riders offer payouts to the insured upon diagnosis, not death, of a major incident like a heart attack, stroke, cancer, paralysis, ALS, and more.

Getting sick and not dying is very expensive, even if someone has good health insurance. Health insurance makes sure the doctors and hospitals get paid but they don’t cover loss of income, mortgage payments, kids’ college tuition, etc. Living benefit life insurance, which is offered on term policies, Index universal life policies, Guaranteed universal life policies, and some whole life policies, can make all the difference in keeping a family’s financial lifestyle on track should such the insured suffer an illness like those mentioned above.

There are no “perfect” financial products. And I don’t believe one size fits all and I personally would run away from an agent who only discusses one type of product with you and discourages all others. Likely they are either “captive” agents, meaning they can only offer what their parent company offers, or they have not taken the time or effort to learn about the many cutting edge products available to met the consumer’s need.

It is important to meet with a well versed, knowledgeable independent life insurance agent who will take the time to listen to you, ask a lot of questions about your family’s current and future needs, and educate you about the many products that are available to you.

It is an important decision and a foundation for your financial plan so work with a professional since you don’t know what you don’t until you know better.