A New Addition To Our Insurance Line-Up - Dental!

For the last few years we at Surf Financial Brokers have offered a dental/vision/hearing combo plan. And to be honest, we weren't too crazy about it because the dental portion of the plan had a network that just didn't work for most of our clients. 

We listened to your feedback and have taken on another dental and vision insurance carrier. However, instead of a "combo" product, the new plans are separate. We still offer the combo plan and if you need hearing coverage, it will be available.

One of the issues I have heard over the years is that dentists tend to go from one network to another, and rarely notify their patients ahead of time. There's nothing more frustrating than finding out after a cleaning or other service has been completed that your dentist no longer is in the network. With that in mind, we offer "out of network" plans that can work as well. 

We haven't done away with the old plans, and like our many of our other products, we will continue to offer a variety of carriers. That's the nice part about being a truly independent insurance agency. We don't work for a company, but instead the companies work for us.

The really good news is that you can get a quote directly from our site. And if you find the plan that you like and fits your budget, you can apply online. It's that easy!

Have a question? Book a short phone call from our site or drop us a note below in the comments. 

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

Do You Need Dental, Vision Or Hearing Insurance?

On occasion I work with enrollment companies helping people with their voluntary benefits. We have the usual line-up of products, with life insurance and disability plans available for the employees that we meet with. By far, the most requested products are the dental and vision plans. As a matter of fact, the employees will walk in to our one-on-one meetings and say something along the lines of "all I want is my dental and vision". 

There are those of us, myself included, who don't have access to group policies through an employer. For people who are small business owners, contract employees or otherwise self-employed, getting a good individual plan has been difficult. 

On an individual basis, dental plans are available but can be rather pricey. There are usually waiting periods as well, which can make the product unattractive to many people. With all of this in mind, I have been a bit resistant in including a dental plan in our line up of products. That is, until now. 

We have recently begun to offer a plan through one of our carriers, Manhattan Life, which solves many of the issues we have been concerned with. And even better, this plan not only covers dental, but vision and hearing too!

Another reason we have begun to offer these plans is because Medicare does not provide coverage for dental, hearing or vision and many of our clients have requested information for these services of late.  

Here are a few of the basic features*:

• No networks. You can go to any provider.
• A $100 deductible per year per person.
• The plan is available to people from ages 18-85. 
• You can include up to 3 children.
• You can choose your annual maximum benefit of either $1000 or $1500
• Guaranteed Issue (No health questions)
• Guaranteed Renewable. You can keep it as long as your like as long as you pay the premiums.
• No waiting period for preventative and basic dental services.
• Benefits for hearing exams and hearing aids.

(For a more detailed list of services, click here.) 

As mentioned above, not having a network means you can go to any provider. One thing to keep in mind though is that your doctor may or may not file your claim for you. The patient may have to pay the bill in full and submit the claim on their own. Because of this we recommend asking your doctor before receiving services so there are no surprises.  

One of the nice parts of this plan is that if one does not use the full maximum benefit for dental, they can use the balance for vision or hearing services. One of our partner agents was telling me how he only used a small portion of his benefits on the dental plan one year, so he used the balance to get new eyeglasses. That's maximizing your plan!

We have added a quoting tool to our website, but for your convenience you can run your own quote here.  If you like your quote you can even begin the application, which is easy to complete and only takes a few minutes.

Not everyone wants or needs dental insurance. But for those who do, we hope you take a few minutes to look at the plan and run your own quote. In the meantime, please stay healthy!

*Plans vary from state to state. Be sure to ask for a brochure for your state.

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

An Interview With Our Own Insurance Goddess

From time to time I like to talk with someone I know and admire, hoping that they will instill some wisdom that can help me succeed. So last week I talked with my good friend and colleague, Jeanne Doran aka The Insurance Goddess. We discussed how she and I met and I asked for her permission to use some of her sage advice in the blog. As a gracious lady, she said yes. 

I met Jeanne about 10 years ago when I was selling health insurance (pre-Obamacare). She was working for the Gilston Agency in Charleston, SC and I was contracted through them to sell a major medical coverage. I'm not sure if she was a CSR but she helped me over the phone and email with some issues occasionally. Always helpful and a bit sarcastic (like me!), I kept in contact with her, even after she had moved on from Gilston and had become an independent agent. I had a life insurance carrier that I liked to use and got Jeanne contracted with them. 

More importantly though, I would call Jeanne when I had questions about health insurance. She was, and still is, a great resource when an answer is needed quickly. Over the years we have remained friends and I was enthused when she finally accepted my offer to work with Surf Financial Brokers. She even let me put her picture on the website! 

Without further ado, here is a snippet of our conversation.

Me: I know you told me this before, but it wasn't your idea to go into the insurance business, was it?

Jeanne: Honesty, my husband recommended I work in the insurance business. He thinks I'm good with people.

Me: Well, you are. How do you find your prospective clients?

Jeanne: My business primarily referral based. Once I have assisted a client with their insurance needs we look at other options to round them out.

Me: That makes sense. How do you prepare for a client meeting?

Jeanne: Typically I cross evaluate types of plans within the product line they are looking for.   For instance, if it's a health case I look at BCBSSC (Blue Cross), United, and Aetna, then look at the costs versus the benefits and share those details at the "meeting". And I always keep in mind there may be something more for them to round them out.

Me: Do you attend any kinds of networking groups?

Jeanne: I only am in one networking group at this time and it's industry based.

Me: Not counting my book, do you recommend any good books on sales? 

Jeanne: The Tipping Point. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The Power of Positive Thinking

Me: Malcolm Gladwell is a favorite of mine too.  Do you have a mentor?  

Jeanne: My first Mentor was David Gilston.  He is a broker who has stood the test of time. He'd say, "when the rules change, teach me the rules, and I will win every time."

Me: How have you become a mentor for others?

Jeanne: I have a circle of fellow agents who are part of my "team" and we bounce ideas off each other!  I like to think I am their mentor!!

Me: Well, you are the Insurance Goddess! On a different note, has Covid affected your practice?  

Jeanne: Yes, I rarely meet prospects in person any more.  I am learning to be effective with Zoom and am always looking for the best ways to connect.

Me: What did you do with your first commission check?  

Jeanne: Now that was a long time ago, so I must have used it to pay household bills!!!

Me: We have all dealt with strange people from time to time. Have you ever had a strange or unusual encounter with a client?

Jeanne: Have I EVER! I was assisting one lady with her health benefits and her husband, who had a type of early onset Alzheimer's, strode by the table several times, pacing back and forth. Finally he went upstairs and when he came back down, he did not have anything on but his shirt. 

Me: I hope you got them both "covered". 

I hope you learned a little about Jeanne as we pull back the curtain to take a peek at a day in the life of an insurance agent.  And in the meantime, please stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

What About Medicare Supplements?

Are you one of the millions of Americans in need of information about Medicare supplements? Each day, thousands of people who are on the cusp of turning 65 years old are getting bombarded by phone calls and brochures about the varying array of products. It can be confusing but luckily it's not as bad as one would think. However there are some basics that can help you understand the ins and outs of Medicare.

First off, the Medicare program was never designed to cover all the costs associated with health care, and it doesn't. This in turn has created a multi-billion dollar commoditized supplemental market. Today, 90% of Medicare beneficiaries have some form of supplemental coverage. 

Medicare supplement plans were standardized so that plans can be easily compared between carriers. For example, all plan A's are the same, and all of the plan B's are the same. The insurance companies are not allowed to add or subtract to them as this would make it even more confusing to those purchasing these plans.  This has made the market more about premium rates than anything else. 

So what does Medicare cover? There are two parts:

Medicare Part A - Hospital Insurance, covers hospital inpatient care and recovery care in a skilled nursing facility, hospice and home health services.

Medicare Part B - Medical Insurance, helps cover some medically necessary services from doctors and other health care providers plus preventative services. 

What does Medicare not cover? Again, it wasn't designed to cover all of your doctor and hospital bills. You are required to pay for a portion of those bills in which Medicare does not pay, including:

• Medicare Part A hospital benefit-period deductible and coinsurance
• Medicare Part B medical annual deductible, generally 20% coinsurance and those charges exceeding the Medicare eligible expense
• Skilled nursing facility coinsurance

These bills can be paid for by yourself or through the Medicare supplement policy that you purchase.

Medicare supplements do offer a great value. They include:

• No provider restrictions. You are not restricted to use a network of healthcare providers. Any healthcare provider who accepts Medicare patients accepts Medicare supplement insurance. If you move, your coverage goes with you.
• Instant coverage. There is no waiting period for preexisting conditions and benefits are paid from the time your policy is in force.
• Low out of pocket costs. Your Medicare supplement and Medicare Parts A and B work together to minimize your share of healthcare costs. With this additional insurance coverage, even unexpected medical events aren't likely to impact your financial health.
• Guaranteed renewable. Your Medicare supplement insurance policy renews as long as you pay the premiums on time and make no material misrepresentations (that means you are honest on your application).

There is some interesting information about Medicare that most people aren't aware of. Did you know that Medicare was started in the 1960's? Back then people paid about 19% of their income for their care. Since then, healthcare costs have skyrocketed but the income levels of older Americans haven't kept pace. And now Medicare constitutes about 14% of the federal budget.

Also, because of the aging Baby Boomer generation, the number of people on Medicare is expected to rise from 47 million to 78 million between 2010 and 2030. 

Obviously there is a lot of information here which makes it more important that you let an insurance professional help you choose which Medicare supplement is right for you.

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

Advancements In Cancer Treatments and Cancer Policies

As new advancements in cancer treatments develop, many of these innovations are not covered by traditional health insurance or even Medicare, or they can require strict adherence to Medicare guidelines. Additionally, increasing out-of-pocket medical expenses such as health insurance co-payments and deductibles can leave many unprepared for the high costs associated with a cancer diagnosis.

One of our carriers, GTL, has formed a partnership with TGen, one of the leading nonprofit medical research institutes in the world. The result is a policy* that gives you and your family access to revolutionary genome sequencing technology and consultative services from TGen's expert cancer ace of mind in knowing you have access to one of the most advanced medical technologies which may give you your best shot to beat cancer.

• Confidence that his insurance coverage can help give access to a highly precise and individualized plan of care based upon ground-breaking research.
• Consultations for you and your doctor with a TGen oncology expert to explain your sequencing results and treatment recommendation. 
• Cash to cover the high out-of -pocket costs associated with cancer and comfort knowing your bills can be paid. 

Your uniqueness plays an integral role in how you develop and react to cancer and even how you react to treatments. So if cancer is as unique to a person as their DNA, why would cancer treatments be the same for everyone?

Your genome is the complete set of your DNA. It is your blueprint. It's your personal set of instructions for what makes you unique. Genomic sequencing provides TGen's experts your complete genetic code which is sorted and studied. Sequencing can be used as a medical tool that unlocks the power of your genome to help create treatment plans that are more precise and individualized.

Genomic sequencing:

• Analyzes a patient's tumor "fingerprint" to see if there are therapies that have worked well before.
• Allows the oncologist to match each patient with the best treatment based upon the underlying biology of your specific cancer. 
• Makes medicine more rational, personal and precise by identifying molecular targets before treating the cancer
• Identifies whether targeted drugs that support your own immune system's ability to fight cancer could be beneficial to you. 

So how does all this work? When a patient is diagnosed with cancer and files a claim with GTL, the patient informs the doctor that they have access to genome sequencing through TGen. The biopsy is taken and sent to TGen. GTL then pays the benefits for the testing and any consultative services. The patient and doctor get one-on-one consultations with a TGen oncology expert to explain sequencing results and treatment options. 

All of this sounds very technical, but the bottom line is that cancer research has advanced tremendously over the last few years and cancer policies have had to keep up. This policy will not only pay benefits for those very high out-of-pocket expenses that can be incurred when one has cancer, but can also give you a better shot at recovery. 

And we make it easy to apply for coverage, as it can be done completely over the phone. During these days of Covid-19 most people don't want an agent visiting them in person. You can even set your own appointment with us and let us know when to call. Our goal is to make the whole process of getting a cancer plan as easy and convenient as possible. 

For a short video on this awesome plan, click here. And please stay safe and healthy!

*This policy is not available in all states. 

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

Do You Consider Yourself To Be A Forward Thinker?

I spent this week cleaning out my father's house. He passed away in February after a battle with Parkinson's Disease, leaving us with some several bills. As I mentioned at the time, he had used the equity in his home to pay for his care instead of taking the advice of his son (me) to purchase long term care insurance when I brought up the subject years ago.

Hindsight is 20/20. However, as I go through boxes of old pictures of my parents when they were much younger and healthy, I realize that it wasn't really that long ago. With that in mind, I also know that it won't be too much farther in the future when I could be in the same situation.

Being chronically ill is an expensive proposition. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home health care are not cheap. Ask anyone who has had to pay for such care. But just as knowing that our own death is inevitable, we have to come to terms with the probability that we may need to find a way to cover these expenses, or be a burden to our children.

My father with is mother and sister, circa 1933

The whole point of buying any kind of insurance is to shift the burden to someone else, namely the insurance company. No one is going to lend you money for your care, as you won't be able to repay that loan. Nor does anyone really want to contribute to a GoFundMe page when you could be taking care of this from now.

Take some time to think it over. Do you want to be a financial burden? Do you want your family to interrupt their lives to care for you? They will out of love, but there are better options, some more affordable than others. Let us know if we can help, and as always, please stay healthy.

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

Avoiding Long Term Care Facilities During the Virus Crisis

During the Coronavirus crisis in our country there have been countless stories in the news about infections running rampant in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Our seniors are in the cross hairs of the virus as it works its way through these facilities, not just making the residents ill, but also the nurses and other staff members. As this happens, the family members of the residents are not able to visit their loved ones. It's a terribly tragic situation all around.

Is there a way to avoid this scenario? Not always, as some residents may need to be in a facility for various reasons. Their families may not live in the area, or they may have no family at all. Of course, nearly every person who lives in a facility would rather live in their own home, or with their adult children. For some, the adult children are working and unable to take care of their parents (or grandparents) and it can be cost prohibitive.

Home health care can be very expensive. Using the example of my father, the price of his home health care was nearly double that of a facility. The reason is simple, in that a small staff can keep an eye on dozens of people at once, whereas he had one caregiver staying with him. And home healthcare workers generally cook and do some "light housekeeping".

As I mentioned several weeks ago, my father was dipping into his home equity line to pay for his caregivers, which were in excess of $70,000 a year. He obviously didn't have that kind of money but was determined not to go to a nursing facility. When he passed away he was indebted to the tune of over $100,000.

I can only imagine how horrible it must feel to know that a loved one is in a facility during these times. But if you could keep your mother, father or grandparent at home with a caregiver, would you do it? What if you could find a way to afford it? What if the shoe were on the other foot and your family was having to decide what to do as you became chronically ill or mentally incapacitated?

Luckily, we now have something called Short Term Home Health Care (STHHC) policies that can alleviate the cost issues related to home care. Typically they cover the insured for 365 days for in-home care only. And the 365 days don't have to be consecutive, as some people receive care 3 or 4 days of the week.

It may not be the fully encompassing solution to keeping a loved one from a facility, but STHHC can save a family tens of thousands of dollars while preventing your older family members from getting sick and stuck in a nursing home or assisted living facility, which can be fatal during this pandemic.

And while a large majority of people who show an interest in the program are Medicare aged, we are also seeing interest from their adult children who have seen the costs associated with being ill or cognitively impaired.

To see a short video of how STHHC works, click here. This plan isn't available in all states, so let us know where you live and we'll check. In the meantime, stay healthy and check out our website below.


Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient. 

My Own Life Insurance Story Part 1

My father died this past Sunday after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was the kind of person who would never answer questions when it came to his personal finances, especially when his son was an insurance agent. When I would mention life insurance he would grunt something like "There's plenty for you, don't worry about it." Unfortunately, there wasn't plenty for anyone.

After spending hours going through his personal effects, my sister and I found a few inklings of policies here and there. The face amounts looked extremely low, like $1000 kind of low. Some of the policies were paid up in the 1970's (not a good sign) and in it all, there was no rhyme or reason to any of it. But that's the way he did things.

I cobbled together any and all evidence of policies that could be in effect and took them to the funeral home where my father had "pre-planned" his wishes. And that's all they were. Wishes. No contracts had be signed, not a deposit or anything else. He had chosen his casket (a very expensive one) and a few other items, and had been given a price. The funeral director did his best to honor those prices, but inflation had taken it's toll. He told us he would give the insurance information to a lady in his office who would do some investigating. The moral of this was that pre-planning was not the same as pre-paying.

When my mother-in-law, who resided outside of Charleston, SC, passed away several years ago, she had a policy for $75k. We signed a few forms to assign the policy to the funeral home. The funeral home got their share and the remainder of the policy went to the beneficiaries. It was a seamless process and worked marvelously. If only everyone would think this through.

The irony was that after my mother-in-law passed away, I had related the story to my father, letting him know how easy the process was for my wife and her siblings. The talk must have fallen on deaf ears because he failed to take any action that could have improved the situation that was yet to come.

So here we were. My sister and I, along with our spouses, were confused about my father's burial plans.The lady at the funeral home was thorough and did lots of research by reaching out to the insurance companies and explaining our dilemma. We found out that two of the polices, one of which was paid up and the other in good standing, both hadn't had a beneficiary update in years. My mother as well as my paternal grandmother, were both listed as beneficiaries and were both long dead. Again, if he had just let me take a look at things I would have spotted the problems, not that I'm super smart. As an agent who has been in the business for many years I know what to look for.

Yet another policy, which was in force and up to date, had by father's business as a beneficiary. The business had been shut down three years earlier. This whole affair was beginning to look more like a bad train wreck than a way to cover the expenses for burial and other related costs. 

In Part 2, I'll give you more of this story.

 Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

So What's The Big News?

We've hinted for a while that we had a big announcement coming and now is a great time to share it.  Starting this month, we will be once again offering Medicare Supplements.

If you or someone you know is about to turn 65, please contact us or pass our information along.  We have partnered with a large organization with many years of experience in the Medicare Supplement  market.  Surf Financial Brokers looks forward to working with you and your friends and family.