It's not unusual for someone to tell me something like, "I need $100,000 20-year term policy." For some reason that seems to be the default amount of insurance people ask for, so when I ask how they arrived at that amount of coverage the answers are vague and varied.
"That's what my cousin has so I figured that's what I need."
As we all know, financial situations are like finger prints in that no two are the same. That cousin may be older, have less debt and a winning lottery ticket for all we know.
The purpose of buying life insurance is to make sure that your loved ones are in a good position if you were to die. The last thing we anyone wants is for your spouse and children to be left with a lot of debt and no way to keep the roof over their heads.
With that in mind, there are a few things you should consider when determining how much coverage you need.
Mortgage debt. This is a big one because it is probably your household's largest expense each month.
Other debt. Figure in car payments, credit cards and other debt.
Final expenses. Have you considered how much it will cost when you die? The average funeral can cost between $10,000 and $12,000. Consider inflation as well.
Costs associated with death and dying. Many people will have a hospital stay, which can involve deductibles and co-pays.
Income replacement. If you are the main breadwinner in the house, your family will desperately need your lost income if you die. The car will need repairs and the refrigerator will have to be replaced eventually. Consider adding five years of your income to your coverage total.
Education costs. There are those people who don't want their kids to take on student debt and want their life insurance to help pay for tuition. Using a college calculator can help determine this amount.
Of course, all of this means nothing if you can't find a policy that you can afford. Our life insurance quoting tool makes it very easy to find the coverage you need and fits in your budget. Run a quote from our site and find a policy that can fits your needs and if you have questions, drop us a note. In the meantime, please stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
As the holidays approach, the idea of taking care of our family means more to us. Having our loved ones get together for a nice meal and gift giving leaves us with great memories.
However, when we think of the "traditional family" we think of a husband and wife and their two or three children, who all live together in one home until the kids become adults and move out. Even though there are still families in this situation, there are many people who have changed that concept. With social norms changing and people living longer, the family structure has been altered dramatically.
Now we have parents raising children who are not theirs, biologically speaking. Think of the old Brady Bunch TV show where two parents who had their own kids remarried. Of course, on the show everything was great. The fact that Marcia was not Mike Brady's biological daughter was never brought up as a topic.
There are those people who do love their step-kids or other children who have been brought into the home, like nieces and nephews . I know of one person in particular who is raising his wife's nephew because his sister-in-law had a drug problem.
There are those who begrudgingly raise a spouse's children from a previous relationship to "keep the peace". And when problems arise, the kids want to move back to their other biological parent or some other option. In other words, tensions can, and in some cases, do get escalated to the point where children are going back and forth between parents or other adult family members.
With all of this in mind, it's important to keep an even keel when it comes to estate planning with a blended family as it creates a whole set of issues. A will may seem like a good way of planning, but in fact, life insurance could be a better option to make sure those who are intended to benefit will be taken care of in the eventual death of a parent. And in the flexibility of naming and changing beneficiaries, as well as listing primary and contingent beneficiaries, makes it incredibly easy to take care of the family's estate planning needs.
As an attorney friend of mine says, "A life insurance policy trumps a will because it's a legally binding contract." The "yours, mine and ours" scenario can be very confusing for most families when it comes to estate planning, and life insurance can be the answer that is needed. It can help avoid a long and drawn out estate process and keep the peace within a family.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
As you may know, I often refer to the "Holy Trinity Of Insurance", which consists of major medical insurance, life insurance and, of course, disability insurance. Many people have a disability insurance (DI) policy through their work, but unfortunately, not enough people who are contract employees, business owners and otherwise "self-employed" people (like myself) have an individual DI plan. That's a discussion for another day.
I often speak to groups of employees when I am enrolling benefits, and when I discuss the DI plan, many of the employees ask what the elimination period is when they see it.
Simply put, the elimination period is the time, usually in days, before the policy actually begins to pay out benefits. There are typically two numbers with a comma between them, such as "0,7" or "7,14". The first number is the number of days that need to elapse before the policy will pay for an accident, while the second number is the waiting period for the benefits to trigger during an illness.
In other words, the elimination period is like a deductible, but measured in time instead of dollars. So a 0,7 elimination period means that the policy will begin to pay benefits on the first day after an accident and the eighth day after a sickness.
Just like your deductible on your car or health insurance, the higher the number, the lower your premium. If you think you can "self-insure" for a month or two, your premiums can be reduced significantly.
When one thinks of a disability, injuries from auto accidents come to mind. But consider that almost 90% of DI claims are for illnesses, like cancer. Treatment can last for months and can easily keep someone from working.
If you have questions about Disability Insurance or other insurance products we offer, feel free to book a short phone appointment with us to discuss. In the meantime, please stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
We have all heard the adage that a good salesperson can sell ice to an Eskimo. But a salesperson with integrity will ask, "Does that Eskimo really need ice, and if not, why are you selling it to him or her?" The question implies that sales people, entrepreneurs, contract employees and business owners must do their absolute best to come off as honest and not shady.
Think about those TV commercials for attorneys. There are two types - the ones who try to act sincere about how they really want to help, and the ones who scream and boast about how much money they get their clients. Neither is awesome, but the latter comes off like a used car salesman. Integrity? I'll plead the fifth.
Selling on need means that there needs to be a discussion (short or long) to find out what the client's needs are. And everyone has different needs, despite what some of the financial "gurus" in the media assume when they give generic advice. That discussion will let everyone involved in the sales process know that we are doing our best by our client.
The Funny Part
I was speaking to the Regional VP for Disability Sales at one of the insurance carriers I represent. We were discussing a YouTube video I had made a few months earlier titled "Can Zombies Get Life Insurance?" In that conversation he asked if vampires could get Long Term Care insurance. "Well, you certainly wouldn't sell them a policy with a lifetime benefit because they don't die. A company could go broke paying that claim!" Once again, this guy showed me why he's a lot smarter than I am.
But the conversation made me think. For several weeks, I have considered the "vampire market" and wondered if there were suitable products for such a niche market. My list looked like this.
Life insurance - Vampires don't die, unless by a wooden stake or sunlight. Life coverage may not be necessary.
Accident insurance - Most accidents will cover severe sunburns, as well as wooden stakes that accidentally pierce the heart.
Long Term Care insurance - I'm not sure if being "undead" is a chronic illness.
Disability insurance - Tricky, because we are assuming that vampires have incomes to protect.
Medical insurance - Assuming vampires need to be hospitalized, what doctor would know how to treat them?
Let us make sure you are purchasing what you need and not what pays the highest commission. And if you aren't sure what you need, you can book a quick conversation with us from our website. We look forward to hearing from you.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
Many of us who are self-employed don't always get to enjoy the perks of group benefits, like medical coverage and paid time off. But for those who do have jobs where the company pays for extra perks, those perks may be good, but not awesome.
One of the issues I run into quite often with people who have "bennies" through work is the idea that their group life insurance program is all they need. For some it may be, but for many people that coverage is much less than what they actually need and it more than likely won't be there if these people leave their jobs.
One of my first real jobs was working for a large company that did offer life insurance. They offered me coverage of my annual salary, which was next to nothing, and I could buy additional coverage, like 2 or 3 times my salary for a few dollars each month. There were no exams or health questions, and I got as much as I could for the price of a coffee at Starbucks. I was single and didn't have much debt, so I figured that if something were to happen to me, my family would have enough to pay for a funeral and maybe even have some hor d'oeuvres. In other words, the life insurance plan was appropriate for my needs.
However, there were co-workers of mine who were married and had children. These folks also had mortgages, car payments and other expenses that I didn't have. I seriously doubt that the small amount of life insurance offered was enough to give their families the safety net they needed if they were to die. And when the company was sold and employees started to jump ship like rats, they lost the little coverage they had.
Having life insurance coverage through your work is good, and most agents will take that into account when trying to determine how much you actually need. There are several other items to consider when you calculate your family's needs.
Outstanding debt. Mortgage balance, credit cards and car payments should be included.
Final expenses. Funeral costs and other costs associated with dying. For instance, many people will spend time in the hospital before passing away, and those deductibles may need to be met.
Replacing lost income. Your survivors depend on your income to take care of everyday expenses, as well as those bills that happen to pop up unexpectedly, like repairs for appliances and vehicles.
Education costs. If you have small children, you may want to include the costs of higher education.
Having life insurance through work is good, but making sure you have enough coverage is even better. If you aren't sure how much you need, Our life insurance quoting tool has a built in calculator that will help you out. Give it a try and in the meantime, stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
Recently I was reading an article on all of the reasons people fail to buy life, disability and other types of insurance. Apparently there are a lot of misconceptions floating about and I wanted to take the opportunity to hopefully correct these ideas. Taking them one at at time I hope to explain these misconceptions over the next few posts.
Last week I was talking with a couple who were doing okay financially. They realized that they were fortunate enough that one of them could stay home with their small kids while the other was the main breadwinner. In this situation, the wife worked and the husband stayed home and had a small consulting business, which by their estimation was "more of a hobby". I took that as meaning he didn't bring a lot of money into the household.
We discussed life insurance for the wife and ran the numbers to pay off the debt and replace her income for a few years. They both agreed that she needed to be covered. When I asked about the husband, there was a bit of confusion. "He really isn't contributing to the bills, so I don't think he needs a policy," the wife said.
The husband, who I thought would pipe up and say something, sat there nodding in agreement. I asked a couple of simple questions: If he were to die unexpectedly, how much would she need to pay for childcare? Or would she want to take time off from work to stay home with the kids?
This was obviously something neither had considered. Especially when neither of them had family nearby. The kids were young and only one was enrolled in school, so the other child would need to either be enrolled in a daycare or preschool, or they would need to have someone come into the home, like a nanny.
When I explained what that kind of care costs, they were taken aback a little. I tried to ease their concern and let them know that a term life insurance would be much less expensive and, in the event of the husband's death, could cover the expenses for childcare plus his funeral costs, which they also failed to plan for.
When a family member is not the breadwinner, it doesn't mean that they don't need life insurance. As a matter of fact, we even offer a disability policy on stay-at-home parents to help replace the costs of daycare.
What are your thoughts? Leave us a comment below.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
When I originally got into the insurance business the internet didn't exist. Agents would carry rate books with incredibly small print and have to calculate the premiums and fees by hand. Needless to say mistakes were a common occurrence, and I was one of the biggest culprits of quoting someone an incorrect price.
At that time (back in the 1980's) we were taught a method of prospecting which involved networking and learning verbiage to ask for referrals. The networking part was not as bad as it would seem because I am comfortable talking to strangers. And I found out later that most of the people I was trying to connect with were not as comfortable as I was in that situation. On the other hand, though, the referral part was hard for me.
Let's face it, most people don't like to give referrals. When I have asked for referrals in the past I can sense the tension build and the wheels turn in my client's head. I understand the trepidation because I have been on that side of the situation as well. You give a friend's name and the next thing you know your friend calls you angrily. "Why did you give that insurance agent my name?"
Unfortunately, things haven't changed much since then. There are still companies out there trying to teach their new agents the old school ways. This is because they believe that insurance selling is built upon a relationship of trust. There's nothing wrong with that, but people in general, and younger people specifically, don't feel the need to have that relationship anymore.
From an insurance agency standpoint, we still do some of the same "old school" things, but with the internet available, we can now market to a wider geographical area without having to be physically able to see and talk to our clients. Zoom and other tools have given agents access to people who need our products and services from multiple states.
This is evident by the increasing numbers of people who are buying financial products on the internet. Things like auto insurance, life insurance, investments and banking were handled in person by an agent or advisor, and they still are. However many people feel they no longer need, or want, to deal with someone for these types of services.
Personally speaking, I began purchasing my car insurance online years ago, as well as my small investment portfolio. By doing this, it keeps more money in my pocket and I don't have to wait for someone to return a phone call or be in their office. Convenience is the name of the game.
With that in mind, we have done our best to make available more products on our website that clients can look at when it is convenient for them. And if someone wants to speak to a real person, we have made our calendar available for a phone appointment accessible too.
Check out our website and run a quote, and if you see a rate you like that fits into your budget, you can even start an application. We want to make things as convenient for our clients as possible. In the meantime, please stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
One of the most popular benefits people want to discuss when enrolling for their benefits is their dental insurance. I have always felt that the reason they ask about dental coverage is because they know they will use it, even if it's just for the preventative benefits. And in the back of everyone's mind is the scenario of breaking a tooth while eating popcorn or a candy bar.
Dental insurance, like health insurance, is typically supported by networks of doctors, who agree to fees for certain services. This can help dental patients with the fees for "basic" services such as fillings or extractions, or "major" services, like root canals or crowns.
There are plans available that will allow one to go out of the network for these services, which may mean paying more out of pocket, but they still cover the bulk of the costs. For those who live in rural areas where finding a doctor in a certain network can be difficult, this is a still a good option.
And there can be waiting periods, depending on the plan. I have seen some plans that only cover preventative (cleanings and x-rays) for the first year, while others may offer basic services.
There is a good reason for this. Many people will tell me "I need a root canal, so I better get some dental insurance." The insurance carrier doesn't want to receive a couple of months of premiums (let's say $200 for the family) and have to pay out a $2000 claim right off the bat. Makes sense.
At Surf Financial Brokers, shopped around and looked at several plans that our clients would want. So now we offer a plan that includes vision and hearing coverage as well, and allows clients to receive services in or out of the network. If you are interested in such a plan, you can go to our website and run your own quote for you or your whole family. And if you see a plan you like, you can even start your own application.
Dental coverage is an important way to avoid unforeseen situations that are painful, inconvenient and expensive. And our teeth are important for our quality of life, as well as part of a great smile.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
There has been a lot of talk on the news and social media about the labor shortage that we are having in our country of late. Despite what some outlets are saying, there are a variety of reasons why employers are having a hard time finding and keeping personnel.
One way employers can get the employees they want is to offer benefits. I have worked in the workplace benefits arena for years and have seen many small business owners brush off the idea of having to deal with payroll deductions and billing issues. But those same people are now starting to reconsider as they find staffing their businesses to be more difficult than ever.
We work with several companies that offer benefits and can coordinate existing benefits into the mix as well. And we can cover groups of any size, from 2 people to 2000! If you are a business owner or know of someone having staffing issues, let us help you find a good product mix that your employees will want.
Drop us a note or book a short phone call to discuss what you currently offer and how we can help.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
At Surf Financial Brokers, we really do enjoy helping owners of small businesses, entrepreneurs, sales professionals and otherwise self-employed. This is because we are in the same boat as independent agents. The lack of group benefits can be troubling, but we are doing our best to help these great folks (who are the backbone of our economy) have access to quality dental and vision plans, cancer insurance and, of course, disability insurance.
Being self-employed can be scary, but it can also be very rewarding. Paying for your own benefits is a small price to pay for the independence and freedom of owning your own business.
We have put a few of these types of plans on our website for you to look at, run a quote, and even apply if you like what you see. If you need information for something that isn't there, drop us a note or book a short phone appointment to speak with us. We look forward to helping you out.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
As I have mentioned previously, the Greek word for insurance is "asfalia", which literally translates to "security". The Greeks are not paying for someone to insure them, but instead are buying peace of mind, knowing that their families and loved ones are secure.
One of the recurring themes that insurance companies use when advertising, or even training their agents, is that their products give people the peace of mind. I worked with one company that had a brochure titled "What Keeps You Up At Night?", with the idea being that prospective clients would be so worried about what would happen to their families that they couldn't get to sleep. One can imagine that this may be the case for some people.
If only there was a way to get to these people when they were worrying about this. How could I help people who were in their pajamas?
That's why we have added several quoting tools onto our website. A concerned breadwinner can visit our site and run quotes for life, cancer, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance. We even have one for our combo dental, vision and hearing plan. And the best part is if someone sees a rate that fits into their budget they can start their application, all without a pushy salesman. (We aren't pushy.)
On the other hand, we make ourselves available if someone is looking for a little assistance, and we do have other insurance products, like disability and long term care, that we currently don't have the capability of quoting online. For those kinds of concerns, we ask that you book an appointment that is convenient for you from our site and we can help you out over the phone.
If you are in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina or South Carolina, and can't sleep, visit our site. In the meantime, please stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
Two weeks ago I was asked to give a talk to a local networking group about long term care insurance, as well as other related subjects. Most of the material I discussed had to do with the products available to us, like long term care insurance, short term home healthcare insurance and life insurance with "living benefits" that can be used in the case of a chronic illness or cognitive impairment, like Alzheimer's or dementia.
As usual, I discussed the three stages of retirement which are the Go Go Years, the Slow Go Years and the No Go Years. Unfortunately, most people don't plan for the last part, which is what ultimately costs them the most money.
Take a couple of minutes and watch the video below which covers a short talk on the subject. If you have any questions or comments, please post them below and if you can, please subscribe to our channel on YouTube.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
Not that many people noticed, but I took a week off from the blog last week as I tried to regroup a bit. I wanted to use the time to consider a few options. Partly from general burn out and partly because coming up with a new insurance related topic three times a week is harder than I thought, I mulled some stuff over and have decided to make a few changes.
Part of the problem is that I continue to write another blog on sales and marketing twice a week. I appreciate that it makes me do research on new products and keeps my brain "flexing it's muscles", but it was becoming a bit much.
After some consideration I will be changing the format here a bit. There will probably be only one (two at most) blogs each week, with less text and more video. This helps me because I'm a decent writer but I can knock out a short video on a topic in a minute or two, which is about the same time it would take you to read one of my blogs.
I'm looking forward to sharing more information on life insurance, disability, long term care, accident and cancer insurance, as well as our other plans.
To start us off on a lighter note, here is a good submission for you. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave us a comment. Thanks and please subscribe.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
As an insurance agent I have come across a wide variety of opinions when it comes to people discussing their own deaths. I am constantly amazed at how people will open up with me so quickly. Maybe they trust an insurance agent more than their own family members.
Some of these folks believe they are heading into the afterlife, one way or another, while more than you would expect seem to feel that there is nothing after you die. But with all of these differing opinions, most do agree that their loved ones will still be around when they are gone and may have to pay some expensive bills as a result of their death.
And here is the rub. If we agree that there will be some costs involved when we go to our great reward, shouldn't we try to minimize those costs ahead of time? Wouldn't it be in the best interest of our surviving family members? It seems like common sense to say "yes". Especially when we know that no one lives forever.
So what can you do to make sure your family doesn't go broke paying their last respects to you? Here are a few ideas of simple tasks that don't need to be put off any longer.
Have a will. Your will directs the courts to help settle your estate per your wishes. It's very important to keep it updated every few years as your situation changes. And most importantly, make sure your family members know where to find it. Is your will in a safe, or a file at your attorney's office? And never leave it in a safe deposit box unless other family members have a key.
Have a living will. If you were seriously ill, would you want to be on life support or would you rather have the medical staff "pull the plug"? Your directives can keep your family from keeping you on life support when you would rather pass away.
Have a life insurance policy. As an attorney friend of mine always says, "A life insurance policy trumps a will." You don't have to wait for someone's estate to be settled because a life insurance policy is a binding contract between you and your insurance company. Remember that when someone dies, the funeral home, lawyer and others will have their hand out waiting to be paid. Your life insurance agent will be the one bringing you a check to pay those bills.
Pre-plan your funeral. Instead of your kids picking out a Cadillac coffin, you can decide for yourself how modest you want your funeral to be.
Pre-pay your funeral. My own father did pre-plan but didn't pre-pay. From the time he had planned his funeral to the time he actually passed away, inflation had done some damage. The funeral director shook his head and said, "I'll do the best I can on these prices", and I could tell it wasn't the first time he had run into this situation.
This list may seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. The first two items and the last two items can be taken care of at the same time. Having a plan and letting your family know what it is can save them substantial money and they will know that, even in death, you are looking out for their best interest.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
When I first got into the insurance business I didn't have a mentor or anyone to "show me the ropes" per se. I learned quickly that my sales manager had a financial interest in me selling, and one would think that he would want me, as well as the rest of the agents on his team, to succeed. And while it was true to an extent, I also learned that I needed a mentor who did not have any skin in the game when it came to my success. Basically I needed someone who could be objective and give me sound advice who would be looking out for my interests.
Since no one was stepping up to the plate to help me, I started reading books about sales and any information I could find about successful insurance agents. There were many motivational books and most of them gave the same basic information. One day, I came across an article about an agent who was deemed "The Greatest Life Insurance Agent of All Time". His name was Ben Feldman and his story was quite remarkable.
I don't want to bore you with all of the details as you can look up the details on him with a simple Google search, but the simple fact is that he found a way to sell more life insurance as an agent than some entire companies at the time. When asked how he sold so many insurance policies he said, "I do not sell life insurance. I sell money."
You see, Mr. Feldman was able to clearly communicate what life insurance is. When a client buys a policy, they are actually buying a promise. That promise is that if the insured should die, the insurance company will pay a death claim which will exceed what the client has paid in.
Mr. Feldman also was noted as saying to his agents, "Don't sell life insurance. Sell what life insurance can do." In today's world of life insurance, a policy can do a lot for a family when the insured passes away, but with all of the living benefits available nowadays, people can use them while they are still living.
Let's face it, no one really wants to buy life insurance, or any other kind of insurance for that matter. It's not fun or something one can show off to their friends. But it is necessary, especially when others are dependent on us financially. Our children rely on us to provide housing and education, which costs money. Our parents, who always insists that they don't want to be a burden on anyone else, may ultimately rely on us to help with long term care costs if they haven't planned in advance.
And then there are others that may depend on us financially, like charities and churches. When a large donor passes away, that non-profit organization may need to find other donors to fill the missing gaps. And sometimes, those large donors will list the charity of their choice as a beneficiary on a policy.
Ben Feldman knew all of this and made sure he didn't sell just the steak, but the sizzle as well. Instead of saying he was selling life insurance, he would call it something like "a special educational package for your children's children."
So the next time you talk to a life insurance agent, remember, we don't just sell insurance, but we sell money, and a promise.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
A few weeks back I joined an online chat with some people I really didn't know but who had some valuable information to offer. Fortunately, these very nice people welcomed me to their group. One of them in particular, Adam Griggs who is the CEO of CLARAfi, dropped me a note a few days later, which began a conversation.
Adam took a look at some of my videos on YouTube, gave me a word of encouragement, and then suggested that I make a short video explaining my "how and why" I got into the insurance business. To be honest, I initially was thinking, "Yeah, no one really wants to hear that story." But since Adam took the time to watch a few videos, I thought the least I could do would be to consider his idea.
I thought back to my first venture into insurance back in 1985. Having graduated from college with no real job prospects, my father wanted me to work with him at his fledgling engineering firm. Keeping my eyes open for other opportunities, I begrudgingly went to work for him entering data into an MS-DOS program.
There were several issues with this situation, with a major problem being that I was not an engineer. My degree was in Business Management. Also, my old man, who was a micromanager to say the least, wanted me to live at home, work with him, and let him decide what I should eat for dinner. Also, that dinner would include discussions about work, which I had just suffered through a few hours earlier. I was quickly going crazy.
I needed to find a job where I could learn some real world business skills while getting out from under the old man's thumb. One morning I told my father I had a job interview in Raleigh, NC, about an hour away. I didn't really, but my plan was to go there and start looking for work. In the course of a few hours I had managed to find what I thought was a good opportunity with an insurance company.
The job wasn't exactly as presented by the recruiter, who had made it sound fairly easy work with banker's hours and great pay. Instead I found myself driving all hours of the day and night in rural areas doing what boiled down to door-to-door insurance sales. And the product was not something I would not purchase for myself. As a matter of fact, I met several people who were angry about their claims experiences. One even threatened to get his gun and shoot me.
After a few months of this, I realized that my coworkers were leaving and being replaced by a revolving door of new agents. It didn't take me long to jump ship as well, and being young and naïve, I got out of the insurance business altogether for about 15 years.
In 2000, I decided to give insurance another go, but this time would be different. I wanted to learn the business from multiple perspectives, so I worked for various companies as an independent agent. Each company had its own way of doing things, from how they prospected for clients to the ways they collected premiums. I learned how some insurance carriers' products were better than others and when those products were suitable for clients.
About this same time, I had an aunt who had been in a nursing home for over 20 years. She had fallen and broken her hip when I was still in high school. My parents had been left with the responsibility of taking care of her bills and I watched them struggle. Even though my father's engineering firm was doing okay, his finances were stretched. A long term care policy would have been a great help, had one been available for her (and subsequently my parents) when she had gone into a facility.
That's when I realized that selling insurance was more than just a job, but a way to help people who were in bad situations by convincing them to mitigate their financial risks ahead of time. There were plenty of examples of insurance policies keeping people from financial ruin, from strangers to those close to me.
For example, my wife's father had died unexpectedly before I had met her, and his life insurance policy helped her graduate from college and take care of other necessities. We even used some of the proceeds years later to make a down payment on our home.
Making sure that people have the right amount of insurance, their beneficiaries are up-to-date and keeping it all in a budget can be tough. Insurance is a product that most people don't want to buy, so the job is more about convincing them they need it. Because of this, the stereotypical insurance salesperson is high pressure. I prefer to say I use "good pressure", because my intention isn't to get the sale, but to make sure that when something bad happens, my clients won't have to move out of their homes or take a second job to pay the bills.
When someone goes to my website and books a phone appointment to discuss life, disability or long term care insurance with me, I may give them a bit of a nudge to make sure their needs are met. It's all done with their best interests in mind. And that is why I do what I do.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
One of the most confusing issues about buying life insurance is knowing how much you will need at different points of your life. As your personal situation changes over time, so will your life insurance needs. Marriage, having children, buying a home or starting a business can mean incremental differences in your coverage.
And as you get older, your life insurance needs typically decrease. The kids have gone off to college or are on their own, the mortgage is paid and other debt has hopefully been eliminated. With all of this change going on, it makes sense to know what your foreseeable needs will be and adjust accordingly.
Sure, you could just buy one very large term policy to cover the next 20 to 30 years, but what happens after that? Burial insurance sounds good, but what if you should have some health issues that could prevent you from buying an affordable policy? The non-medical policies are okay, but they can be expensive.
This is when you should consider a strategy known as "laddering". Laddering is the practice of purchasing several term policies for different lengths of time and different face amounts. Since the policies are set to expire at different times, you only pay for the amount of coverage you need throughout your different life stages.
As an example, let's say that "Bob" is 35 years old, in good health and a non-smoker. After a quick review, Bob discovers he needs $1 million over the next 30 years. If he were to purchase a policy for $1 million, if may cost him about $75 each month, or $900 each year. Over the course of 30 years, Bob would pay $27,000.
However, if Bob decided to purchase three smaller policies that had different terms, it would look something like this:
First policy - A 10-year term with a death benefit of $500,000 ($14 each month)
Second policy - A 20-year term with a death benefit of $300,000 ($16 each month)
Third policy - A 30-year term with a death benefit of $200,000 ($21 each month)
The total amount of coverage is $1 million, but the amount of premium Bob pays on a monthly basis is different throughout the years. And this saves Bob money.
For the first 10 years, Bob pays $51 each month. At the end of the 10th year, the $500,000 will expire, which means Bob only pays $37 each month from year 11 through 20. At the end of the 20th year, the $300,000 policy will expire, which means Bob will only pay $21 each month from the 21st year until the end of the coverage period.
Bob's total premium over the 30 years is $13,080, which means he'll save $13,920! Not bad. And that difference could have been invested into a retirement plan or something else.
As you can see, Bob saved a ton of money plus he got the coverage he needed. During the first 10 years, Bob had $1 million dollars of coverage to pay off his mortgage and other financial obligates. In the second 10 years, with his mortgage principle decreasing, he still had $500,000 of coverage, which would have been sufficient at that point. Finally, in the last 10 years, his spouse could pay off the remaining bit of mortgage as well as take care of his funeral expenses and any other debts with the remaining $200,000.
Even though buying multiple policies may seem like more work, if they are all purchased at the same time through the same carrier, the bill can be consolidated and the savings will be well worth the time and effort.
If you have questions about laddering your policies or anything else related to life insurance please drop us a note or book a short phone appointment with us. In the meantime, please stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
During a discussion with a friend of mine, whom I'll call Bob, we talked about paying for his child's education costs if and when he went off to college. Bob had been divorced a couple of years and his son was in first grade at the time of our conversation.
Bob has his own business and does pretty well financially, but he isn't a millionaire by any stretch of the imagination. He told me that he hoped that his son would get some sort of scholarships down the road, but due to his above average income, the child probably wouldn't be eligible for any financial aid when the time came. I agreed with him on this point.
One of the first things we did was run an estimate* of how much a four year college would cost 12 years out. When I say "estimate", it truly is just that, because there are so many variables like the following:
Will the child go to a public or private college?
Will the school be in state or out of state?
What if the child decides to get an associates degree at a 2-year school?
What if the child doesn't go to school at all?
These are important things to think about because of the nature of our current college savings plans. Most of these plans, like the 529 or Coverdell plans, give tax breaks for setting aside money for college. And as most things that are "tax related" go, there is going to be plenty of paperwork and documentation involved. That means Bob and his child would have to disclose any college savings plans and the amount of cash accrued inside those plans.
During this discussion I asked Bob if he had any life insurance, which he did. He had a term life policy that covered the mortgage on his house and his ex-wife was the beneficiary due to the court determining this at the time of their divorce.
This is when I brought up using life insurance as a college savings plan. The reason I like to consider this is because it takes care of two problems at once. First, Bob needed additional life insurance as his term policy was not enough cover the cost of college for his son if he were to die too soon. Secondly, the cash value inside the policy would not need to be disclosed on any financial aid applications.
He agreed to look at some numbers. We had planned on taking money out of the policy during his son's freshman year, but a phone call gave us another strategy. My friend at the insurance company suggested a strategy where Bob's son apply for college loans. Since the loans wouldn't be due until he graduated, he could pay them back then with little to no interest in full. By waiting until the child was out of college to repay the loans, the cash value would have an additional four years to build cash value.
Because Bob was healthy and an non-smoker, he was able to get more "bang for his buck" out of the policy. After some consideration, Bob and I agreed that the best way forward was to use an indexed universal life insurance plan, as a whole life plan would cost more and not build cash value as quickly.
Another reason we liked the plan was that if the child, for some reason, didn't need the money, Bob could use the cash value to supplement his own retirement or take advantage of the living benefits** if he were to become chronically ill.
If you have questions regarding using life insurance while you are living, drop us a note. In the meantime, please stay healthy!
*There are many calculators out there that can help you estimate the future costs of your child's education. We recommend this one.
**Living benefits are not available on all plans but were included at no extra charge in this case.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
Sometimes I feel as if I do nothing but discuss life insurance on this blog, when there are plenty of other kinds of insurance to talk about. Yes, from time to time I will write about the need for disability insurance (part of my "Holy Trinity of Insurance") as well as other plans, but I don't feel as if I'm doing them all justice. Especially when it comes to one of the best features on these policies.
Many of these "ancillary" or "voluntary" policies on the market, such as cancer plans, accident plans and critical illness plan, offer a "wellness" or "health screening" benefit. These benefits give you the incentive to do what you should be doing anyway - getting a check up. The insurance company does not offer wellness benefits available out of the goodness of their hearts. Instead, if they can encourage their policy holders to have an annual checkup, the odds are good that if something is found, it will be caught early and be treatable, thus saving the company money when a claim happens.
Sales agents will use a wellness benefit as part of their presentation and rightly so. For example, if someone were to purchase a policy that costs around $200* a year and they get back $75 just for getting a check up, the policy really cost about $125. And if you are buying through payroll deduction and it qualifies to be pre-taxed, you're saving even more!
On those occasions when I do group presentations about these kinds of products, I let the employees know about the wellness benefits and how they vary from policy to policy. I also ask if anyone in the group has received their wellness benefits and hands go up. There's usually some chatter amongst the crowd about how easy it is to get that "free money" as they call it.
Of course, the important part is to remember to get a check up and file the claim. Unfortunately, too many people fail to file their wellness claims. Here are a couple of ways to make sure you get your money:
If you have a plan through work, have your HR person keep "originals" of wellness claim forms in a file cabinet. You can make a copy of it and remit to the company without having to call your agent.
Many of the insurance companies have gone to an online claims process which is even faster and easier.
When you do get a check up, let everyone know. Inevitably, someone will say, "Did you file your wellness claim?" Co-workers talk to each other.
When you set your appointment for your check up, set a Google reminder for your claim as well.
I work with one agent who owns every single type of these insurance plans. When he goes to the doctor for his annual check up, he "rings the register" as he files his wellness claim on each and every policy. He'll say things like, "I needed to get checked out, so I may as well make a few hundred on the deal."
And the interesting part is that this agent, who is in his mid 40's, suffered a mild stroke a few years ago. While his major medical paid the majority of his doctor and hospital bills, his Hospital Indemnity plan paid a benefit directly to him which helped with his deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses.
The good news is that you don't have to be part of a group to get one of these plans. We offer them on an individual basis for those who are self-employed or don't have plans like this offered through work. If you are interested in a plan like this, check out our website. You can run your own quote on cancer and accident plans as well as hospital indemnity. If you have questions, drop us a note.
*These numbers are made up, but probably in the ballpark.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
If you are a millennial or GenX'er you may wonder what kind of life insurance you should purchase. There are a few different types of coverage available. Term, universal, indexed universal and whole life. Term policies could be considered "temporary" as they only cover you during a specific amount of time, like 10, 20 or 30 years. There are even some companies out there offering 40 and 45-year terms for younger people. Term policies are much less expensive because they only offer a death benefit and there are no other features like loans or cash value. (Some term policies now offer "living benefits" which can help you if chronic or critical illnesses arise.)
Although term life insurance does not accrue cash value, it's affordable for working families during their working years. For instance, a healthy non-smoker in their mid-20's could expect to pay less than $25 each month for $500,000. (Rates are subject to underwriting and are not guaranteed)
On the other hand there are permanent policies, like universal life (UL), indexed universal life (IUL) and whole life (WL). These policies are more expensive but they also cover for the rest of your life as long as you continue to pay the premiums.
Permanent policies also have various ways to build cash value internally. For example, the UL uses interest rates, but since rates are at historic lows (for now), it's not a great option. We have many younger clients who use IUL's in lieu of investing and are very happy.
For those who are single with no dependents but own a home, a policy will allow you to keep that home in the family. Having parents or nieces or nephews who could use that home if you should pass can be beneficial and life insurance can pay off the balance of the mortgage.
So how can you get a policy? You can usually get a policy through work if they offer one, however we always recommend you have additional coverage outside of work, in case you leave your job. Also, that coverage through work is rarely enough to cover all of your debt and replace lost income. If you have a family, you will definitely need much more.
A great way is to use a quoting tool (we have one on our website) which lets you enter your information and will give you several choices of coverages. If you like what you see, you can even begin the application.
A simple method to find out how much life insurance you need is to add up your expenses and liabilities, like the mortgage, car payments and other debts. That should be a minimum for your needs. You may also want to consider lost income if you are the sole breadwinner of the home, and future education costs if you have children. On our website, our life insurance quoting tool offers a calculator to help determine your needs.
You may or may not be required to have an exam. It really depends on several factors, like the carrier and the amount you are applying for. Many companies have decreased their usage of exams during the pandemic, but they still reserve the right to have your medical records transmitted to them. And if there is no exam, you could have to answer a lot of medical questions during the application process. The secret here is to be as truthful and honest as possible, especially when it comes to questions about smoking (tobacco or cannabis) and your family's medical history.
If you have questions about what type of insurance you need or how to apply, let us know. In the meantime, please stay healthy!
Want to know how much disability insurance you need? Drop us a note and we'll send you our free PDF!
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
I received a phone call recently from a friend (I'll call her Molly) who lives in another town. She said she had some questions pertaining to life insurance beneficiaries, specifically for her mother and brother's policies.
Without going into a lot of detail, she explained that her mother, who was in her early 90's, was starting to have some health issues. "Mom" had a couple of small life insurance policies she had purchased years earlier and Molly had questions about the beneficiaries and how the policies paid out the death benefits.
The wrinkle in all of this was that Molly's brother (we'll call him Dan), was listed as a beneficiary and he is currently in hospice with his own health problems. Molly didn't seem to think that Dan was going to last much longer, thus confusing things further. And just to make things even more complicated, the mother had taken out a policy on Dan when he was a child, with the mother listed as the beneficiary. What a mess!
Molly wanted to know who would get the death benefits if either her mom or brother died first. I suggested we discuss one at a time. Since her mother owned the life insurance policy on Dan, the mother could call the insurance carrier at any time and change the beneficiaries. I suggested that Molly help her mom contact the company and request a form, either called a "change of beneficiary" or "beneficiary update" form, and get it completed as to her wishes as soon as possible.
Many times the company will be happy to email (or snail mail) the form to the owner of a policy, but most require a "wet" signature to make changes. Digital beneficiary changes are rarely accepted. The nice part is that an owner of a policy can do this is at any time.
Molly also had questions pertaining to the policy on her brother. Even though Dan was not expected to make it much longer, what would happen if the mother died first? There were no other beneficiaries listed, according to Molly.
Even though her brother was the insured, he had no real rights to make changes since he was not the owner of the policy. Again, the mother was in control. My suggestion to Molly was to get additional changes forms to update the beneficiaries on the policy insuring her brother. Her mother could add Molly as a "contingent" or "secondary" beneficiary.
All of this is why we emphasize checking your policies from time to time and making sure your beneficiaries are correct. Updating this information can avoid a lot of headaches for your loved ones.
Just so you know, beneficiaries can be prioritized, i.e. Primary, secondary (or contingent). In other words, if your primary beneficiary dies before you do, or at the same time, your secondary beneficiary would receive the funds.
However, some people choose to split up their beneficiaries. A parent may want two people to share equally. When this happens, they can both be named as primary beneficiaries, but each receiving 50% of the death benefit.
I try to convince my clients to keep things as easy as possible. Naming beneficiaries in order instead of dividing up things can be more helpful, especially when it comes to paying down debts, like mortgages and other bills. Also, as in the case of Molly's family, some beneficiaries may pass away before the insured.
Another thing to consider is that children under 18 years of age should not be listed, as the insurance company will not send money to a minor. Many of our clients who are single parents tend to name other family members who will put the money aside for the child until they are responsible.
Please keep your beneficiaries up to date and if you have questions, drop us a note.
Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!
