Who Should I Name As My Life Insurance Beneficiary?

Naming a life insurance beneficiary is a big decision, but it boils down to one main question: Who would suffer financially if you were no longer here?

There isn't a single "right" answer, but there are a few standard paths depending on your situation, along with a couple of critical legal traps you'll want to avoid.

Common Options to Consider

• A Spouse or Partner: This is the most common choice. The payout is typically used to replace your income, pay off a mortgage, or cover daily living expenses for the surviving partner.

• Adult Children: If your kids are grown, naming them ensures they receive the financial support directly. You can split the benefit equally among them.

• An Aging Parent or Dependent Relative: If you provide financial care for a parent or a sibling with special needs, naming them can ensure their ongoing care is funded.

• A Trust: If you want to control how and when the money is spent (for example, keeping it in a trust until a child turns 25), you can name a legal trust as the beneficiary.

• A Business Partner: Often used in "Buy-Sell agreements," this allows a surviving partner the cash needed to buy out your share of a business from your heirs.

• 
  

  
  
  

Critical Traps to Avoid

1. Never Name Minor Children Directly

Insurance companies legally cannot write a check to a minor. If you name a young child, the court will get involved to appoint a guardian to manage the money until they turn 18 or 21. This process is expensive, slow, and stressful. Instead, name a trust or an adult custodian under the UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act).

2. Forgetting a "Contingent" Beneficiary

Always name a backup (contingent) beneficiary. If your primary beneficiary passes away before or at the same time as you, and you don't have a backup, the money defaults to your estate. This means it has to go through probate court, can be taxed, and can be claimed by creditors.

3. Naming Your "Estate"

It sounds like a safe catch-all, but naming your estate subjects the life insurance payout to the probate process. One of the best features of life insurance is that it usually bypasses probate and goes straight to your loved ones tax-free within weeks. Naming the estate ties that money up in court for months.

Don't Forget to Keep It Updated

Major life changes—like marriage, divorce, having a child, or starting a business—are a signal to review your policy. Keep in mind that a will does not override a life insurance policy. Whoever is named on that insurance document will get the money, regardless of what your will says.

Let us help you protect your family and your business. Click here to schedule a call. 

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. Please subscribe to this blog!

Guaranteed Insurability Option Explained

Navigating the world of life insurance can be overwhelming, especially with the variety of "riders" or add-ons available to customize a policy. In a helpful overview by Surf Financial Brokers, Chris explains one of the most valuable yet often misunderstood features: the Guaranteed Insurability Option (GIO). Also known as the Guaranteed Purchase Option, this rider acts as a powerful safety net for policyholders who anticipate their insurance needs may grow in the future.

At its core, the Guaranteed Insurability Option allows you to purchase additional life insurance coverage at specific intervals without having to undergo a new medical exam or provide evidence of insurability. This means that even if your health has declined since you first took out the policy, the insurance company cannot deny you increased coverage. These "option dates" are typically scheduled on the anniversary of the policy or spread out every three to five years.

One important factor to keep in mind is the cost associated with exercising this option. While you don't have to prove you are healthy, the premium for the new, additional coverage will be calculated based on your current age, not your age when you first bought the original policy. For example, if you purchased your base policy at 35 and decide to add coverage ten years later, that specific portion of the premium will reflect your age of 45.

The primary benefit of this rider is the peace of mind it provides for those with changing life circumstances. It is particularly useful for individuals who have taken on more debt or those who have developed health problems that might otherwise make it difficult or impossible to qualify for a new policy. By securing a GIO rider early on, you are essentially "buying availability"—ensuring that the door to more protection remains open regardless of your future medical status. 

From a professional standpoint, agents often recommend this option for specific groups, such as parents insuring small children or individuals with a family history of medical issues. For children, it guarantees they can increase their protection as adults, regardless of what health challenges they may face later in life. For those with existing health concerns, it serves as a critical buffer against the risk of becoming uninsurable in the future.

Ultimately, the Guaranteed Insurability Option is about foresight and flexibility. While the rider itself may add a small cost to your initial premium, the long-term value of being able to scale your coverage to match your life's milestones—like marriage, a new home, or growing a family—is significant. If you are looking to build a robust financial plan, understanding how riders like these work is a vital step in protecting your loved ones. 

If you have questions or comments regarding GIO's, let us know. 

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. Please subscribe to this blog!

How Much Disability Insurance Do You Really Need?

Recently I met a woman who had two disability policies. She had bought one on an individual basis years earlier when she was self-employed as a realtor, but now she was working for a plumbing contractor who offered disability insurance. We had a discussion about whether or not she could collect benefits with both insurance companies in the event of a claim.

As a matter of fact, she could collect from both insurance carriers, but with a caveat. You see, the insurers don't want people making more money being disabled than when they were working, so they have a "combined limit" on the total benefit. Generally, insurance companies will allow you to insure between 60% and 80% of your total pre-tax income across all policies combined.

Usually, the group policy has an "offset" clause. This means the group plan might reduce its payout if you receive money from other sources like Social Security. However, a high-quality individual policy is typically "non-cancelable and guaranteed renewable" and usually does not reduce its payout just because you have a group plan.

With all of this in mind, a lot of people will buy just enough coverage to make the mortgage or rent payment. They may have some savings put aside (hopefully for retirement), and are willing to dip into for an emergency. We recommend the M.U.G. (mortgage/utilities/groceries) method of calculating your need. Add those three items together to determine a good amount.

We also offer a worksheet for you if you'd like to calculate how much you need. It's short and can help you plan for the unexpected. 

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. Please subscribe to this blog!

Children Love Life Insurance

When we think of things children want, it's usually a toy or some other "fun" item. And kids will get that item, play with it for a while and soon it becomes part of a pile of toys that sits in the corner, only to be played with occasionally. 

One thing that a child does love is stability. Not having to worry about bills and other "grown up" issues are what makes being a kid joyful. And when tragedy strikes life insurance offers that stability. Being able to stay in the same home, having the same routine and doing all the fun things that go with "growing up" like hanging out with the same friends and summer camp help a child tremendously.

And children know when there is stress, financial and otherwise, in the household. That stress can result in poor school performance, low self-esteem and other issues. Life insurance can alleviate much of that stress and lead to a much happier and adjusted child.

Kids don't love life insurance because of the paperwork and riders. They love it because of the promises kept. And that promise is that their home and future is non-negotiable. Make that promise to your kids with a life insurance policy.

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. Please subscribe to this blog!

Which Problem Do You Think Needs To Be Solved?

Let's assume for a moment that you had "purchase life insurance" on your list of "things to do in 2025" but you put it off and forgot about doing it. Now it's 2026 and, unfortunately, you are dead. There's no life insurance to pay out and your family (or business) is in financial trouble. Monthly bills need to be paid. Since you were either the main breadwinner, that lack of income is becoming consequential. 

Of course, there are other problems as well. There's the issue of your funeral cost and perhaps even medical bills that came with your demise. Assuming you went quickly, your family may be facing a hospital bill for the ER, but on the other hand, you could have been sick for months, racking up expenses until you meet your medical insurance "out-of-pocket" limits. 

Finally, if you are leaving behind children, their education costs could be at risk. Not to mention any other future "milestones" you may have planned, like paying for a daughter's wedding or helping your spouse start their "dream business". 

Of course, if you're reading this, it's not too late to get started. We make it easy for you in two ways. You can visit our site and get a quote* for yourself without an agent helping you, or you can schedule a short phone call and we'll run a quote for you. 

Let us help you mark one very important item off your 2026 "to do" list.

*Quotes are only estimates and rates are subject to underwriting. 

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. Please subscribe to this blog!

Is Life Insurance Through Your Work Enough?

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.

1. Outstanding debt. Mortgage balance, credit cards and car payments should be included.
2. 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.
3. 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. 
4. 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!

Does The Non-Breadwinner In The Family Need Life Insurance?

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!

Benefits For Business Owners (and Otherwise Self-Employed) 2023

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!

Time For a Change 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!

Do Younger People Need Life Insurance? 2023

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!