1
00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:04,360
Speaker 1: Rube.

2
00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,080
Speaker 2: Hi, I'm Leah Palmery and I'm Matt Stillo.

3
00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:15,320
Speaker 3: Welcome to grown up Stuff, Matt. Today we are going

4
00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:18,680
Speaker 3: to talk about a topic I truly know pretty much

5
00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:19,440
Speaker 3: nothing about.

6
00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,240
Speaker 2: So how much do you know about life insurance?

7
00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:24,520
Speaker 1: I'm going to answer your question with a question. Have

8
00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:25,920
Speaker 1: you seen the movie Groundhog Day?

9
00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:26,640
Speaker 3: Yeah?

10
00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:30,760
Speaker 1: So Ned Ryerson Needle knows. Ned is all that I

11
00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,560
Speaker 1: know about life insurance. Okay, you know he's thrown around

12
00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,080
Speaker 1: all kinds of terms to Bill Murray's character in that movie,

13
00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,280
Speaker 1: a whole term you can never have too much life insurance?

14
00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:39,920
Speaker 1: Am I writer? Am?

15
00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:40,159
Speaker 4: I writer?

16
00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,879
Speaker 1: My right? Right? What about you?

17
00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:45,920
Speaker 2: Well, that's more than me, That's truly more than me.

18
00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,800
Speaker 3: I didn't have any movies to reference, even ones with

19
00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,839
Speaker 3: adorable groundhogs in them. So you're doing way better than

20
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,720
Speaker 3: I am. But I also have amazing news for you today.

21
00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,360
Speaker 3: We're gonna be speaking with Dennis Carlson, who is a

22
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,760
Speaker 3: life insurance advisor, and he's going to answer all the

23
00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,440
Speaker 3: questions we need to know. And so that starts with

24
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,399
Speaker 3: what is life insurance? Who needs it? And can I

25
00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,040
Speaker 3: make my plants a beneficiary?

26
00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,360
Speaker 1: I just hope that he seems more reasonable or reliable

27
00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,240
Speaker 1: than needle knows Net because needle knows Net is doing

28
00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:19,680
Speaker 1: hard selling. Yeah, and I feel like I want a

29
00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,600
Speaker 1: personal relationship with my life insurance person, so I hope

30
00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:23,760
Speaker 1: that Dennis can deliver.

31
00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,480
Speaker 3: He can, and he's going to help you figure out

32
00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,440
Speaker 3: exactly what you should be looking for if you are

33
00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,520
Speaker 3: going to be exploring the world of life insurance. Things

34
00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,959
Speaker 3: you should avoid, things you should research. Gave a lot of.

35
00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,600
Speaker 1: Good ideas well. You know, life insurance is something that

36
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,240
Speaker 1: probably doesn't come up often over brunch, but it's something

37
00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,120
Speaker 1: that's just super important for adults, especially adults with a

38
00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,960
Speaker 1: family that depend on them to know about and to

39
00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:49,800
Speaker 1: have for that extra peace of mind.

40
00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,840
Speaker 3: Dennis does an amazing job of making it all make

41
00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,800
Speaker 3: sense and honestly taking a topic that's kind of scared

42
00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,240
Speaker 3: to think about. Hello, there's death looming and spells it

43
00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,480
Speaker 3: out in a way that helps it to be way

44
00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,920
Speaker 3: less daunting even though we are in spooky season right now.

45
00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,640
Speaker 1: And to keep those scaries at bay. Here's the man himself,

46
00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:08,720
Speaker 1: Dennis Carlson.

47
00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:20,480
Speaker 4: Well, I'm Dennis Carlson. I am a life insurance advisor.

48
00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,920
Speaker 4: I've been in the life and employee benefits and health

49
00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:29,600
Speaker 4: insurance industry for about twenty years, and I serve individuals

50
00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:34,560
Speaker 4: and families and executives of companies, small business owners with

51
00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:39,160
Speaker 4: any needs related to risk protection for either their business

52
00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:40,200
Speaker 4: or for their families.

53
00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:41,040
Speaker 2: Amazing.

54
00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,080
Speaker 3: Okay, we're going to start real basic here, Dennis. So

55
00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,680
Speaker 3: my first question for you is what is life insurance?

56
00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,359
Speaker 3: But truly what is life insurance and how does it work?

57
00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,400
Speaker 3: What can you tell us in sort of basic terms there.

58
00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,480
Speaker 4: Yeah, So whenever we're talking about life insurance, we're actually

59
00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,160
Speaker 4: talking about death. So we have to start there and

60
00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,840
Speaker 4: just unders standing that the audience knows that we're going

61
00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,079
Speaker 4: to get into these subjects, the things that people don't

62
00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,840
Speaker 4: usually like to talk about. But you should at least

63
00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,280
Speaker 4: spend some time in your life discussing so that you're prepared.

64
00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,200
Speaker 4: So what life insurance is in its most basic terms,

65
00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:19,280
Speaker 4: is it provides a cash payment death benefit to the

66
00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:25,200
Speaker 4: beneficiary of a policy should someone pass away unexpectedly. There's

67
00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,080
Speaker 4: a number of different types of life insurance. There's some

68
00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,720
Speaker 4: intricacies in the way that it works, but at the

69
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,359
Speaker 4: end of it, if someone has a life insurance policy

70
00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,560
Speaker 4: and they pass away while that policy is in place,

71
00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,520
Speaker 4: a death benefit is paid to whoever they've named as

72
00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,320
Speaker 4: their beneficiary on that policy.

73
00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,360
Speaker 3: So while I'm alive, what am I paying for?

74
00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,360
Speaker 4: So it depends in a basic term life insurance policy,

75
00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:51,800
Speaker 4: which is where most people should start. A term life

76
00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,720
Speaker 4: insurance policy is a type of policy that you purchase

77
00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,600
Speaker 4: for a set number of years. Usually ten, twenty or

78
00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,880
Speaker 4: thirty years are pretty common term policies. Over that time period,

79
00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,600
Speaker 4: you're going to pay a life insurance premium. Premiums are

80
00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,080
Speaker 4: just what you pay every month or every year, however

81
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,360
Speaker 4: you set up your policy. That's the dollars that you

82
00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,640
Speaker 4: pay out towards your policy. With a term policy, it's

83
00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,000
Speaker 4: going to have usually a set premium, the exact same

84
00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,680
Speaker 4: premium for whatever term you've selected. Like I said, ten

85
00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,000
Speaker 4: twenty or thirty years, you're going to pay that premium,

86
00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,159
Speaker 4: let's say, every year, and there's going to be a

87
00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,960
Speaker 4: death benefit associated with that policy. If you pass away

88
00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:31,080
Speaker 4: at any point during that term, that entire death benefit

89
00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,440
Speaker 4: will be paid out to whoever you've named is your beneficiary.

90
00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:36,800
Speaker 4: So when you say what am I paying for, it's

91
00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,960
Speaker 4: really just the security that if you pass away, your

92
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,560
Speaker 4: family or your loved ones or your business partners, if

93
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:45,839
Speaker 4: they're the beneficiaries of the policy, that they will be

94
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,839
Speaker 4: taken care of financially for that policy. At the end

95
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,120
Speaker 4: of a term policy, if you don't use it, in general,

96
00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,640
Speaker 4: that policy goes away at the end of the ten year,

97
00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,400
Speaker 4: twenty year, thirty year term, whatever you've decided to purchase.

98
00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,119
Speaker 4: If you've paid all your premiums and you never pass

99
00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,360
Speaker 4: away in that time period, you do lose those premiums. Now,

100
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,200
Speaker 4: there are other ways to structure a policy to maybe

101
00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,000
Speaker 4: get some of those dollars back, or to look at

102
00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,240
Speaker 4: what's called a permanent policy, but I typically recommend that

103
00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:18,600
Speaker 4: most people start with the term policy can be the

104
00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,560
Speaker 4: least expensive way to protect that risk for the time

105
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:23,600
Speaker 4: period that most of us are actually going to need

106
00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:25,920
Speaker 4: a life insurance policy for our families.

107
00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:28,919
Speaker 3: I mean, can I buy one for like one hundred

108
00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,560
Speaker 3: years and just be really hopeful that that's how long

109
00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:32,400
Speaker 3: I'm going to last for.

110
00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,160
Speaker 4: That's a good question. Yeah, So that would be what

111
00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:37,880
Speaker 4: we call it permanent policy technically. Okay, so you're going

112
00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:40,599
Speaker 4: to be hard pressed to find a policy out in

113
00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,279
Speaker 4: the marketplace for longer than thirty years at a time.

114
00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,520
Speaker 4: So most of us purchase like in our thirties, we

115
00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,480
Speaker 4: would typically recommend if you're starting a family. And by

116
00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:52,960
Speaker 4: the way, to be clear, life insurance isn't for everyone.

117
00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,360
Speaker 4: If you don't have people who depend on you financially,

118
00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:57,960
Speaker 4: you might not need life insurance like it might not

119
00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,320
Speaker 4: be something you should consider really first and foremost, if

120
00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,720
Speaker 4: you're buying any type of life insurance policy, whether that's

121
00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:06,520
Speaker 4: permanent or term, you should have some type of need

122
00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,280
Speaker 4: for the actual life insurance for that death benefit because

123
00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:14,280
Speaker 4: somebody or an organization something relies on you for income

124
00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,479
Speaker 4: that would be lost if you were to pass away.

125
00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,599
Speaker 4: So when you ask, can I buy one for one

126
00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,400
Speaker 4: hundred and twenty years to we see like on a

127
00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,440
Speaker 4: permanent policy where it's like a fully paid up permanent policy,

128
00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,120
Speaker 4: that's a different type of policy, and a permanent policy

129
00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,520
Speaker 4: can take many different varieties. But to your question, yes,

130
00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,280
Speaker 4: you can buy a policy that lasts as long as

131
00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,200
Speaker 4: you pay the premiums that policy is always enforce Now

132
00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,800
Speaker 4: you're going to pay significantly more for that type of

133
00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,839
Speaker 4: policy than you would for one of the term policies

134
00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,920
Speaker 4: I suggested, but it's definitely a solution that some people need.

135
00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,160
Speaker 4: I often ask is this a policy you're going to

136
00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:51,279
Speaker 4: need for a certain number of years, do you already

137
00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,560
Speaker 4: have an idea of what you're looking for, or is

138
00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:55,800
Speaker 4: this a policy that you would want to be in

139
00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:58,679
Speaker 4: place long term, maybe for state planning purposes or maybe

140
00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:00,920
Speaker 4: a business need that would require that, or you want

141
00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,480
Speaker 4: to gain some cash value out of that life insurance policy.

142
00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:05,560
Speaker 4: Say you never used it and you don't like the

143
00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,400
Speaker 4: idea of just throwing money away if the policy was

144
00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:12,960
Speaker 4: never utilized, you can build a permanent policy. People have

145
00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,120
Speaker 4: probably heard of whole life or universal life policies. These

146
00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,320
Speaker 4: are permanent policies that you pay premiums into, just like

147
00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:21,440
Speaker 4: you would a term policy, but you build up a

148
00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,480
Speaker 4: cash value that you can take out of that policy

149
00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:27,200
Speaker 4: and maybe never use the death benefit or have a

150
00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:29,800
Speaker 4: reduced death benefit at some point because you've taken money

151
00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,080
Speaker 4: out of the policy. But that's two different types of

152
00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,160
Speaker 4: policies really for two different purposes.

153
00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:36,760
Speaker 2: Let's go through the different kinds.

154
00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,440
Speaker 3: Because I've heard the phrases like term life versus, whole

155
00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,920
Speaker 3: life versus universal I've heard these things, but like, it

156
00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:45,840
Speaker 3: doesn't mean a whole lot to me.

157
00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:47,200
Speaker 2: Let's make them make sense.

158
00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,400
Speaker 3: So what are the different kinds and who is each

159
00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:51,440
Speaker 3: one good for?

160
00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:53,920
Speaker 4: Yeah, so I'm always real careful to say who is

161
00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:58,280
Speaker 4: something good for because there's no standard. This policy is

162
00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,200
Speaker 4: for this type of person or this situation. There's a

163
00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,120
Speaker 4: number of factors, but I'm going to try to give

164
00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:06,680
Speaker 4: you the simplistic version of when people are thinking about this,

165
00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,080
Speaker 4: what should I be looking at? Now? I mentioned term insurance.

166
00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,240
Speaker 4: Term insurance is the lowest, cost, most effective way to

167
00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:17,120
Speaker 4: cover the risk of needing a financial provider who has

168
00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:21,280
Speaker 4: died prematurely and unexpectedly. For those that are left needing

169
00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:23,680
Speaker 4: the money that they brought in from their career, their job,

170
00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,040
Speaker 4: however those dollars came in. A term policy is really

171
00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,960
Speaker 4: for that base level coverage, so that you know you're

172
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,840
Speaker 4: protected in the event of death. I would typically say

173
00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:36,240
Speaker 4: use that as a starting block. We've got a great industry,

174
00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,360
Speaker 4: But like in any industry, there are people who really

175
00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:42,360
Speaker 4: just want to sell something sometimes, and that happens in

176
00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,320
Speaker 4: life insurance, and so sometimes someone will get sold a

177
00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:49,480
Speaker 4: permanent policy first, when really they didn't necessarily need that

178
00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,360
Speaker 4: as their first layer of protection. So I usually say

179
00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:54,720
Speaker 4: start with term insurance. You can always cancel the policy.

180
00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,320
Speaker 4: If you end up getting a permanent policy that's going

181
00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,600
Speaker 4: to meet your needs for the death benefit, but get

182
00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,040
Speaker 4: the term policy in place just for the death benefit

183
00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:04,880
Speaker 4: and lock that in. And so if you're in your thirties,

184
00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:07,160
Speaker 4: I think a twenty or thirty year policy is great.

185
00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:09,280
Speaker 4: Maybe you've got kids, and you've got a mortgage to

186
00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:11,480
Speaker 4: pay off, you've got some big expenses that you know

187
00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:12,800
Speaker 4: are going to come up in the next twenty or

188
00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,480
Speaker 4: thirty years. Really look at those and think about how

189
00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:18,360
Speaker 4: much you would need to protect not only the income

190
00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,160
Speaker 4: for your surviving loved ones that they might need, but

191
00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,280
Speaker 4: also those expenses that you're going to need to pay

192
00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:24,800
Speaker 4: off or that they would need to pay off. And

193
00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,280
Speaker 4: they've been into your death. So term is good for

194
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,640
Speaker 4: pretty much everybody who's got someone who counts on them

195
00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:33,679
Speaker 4: for income. A permanent policy is really more of a

196
00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:37,800
Speaker 4: planning tool. As an example, we'll use a permanent policy

197
00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,599
Speaker 4: like you might have heard of a universal life policy

198
00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,640
Speaker 4: or an indexed universal life policy. What that is is

199
00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:48,840
Speaker 4: a type of policy that you are paying annual premiums into,

200
00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,360
Speaker 4: but it's going to build up that cash value that

201
00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,439
Speaker 4: you may want to take out on a tax favored

202
00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,679
Speaker 4: basis out of the policy at a later date. Indexed

203
00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,200
Speaker 4: universal life policy, I would say, you really should only

204
00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,640
Speaker 4: be looking at if you're already maxing out other retirement

205
00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,280
Speaker 4: vehicles like a four to oh one K and IRA

206
00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,160
Speaker 4: whatever you have access to you on a what we

207
00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:14,240
Speaker 4: call a qualified tax basis, so four to one K

208
00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:16,760
Speaker 4: typically we're putting dollars that would be taken out on

209
00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:19,200
Speaker 4: a tax deferred basis out of our fourrow and K

210
00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,280
Speaker 4: or an ERA. Once you've hit your limits with those,

211
00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:25,880
Speaker 4: you might be a candidate for something like an index

212
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,360
Speaker 4: universal life policy because what you can do is you

213
00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,320
Speaker 4: can put dollars now it's going to be after tax

214
00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,920
Speaker 4: dollars that you're putting into that policy, but in an

215
00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,800
Speaker 4: index universal life policy, you can actually pull those dollars

216
00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,880
Speaker 4: out later on a tax free basis as loans from

217
00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:43,600
Speaker 4: the policy. And the reason that that's attractive to some

218
00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:46,800
Speaker 4: people is a they want that tax favored basis to

219
00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:49,480
Speaker 4: pull out the dollars, but it also that term index.

220
00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:51,400
Speaker 4: Typically you're tying it to an index like the S

221
00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,319
Speaker 4: and P five hundred, similar to maybe something you might

222
00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,199
Speaker 4: invest in like a four to one K or something

223
00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,040
Speaker 4: you're tying those dollars that you're putting into an index,

224
00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:01,560
Speaker 4: and it's going to grow over time. But you really

225
00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,000
Speaker 4: want to have a long term time horizon for a

226
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:05,920
Speaker 4: policy like that, because you're not going to just put

227
00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,400
Speaker 4: money in for a few years and expect growth, just

228
00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:09,760
Speaker 4: like you're not going to put money in your four

229
00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,800
Speaker 4: own K for a few years and expect growth. So really,

230
00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,120
Speaker 4: if you have a long term time horizon and you've

231
00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,480
Speaker 4: already maxed out your other retirement vehicles, you might look

232
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,240
Speaker 4: at an index universal life policy is one way to

233
00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,640
Speaker 4: get that tax advantage retirement income later on. And in

234
00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:28,439
Speaker 4: the middle, I would say, is like a whole life policy.

235
00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:32,040
Speaker 4: Whole life policy is going to be much more conservative

236
00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,160
Speaker 4: than an index universal life policy, And maybe a whole

237
00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,200
Speaker 4: life policy would be good for somebody who really does

238
00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:39,720
Speaker 4: like you said, what if I want that death benefit

239
00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,360
Speaker 4: until I'm over one hundred, Well, a whole life policy

240
00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:44,560
Speaker 4: would probably be like the first go do solution for that.

241
00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,520
Speaker 4: If you're like, hey, I'm not worried so much about

242
00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:48,760
Speaker 4: building up the cash value, I want to know that

243
00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:50,600
Speaker 4: death benefit is going to be solid, it's going to

244
00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,319
Speaker 4: be there. A whole life policy is kind of a

245
00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:57,880
Speaker 4: more conservative version of a permanent insurance policy. So that

246
00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,199
Speaker 4: kind of gives you, like the policy for everybody, the

247
00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,640
Speaker 4: term the policy for usually folks that are earning more

248
00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:05,439
Speaker 4: and so are able to put more away in their

249
00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,240
Speaker 4: retirement plan already and a're maxing those out, maybe looking

250
00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:10,880
Speaker 4: at an IUL. And then in the middle somebody who

251
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,760
Speaker 4: just wants a long term policy to last as long

252
00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,800
Speaker 4: as they're going to last a whole life. Now, those

253
00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:18,440
Speaker 4: aren't the only reasons to use any of those. There's

254
00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,400
Speaker 4: multiple reasons. So what we usually would do, and when

255
00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,200
Speaker 4: we were talking to somebody who handles life insurance, you

256
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,160
Speaker 4: really want to tell them what you're trying to accomplish

257
00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:28,880
Speaker 4: and really let them ask you the questions, because they

258
00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,080
Speaker 4: should really guide you and say, hey, let me make

259
00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,880
Speaker 4: sure we have the best tool. And life insurance may

260
00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:36,360
Speaker 4: be a solution, but it may not be. Life insurance

261
00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:39,400
Speaker 4: sometimes gets over sold as the solution to lots of

262
00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,800
Speaker 4: financial problems, but first and foremost, it is a risk

263
00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,040
Speaker 4: protection product. That's what it is. If people are thinking

264
00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,560
Speaker 4: of it as an investment tool but they don't really

265
00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:50,760
Speaker 4: care about the death benefit, I'm usually like, hey, life

266
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,360
Speaker 4: insurance probably isn't the best use of those dollars because

267
00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,720
Speaker 4: you're always going to pay for the life insurance component.

268
00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,720
Speaker 4: It's always built into whatever premium you're paying death benefit.

269
00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:02,800
Speaker 4: And if you don't need a death benefit, or you've

270
00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,720
Speaker 4: already got that covered somewhere else, then life insurance may

271
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:06,760
Speaker 4: not be the best tool for you.

272
00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:09,760
Speaker 3: This brings me to my next question, which is who

273
00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,440
Speaker 3: needs life insurance? So I am a single person, I

274
00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:14,640
Speaker 3: have no children. My plants rely on me, but I

275
00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,640
Speaker 3: think they'll maybe be okay without me. But I also

276
00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:19,760
Speaker 3: want to know, like maybe I want my family to

277
00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:21,880
Speaker 3: have the money to take my ashes and spread them

278
00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,960
Speaker 3: in Italy or something. Who is somebody who needs life insurance.

279
00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,400
Speaker 4: You bring up a great point, So that purpose that

280
00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,080
Speaker 4: you just described is a reason to maybe purchase a

281
00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,400
Speaker 4: small life insurance policy. If you're telling me, look, I

282
00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,080
Speaker 4: have nobody that relies on me for income that if

283
00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:38,920
Speaker 4: I were to pass away, no one would rely on

284
00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,680
Speaker 4: me for that income. But I do want my family

285
00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:43,960
Speaker 4: to not have to worry about how to handle my

286
00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:47,199
Speaker 4: final expenses and maybe help clean up my estate or

287
00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:49,760
Speaker 4: whatever assets you do have. Life insurance is a great

288
00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:53,240
Speaker 4: tool for that. Normally, what we do is we'd say, okay,

289
00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:55,920
Speaker 4: how much do you make today per year? And then

290
00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,000
Speaker 4: we're going to extrapolate that out over the course of

291
00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:00,000
Speaker 4: your career to like, let's call it age sixty seven,

292
00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:01,360
Speaker 4: and we're going to say, hey, just with like a

293
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,800
Speaker 4: three percent cost of living increase, what's the total income

294
00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:06,360
Speaker 4: that you're going to make to that point in time?

295
00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,679
Speaker 4: And then what are some expenses that you have coming up?

296
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,400
Speaker 4: But for someone like you, with what you've just described,

297
00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:13,480
Speaker 4: and again we're not doing a full analysis here, but

298
00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:15,000
Speaker 4: just to give you an idea. If that's all we

299
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,160
Speaker 4: knew about you, and that's all the information we had,

300
00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,280
Speaker 4: then I would probably say, okay, well, if you think

301
00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:21,160
Speaker 4: about your family and what they would need to clean

302
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:22,880
Speaker 4: that up, what kind of number would you need to

303
00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:24,680
Speaker 4: get there? And you might want to purchase a small

304
00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,560
Speaker 4: life insurance policy with one of your family members, or

305
00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,640
Speaker 4: if you set up a trust for your state, that

306
00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:31,040
Speaker 4: money would go into the trust and then you have

307
00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:33,280
Speaker 4: an executor that the trust would be the beneficiary and

308
00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,440
Speaker 4: they could disperse those funds. But really that's the point

309
00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,440
Speaker 4: of a life insurance policy for someone like you, just

310
00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,360
Speaker 4: from what you've told me, probably ask a lot more

311
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,680
Speaker 4: questions if I want to get too personal on this podcast,

312
00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,200
Speaker 4: but basically, if you don't really have that driving need

313
00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,680
Speaker 4: for those dollars, I would say, well, is your family

314
00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,800
Speaker 4: in a financial position where they would just take care

315
00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:53,880
Speaker 4: of it anyway, or would you want to make sure

316
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,320
Speaker 4: you left some money behind so that they could use

317
00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,480
Speaker 4: it for these purposes and maybe something else?

318
00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,520
Speaker 3: What do we talk when it comes to cost here?

319
00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:02,920
Speaker 3: Can you give me like a little bit of a

320
00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,960
Speaker 3: range or just an idea of what something like this

321
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:07,040
Speaker 3: might cost.

322
00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,480
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm always hesitant to do that because life insurance

323
00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:15,120
Speaker 4: is going to be fully medically financially and lifestyle underwritten,

324
00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,280
Speaker 4: so they're going to look at everything now. No, oh no, yes, right,

325
00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,240
Speaker 4: And I should say, with the caveat that, there are

326
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,800
Speaker 4: some life insurance companies that, let's say you're asking for

327
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,240
Speaker 4: a million dollars in life insurance or less, there are

328
00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:33,400
Speaker 4: accelerated underwriting programs where you can answer some questions. They're

329
00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,320
Speaker 4: probably still going to maybe pull like a medical record

330
00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,160
Speaker 4: report or something, but they're going to do it on

331
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:42,520
Speaker 4: an automated basis. But beyond that, typically you're being asked

332
00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,080
Speaker 4: for medical records, a paramedical exam, where they're going to

333
00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,400
Speaker 4: come out to your home or office and they're going

334
00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:50,360
Speaker 4: to collect blood and your br and they're going to

335
00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,640
Speaker 4: do your blood pressure. These are pretty standard practices and

336
00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,160
Speaker 4: life insurance. So when you ask how much does it cost, well,

337
00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:01,000
Speaker 4: you know, a very healthy early thirties wants one to

338
00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:04,840
Speaker 4: three million dollars in life insurance. Probably under one thousand

339
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,920
Speaker 4: dollars a year is my ballpark? Guess that's not a quote.

340
00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,760
Speaker 4: This is not an offer of insurance, but generally speaking,

341
00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:13,120
Speaker 4: and people can see this online. I just challenge people

342
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:14,640
Speaker 4: to be careful, Like when you go online and you

343
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,480
Speaker 4: start quoting life insurance, hopefully they'll ask you a few

344
00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,080
Speaker 4: risk questions before they even provide you a quote. So

345
00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:21,840
Speaker 4: what I do is I do a pre screening with

346
00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,440
Speaker 4: somebody and it's very private and personal, but we ask

347
00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:28,400
Speaker 4: a few personal questions about health and lifestyle because we

348
00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:30,640
Speaker 4: want to understand what rating they're going to get. So

349
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,000
Speaker 4: when you ask about what is the cost, I'll just

350
00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,600
Speaker 4: give you the standard kind of range of underwriting, not

351
00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:38,920
Speaker 4: necessarily what the cost is. But know that when an

352
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,240
Speaker 4: underwriter looks at a life insurance case, if they're going

353
00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,920
Speaker 4: to make an offer of insurance on the person. They're

354
00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,120
Speaker 4: going to rate it based on a variety of categories

355
00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,120
Speaker 4: all the way from what we call preferred non smoker

356
00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:58,680
Speaker 4: to standard non smoker, and then preferred smoker standard smoker,

357
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,720
Speaker 4: and then we we also have table ratings beyond that,

358
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,480
Speaker 4: and of course they're also preferred plus rates for people

359
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,040
Speaker 4: who have great health histories, and a lot of folks

360
00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:10,000
Speaker 4: can actually qualify for those rates, but an underwriter is

361
00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,720
Speaker 4: going to assign one of those classes. They vary a

362
00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,080
Speaker 4: little bit insurance company to insurance company, but those are

363
00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,280
Speaker 4: the basic classes. So when you ask what's a quote, well,

364
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:23,040
Speaker 4: if we're talking preferred plus non smoker versus a standard smoker,

365
00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,640
Speaker 4: those rates can be ten x difference from each other.

366
00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:31,240
Speaker 4: They can vary wildly, So a always be really honest

367
00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,520
Speaker 4: even when you're just getting a quote, because it's all

368
00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,040
Speaker 4: going to come out in underwriting. So if you want

369
00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:38,800
Speaker 4: a realistic quote, either whether you're doing that online or

370
00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:40,960
Speaker 4: doing it through a person to person life insurance agent,

371
00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:44,480
Speaker 4: tell them, yes, I'm a smoker, Yes I've had these

372
00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,320
Speaker 4: chronic illnesses. Yes I take these prescription drugs. Because that's

373
00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,399
Speaker 4: how we as life insurance agents can do our best

374
00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,320
Speaker 4: job for a client, because just to be clear, as

375
00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:55,680
Speaker 4: a life insurance agent, I don't go and just send

376
00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,080
Speaker 4: that information off to the insurance company. I provided anonymously

377
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,480
Speaker 4: to a number of insurance companies sometimes and say, hey,

378
00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,359
Speaker 4: this is the risk we're looking at. What's the offer

379
00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:08,280
Speaker 4: you think based on what you know, what's the best

380
00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,720
Speaker 4: offer we could probably get. And they'll give us stilligious

381
00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:12,879
Speaker 4: an indication because we haven't gone through full underwriting. But

382
00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:15,040
Speaker 4: then we can come back with an indication and say, hey,

383
00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,719
Speaker 4: based on what you've shared with me, I've shared it

384
00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,800
Speaker 4: with a couple of different insurance companies anonymously, so they

385
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,240
Speaker 4: don't know what's you here's the offer we think we

386
00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:25,679
Speaker 4: could get, and I think our best bet is this

387
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,760
Speaker 4: insurance company. Do you want to proceed forward with an application?

388
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,720
Speaker 4: So now I'm getting into like what's the process. And

389
00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:33,640
Speaker 4: if they say yes, then we go through an entire

390
00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:36,400
Speaker 4: application process that you know it's going to be basic information,

391
00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,200
Speaker 4: all the personal information you expect it to cover. And

392
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,800
Speaker 4: then depending on how much insurance they're asking for and

393
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,960
Speaker 4: what medical issues or lifestyle issues we've already identified, more

394
00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:48,000
Speaker 4: questions may come. It may just be a Q and

395
00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,760
Speaker 4: A with the person. We have tele underwriting where they're

396
00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:52,840
Speaker 4: actually just doing it over the phone, or it may

397
00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:56,000
Speaker 4: be a full medical record poll with an attending physician statement,

398
00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,080
Speaker 4: or it may be, as I mentioned, a paramedical exam

399
00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:00,320
Speaker 4: where they're going to come out to your home or office.

400
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,040
Speaker 4: I can share one story because it's me. Yeah, I'm

401
00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,960
Speaker 4: fifty one years old. I just re upped my term

402
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,639
Speaker 4: life insurance policy for me and my family because I

403
00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,080
Speaker 4: bought a twenty year policy in my thirties. I have

404
00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:13,080
Speaker 4: other life insurance as well, but I think I want

405
00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:16,120
Speaker 4: to keep a stable term policy. I had some heart

406
00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:20,400
Speaker 4: palpitations in the past couple of years that turned out

407
00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:22,040
Speaker 4: to be no big deal. Of course, I didn't like it,

408
00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:23,959
Speaker 4: and so I talked to my doctor about it. That

409
00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,919
Speaker 4: goes in my medical record. When I went through underwriting,

410
00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,240
Speaker 4: they noticed, Hey, you complained of heart palpitations. Yeah, but

411
00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,240
Speaker 4: my doctor said, nothing to worry about. Guess what. That

412
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:36,760
Speaker 4: wasn't good enough for the underwriters because they're not really

413
00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:40,240
Speaker 4: worried about am I going to have a deteriorated life.

414
00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,480
Speaker 4: They're worried about me actually dying. So you have to

415
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,200
Speaker 4: also remember that stuff that your doctor even is telling

416
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,119
Speaker 4: you is no big deal that you don't have to

417
00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:49,520
Speaker 4: worry about. Is a big deal to an underwriter, because

418
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:51,960
Speaker 4: it's really binary for them. Is this person going to

419
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,680
Speaker 4: pass away within the term of the policy. They're making

420
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,520
Speaker 4: a bet that you're not ye right if they're offering

421
00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,960
Speaker 4: you life insurance. So I was required to go back

422
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,320
Speaker 4: and do a full stress test and ECG at CO

423
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:06,120
Speaker 4: cardiogram at my own expense, which I went and did,

424
00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:08,360
Speaker 4: and guess what I ended up with the non smoker

425
00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,000
Speaker 4: preferred plus rating. You know, I don't even know in

426
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:12,760
Speaker 4: that case if they would have made me an offer

427
00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,280
Speaker 4: of life insurance without doing that, but I know that

428
00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:17,159
Speaker 4: I wouldn't have gotten a preferred plus rating if they

429
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:18,920
Speaker 4: even were going to offer. They were probably going to

430
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,280
Speaker 4: offer me a substandard rate of some type because they

431
00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:24,000
Speaker 4: just didn't know. But what I always tell people is

432
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,160
Speaker 4: from an underwriter's perspective, they don't like any gray areas.

433
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,439
Speaker 4: They're not trying to not cover you. They're trying to

434
00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:32,679
Speaker 4: make sure that they don't get in trouble for covering

435
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,800
Speaker 4: somebody who had something that they didn't notice. And in

436
00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,840
Speaker 4: my case, it probably saved me in the order of

437
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,560
Speaker 4: magnitude of thousands of dollars a year for me to

438
00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:43,960
Speaker 4: go and spend the two hours out of my day

439
00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,879
Speaker 4: and my fifty dollars copay or whatever it was to

440
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:47,840
Speaker 4: go get these tests done.

441
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,560
Speaker 3: It's kind of like the car insurance thing where it's like, well,

442
00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,320
Speaker 3: do you drive a sexy red convertible or do you

443
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,359
Speaker 3: have a very solid Honda. They're figuring things out based

444
00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,280
Speaker 3: on that, and so congratulations for being a sensible.

445
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:03,560
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, And in the end you're just hoping

446
00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:05,840
Speaker 4: and braining they don't find something, yeah, which is also

447
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:07,639
Speaker 4: you know, I have those conversations with people a lot

448
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:09,280
Speaker 4: is they don't want to get the extra test done.

449
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,440
Speaker 4: And sometimes because I've been doing this for over twenty years,

450
00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,159
Speaker 4: I've had those experiences where they've actually caught things earlier

451
00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,320
Speaker 4: than maybe they ever would have because someone had that

452
00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:20,199
Speaker 4: blood test of the paramedical exam because you know what,

453
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,240
Speaker 4: they hadn't even been for a checkup in the last

454
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:25,800
Speaker 4: ten years. So that's a byproduct of the process, but

455
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:26,760
Speaker 4: it can be helpful.

456
00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:31,760
Speaker 2: We'll be right back after a quick.

457
00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:42,480
Speaker 1: Break and we're back with more grown up stuff. How

458
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:43,200
Speaker 1: do I don't.

459
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,639
Speaker 3: You are supposed to if you have like a life change,

460
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,119
Speaker 3: update your policy then, is that correct?

461
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,440
Speaker 4: Yeah? For any of the big life changes, marriage, divorce,

462
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:57,760
Speaker 4: new kids, whether or not you update it as a

463
00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:01,040
Speaker 4: standard practice, check your beneficiaries. A lot of us have

464
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,000
Speaker 4: life insurance through our employer as well. Right, same thing

465
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,280
Speaker 4: there where you have a beneficiary that you've assigned. So

466
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,679
Speaker 4: I always encourage people like check your beneficiaries. You think

467
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,159
Speaker 4: of it at open enrollment because you're re upping all

468
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,199
Speaker 4: your benefits. Make sure you're checking it once a year,

469
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,119
Speaker 4: and that hopefully will trigger people to to their personal

470
00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,439
Speaker 4: life insurance policy, which their employer has nothing to do with.

471
00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:22,480
Speaker 4: You may update your beneficiary at your work policy, but

472
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:26,720
Speaker 4: not update your personal life insurance policy, and the two

473
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:29,480
Speaker 4: aren't going to match, and so those benefits are typically

474
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,440
Speaker 4: just going to be paid to whoever the beneficiary lists

475
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,840
Speaker 4: on that policy when you ask about updating the policy.

476
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:37,400
Speaker 4: In general, if you had a two million or three

477
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,360
Speaker 4: million dollar policy, is that enough? We've got more kids,

478
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,639
Speaker 4: or maybe we had a windfall inheritance and maybe we

479
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,879
Speaker 4: don't need the level of policy that we have. So

480
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,159
Speaker 4: any big life changes, it's always a good idea to

481
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,440
Speaker 4: just kind of reassess do we still have the type

482
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:50,440
Speaker 4: of policy that we need.

483
00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,680
Speaker 3: What's a beneficiary because I've heard rumors that it can't

484
00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,399
Speaker 3: be a pet, But what would an appropriate beneficiary be.

485
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,919
Speaker 4: Well, I haven't heard of it being a pet or

486
00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:04,760
Speaker 4: not being a pet. I can't answer that question.

487
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,120
Speaker 2: I've seen it on TV. I've seen it happen on TV.

488
00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:09,960
Speaker 4: But I love the idea. I haven't even been asked

489
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,439
Speaker 4: that question before on the pet thing. So typically with

490
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,439
Speaker 4: just a standard life insurance policy, you're going to name

491
00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:17,240
Speaker 4: a beneficiary. That could be your spouse, your kids. If

492
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:18,639
Speaker 4: you don't have a spouse or kids, it could be

493
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,720
Speaker 4: a friend. Now, if you're buying a policy, let's say

494
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,840
Speaker 4: you're asking for anything over a million dollars, and you're

495
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,879
Speaker 4: naming someone a beneficiary who, from an underwriters standpoint, they

496
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:30,920
Speaker 4: don't really understand why they would have what's called an

497
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:34,280
Speaker 4: insurable interest in you. But the other thing is, in

498
00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:36,879
Speaker 4: a life insurance policy, you have three components. You have

499
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,400
Speaker 4: the insured that's the person that if they pass away,

500
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,679
Speaker 4: the death benefit goes somewhere. You have the beneficiary that's

501
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:43,919
Speaker 4: who gets paid the death benefit. But you also have

502
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,160
Speaker 4: the owner. The owner does not have to be the insured,

503
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:49,800
Speaker 4: and the owner does not have to be the beneficiary.

504
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,359
Speaker 4: So I mentioned this because often what we're doing is

505
00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:56,479
Speaker 4: with businesses, even small businesses. Perhaps it's what we call

506
00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,600
Speaker 4: a key person life insurance policy, and the beneficiary is

507
00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:02,560
Speaker 4: the business. Let's say your VP of sales brings in

508
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,000
Speaker 4: a lot of money for the company. If they were

509
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,879
Speaker 4: to pass away unexpectedly, that would be a financial burden

510
00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:10,600
Speaker 4: on the company, and they have an insurable interest in

511
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,239
Speaker 4: the life of that key employee. So the company may

512
00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:16,919
Speaker 4: be the owner of that policy. The key employee is

513
00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:19,879
Speaker 4: the insured, but the company is also the beneficiary of

514
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,720
Speaker 4: that policy, not an individual, but the company, like the

515
00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,560
Speaker 4: LLC or the corporation themselves. That's really common. I do

516
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,159
Speaker 4: probably more of that than just about any type of

517
00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,359
Speaker 4: life insurance these days. But I just mentioned that because

518
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,000
Speaker 4: that's one of those nuanced situations when you ask who

519
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,840
Speaker 4: can be a beneficiary. There's lots of options for beneficiaries,

520
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,480
Speaker 4: but really what we need is if this person passed away,

521
00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:43,919
Speaker 4: why would it matter to this beneficiary? And if we

522
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,800
Speaker 4: can't answer that question, then underwriters are going to start

523
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,879
Speaker 4: to ask some more questions. Even in the case of

524
00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,160
Speaker 4: that business that I described, you can't just go get

525
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,600
Speaker 4: key to personal life on all your employees. But you

526
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,800
Speaker 4: can say, hey, this is a founder, this is a CEO,

527
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:00,359
Speaker 4: this is a VP of sales, or they hold certain

528
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,960
Speaker 4: relationships with clients and customers that would be almost impossible

529
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,040
Speaker 4: to replicate. Those are all reasons that you would assign

530
00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,160
Speaker 4: maybe a beneficiary that isn't just like a family member.

531
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:11,639
Speaker 2: Right, somebody you really know.

532
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,399
Speaker 3: Okay, so I'm ready, I'm going to go buy some

533
00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:16,880
Speaker 3: life insurance. And also I do want to clarify something

534
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 3: that you said too, So it's important to have both

535
00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 3: the life insurance that my job gives me and also

536
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:24,600
Speaker 3: my own life insurance as well.

537
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,080
Speaker 4: Yeah, two reasons. One is, typically policies range from an

538
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,639
Speaker 4: employer paid policy to twenty five thousand dollars benefit. For

539
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:33,159
Speaker 4: lack of a better term, we might call out a

540
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,919
Speaker 4: burial policy kind of what you described for what my

541
00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:40,040
Speaker 4: family maybe need up to maybe one time salary or

542
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,880
Speaker 4: two times salary. As a life insurance policy. A couple

543
00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:45,639
Speaker 4: of things with those is one, those are tied to

544
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,440
Speaker 4: your employer, so there may be portability or conversion options,

545
00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:51,439
Speaker 4: and you always check with your employer like is this

546
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,080
Speaker 4: a policy I can somehow take with me if I

547
00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,200
Speaker 4: were to leave. Generally speaking, even if that's available, most

548
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:02,280
Speaker 4: people don't do it because they get and also typically

549
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:06,240
Speaker 4: those policies are what are called convertible, meaning they can

550
00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,879
Speaker 4: convert to a permanent policy, and they're going to be

551
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:11,280
Speaker 4: much more expensive than maybe someone would want to pay. Now,

552
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,880
Speaker 4: if someone leaves and they have maybe a chronic illness

553
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 4: or even a terminal illness, they really should look into

554
00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:20,000
Speaker 4: whatever policy they had if they leave that employer, because

555
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:21,920
Speaker 4: it's very likely they have a mechanism that they could

556
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,080
Speaker 4: take that policy with them. Even if it was expensive,

557
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,120
Speaker 4: it might be worth it because they know they really

558
00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:28,000
Speaker 4: are going to need that. But when you ask the

559
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,359
Speaker 4: question should I have a personal policy and my employer policy,

560
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,480
Speaker 4: the answer is usually yes because that personal policy sticks

561
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,840
Speaker 4: with you no matter what you do, and that personal policy,

562
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:40,960
Speaker 4: while it's not going to be cheaper probably than the

563
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,840
Speaker 4: free policy or employer gave you, or the minimal amount

564
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:46,479
Speaker 4: you might pay for some buy up option, in that

565
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,880
Speaker 4: employer based policy, it is going to be less expensive

566
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:51,960
Speaker 4: than if you were to take that one with you.

567
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,040
Speaker 4: Usually this is pretty knowable. It's something that you could

568
00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:58,200
Speaker 4: ask your employer. Just want to ask, is this policy

569
00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,840
Speaker 4: convertible and or is portable, and then how do those

570
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,399
Speaker 4: options work? But I would never say, like, rely just

571
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,680
Speaker 4: on your employer policy because if you're not there anymore,

572
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,960
Speaker 4: it's just as a layer of complication that does exist

573
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:11,440
Speaker 4: with your own personal policy.

574
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:13,840
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, even thinking about having to find the

575
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,040
Speaker 3: email of like benefits at company dot com to like

576
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,280
Speaker 3: figure out who to ask about this as a challenge,

577
00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:19,520
Speaker 3: but we will do that.

578
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:20,280
Speaker 2: It is worth it.

579
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:22,760
Speaker 3: But Okay, I'm going to do my personal policy. Now,

580
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,320
Speaker 3: what are some of the things that I should know

581
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,800
Speaker 3: when I'm going to go and I want to find

582
00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:30,840
Speaker 3: someone who's going to help me get my policy?

583
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,840
Speaker 4: Sure, I mean I think that really depends on what

584
00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:38,000
Speaker 4: the purpose of the policies. I'm always a fan of referrals.

585
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:40,359
Speaker 4: Ask your friends or family members, Hey, do you have

586
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,360
Speaker 4: somebody who specializes in life insurance? That is I would

587
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,480
Speaker 4: say the one key if people already have a financial

588
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,800
Speaker 4: advisor you work with. I know a lot of financial advisors,

589
00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,080
Speaker 4: and there's a real mix of whether they do life

590
00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,520
Speaker 4: insurance or not, but they probably have somebody that they

591
00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 4: refer I think those are great places to start if

592
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 4: you don't have that. I mean look at I think

593
00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:05,120
Speaker 4: sometimes when we have a specialized knowledge base, we can

594
00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:07,920
Speaker 4: maybe sound more condescending than we mean too when we're

595
00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,359
Speaker 4: talking to somebody who's brand new to it. And so

596
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,440
Speaker 4: I want to delineate kind of between like, Hey, you

597
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,720
Speaker 4: might have a really smart, good person that's your life

598
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,240
Speaker 4: insurance advisor, but they don't have the best bedside manner.

599
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:21,600
Speaker 4: I would say, be careful, don't let that stop you,

600
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:24,120
Speaker 4: as long as you can ask them questions like push through,

601
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,440
Speaker 4: because you do want somebody that's smart and knowledgeable. And

602
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:30,760
Speaker 4: if they're like really friendly and easy to talk to,

603
00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:33,040
Speaker 4: but you can tell that they maybe don't know that

604
00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:35,399
Speaker 4: much or they haven't done that much in this space,

605
00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:37,919
Speaker 4: that might not be the first person that I would

606
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:41,240
Speaker 4: want to work with, even if they're really kind. Yeah,

607
00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:43,600
Speaker 4: now I will be honest. For a basic twenty year

608
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,719
Speaker 4: term policy of a million, two million, three million dollars,

609
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:48,880
Speaker 4: if you're not literally looking for advice around it, you're

610
00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:50,240
Speaker 4: just I just want to go and get quotes. I

611
00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:51,960
Speaker 4: already kind of know what i'd need and I just

612
00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,760
Speaker 4: want to take care of it. Most agents that kind

613
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:56,800
Speaker 4: of work in that space can probably help you with that,

614
00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:58,800
Speaker 4: and you could probably even go on Google now, and

615
00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:01,360
Speaker 4: that's not what I'm recommending. I'm certainly an advisor, and

616
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,880
Speaker 4: I want people to do your research, ask questions, and

617
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,640
Speaker 4: do your research and talk to a person. We are

618
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,040
Speaker 4: in an age where yes, you can go get quotes

619
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,800
Speaker 4: and go through the application process online. The problem with

620
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,360
Speaker 4: that is, and what I see regularly in my own practice,

621
00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,320
Speaker 4: is even with a person involved, a lot of things

622
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:21,719
Speaker 4: are online, but as soon as there's a problem, you

623
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,000
Speaker 4: can't really talk to a human being. A lot of

624
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,920
Speaker 4: times at the insurance company unless you're working with an agent.

625
00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,960
Speaker 4: And by the way, in general, you won't pay more

626
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:32,320
Speaker 4: to work with an agent. You haven't asked the question,

627
00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,440
Speaker 4: but agents are paid commissions from the insurance companies that

628
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,080
Speaker 4: are already built into the rates. And you don't really

629
00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,680
Speaker 4: need to get competitive quotes from different agents because they

630
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,680
Speaker 4: should be exactly the same from different agents if they're

631
00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:46,280
Speaker 4: quoting the exact same thing. So the long way of

632
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 4: answering your question is really find someone you want to

633
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,600
Speaker 4: work with, and if they're independent. That's the other thing

634
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,200
Speaker 4: to look for is are they an independent agent. In

635
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,480
Speaker 4: the industry, there are called captive agents and independent agents.

636
00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,479
Speaker 4: Now there's nothing wrong with the agent, and they may

637
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,320
Speaker 4: have a great policy for you, but they don't necessarily,

638
00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,320
Speaker 4: by virtue of their captive relationship, have access to the

639
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,080
Speaker 4: entire rest of the market. Okay, I want to be

640
00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 4: careful because I want to say one's better than the other.

641
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:14,640
Speaker 4: But if you really want to shop the market, make

642
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,160
Speaker 4: sure you're going to somebody who has access to multiple

643
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:20,880
Speaker 4: insurance companies and make sure that's what you're looking at

644
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,600
Speaker 4: versus whatever else. But find something you trust and want

645
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,360
Speaker 4: to work with, and then let them proceed.

646
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,080
Speaker 3: Yeah, are there any red flags that we should be

647
00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:31,280
Speaker 3: aware of when we're shopping for this or talking to

648
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:32,640
Speaker 3: different agents and things?

649
00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:34,880
Speaker 4: The one thing I mentioned, and I would say it's

650
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:37,800
Speaker 4: more of a yellow flag. Be a curious consumer, really

651
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 4: be your own advocate. If someone's recommending a permanent policy

652
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:45,920
Speaker 4: to you as your first life insurance policy, ask them

653
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,959
Speaker 4: the simple question, why would you recommend this over a

654
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:52,640
Speaker 4: term policy? Now, they may have a very good reason,

655
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,560
Speaker 4: but I would say that's the most common thing I see,

656
00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,600
Speaker 4: And like, there's a lot of great quote unquote influencers

657
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:04,880
Speaker 4: out there different types of insurance policies as a financial strategy,

658
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,840
Speaker 4: and so if the conversation veers into some type of

659
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,480
Speaker 4: financial strategy, then I would be questioning, well, if I

660
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,560
Speaker 4: came to you because I need a death benefit for

661
00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:18,000
Speaker 4: my family, this is a risk protection. Why are we there, Like,

662
00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:19,800
Speaker 4: you really have to make a good case for why

663
00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,320
Speaker 4: we're doing that. If the main reason you bought this

664
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,040
Speaker 4: is for a death benefit, what happens when you pass away? Yeah,

665
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:27,880
Speaker 4: I should be able to explain that very simply, and

666
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:30,720
Speaker 4: what you're paying for it, and if you're paying more

667
00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:33,040
Speaker 4: for that than you would just from a term policy,

668
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,320
Speaker 4: I better be able to explain what those extra dollars

669
00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:37,880
Speaker 4: are for, how they're working for you, and what additional

670
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,240
Speaker 4: benefit you get that you've expressed, like I actually want

671
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,480
Speaker 4: those additional benefits. And here's why it makes sense.

672
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:45,440
Speaker 3: You have to understand it because then you've got to

673
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,480
Speaker 3: go tell your beneficiary what is happening. So you got

674
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,600
Speaker 3: to be able to pass that on. We did an

675
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:54,480
Speaker 3: episode earlier this season about taxes, and they gave great

676
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,840
Speaker 3: advice of like, if you're looking for an accountant, find

677
00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,320
Speaker 3: somebody who you feel comfortable asking questions too. And from

678
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:02,840
Speaker 3: what you're telling me, I'm handing over urine and blood

679
00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:05,040
Speaker 3: and all this information it needs to be somebody I

680
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 3: feel really comfortable asking questions of like, I'm so sorry,

681
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:11,000
Speaker 3: I still don't get this, explain it to me so

682
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,520
Speaker 3: and thank you so far for being that person. You

683
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,400
Speaker 3: have done an amazing job of explaining this to the

684
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:18,240
Speaker 3: point where I'm like, I think I might be able

685
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:20,960
Speaker 3: to go into the world and know something about life insurance.

686
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 4: So good, good, Well, I think that was the goal

687
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:24,720
Speaker 4: of this conversation.

688
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:25,480
Speaker 2: It was the goal.

689
00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:28,760
Speaker 3: Well, Dennis, this has been amazing. Before we let you go,

690
00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:31,240
Speaker 3: is there anything that we didn't cover that you think

691
00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,600
Speaker 3: it's important for people to know about life insurance, or

692
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:37,160
Speaker 3: any big misconceptions out there that you want to correct,

693
00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:39,880
Speaker 3: or anything that you want to leave everybody with so

694
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,200
Speaker 3: that they go out and that they and their families

695
00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:45,400
Speaker 3: are covered and feeling good about it.

696
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:46,200
Speaker 1: Sure.

697
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:48,960
Speaker 4: I think one of the main things that I'd want

698
00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:52,840
Speaker 4: to make sure people understand is one it's best to

699
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,320
Speaker 4: start early. So for most of us, we're probably never

700
00:32:56,400 --> 00:33:00,200
Speaker 4: more ensurable than we are today. Now that said, you

701
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,080
Speaker 4: may have something going on today, a medical condition that

702
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:05,840
Speaker 4: would get you a lower rating, that's going to resolve

703
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:08,640
Speaker 4: and you could go back and get re underwritten, But

704
00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:11,120
Speaker 4: for most of us. When you're young and healthy, that's

705
00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,440
Speaker 4: the best time to buy a term insurance policy because

706
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:15,400
Speaker 4: you're going to lock in those rates for whatever term

707
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:17,920
Speaker 4: you purchase. And I think that's what gets missed a

708
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,960
Speaker 4: lot is people think, oh, that's something i'll need later

709
00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,440
Speaker 4: in life, so I won't purchase a policy now. And

710
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,480
Speaker 4: if you're gonna think that way, remember that I'm fifty one.

711
00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:29,760
Speaker 4: When you start to get into your forties and fifties,

712
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,680
Speaker 4: things start to change, right your health things start to change.

713
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,200
Speaker 4: You might have heart palpitations or something else that makes

714
00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,200
Speaker 4: it a lot harder to get insurance than it was

715
00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:39,840
Speaker 4: in your thirties. So that's the main thing I would

716
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,880
Speaker 4: say is just getting a policy in place when you're

717
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,920
Speaker 4: young is a great building block. And the other thing

718
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:48,600
Speaker 4: that I'll mention we just didn't talk about is when

719
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,959
Speaker 4: you're buying a term policy. There are term policies with

720
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,600
Speaker 4: conversion privileges and without and a conversion privilege. All that

721
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:57,440
Speaker 4: means is at the end of the term, or at

722
00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,520
Speaker 4: some point during the term, you could convert it to

723
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:03,920
Speaker 4: a permanent policy if you wanted to, and that is

724
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,400
Speaker 4: usually you pay a little bit more premium to have

725
00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:08,920
Speaker 4: that option in your policy. But it really can be

726
00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,760
Speaker 4: worth it because you might find out in ten years

727
00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:13,879
Speaker 4: that you're going to need more insurance, or you want

728
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,120
Speaker 4: this insurance to last longer than the next ten years.

729
00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:18,680
Speaker 4: Maybe it's a twenty year policy, and you may want

730
00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:20,359
Speaker 4: to look at that conversion option. And if you bought

731
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,400
Speaker 4: a policy that's just a straight term policy with no

732
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,040
Speaker 4: conversion option, at the end of the term, you literally

733
00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:27,120
Speaker 4: won't have a policy anymore. And at least with a

734
00:34:27,160 --> 00:34:29,719
Speaker 4: conversion option, it'll tell you when you buy the policy,

735
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,600
Speaker 4: you can convert this to a permit policy through these years.

736
00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:36,320
Speaker 4: It'll give you some schedule. There's lots of different writers

737
00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,080
Speaker 4: and different thousand whistles you can add to a term policy.

738
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:41,719
Speaker 4: But I like that conversion privilege because it just gives

739
00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:43,200
Speaker 4: you optionality later on.

740
00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,200
Speaker 3: Nice and also stop smoking so you can save money

741
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:48,520
Speaker 3: and be a better candidate.

742
00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:53,120
Speaker 4: So yeah, stop smoking, stop with us in the nicotine. Yeah,

743
00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:55,359
Speaker 4: all of it. I mean, this isn't about judgment. This

744
00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:59,719
Speaker 4: is just about what makes financial sense. Underwriters prefer that

745
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:01,640
Speaker 4: you lay off that stuff, and usually they want at

746
00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,440
Speaker 4: least three years tobacco free to really give you that

747
00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,640
Speaker 4: full non tobacco rating, different insurance companies, a different underwriting guidelines.

748
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:10,640
Speaker 4: But I get after that a lot. Hey, I stopped

749
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,400
Speaker 4: smoking six months ago. Now I'm a non smoker. Well,

750
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:16,239
Speaker 4: you're not in the eyes of an underwriter. Remember, they

751
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:18,239
Speaker 4: think about things differently than you and I do. Yeah,

752
00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:20,839
Speaker 4: but those are great questions. Ask those questions. Be your

753
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:21,520
Speaker 4: best advocate.

754
00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:22,480
Speaker 2: Yeah.

755
00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:24,200
Speaker 3: Well, Dennis, thank you so much for all of this

756
00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:27,799
Speaker 3: amazing information. We really appreciate you joining us today and

757
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,360
Speaker 3: may your policy last for hundreds of years.

758
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:34,360
Speaker 4: So yes, it's been a real pleasure. Really appreciate you

759
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:35,799
Speaker 4: inviting me on. Thank you so much.

760
00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:44,719
Speaker 3: Okay, Matt, as always, what is something that you're taking

761
00:35:44,719 --> 00:35:45,920
Speaker 3: away from this conversation?

762
00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:50,640
Speaker 1: Be careful what you tell your doctors, Yeah, because that

763
00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:54,399
Speaker 1: stuff stays in your permanent record and they will use

764
00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:57,239
Speaker 1: it against you in the form of premiums. And so

765
00:35:57,360 --> 00:35:59,960
Speaker 1: I'm really regretting this because if you listen to our

766
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:04,480
Speaker 1: previous episode about a Sober Curious lifestyle, you'll know that

767
00:36:04,719 --> 00:36:06,440
Speaker 1: I was telling people that I was having like two

768
00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:07,920
Speaker 1: or three drinks a week. I really hope that that

769
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:10,040
Speaker 1: doesn't come back to haunt me, especially now that I

770
00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:11,000
Speaker 1: don't drink anymore.

771
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:13,520
Speaker 3: Well, that's a good thing that you can update your

772
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:18,440
Speaker 3: doctor and your life insurance policy with that information. Similarly,

773
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,600
Speaker 3: I learned and feel very smug about being a non smoker.

774
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,760
Speaker 3: It's always good to not be smoking. That includes vaping,

775
00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,000
Speaker 3: because then it will save you money in the end.

776
00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:31,920
Speaker 1: That should tell you everything that you need to know

777
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,719
Speaker 1: about smoking, is that life insurance predicting how quickly you're

778
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:39,319
Speaker 1: going to die has an entire category just for you. Yeah,

779
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,799
Speaker 1: if you are a smoker, preferred or not. Not really

780
00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,279
Speaker 1: sure what the distinction is there, but uh, it's not good.

781
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,319
Speaker 1: You're premium going to go up, up up, So maybe

782
00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:49,640
Speaker 1: think about quitting and or lying to your doctor about it.

783
00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:52,560
Speaker 3: The quitting is a win win for everybody, and the

784
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:55,120
Speaker 3: lying is a lose lose for everybody. But sure.

785
00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:58,080
Speaker 1: But the thing that I found most fascinating and really

786
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,239
Speaker 1: really pertinent because of my own life situation is his

787
00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:05,240
Speaker 1: recommendation to go outside of your employer. Currently, my employer

788
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:07,279
Speaker 1: is the only one that I have right now, And

789
00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:09,560
Speaker 1: basically you're talking about how if you could terminate it

790
00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:12,960
Speaker 1: or you leave your job, then it doesn't always carry over.

791
00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:16,440
Speaker 1: But what I've found from some research is that you

792
00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:20,640
Speaker 1: do have thirty one days after your employment ends to

793
00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:23,680
Speaker 1: have a conversation with your company about conversion, right, so

794
00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:26,760
Speaker 1: meaning taking your policy and converting it to a personal

795
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,920
Speaker 1: or portability which, as Dennis discussed, would allow you to

796
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,319
Speaker 1: continue on the group rate that you have, but make

797
00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:35,560
Speaker 1: it your own account. So there's a lot to consider

798
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,800
Speaker 1: there in terms of expenses, and it's a whole process

799
00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,080
Speaker 1: to go through, but it is really important that in

800
00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:43,799
Speaker 1: most every state you do have those thirty one days

801
00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:46,680
Speaker 1: to figure it out. So consider getting your own so

802
00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:48,960
Speaker 1: you don't have to worry about this if you ever

803
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,480
Speaker 1: do end up losing your job, but definitely take advantage

804
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:53,400
Speaker 1: of those thirty one days to get your ducks in

805
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,800
Speaker 1: a row, especially if you do have dependence.

806
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,279
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for doing the extra research on that.

807
00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:00,239
Speaker 1: Now I was more just worried about me.

808
00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:02,719
Speaker 2: Yeah, I got it. I got it because I'm worried

809
00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:03,200
Speaker 2: about me too.

810
00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:05,080
Speaker 3: When I see these numbers, I'm like, hello, my life

811
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:09,480
Speaker 3: is worth one billion times that of course, but thank

812
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,160
Speaker 3: you for doing that research. We are going to take

813
00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,760
Speaker 3: that information, put it in our pockets, and until next time,

814
00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:16,239
Speaker 3: good luck being a grown up.

815
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:20,920
Speaker 1: This is a production of Ruby Studio for My Heart Media.

816
00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:24,680
Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Leopaul Mary and Matt Stillo.

817
00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:27,720
Speaker 3: This episode was edited and engineered by Sierra

818
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,480
Speaker 1: Spreen and we want to thank our teammates at Ruby Studio,

819
00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:34,640
Speaker 1: including Sarah You, Ethan Fixel, rays One Krasnov, Lydia Kim,

820
00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:39,280
Speaker 1: Abby Aguilar, Harbert, Wayne Selia, Verplu, Deborah Garrett, and Andy

821
00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:47,280
Speaker 1: Kelly