How many of these “rules to live by” did you hear growing up?

Don’t run with scissors!

Look both ways before crossing the street!

Never dive into the shallow end!

They may have been yelled angrily from the front porch or shouted gruffly from the side of the pool – but it was done with love. These rules were all about keeping you safe from avoidable injuries and preventable accidents.

Now these lessons are as engrained in your way of life as flossing your teeth every single night, right? You may even have passed these “rules to live by” on to (yelled them at, maybe?) your own kids! These tips show how much you care about your family – and their safety and comfort.

If you’ll excuse my insistence, I have one more safety tip to add to your collection:

Get disability insurance!

When it comes to an unexpected disabling injury or illness, simply being cautious may not prevent it. And being careful won’t always protect you or your family from the burden of a damaged paycheck.

According to the Council for Disability Awareness, an accident is not usually the cause of a disability later in life. Instead, the inability to earn a paycheck can be caused by heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses.

Disability insurance can replace part of your income due to an injury or illness. But waiting to consider disability insurance until you are face-to-face with a damaged paycheck is waiting too long.

Contact me today, and together we can explore your options. Let’s discuss what you can do to continue looking out for your financial safety as well as helping to ensure the comfort and care of your loved ones.

If you’re young, you may not be thinking you need life insurance yet, but life insurance isn’t something only for your parents or grandparents.

Even if you have a free life insurance policy through your employer, you may not have as much coverage as you need.

There are many great reasons to buy life insurance – and a lot of those great reasons are even better reasons for young people.

So, read on for a little illumination about why you are not too young for life insurance.

If you have dependents, life insurance is a must.

Take a moment and think about who depends on you and your income for their well-being. You may be surprised. Most of us think immediately of children, but dependents can include your parents, siblings, a relative with a disability, or even a significant other. A solid life insurance policy can protect the people that count on you.

What would they do without your financial help? A life insurance policy can ensure they are protected if something were to happen to you.

The older you get, the more life insurance costs.

From a simple, cost/benefit perspective, the best time to buy life insurance is when you are young. That’s when it’s the most affordable. As you age (i.e., become more likely to suffer from accident or illness), the cost of the policy will most likely go up. So buying a life insurance policy while you’re young may save you money over the long term.

Your employer-provided life insurance may be problematic.

Getting life insurance through your employer is a great benefit (you should take advantage of it if it’s free).

But it may present some problems. One of the drawbacks is that this type of life insurance policy doesn’t go with you when you leave the company. That may be a challenge for young people who are moving from company to company as they climb the career ladder.

Second, employer-sponsored life insurance may simply not be enough. Even dual-income couples with no dependents should consider purchasing individual policies. Keep in mind that if one of you passed away, would the other afford to maintain your current lifestyle on a single income? Those “what if?” scenarios may be uncomfortable, but they are the best way to determine how much life insurance you need.

You’re never too young to think about your legacy.

It’s not too soon to think about this. Did you know a life insurance policy can provide a lump sum to an organization you select, not just to a family member or other beneficiary? A life insurance policy can allow you to leave a meaningful legacy for the people or causes you care about. When it comes to buying life insurance, generally the younger you are when you start your policy, the better off you’re going to be.

If you’re young, you may not be thinking you need life insurance yet. But life insurance isn’t something only for your parents or grandparents.

Even if you have a free life insurance policy through your employer, you may not have as much coverage as you need.

There are many great reasons to buy life insurance – and a lot of those great reasons are even better reasons for young people.

So, read on for a little illumination about why you are not too young for life insurance. If you have dependents, life insurance is a must.

Take a moment and think about who depends on you and your income for their well-being. You may be surprised.

Most of us think immediately of children, but dependents can include your parents, siblings, a relative with a disability, or even a significant other. A solid life insurance policy can protect the people that count on you.

What would they do without your financial help? A life insurance policy can ensure they are protected if something were to happen to you.

The older you get, the more life insurance costs. From a simple, cost/benefit perspective, the best time to buy life insurance is when you are young. That’s when it’s the most affordable. As you age (i.e., become more likely to suffer from accident or illness), the cost of the policy will most likely go up. So buying a life insurance policy while you’re young may save you money over the long term.

Your employer-provided life insurance may be problematic. Getting life insurance through your employer is a great benefit (you should take advantage of it if it’s free).

But it may present some problems. One of the drawbacks is that this type of life insurance policy doesn’t go with you when you leave the company. That may be a challenge for young people who are moving from company to company as they climb the career ladder.

Second, employer-sponsored life insurance may simply not be enough. Even dual-income couples with no dependents should consider purchasing individual policies. Keep in mind that if one of you passed away, would the other afford to maintain your current lifestyle on a single income? Those “what if?” scenarios may be uncomfortable, but they are the best way to determine how much life insurance you need.

You’re never too young to think about your legacy. It’s not too soon to think about this. Did you know a life insurance policy can provide a lump sum to an organization you select, not just to a family member or other beneficiary? A life insurance policy can allow you to leave a meaningful legacy for the people or causes you care about. When it comes to buying life insurance, generally the younger you are when you start your policy, the better off you’re going to be.

Navigating the world of life insurance can be a daunting task.

Even more daunting can be figuring out what policy is best for you. Let’s break down the differences between a couple of the more common life insurance policies, so you can focus on an even more daunting task – what your family’s going to have for dinner tonight!

Term Life Insurance. A Term life insurance policy covers an individual for a specific period of time – the most common term lengths being 10, 20, or 30 years. The main advantage of this type of policy is that it generally can cost the consumer less than a permanent insurance plan, because it might be shorter than a permanent policy.

The goal of a term policy is to pay the lowest premiums possible, because by the time the term expires, your family will no longer need the insurance. The primary thing to keep in mind is to choose a term length that covers the years you plan to work prior to retirement. This way, your family members (or beneficiaries) would be taken care of financially if something were to happen to you.

Permanent Life Insurance. Unlike term life insurance, permanent life insurance provides lifelong coverage, as long as you pay your premiums. This insurance policy – which also can be known as “universal” or “whole” – provides coverage for ongoing needs such as caring for family members, a spouse that needs coverage after retirement, or paying off any debts of the deceased.

Another great benefit a perm policy offers is cash accumulation. As premiums are paid over time, the money is allocated to an investment account from which the individual can borrow or withdraw the funds for emergencies, illness, retirement, or other unexpected needs. Because this policy provides lifelong coverage and access to cash in emergencies, most permanent policies are more expensive than term policies.

How Much Does the Average Consumer Need? Unless you have millions of dollars in assets and make over $250,000 a year, most of your insurance coverage needs may be met through a simple term policy. However, if you have a child that needs ongoing care due to illness or disability, if you need coverage for your retirement, or if you anticipate needing to cover emergency expenses, it may be in your best interest to purchase a permanent life insurance policy.

No matter where you are in life, you should consider purchasing some life insurance coverage. Many employers will actually offer this policy as part of their benefits package. If you are lucky enough to work for an employer who does this, take advantage of it, but be sure to examine the policy closely to make sure you’re getting the right amount of coverage. If you don’t work for a company that offers life insurance, don’t worry, you still may be able to get great coverage at a relatively inexpensive rate. Just make sure to do your research, consider your options, and make an informed decision for you and your family.

Now, what’s it going to be? Order a pizza or make breakfast for dinner? Choices, choices…

How are you protecting your income?

Maybe you already have a life insurance policy worth about 10 times your annual earnings. That should help protect your family in the case of your untimely passing.

But what if you aren’t able to work during your lifetime?

It’s more common than you might think. 1 in 4 20-year-olds will become disabled before they reach 67, and 67% of private-sector workers have no disability insurance.¹ Here are some basic facts about this essential line of protection for you and your family.

Disability insurance has a lot in common with life insurance. <br> At first blush, it might be hard to distinguish between life insurance and disability insurance. But there are some key differences that are worth exploring.

Disability insurance activates when you can’t work <br> Life insurance pays out in the case of your passing. Disability insurance can provide a stable income replacement if an injury, accident, illness, or something else renders you unable to work.

There are two types of disability insurance: long-term and short-term Short-term disability insurance can replace your income if you can’t work for a few months. Long-term disability insurance can protect you if a serious health issue takes you out of the field for more than 6 months.

Employers sometimes offer disability insurance (but it might not be enough) It’s not uncommon for employers to provide their workers with some form of disability insurance. As of 2018, 42% of private sector employees had access to short-term disability insurance via their work, while 34% had long-term disability insurance options.²

However, it’s worth noting that this might not be enough to fully protect you and your family. Disabilities can increase your expenses, so you’ll need a strategy that replaces your current income and then some. Make sure your employer-provided plan will give you enough to cover all of your needs in the case of a disability and help your family for the long haul. If it doesn’t do either of those, you may need to turn to private coverage.

The government offers disability benefits (but they might not be enough, either) <br> Social Security does provide disability coverage to individuals who have worked long enough and paid enough into the system. However, applying for it is a time consuming process. Also, average monthly payments were just over $1,000 as of 2017.⁴ Do your research to see if you’re eligible and if you’ll receive enough before you apply.

Above all, meet with a licensed and qualified financial professional to weigh your options and start developing a plan. They’ll assist you as you evaluate your need for protection, what employer-provided options you might have, and how disability insurance fits into your overall financial strategy.

During the course of Life Insurance Awareness Month, we’ve been focusing on understanding the ins and outs of life insurance.

We’ve discussed why life insurance is necessary, who needs it, what kinds of protection are available and even defined key terms so you can know exactly what you’re looking at!

So what’s next? Application. <br>

Dale Carnegie once said, “Knowledge isn’t power until it is applied.”

There’s an obvious difference between knowing about life insurance and actually being insured. So how do you get started? If you’re looking at getting life insurance for yourself or a loved one, here are 3 helpful steps to consider.

1. Reflect on what’s important. Now this may seem like an obvious thing to do, but it’s absolutely critical that you think about the areas of your life that you really care about and nail those down. Ask yourself, “If something happened to my ability to earn income, who would be affected and who do I specifically want to be cared for?” Your answer(s) to this question will help determine what needs to be protected.

2. Determine your budget. After you’re done with the first step, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. How much would you be willing to set aside to ensure those things are protected? Run a thought experiment in your mind: “Would I be willing to set aside $50 per month? $100? $200? $400?” This process will help you ‘take the temperature’ about what you’re willing to commit.

3. Seek guidance. Find a licensed and trained financial professional you trust and who offers life insurance products to give you an accurate quote or illustration based on your situation. They will be able to guide you on finding the right type and the right amount of insurance to fit your needs.

No one likes to think about what would happen in the event of a premature death, disability, or critical illness. But whether we think about it or not, the reality is the same: people we care about will be affected by the loss of an income earner. Remember, life insurance isn’t something we can buy in a store. You have to apply! Owning life insurance is more of a privilege than it is a right. So don’t merely spend time accumulating knowledge. We encourage you to apply that knowledge…and in this case, apply for life insurance!