Long Term Care (LTC)

          Refers to a broad range of medical, personal and social services that support people who cannot perform their basic living needs for and extended period of time due to any accidents, illness or aging and frailty. LTC includes receiving assistance from other people who perform the essential activities of daily living (ADL’s) when those activities can no longer be performed independently. Assistance can be provided at home by professional caregivers, including home health aids, etc. or by informal caregivers such as family members or friends. Assistance may also be provided in a nursing home. Please contact us for more information.

Disability

          Generally insurance companies have two different methods for deciding if a person is totally disabled and eligible for benefits. The first method you choose to define disability in your policy is called Own Occupation. The Own Occupation definition states that you must not be able to perform the essential and major duties of your regular occupation. Your regular occupation is the one in which you were engaged in at the time the disability began. This is the most lenient definition of disability because in order to be eligible for the benefit you cannot be able to perform the duties of your regular occupation, however you could still be able to perform the duties of other occupations.

The second option is known as Any Gainful Occupation. The Any Occupation definition is a more strict definition of disability. In order to be eligible for benefits under this definition you must not be able to perform the essential and major duties of any gainful occupation for which you are reasonably suited due to your education, training or experience even if you cannot perform the regular duties of your regular job.

          For moe information on disability insurance coverage, please contact us.

Group Medical Insurance

          Medical Insurance- Encompasses a broad range of benefits that cover virtually any expense that of hospital and medical care along with related services of the medical field. Plans range in benefits from the basic plans which only cover hospitalization to fully insured plans which cover physician visits, prescriptions and hospitalization under a wide variety of co-payment options.

          On a group basis the employer must pay a minimum portion of the employee only premium, usually 50% and there are employee participation requirements that must be met.

          To learn more about our employee benefit packages and medical insurance please contact us.

Individual Medical Insurance

          Medical Insurance Encompasses a broad range of benefits that cover virtually any expense that of hospital and medical care along with related services of the medical field. Plans range in benefits from the basic plans which only cover hospitalization to fully insured plans which cover physician visits, prescriptions and hospitalization under a wide variety of co-payment options. Contact us for more information.

Dental Insurance

          Provides coverage for most dental expenses. Generally there are deductibles and different coinsurance levels in the dental plans with the percentage that you pay differing depending on the class or level of coverage that you are receiving. The average plan is setup as follows:

Class I (Preventative)

          Covers Oral Exams, Prophylaxis, Fluoride and x-rays. This class is generally covered at 100% by the insurance company.

Class II (Basic Services)

          Covers Emergency, Space Maintainers, Restorations, Oral Surgery, Sealants, Fillings, Periodontics and Endodontics. These benefits are usually covered at 80% by the insurance company and your responsibility is 20%.

Class III (Major Services)

          Covers Inlays and Crowns, Dentures, Bridges, Repairs and Other Prosthetics. These benefits are generally covered at 50% by the insurance company and your responsibility is 50%.

          Orthodontics are generally covered under a separate rider that you have to pay extra to have included in your policy.

          Plans can be customized with different deductible amounts, generally $50-$100 for Basic and Major services. You can also change the coinsurance percentage of the Basic and Major service levels as well as the annual maximum benefit, which is the maximum amount that the insurance company will pay out in dental benefits for you in a single calendar year, usually between $1,000-$2,000 annually.

          If you would like more information on dental plans please contact us.

Vision Insurance

          Medical insurance generally covers illnesses of they eyes as well as injuries. However, Medical insurance does not cover eye examinations and the costs associated with glasses. Vision plans are designed to cover your exam and the costs to obtain lenses and frames whether they are single vision, bifocal or trifocal as well as contact lenses or other devices designed to correct vision problems. Vision plans have options that allow for different frequencies on exams and frames and lenses, such as an exam every 12 months with new lenses and frames every 24 months or exams and new frames and lenses every 12 months, etc. The plans also generally cover a base amount for the cost of frames which is normally around $100 retail, should you want a more expensive set you would pay the extra amount.

          If you would like more information on vision plans please contact us.

Group Life Insurance

          As an employer you can provide life insurance as an added benefit to your employees. In most cases group life insurance is a flat amount of insurance generally between $10,000-$25,000, however, these numbers can be set at any amount. You have the option to allow employees to buy more insurance at their own expense as well as coverage for the spouse and dependents, this is known as supplemental coverage. To learn more about using life insurance in your employee benefits package please contact us.

Employee Retirement Plans

          There are a number of different ways to provide assistance to employees for their retirement. Perhaps the most common is through the 401(k) plan. When an employer institutes a 401(k) the employees are allowed to make contributions to their own account on a pretax basis. The employer also makes a contribution to each employees account at a specified matching level, when the employees make their contributions. The employee can then invest those contributions in the mutual funds available to them in the 401(k) platform that the employer has chosen.

          There are numerous advantages to employees. Most notably is that he/she is saving for retirement on a pretax basis, therefore lowering current taxable income. As a result of the lowered taxable income to employees, the employer saves on unemployment taxes as well as workers compensation.

          There are a wide variety of plans and strategies available for retirement plans. We can design that best fits the needs of your company and your employees. We have assisted employers with 401(k), defined benefit plans, 403(b) and many other retirement planning strategies over the years. As an independent agency we have the ability to place with the platform which is most suitable to your needs.

          To learn more about our retirement planning options please please contact us.

Individual Life Insurance

          There are several different types of life insurance that individuals can purchase, the most common are term, whole life, universal life and variable life:

Term Insurance

          Is purchasing a flat amount of insurance for a specified period of time. For example: buying $100,000 of coverage for 20 years. With a term policy, the premium remains the same for entire length of the policy period whether it is 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. The death benefit also remains level for that period of time. Should you live to the end of the policy term there is no cash value built up in the policy and there is no return of premiums paid. The only event in which a term policy pays out a value is upon the death of the insured individual.

Whole Life Insurance

          These policies have fundamental differences from the term policies. Whole life insurance is designed to provide coverage for the insured individual until the age of 100. The premium and death benefit remain level for the lifetime of the policy. The whole life policy in contrast to the term policy does have a cash value amount that builds inside the policy with every premium payment that is made. The purpose of the cash value is to have it be equal to the death benefit at the age of 100. thus if the insured purchased a $100,000 death benefit, once the insured reaches the age of 100 the policy would mature and the insured individual would receive his/hers $100,000. Should the insured die before reaching 100 then their beneficiary would still receive the full $100,000. The insured individual does have access to the cash value during the life of policy. Therefore, the insured can take a loan from the policy and receive all or a portion of the cash value under the premise that it will be paid back to the policy over time. The policy holder can also chose at any time to surrender the policy and just take the cash value. These features create greater flexibility for policy holders then the term policies.

Universal Life Insurance

          These policies were designed to give individuals the greatest amount of flexibility possible from their life insurance policy. The key feature to the universal life policy is flexible premiums and adjustable death benefits. Once an initial amount of money is established in the policy, the policy holder can make premium payments of different amounts at different times that best suit their needs, as long as a minimum amount of money is maintained in the policy. There are two options that an individual can chose with the universal policy. Option A states that the death benefit will always remain level. Option B states that the death benefit will be the stated death benefit that was purchased plus the cash value. Therefore, as the cash value in the policy increases as premiums are continually paid, the death benefit increases as well. Thus it is a flexible premium adjustable death benefit policy.

Individual Retirement Planning

          We assist clients on a daily basis with the imperative need for retirement planning. We provide comprehensive planning that takes you through all of the stages necessary for a successful and happy retirement. Our planning incorporates making sure your medical needs are met along with your financial needs and the issues of transferring your estate to the desired beneficiaries once you pass on.

          When it comes to your medical needs we offer a full line of supplemental plans to offset any cost that Medicare shares with you along with providing for extra benefits you might need that Medicare does not provide any coverage for at all. We also have Long Term Care (LTC) policies that will make sure you are taken care if some of life’s tasks become too difficult, without having to deplete your savings account or estate to pay for those costs. We want to make sure you preserve the estate that you have worked a lifetime to establish, in the most cost efficient manner.

          Whether you are simply looking to set up an IRA, annuity or if you want a customized estate plan, we can work towards making your goals a reality.

          To discuss your retirement and financial future please contact us.

Medicare Supplements

          We offer a full line of supplemental plans to offset any cost that Medicare shares with you along with providing for extra benefits you might need that Medicare does not provide any coverage for at all. We have carriers that provide all plans A-J along with many other plans that are designed to fit the specialized needs of each individual. To hear more about Medicare supplements and the different options, please click here.

Estate Planning

          We provide our clients with proprietary planning techniques and skills that you will not find anywhere else. Our estate planning experts are known on a national level for their success and expertise in solving estate planning issues for individuals and creating strategies that achieve the client’s goal. To hear more about our estate planning techniques or to set an appointment with one of our advisors please contact us.