Solving the Health and Wealth Puzzle for Retirees
Many producers are already aware that health and wealth are intricately linked. A person’s health status and health care expenditures largely determine how they will spend their retirement and whether there will be enough money to finance the entire span. But exactly how to factor health care into retirement planning is still a bit elusive ...
Disability Tips, Trends, and Topics
The timing couldn’t be worse. Medical disabilities are having a growing financial effect on Americans’ lives — at the same time that the struggling economy is presenting its own challenges. For example, according to a 2008 Harvard Law School study, nearly 1.5 million Americans are in jeopardy of losing their homes due to a medical disability.
2010 Health Market Study: Producers in Distress, but Opportunities Abound
Over the past 12 months, Scott Leavitt has seen individual health sales increase. Mike Norderhaug has seen them flat to slightly up. And for Bruce Sanders, this is the first time in his 40-plus years in the business that he’s seen things dry up so badly. These three industry professionals — the president of the Eagle, ID firm My Wellchoice+, the senior ...
The Tax Advantages of Whole Life Insurance
Market conditions over the past couple of years have caused many people to begin to take a closer look at financial products that offer guarantees. As the values of equity portfolios have decreased during the recent downturn, insurance producers are faced with the opportunity to educate clients about using cash value life insurance as an asset.
How to Get Your Long Term Care Insurance Client Approved
You’ve been referred to a couple as prospective long term care insurance buyers, and because of family experience, they are highly motivated to buy policies. As you speak to the clients over the phone, you discover that one spouse was diagnosed with diabetes more than 10 years ago. How you handle it from here will go a long way toward ...
Medicare Advantage Enrollment Up, But Participation Varies by State, Carrier
In March 2010, 11.1 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, up from 10.5 million in March 2009. Enrollment in private fee-for-service (PFFS) Medicare Advantage plans declined as some firms left the market, but the losses were more than offset by gains in enrollment in coordinated care plans, particularly local and regional preferred provider organizations (PPOs).