Planning for "Special Needs" Dependents

Maybe you have a "special needs" child or know of a family member who does. If so, ask yourself what will happen to that adolescent or adult handicapped individual when you are no longer available to help him/her, both financially or emotionally. Will your state resources be adequate? Will your child be institutionalized?

Families that include a member with a physical or mental disability have special needs to consider when organizing their financial and estate planning. Long term solutions need to be considered if you should die and no longer can provide for your loved ones.

** Who will care for your childs basic needs, food, clothing and living arrangements?
** Who will provide emotional support?
** Have you provided for adequate financial resources for other family members or caregivers?

A Special Needs Trust may be the best solution. It will provide security, while allowing him or her to qualify for government benefits. The Special Needs Trust can be established and funded during the parents life, or established by will (a testamentary trust) to receive assets from your estate.

Typical assets placed in a Special Needs Trust include a life insurance policy, the death benefit from a life insurance policy or other income producing assets such as stocks and bonds. Insurance is the most widely used funding method as it does not require a trustee to manage a stock or bond portfolio and provides for immediate access to assets.

The first step is to review your financial/legal situation and make sure that your special needs child is taken care of and protected. For insurance planning, contact QuoteBroker.

Insurance for pet lovers

We all love our pet's, some more than others. This article is written for the person that would take all measures available to save their cat - dog if they became ill or were in an accident.

An increasingly popular insurance plan for pet owners is "Pet Insurance". Although this concept has been around for years, it was always difficult to find a plan that would actually pay a benefit, or would remain in business. We have found a company that we love and refer our business to, called "Pets Best Insurance".

Pets Best offers you a choice of plans to protect you and your pet from unexpected veterinary bills caused by illnesses, accidents or injuries. They even offer optional coverage to help to pay for routine care.Each Pets Best plan reimburses a straightforward 80% (after your deductible - most plan deductibles are $50-$300) for vet visits including emergency visits, treatments, lab tests, surgeries, and prescription medicines - up to the dollar limit of the plan you choose. Dollar limits range from $42,000 to $100,000. No complicated benefit schedule; no restrictions on your choice of veterinarian; no restrictions or set limits on diagnostics or recommended treatment, no pre-authorization processes to go through. Their contract language is straight forward and applying for coverage is an online 3 step process. There are also no pet age limits, which many of their competitors do.

To learn more, visit www.petsbest.com/CA004 or call 866-405-3647 and talk with their Call Center and give them this special Promotional Code = ID CA004

The Truth about Term Life Insurance

First we must understand what Term Insurance "is and is not". Term life is the simplest type of life insurance. Term gets its name from the limited length or "term" of the contract. Term insurance usually has no cash value, generally lasts for 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, or to some specified age such as age 65 or age 100. If you die during the term, the insurance company will pay the death benefit if all premium obligations are met. If you do not die during the term, no benefits will be paid. You may be able to renew the contract at the end of the term, or you will need to buy another policy (if you qualify medically and can afford the increased cost).

For term insurance, the premiums for each one thousand dollar of face amount death benefit roughly follows a curve reflecting the chances of dying - obviously getting very steep as one gets into his or her age 70's, 80's, and 90's when the chance of death is close to 100%. In contrast, the idea behind permanent life insurance is that the person "over-pays" (over and above what the cost of term insurance would be to cover the probability of dying in those early years) in order to keep the premium payments level during the older ages when the cost of term insurance would become prohibitively expensive. And because providing "life insurance" security for a family was deemed to be in society's best interests, a special tax break was given to the internal buildup of cash values within the life insurance policy - so they could build up more efficiently - free of income tax.

But is Term Life Insurance a Deal or No Deal? Term insurance has it's place in situations that require life insurance for a short or "temporary" period of time, or if you need large amounts of insurance until you can afford permanent insurance.

The truth is that Life Insurance companies love selling you this product. In an industry actuarial study, it was estimated that only 1 - 1.5% of all policies sold would result in a death claim.

Will you be the exception to the rule? For more information visit www.quotebroker.com

Don't rely on Social Security Disability Insurance

Though SSDI is an important source of disability income protection, the definition of disability under SSDI is very restrictive. “If” you qualify, you must have significant physical or mental impairments that prevent you from working in any gainful employment activity (In 2004, gainful employment earnings were established at $810 per month) additionally, to qualify for these benefits your disability must be expected to last for at least a year or death. If you know anyone that has gone through this process, he/she will tell you that it isn’t easy and can last months or years to receive a qualifying letter. Meanwhile you must see the state doctors, social workers and administrative personnel, all of which will determine whether or not you can obtain gainful employment. Remember $810 a month can be earned flipping burgers or being a night security guard.

The only way to protect your assets is the coordination of all available disability insurance offering. This combination includes; 1) Your personal disability coverage 2) Your company disability income program (if available) and last 3) Social Security Disability Income.

Many companies provide short term disability benefits; however many do not offer long term coverage options. Although group insurance tends to be less expensive, the contractual language is often very restrictive and offers few benefit options. If you don’t plan on retiring with your employer into your mid or late “60’s”, you may want to use your monthly premium contribution to purchase additional personal coverage. Remember you can’t take your group disability policy to your next employer.

Protect your most important asset – your ability to earn income. A personal disability policy is more expensive, however offers better protection and future benefits if you become disabled, you are unable to return to work fulltime or you can not work in your employment specialty. The cost will average 3% of your income and become much more expensive as you get older. Buy as much as you qualify for while you are younger and working.

As a final note: Long Term Disability is usually caused by a medical illness. Only 10% of all disability claims are due to accidents and less than 4% were from work related “workman’s comp” incidences. To request more information, visit my website.

* Claim statistics offered by a 2004 Insurance Commission study.

How much is your life worth?

Imagine driving home on the interstate today and you are hit by a large beer truck. Your car rolls over into the ditch and you are pronounced dead. How much would you want your loved one’s to sue for? One hundred thousand, a million, twenty million?? During the trial, a team of legal experts will fight for you to make sure that your family is protected or made “whole”. Although they can not replace the emotional loss, they will attempt to make sure that your family can stay in their home, pay there bills and educate your children. This is known as replacing your “Human Life Value”, (HLV)

To determine what your HLV is, the following factors will be considered. Your age, income, education, family status and most importantly – your ability to earn a living. If you are younger, well educated and on your way up the corporate ladder, your potential future earnings are considered. If you are in the prime of your life, the calculation is very similar. Odds are that you will receive a very large settlement. But wait…

If you are so valuable, the defense attorney will likely look at your assets and liabilities, the size of your estate and any other holdings that may possibly reduce your families award settlement. Then the multi-million dollar question will be asked. If Mr. or Mrs. Smith was so valuable to his family, church and loved one’s - why did he/she insure their life for $100,000, $250,000 or 1 million dollars?

Life insurance is not a dirty word. Life insurance is an act of love. Most people agree that they need more insurance coverage; however they are not willing to pay the price to adequately protect their loved ones. It’s time to “get real”, examine your priorities and plan for the inevitable.

One last comment – Today there are several different life insurance options available to you. If it’s important to protect your family or business, there are always affordable insurance solutions ranging from Term, Universal, Whole Life or any combination in between. For more information or to receive an instant life insurance rate comparison visit - QuoteBroker

Disability Insurance can also protect your business

Personal Disability Income Insurance can assist you to maintain your life at home - mortgage payments, groceries, utilities and auto payments. How would your business survive without you?

If you become disabiled, your business will still incur expenses. Rent or mortgage payments, Staff salaries, utilities, advertising and equipment lease payments. If you run a professional practice would you need a skilled broker, doctor or attorney to assume your responsibilities until you return?

Rather than closing your business or loosing key employees, there is a solution. Many insurance companies that offer personal disability income protection, also offer Disability Overhead Protection policies. With proper coverage your business can continue until you return, or if you remain disabled this protection will keep the business operating until you can find a qualified buyer. For more information contact Quotebroker

Paycheck Insurance - Why you need it ..

Life insurance industry statistics tell us that at the age of 35 you are 10 times more likely to be disabled from an illness or injury than you are to die from it.

How will you pay the bills? The mortgage payments, cars, living expenses, college, etc etc? The answer is Paycheck insurance, formally referred to as Disability Insurance / Disability Income Protection.You may get a limited amount of sick pay from your employer if you're salaried, but it won't last long. There's always workers' compensation, but that only covers you for work-related injuries - a very small percentage of causes of disability. But if you are self employed or an independent contractor, you most likely don't qualify for either plan.

But if you have Disability Income protection it will pay between 55 to 70 per cent of all income / earnings allowing you to maintain a reasonable lifestyle and maintain payments of your important obligations, such as your home mortgage. These policies are not inexpensive, averaging approximately 2% +/- of your annual income. You can different benefit periods or options that may reduce your premiums. Make sure you buy this valuable protection today, locking in your premium payments, because the older you become the more expensive this policy will be to purchase in the future.

Look for a non cancel-able and guaranteed renewable contract. If you are a skilled professional you should also look for a plan that has an "own occupation" provision, meaning that if you can not be a lawyer or surgeon, you can become a teacher or family doctor while continuing to receive your disability income payments. Quotebroker offers a number of different plans from major insurance companies. For more information: Disability Insurance.

If you think it's too expensive - what's more important.... your car or your income to age 65? Most likely your disability policy payments will be much less than the car you drive today.

Selling your Life Insurance Policy

Are you having difficulty maintaining your life insurance premiums, or plan to lapse your policy coverage? Maybe you simply do want or need coverage. Perhaps you are considering buying a smaller life insurance policy.There is a growing market whereby large financial institutions will purchase your life insurance contract. This financial strategy is called a "life settlement" or sometimes referred to as a "senior settlement". Perhaps you are a business owner that had purchased "key man" life insurance for an executive that is either leaving your firm or retiring. This plan can also apply to you.

A Life Settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy to an investor in a secondary market transaction. There are two parties to every life settlement transaction (sometimes also called a "Senior Settlement"): a policy seller (who no longer wants or needs the policy) and a policy buyer (typically a life settlement provider buying the policy on behalf of an institutional investor). The seller is the owner of the policy and may be an individual, trust or corporate entity. The insured under the policy is normally a senior citizen, 65 years of age or older with a life expectancy of 3 to 15 years.

Policies that are purchased include; Term Insurance, Universal Life, Whole Life, Joint Policies and Variable Contracts. QuoteBroker has experience in this area to maximize your proceeds. email: vince@quotebroker.com

The price of the policy is derived in large part from the life expectancy of the insured, and the amount paid for the policy is less than the death benefit, but in nearly every case much more than the policy's cash surrender value. Sellers receive an immediate cash payment in consideration of the policy sale. The buyer ultimately collects the full death benefit when the policy matures upon the death of the insured. After closing of the life settlement transaction, the policy buyer assumes responsibility for all premium payments from the date of the life settlement to the maturity of the policy.

There are other ways to take cash out of a permanent life insurance policy that you may want to consider if this valuable protection is still needed.

Health Savings Accounts - What you can & can't do with the money

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are on the rise again. More companies are also allowing their employees to participate in HSA’s. To understand HSA’s and how they work, we recommend reviewing that information online. The purpose of this article is to explain what you can do with the money in your Health Savings Account..

You can make a contribution into your HSA each year that you are eligible. For 2008, you can contribute up to $2900 for single coverage and $5800 if you elect family coverage.Individuals over age 55 can make an additional contribution of $900. These amounts are adjusted annually for inflation.

Your HSA account is usually through a bank, credit union or financial services company. The money within your account can be invested and grow tax deferred.

You can use the money within your account to pay for any “Qualified Medical Expenses” permitted under the federal tax code.The most common being; most medical care and services, dental and vision, and medications, including over the counter drugs such as aspirin. Your HSA most likely has a Debit Card to use for these expenses.

Most people do not understand that you can NOT use this money to pay for your health insurance premiums. There are a few “special circumstances”, that allow you to pay premiums, including periods of when receiving unemployment benefits, COBRA continuation and when paying for certain Medicare expenses. The most overlooked deduction is Long Term Care Premiums. This is permited if the LTC plan is "qualified". Always look for a “qualified” Long Term Care policy.

This money can be used to pay for your medical expenses and all expenses incurred by your dependent children or spouse.

There are penalties for using funds for any other expenses that are not considered “qualified”. For example you can not use the money for Cosmetic Surgery, paying for Supplemental Medicare premiums or other non medical expenses.To learn more about the Health Savings Accounts and how they work, visit the QuoteBroker website.

This information was intended to be educational and you should always consult your insurance, tax or legal representative to discuss how an HSA applies to your situation. Additional information can be located at the Department of Treasury website.

Can I deduct my Long Term Care Premiums?

Many individuals are still not sure whether or not they can deduct all or part of their Long Term Care (LTC) premiums. This summary is for the income tax treatment of Long Term Care policies for 2008. This information is for educational purposes and you should always consult your trusted adviser, tax or legal regarding your personal situation.

1. An Individual taxpayer that does not itemize - NO DEDUCTION

2. An Individual taxpayer that does itemize deductions - A)Deductible as " Health Insurance Premium", limited to the lesser of the actual premium or "eligible LTC premium" B)Deductible amount is Total medical Expenses, including eligible LTC premium, in excess of Adjusted Gross Income. IRC Section 213(a)

3. Self-Employed Taxpayers, including Sole proprietors, Partners, Member of LLC, 2% or greater shareholder of an S corporation. - A)Eligible for self-employed health insurance deduction, taken on IRS Form 1040. IRC Section 162 B)Limited to the lesser of actual premium paid or "eligible LTC premium" C) Deduction is NOT subject to 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Income threshold.

4. Non Owner Employees (Premiums paid by employer). Employer provided LTC insurance is treated as Accident and Health Plans. Section 7702(a)(3). A)Premiums deductible to employer (subject to reasonable compensation rules) Section IRC 162(a) B) Premium not included in employee's income.

Long Term care should be part of everyone's financial plan, especially individuals over age 40. Protect your life savings, assets and dignity. Look into a LTC policy today. Request more information online

Blue Cross of California to change name

Starting April 1st 2008, Blue Cross of California will be doing business as Anthem Blue Cross. Anthem will showcase their status as the nation's largest health benefits company.

Look for the Anthem brand (with the Blue Cross Logo)to deliver new a new product portfolio, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee assistance programs and more. Currently the Anthem brand is used by 11 other health plans throughout the country.

As the launch date approaches, we will be delivering you news and updates. Visit your California Blue Cross Premier Partner online http://www.quotebroker.com/

Affordable Healthcare when sales are slow

A career in sales is tough. Look around your office and count the number of people that are no longer with your firm. Especially hit hard has been the Real Estate Industry. For those of you that have survived, watching your expenses and cutting costs whenever possible is important.

When it comes to reviewing your family's budget, you probably don't consider Health Insurance as a starting point. After all, you need coverage and the media would make you believe that you have few choices, when in fact; Individual Health Insurance remains very affordable.

Individual insurance plans change often. Insurance companies are constantly competing for your business. There seems to always be a "flavor of the month". For the past several years insurance companies have "unbundled" their products. This means that individuals and families now have the choice to select a plan that fit's their lifestyle and budget. Why pay for a plan with maternity, especially if you don't plan on having children. Plans now allow you to design a personal plan based on what services are most important to you. Select from PPO's, HMO's and Health Savings Accounts. Or maybe you just want catastrophic coverage - which is actually cheap to buy. Pick your own Deductible, Name Brand or Generic Rx, Office Co-pay, unlimited or limited number of doctors visits per year and more. You get the picture. Also don't forget to compare these plans against your association rates. If you are healthy, there is a 90% chance that you can save money - lot's of it. You most likely are paying the same association rates as individuals with serious medical problems. Association plans are often over priced, offer few plan options and usually offer one PPO carrier and another HMO provider. There several private health insurance providers offering hundreds of plan designs.

Another cost cutting strategy is to stagger your plan design. Lets assume that you and your spouse are in reasonably good health and you don't see the doctor very often, but your young child(ren) need well baby care, vacinations and visit the doctor frequently. You can have a higher deductible for the adults, with well woman's exams and annual physicals for both included. The children can be on a separate plan with a low or no deductible plan. As a general rule, this can result in significant savings for the family.

If you have children, don't be too proud to look at the state programs for kids. For example, in California the Healthy Families Plan is available to children from newborn to age 19. All major California Insures participate, offering coverage between $7 per child, or $45 for all the kids. You don't have to be poor to qualify, although some income, citizenship and plan rule requirements must be met.

Start saving today. Pull your current plan documents and instantly compare plans in your city at QuoteBroker (California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas) or HealthCareRates (All other states). Both providers offer free instant plan comparisons of insurance carriers offering coverage in your city.

Universal Healthcare - A political promise without legs

This evening I was watching TV and almost every prime time commercial in California was a political ad positioning candidates for Super Tuesday. Hillary's commercial screamed " Everyone should be talking Universal Healthcare ".

We all agree that affordable Healthcare is important, however the government is not an entity with a proven track record of success in the fiscal or administrative systems for running another agency. Look at Social Security, Medicare, Medi-cal, Welfare, the IRS, Immigration or the local DMV. All of these government programs would be considered a financial mess, highly abused and dis-functional. Unfortunately the government is not an agency that can run a Universal Healthcare system, nor is a Universal system the answer.

Look at your local association health plans. Although they are marketed as a "Group Plan", they are often over-priced. This is due to the fact that unhealthy people flock to these plans to secure health insurance coverage. Healthy individuals join because they are under the impression that "Group is Cheaper". An association plan usually has very poor participation, with the healthy subsidizing the sick, or uninsureable. Once the rates exceed the cost of private health insurance plans on the open market - the healthy leave, the sick remain and the plan becomes unprofitable for the insurance carrier.This is called a polluted pool.

There are already systems in place for the poor that need to be improved. The focus should be to provide tax incentives for all Americans and Business owners that purchase private health insurance plans. The increase in plan participants will spread the risk, improve plan profitability and increase competition in the marketplace. If you belong to an Association Health insurance plan - take 5 minutes and compare your plan against the marketplace. Instantly compare all major insurance carriers providing coverage in your area. Click Here

What you need to know about COBRA

COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986) provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates. This coverage, however, is only available when coverage is lost due to certain specific events, the most common being voluntary or involuntary termination of employment for reasons other than gross misconduct.

Be careful. Not everyone is eligible for COBRA -

· You were not previously enrolled in your employers health insurance plan.
· You fail to complete all necessary paperwork in a timely manner. Plan participants and beneficiaries generally must be sent an election notice not later than 14 days after the plan administrator receives notice that a qualifying event has occurred. The individual then has 60 days to decide whether to elect COBRA continuation coverage.
· The employer goes out of business or ceases to maintain any group health plan.
· If you work with an employer with fewer than 20 employees. The law generally covers health plans maintained by private-sector employers with 20 or more employees, employee organizations, or state or local governments.

COBRA is a great option for individuals, or family members with serious pre-existing medical conditions, however coverage is very expensive and only lasts for up to 36 months** Explore all options before electing COBRA coverage including looking at Individual Health Insurance policies. You can notify your employer of COBRA participation (within 14 days of a qualifying event) and apply for Individual Health Insurance coverage. Most insurance companies will underwrite your case in 7 – 30 days, which allows plenty of time to elect or reject COBRA participation. It’s always a good idea to explore all available options.

Working with an Insurance Specialists will provide you guidance through these troubling times. For more information contact QuoteBroker or

** Visit the US Department of Labor for more details at www.dol.gov