Affordable Health & Life Insurance Rates & Annuity Quotes California » News http://www.insr4u.com Affordable Insurance Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:57:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 How are fees for annuities calculated? http://www.insr4u.com/how-are-fees-for-annuities-calculated http://www.insr4u.com/how-are-fees-for-annuities-calculated#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:57:14 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1261 In this post I will explain the surrender fees associated with annuities, how they are calculated and under what circumstances they will be waived.

First, what is a surrender fee? It’s a charge the insurance company will subtract from your account should you cancel your policy or withdraw MORE than the annual allowed limit before the end of the term.

The reason for these fees is, unlike banks, insurance companies are forbidden by law from investing in any speculative investments. Therefore, in order for the insurance company to be able to pay out competitive interest rates to annuity clients they must ensure they have access to your principal for a specific period of time to realize the necessary rate of return on the conservative investments they are allowed to invest in. Which are usually long term government and corporate bonds.

The surrender fee schedules usually are for a set period of years and DECREASE each year by 1%. For example if you purchase an annuity with a 7 year surrender schedule, the fees may look like this, year 1: 7%, year 2: 6%, year 3: 5%, year 4: 4%, year 5: 3%, year 6: 2%, year 7: 1% and zero surrender from year 8 and on.

However, a very important feature of most annuities is, the the insurance company will WAIVE the surrender charge if the annuitant is: confined to a nursing home, diagnosed with a critical illness, loses 2 or the essential activities of daily living (adls) or dies. Which means that  your retirement savings are accessible WITHOUT surrender fees should a catastropic event occur and you need access to your account balance prior to the end of the contract.

Furthermore, some annuities will allow you to withdraw  as much as a 10% per year without activating the surrender fee which allows for liquidity.

So to dispell misconception number 4 regarding annuities, You do have access to your money without surrender charges for specific reasons and under specific circumstances.

If you would like more information regarding annuities or have any questions regarding your retirement savings options feel free to contact me directly at 1-877-777-7055.


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/how-are-fees-for-annuities-calculated/feed 0 Understanding the payment options of fixed annuities. http://www.insr4u.com/understanding-the-payment-options-of-fixed-annuities http://www.insr4u.com/understanding-the-payment-options-of-fixed-annuities#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:28:35 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1259 In one of my previous posts I explained the two types of fixed annuities and how each one is used in your retirement savings strategy. In this message I’ll explain the various payout options you have when choosing to receive income from your annuity.

The amount you’ll receive is determined by the amount of your deposit and the length of time you want the income to continue. Your options include; Income for guaranteed period (also called period certain annuity). You are guaranteed a specific payment amount for a set period of time (say, five years or 30 years). If you die before the end of the period your beneficiary will receive the remainder of the payments for the guaranteed period.

Lifetime payments. A guaranteed income payout during your lifetime only; there is no survivor benefit. The payouts can be fixed or variable. The amount of the payout is determined by how much you invest and your life expectancy. At the time of death all payments stop – your heirs don’t get anything.

Income for life with a guaranteed period certain benefit (also called life with period certain). A combination of a life annuity and a period certain annuity. You receive a guaranteed payout for life that includes a period certain phase. If you die during the period certain phase of the account, your beneficiary will continue to receive the payment for the remainder of the period. For example, life with a 10 year period certain is a common arrangement. If you die five years after you begin collecting, the payments continue to your survivor for five more years.

Joint and survivor annuity. Your beneficiary will continue to receive payouts for the rest of his or her life after you die. A popular option for married couples. Your heirs will NOT get back less than you deposited if you die.


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/understanding-the-payment-options-of-fixed-annuities/feed 0 How critical illness insurance in California can save you from bankruptcy. http://www.insr4u.com/how-critical-illness-insurance-in-california-can-save-you-from-bankruptcy http://www.insr4u.com/how-critical-illness-insurance-in-california-can-save-you-from-bankruptcy#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:11:15 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1217 Unfortunately, most people covered by health insurance have a false sense of security, especially if they are covered by an employer sponsored health plan. Almost 7 out of every 10 bankruptcies filed each year are due to catastrophic medical expenses, and most of those individuals had health insurance coverage. If you or your spouse is covered by an employer sponsored health plan the chances are high you will suffer a catastrophic medical expense due to a critical illness. Here’s why:

  • If you become unable to work, you will be forced to go on COBRA which could be 2 to 3 times what you are paying now.
  • COBRA limits currently are 18 months, then the alternatives are much more expensive than COBRA, if you can get coverage at all.
  • If you become unable to work, the chances are you WILL NOT be able to continue to pay for your health insurance.
  • In that case your medical options are limited unless you can pay out of pocket.
  • Your chances of survival decrease dramatically with limited access to the newest and most expensive treatments.

Don’t take my word for it. Learn about Keith Blessington story in his own words in this short video.

Learn how you can receive up to $500,000 a lump sum tax-free should you be diagnosed with a critical illness by clicking here or contact me directly at 1-877-777-7055 for a free no obligation quote.


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/how-critical-illness-insurance-in-california-can-save-you-from-bankruptcy/feed 0 Understanding fixed annuities and how they work. http://www.insr4u.com/understanding-fixed-annuities-and-how-they-work http://www.insr4u.com/understanding-fixed-annuities-and-how-they-work#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:28:57 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1197 There are two types of fixed annuities, immediate and deferred. An immediate annuity is exactly what the name implies, a contract with the insurance company to begin receiving income IMMEDIATELY. You have several income options with an immediate annuity. You can have income paid for a specific period of time OR you can choose to have the insurance company pay you income for the remainder of your life. The amount of income is determined by the amount of initial deposit and the length of time you want the guaranteed income. You can also choose the option of having income paid for the remainder of both yours and your spouses life.

A deferred annuity is a contract with the insurance company to pay you interest for a specified period of time. Your principal amount is guaranteed and the interest accumulates TAX DEFERRED until you decide to withdraw it. Conversely, the interest paid on a bank CD is taxed annually (unless in a qualified retirement account like an IRA) which can dramatically decrease the rate of return. The benefit of tax deferred growth over time is you accumulate interest on principal, interest on interest AND interest on money you would have paid in tax. In most cases deferred annuities can be converted to immediate annuities and any time. So to dispell misconception number 2 regarding annuities: Annuities are more flexible than bank CDs


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/understanding-fixed-annuities-and-how-they-work/feed 0 Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs in California. http://www.insr4u.com/health-savings-accounts-or-hsas-in-california http://www.insr4u.com/health-savings-accounts-or-hsas-in-california#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:11:25 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1195 If you’re interested in learning about ways to lower your health insurance premiums, you may be interested in hearing about a new type of insurance plan that is becoming more popular these days: Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs in California and other states.

These are modified PPO plans that provide comprehensive coverage but with a substantially lower premium than traditional PPO plans. These plans are ideal for healthy families that are looking for ways to decrease their health insurance costs, without compromising benefit coverage. HSA PPO Plans, also provide tax deductions for individuals who purchase their own coverage. These tax credits have helped many families slow the pain of increasing health costs. For the tax year 2010, the family deduction maximum is $6,000 on your federal income tax.

Most importantly, HSA’s can help individuals save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses with tax free dollars. Contributions are NOT compulsory, however, whatever you contribute is tax deductible and, unlike a Flexible Spending Account which you might be familiar with from your employer’s plan, if you don’t use the money deposited into your HSA, it will accumulate each year tax deferred. The savings accumulated in this account is accessible to you immediately for ANY medical related expense without penalty or tax.

If you would like additional information on HSA’s and how you might benefit from one, feel free to contact us. We pride ourselves on our attentive service to our clients and our reputation for designing the best possible plan coverage. In fact we go so far as to guarantee no other agency can find you more comprehensive coverage for less premium.


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/health-savings-accounts-or-hsas-in-california/feed 0 How to calculate what type of life insurance I need. http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-calculate-what-type-of-life-insurance-i-need http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-calculate-what-type-of-life-insurance-i-need#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:28:51 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1193 The question always comes up when discussing a family’s life insurance needs, “whole life or term”? For the 95% of families that need to secure “income replacement” life insurance coverage the answer is unequivocally TERM coverage. These families don’t need the cash accumulation and low face value permanent insurance, they need as much death benefit for the least amount of monthly premium. A young family needs to protect the children’s financial future in case of a premature death of one or both parents until those children are grown and on their own.

Nothing can accomplish this better than term life insurance. It’s by far the least expensive and you can purchase the coverage for a pre-determined period, typically until the youngest child is 23-25 years old. A widely used formula to determine an adequate amount of coverage is to multiply the proposed insured’s annual income by the amount of years until the youngest child is grown. For example if Dad earns $75,000 per year and the youngest child is 2 years old you would multiply $75,000 by 23 years (time until they are 25). This would come out to $1,750,000 in face value life. The difference in cost between permanent (whole life or universal life) and term for this amount can be substantial.

Another example for a 30 yr old male the premium could be more than $2,000 per month for a universal life plan versus less than $100 per month for the same $1,750,000 death benefit with a term policy!


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-calculate-what-type-of-life-insurance-i-need/feed 0 Why is Life Insurance necessary for most families? http://www.insr4u.com/why-is-life-insurance-necessary-for-most-families-and-people http://www.insr4u.com/why-is-life-insurance-necessary-for-most-families-and-people#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:49:34 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1190 Life insurance is one of those topics like religion and politics we are conditioned NOT to talk about. However, that being said life insurance is a necessary and invaluable tool in your financial portfolio, if used correctly. Regardless of what your financial planner/advisor tells you there are only two reasons for life insurance and they are:

To create an estate or to transfer an estate. Ninety five percent of the families in the U.S. need life insurance for the first reason, to create an estate. In other words, to replace the income lost in the event that one or both of the family’s income producers are struck down by a premature death, which would dramatically shorten the time they have to create their estate. The 5% of those individuals that use life insurance for estate transfer want to transfer their accumulated wealth to someone besides their spouse tax free. A primary trigger for a family’s need for life insurance is usually the birth of the first child. As part of your family financial plan you should consider how those children will be financially taken care of if the primary income earners die BEFORE the children are grown and out of the house. This type of coverage is better known as “income replacement” coverage. And it is far more affordable than most people believe.

We can in a matter of minutes help you to determine how much “income replacement” coverage you should consider having. Simply contact us directly or to see immediately how affordable this type of coverage can be click on the button below:

Sincerely,

Jay Gray
Founder Affordable Insurance
Call me toll free: (877)-777-7055


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/why-is-life-insurance-necessary-for-most-families-and-people/feed 0 How to choose and evaluate the right health insurance plan. http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-choose-and-evaluate-the-right-health-insurance-plan http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-choose-and-evaluate-the-right-health-insurance-plan#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:15:33 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1109 I am Jay Gray and I am the founder of Affordable Insurance. I wanted to thank you personally for visiting our health insurance information website. Choosing the right health insurance plan is one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime. For two critical reasons, first your choice of plan will determine the healthcare treatment you or a family member will have access to should they need medical attention AND secondly your choice can protect your family’s hard earned assets should you incur a catastrophic medical expense.

Our job is NOT to sell you insurance. Our job is to keep you informed of the best strategies that you can use NOW to both increase your coverage and minimize your out of pocket risk and monthly cost.

Each year the health insurance landscape changes. New plans are offered by every health insurance company, some offer newer and more comprehensive benefits that could dramatically enhance your coverage for little or NO increased premium. Unfortunately, similar to the Mobile Phone companies, the health insurance companies only market those new plans to NEW customers.

We can conduct a quick no cost review for you each year, in order to ensure that you and your family are covered by the best available plan for the least amount of premium. Or, you can quickly research anytime by simply visiting our website online quoting engine which will immediately compare EVERY plan available to you in your state. To visit our website simply click the button below:

We pride ourselves on our attentive service to our clients and our reputation for designing the best possible plan coverage. In fact we go so far as to guarantee no other agency can find you more comprehensive coverage for less premium. Please feel free to contact us at 1-877-777-7055 or fill out our contact us form.

Sincerely,

Jay Gray
Founder Affordable Insurance


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-choose-and-evaluate-the-right-health-insurance-plan/feed 0 How to choose the right life insurance plan. http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-choose-the-right-life-insurance-plan http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-choose-the-right-life-insurance-plan#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:23:35 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1107 Choosing the right life insurance plan is one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime. For two reasons, first proper life insurance coverage can guarantee that your loved ones will not have to suffer financially should the unspeakable occur and there’s a premature death of one of the parents.

Secondly, life insurance can protect your family’s hard earned assets in the event of a premature death of one of the family’s income earners. With every passing year the tapestry that is your financial status changes and along with it the long term financial needs of your family. Unfortunately, most families with young children are under insured. Our goal is to help you affordably protect what you’ve worked so hard to obtain and the financial future of those you love most.

Our job is NOT to sell you insurance. Our job is to keep you informed of the best strategies that you can use NOW to both increase your coverage and minimize your premiums. To see how affordable life insurance is simply click on the button below.

We pride ourselves on our attentive service to our clients and our reputation for designing the best possible plan coverage. In fact we go so far as to guarantee no other agency can find you more comprehensive coverage for less premium, Please feel free to contact us online or directly should you have any questions regarding your life insurance needs.

Sincerely,
Jay Gray
Founder Affordable Insurance
Big Bear, CA
Toll Free: (877)-777-7055


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]]> http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-choose-the-right-life-insurance-plan/feed 0 How to lower the cost of health insurance premiums. http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-lower-the-cost-of-healt-insurance-premiums http://www.insr4u.com/how-to-lower-the-cost-of-healt-insurance-premiums#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:15:43 +0000 dsclarkkk http://www.insr4u.com/?p=1103 One of the easiest ways to immediately lower your health insurance premiums is to adjust the deductible on your plan. The deductible on a plan is the amount you are responsible for BEFORE the health insurance company starts paying. The general rule of thumb is the higher the deductible on the plan the lower the monthly premium. Deductibles for individual/family plans in the U.S. range between $500-$25,000. The trick is to increase the deductible to not only a palatable amount, but also increase it to an amount that will create a SUBSTANTIAL annual premium savings.

For example, in most cases you could save as much as 40%-50% or more per year simply by increasing your deductible from $500 to $5,000. This percentage of savings could be as much as $3,000-$5,000 per year in premium savings for a family of 4, or between $15,000-$25,000 over 5 years. THAT IS SUBSTANTIAL.

However, by increasing the deductible your family is exposed to a greater out of pocket risk if someone in the family needs medical treatment. That’s when an experienced agent can save you thousands of dollars each year in medical expenses. By recommending a supplemental injury or critical illness plan, the agent can show you how to cover your deductible, and in most cases the annual out of pocket maximum of your plan. These plans are extremely affordable. And can ultimately turn a high deductible plan into a very low out of pocket risk plan for injuries or critical illnesses, which are what are most likely to hospitalize a family member.

We can show you in minutes whether you can benefit from increasing your deductible and also provide you more information regarding supplemental plans by either contacting us directly or online.

We pride ourselves on our attentive service to our clients and our reputation for designing the best possible plan coverage. In fact we go so far as to guarantee no other agency can find you more comprehensive coverage for less premium. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions regarding your health insurance needs.
Sincerely,

Jay Gray
Founder Affordable Insurance


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