Life Insurance

Losing a loved one is an emotional, difficult experience. When you are grieving the loss of someone you love, it is not a good time to be faced with unexpected financial burdens. Expenses associated with death, on average, can exceed $8,000. To spare your loved ones when you pass away, it is advised that you put a final expense insurance policy in place to pay for end-of-life costs.

What Is Final Expense Insurance?

Expenses associated with death could have a significant financial impact on your loved ones. Social Security only provides a one-time payment of $255 for burial expenses. The average funeral costs more than $8,000 when you factor in the costs of:

• Death certificates
• Memorial
• Housing the remains
• Transportation
• Preparation and embalming
• Use of funeral home
• Casket
• Headstone
• Burial plot
• Burial service or cremation
• Flowers
• Printing of memorial cards

Final expense insurance is designed to help protect your loved ones from having to pay these expenses out-of-pocket. The policy also pays off the debts you have accumulated at the end of your life.

Cost of Final Expenses Insurance

Different types of final expense insurance, also known as funeral insurance and burial insurance, are available. You can purchase a whole life policy that covers you until death, or a less expensive term policy that covers you until you reach a specified age. Both types of policies are available at various limits and premiums. Our agents at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency in Modesto, California, can help you find the right final expense insurance policy to suit your needs.

Fixed annuities can play an important role in your retirement planning. While a pension and Social Security may provide some retirement income, it may not be sufficient for the kind of retirement you want to have. Fixed annuities can help you save for retirement and provide you with additional income over the years ahead.

What Is a Fixed Annuity?

Essentially, a fixed annuity is a CD-type investment issued by an insurance company. You pay into the annuity, either in one lump sum or in payments over time. In exchange, you get a guarantee of receiving payments in the future, either for a specified period or for the duration of your life.

How Can Fixed Annuities Help with Retirement Planning?

Annuities are designed to help you save for your retirement and provide you with income when you retire. They offer several benefits, including:

• Tax-deferred growth potential
• Protection from market downturns, which is helpful in keeping up with rising medical costs and inflation
• Flexible income options
• Joint-life payout for both you and your spouse during retirement
• Death benefit for your beneficiaries (or a cause or charity you believe in)

Fixed annuities can be immediate or deferred. Deferred fixed annuities accumulate interest at a regular rate, while immediate fixed annuities make fixed payments during your retirement, with amounts determined by your age and the value of the annuity. Fees for fixed annuities vary, depending on type and amount, and the costs involved may be difficult for a person to understand without assistance from a professional. If you are considering a fixed annuity to improve the quality of your retirement, our agent at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency in Modesto, California, can help find the right insurance product for you and your spouse.

Annuities can be one of the best options for those who want to ensure they have sufficient retirement income. These policies offer a fixed rate of return based on the performance of a specific financial market, allowing the policy owners to enjoy the upsides of the stock market without risking the loss of the original investment.

These policies are tied to a specific market index, such as the S&P 500, with a rate cap on potential earnings and a guaranteed minimum return. Most of these policies provide a guarantee that the original investment will not be lost, even when the market goes down.

Benefits of Indexed Annuity Policies

The benefit of these policies includes:

• The potential for a higher rate of return on the invested funds.
• Protects the principal investment.
• Increases in value, tax-deferred.
• Guarantees income, whether monthly or lump-sum payout for retirement.
• Customizable to match individual needs.
• A death benefit provision that allows the policy owner to designate a beneficiary to receive the remaining funds in the account or a guaranteed minimum.

An indexed annuity may be a smart investment for investors who are interested in achieving some advantage for market growth without the risk of losing the original investment.

Read the Fine Print

If you are considering investing in an indexed annuity, you want to ensure the policy matches your specific objectives. You should work with a qualified local agent to choose the ideal indexed annuity product to suit your individual situation.

Indexed Universal Life insurance provides a dual benefit. It provides permanent life insurance coverage and tax-tree investment opportunity. The combination of a death benefit paid to your loved ones with the increase in value of the cash component of the policy without the risk of a market downturn makes these policies an appealing option.

How Indexed Universal Life Insurance Works

The cash investment in the policy will earn interest based on the market performance of a market composite price index such as the S & P 500 or NASDAQ, which tracks the movement of stocks. As the stock market moves up and down, the rate of return on the cash investment will vary accordingly. Many insurance companies offer a minimum guaranteed return rate or place a cap on the upper limit of potential returns.

Why Invest in a Universal Life Insurance Policy

The advantages of a universal life insurance policy include greater potential for increasing the value of the cash component of the policy, depending on the performance of the market, while offering tax-free capital gains and the ability to take loans from the policy against the cash value without incurring taxes or penalties as occur when borrowing from a 401(K) or IRA. The cash value of the policy accumulating over time does not impact your Social Security benefits and allows you to borrow from the policy to supplement your income if needed.

Providing for Your Loved Ones

These policies include a death benefit that is passed to your loved ones tax-free. This ensures they have access to the financial support needed while an estate goes through probate. These policies are also customized to suit the individual. To learn more about using Indexed Universal Life insurance in smart estate and retirement planning, connect with one of our local agents.

Individual life insurance can play an important role in your financial planning. It can help provide financial security for your loved ones and also provide estate planning and tax-deferred savings benefits.

Death benefits paid on individual life insurance policies are generally federal tax-free and can be used by your beneficiaries for any purpose. Life insurance can be used to create a legacy for your loved ones or important causes you want to support.

Basic Types of Individual Life Insurance

Individual life insurance falls into two basic categories of term or permanent policies.

Individual Term Life Insurance

This type of policy lasts for a certain number of years, typically 5 to 30. A term life insurance policy only pays death benefits if the person dies within the policy period. It is a means to ensure that funds for specific purposes, such as college tuition, debts owed, or the mortgage on your home, are covered in case you die during a finite time frame.

Permanent Life Insurance

As long as you stay current on your premiums, permanent life insurance provides coverage for your entire lifetime. This type of policy is often used for tax and estate planning purposes and for funding trusts for dependents with special needs. Most of these policies have a savings component that allows for the accumulation of cash value on a tax-deferred basis. Typically, the premium of a permanent life policy stays the same for the lifetime of the policy and does not increase as you age.

Individual Life Insurance Costs

The cost of individual life insurance varies from person to person and depends on the type of policy, the amount of coverage, and factors such as overall health and age. Our agent at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency in Modesto, California, can help you find the right life insurance policy to suit your needs.

Mortgage protection insurance (MPI) provides protection against financial disaster in case a breadwinner of the household dies before the mortgage is paid off. It can give you peace of mind, knowing that your mortgage will be covered if a tragic accident or illness leads to death or disability.

How Mortgage Protection Insurance Works

When tragedy strikes, mortgage protection insurance can help save your home. You pay a set premium for the duration of the policy. If you should die during the policy period, the insurance company pays out a death benefit. In the case of a disabling injury, MPI makes it possible to continue making your monthly mortgage payments.

The type of death benefit depends on the type of policy you put in place. In the past, mortgage protection insurance was designed to pay off the outstanding balance on the mortgage. Today, many policies will pay out the full amount of the original mortgage, regardless of how much you still owe. Beneficiaries can use the funds to pay off the mortgage in one lump sum or for any other purpose.

You can buy the policy when you purchase your home, or within a certain time period after closing. The time limit is generally 13 to 24 months, although it may be as long as 5 years with some companies. This insurance is typically issued on a guaranteed acceptance basis, which is valuable for people who have health issues and might be uninsurable or only insurable at a higher rate.

Pricing for mortgage protection insurance depends on the age of the insured, the size of the mortgage, and whether the insured is a smoker. If you are buying, or have recently bought, a home, our local agent at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency in Modesto, California, can assist you with mortgage protection insurance.

Planning for retirement should start during your working years, as early as possible. Whether you are a contracted employee, a salaried employee, or a business owner, the right retirement plan should be implemented.

Types of Retirement Plans

A well-crafted retirement plan will provide you with significant tax savings. The types of retirement plans vary based on whether you are an employee, an independent contractor, or a business owner. The federal government has put several tax incentives in place to inspire workers to set aside money for retirement. The types of retirement plans include:

• 401(k): These are company-sponsored retirement plans that allow employees to contribute to a retirement plan. The company can match funds. The contributions made to the fund are pre-tax, reducing taxable income, but will be taxed when withdrawn from the fund.
• Roth 401(K): A Roth 401(k) involves contributions made with after-tax income, with the later withdrawals tax-free.
• IRA: A traditional IRA allows you to contribute to a retirement fund pre-tax. You may be in a lower tax bracket after retirement, with savings.
• Roth IRA: These funds involve contributions after tax, with the fund growing over time tax-free, along with tax-free withdrawals when you retire.
• SEP IRA: A SEP (Simplified Employee Pension Plan) can be established for employees or self-employed individuals. Only the employer contributes to these plans, making them a popular method for retirement planning for self-employed individuals.
• Simple IRA: These plans are for employees, and the employer may match contributions. Contributions can also be guaranteed but have lower contribution limits than some other plans.
• Solo 401(k): These retirement plans serve business owners who have no employees. The benefits include contribution limits higher than some other individual retirement plans.

Contact us for assistance with retirement planning strategies that suit your situation.

The simplest way to protect the ones you love is to purchase term life insurance. It enables you to lock in the lowest available rates for a specified period of time. If you should die within that time period, death benefits can replace lost income to help provide for the ones you leave behind.

How Term Life Insurance Works

This is the most straightforward type of life insurance policy. You pay premiums on a monthly or annual basis, and your dependents are protected during the policy term. There are a variety of affordable term life insurance products available. Our agent at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency in Modesto, California, can help you find a term life insurance policy to fit your budget, timeframe, and needs.

Types of Term Life Insurance

There are several term life insurance options to choose from such as select term, return of premium, and instant answer term.

Select Term

You select 10, 20, or 30 years of coverage with level premiums for the initial policy period, which will increase annually thereafter. The policy may be renewable and convertible to a permanent policy.

Return of Premium

This type of insurance gives you coverage with a level premium for your choice of 20 or 30 years. All the policy premiums you have paid will be returned to you if you outlive the policy period.

Instant Answer Term

This type of policy provides death benefit protection for 10 years or until you turn age 50, whichever is longer. It is designed to provide base-level life insurance at an affordable rate.

The cost of term life insurance depends on the type and term of the policy, as well as other factors. A knowledgeable agent at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency in Modesto, California, can help you select the right term life insurance to protect your family. We are easy to reach, as we live and work right here in Modesto.

Universal life insurance is lower-cost, flexible, permanent life insurance that offers a savings element, which can be invested to build up cash value. As your life circumstances fluctuate, the premiums, savings component, and death benefits can be reviewed and changed. Our agent at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency in Modesto, California, can recommend a universal life insurance policy that works to protect your family and for your budget.

How Universal Life Insurance Works

Under the umbrella of permanent life insurance, universal life insurance provides more flexibility than whole life insurance. The insurance company breaks the premiums down into two categories: the cost of the insurance and the cash value, or savings component. As long as the cost of the insurance is covered to keep the policy in force, the premiums can be adjusted based on the policyholder’s needs over time.

Premiums over the minimum cost of the insurance accumulate as cash value. Those funds can be used to pay premiums. The policy is guaranteed for the entire term, as long as the minimum cost of the insurance is covered one way or another, through paid premiums or cash value.

The insurance company issuing the policy establishes an interest rate minimum. If the portfolio outperforms the minimum interest rate, excess earnings can be applied to the cash value. Policyholders can borrow against a portion of the cash value without affecting guaranteed death benefits and with no tax implications. Withdrawals can also be made but may incur tax liabilities.

Factors affecting the cost of universal life insurance include your age, health, weight, occupation, whether or not you smoke, and the policy itself. Our local agent at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency can help you find the best value and coverage for your money.

Whole life insurance provides permanent protection for your family with premiums that never increase. Better still, a whole life policy builds cash value that you can use while you are living to reach your financial goals. Contact Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency in Modesto, California, to speak with one of our local agents about whole life insurance.

Benefits of Whole Life Insurance

We all want to know that our loved ones are protected and will not suffer financial devastation should an unexpected death occur. Whole life insurance offers protection for both the future and the present. Benefits of this type of life insurance include death benefits, cash value, and dividend opportunities.

Death Benefits

With whole life insurance, your premiums will never increase, your coverage won’t change, and protection for your family is guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Cash Value

A whole life insurance policy accumulates cash value, guaranteed to increase over time. If you need money for college tuition, an emergency, or to supplement retirement income, you have access to funds you can borrow from your whole life policy.

Dividend Opportunities

Whole life policyholders are eligible to receive dividends, which can be used to increase insurance protection and cash value. Although they are not guaranteed, some insurance companies consistently pay dividends to participating policyholders.

Cost of Whole Life Insurance

Average rates are typically higher on whole life than on term life insurance policies because whole life policies have cash value buildup. Factors that impact the cost of whole life insurance rates include age, gender, health, occupation, and location. Our agent at Sean Crisp & Associates Insurance Agency can help you find a whole life policy that provides the most benefits for the best available rates.