Providing for Your Family

Risk Factor

Raising a child is a rewarding and important life experience. It is also very expensive. The average cost of raising a child, born in 2013, to age 18 is more than $300,000. If you were to die tomorrow, would your spouse be able to provide food, clothes, daycare and eventually college tuition for your child? In 2013, the average cost of tuition, fees, room and board for a private college was $41,412 per year.

Solution

Having life insurance could secure the future for your children if you have an untimely death. With a life insurance policy, there would be enough income to help pay for everything your child could need while growing up.

Mortgage Payments

Risk Factor

After your death, any outstanding debt and financial obligations do not disappear. Your home is probably the costliest and most significant property you own. A mortgage payment is a large burden for a widow or widower to carry.

Solution

A life insurance policy would allow your spouse or children to pay off your outstanding debts and spare them the stress of making monthly payments on the home and car(s).

Auto Payments

Risk Factor

Many families lease or finance their automobiles these days. If the primary earner in the family were to die, the family could be left with outstanding car payments for years to come.

Solution

A life insurance policy would allow your spouse or children to pay off your outstanding debts and spare them the stress of making monthly payments on your car(s).

Funeral Costs

Risk Factor

The average funeral costs about $10,000. That high price is for standard things, not unnecessary options or luxurious services. A death in the family is stressful enough; why add the hefty bill of a funeral to that stress?

Solution

A life insurance policy can easily cover the cost of a funeral. Your family will be able to think of you and have peace of mind without being burdened by funeral costs.

Protecting Your Retirement Savings

Risk Factor

Once you retire, you will be living off social security, and if you are lucky to have them, a pension or retirement fund, too. But what if the surviving spouse has been relying on you to fund retirement for the couple? Premature death of an earner can affect sources of retirement benefits such as Social Security benefits.

Solution

Life insurance can help support a surviving spouse during his or her retirement.

Protecting Your Small Business

Risk Factor

If you passed away, would your business suffer? There are many complications and financial issues that can arise due to the death of a business owner. Many people overlook this predicament.

Solution

A life insurance policy can keep a business moving along even during tough times, such as the loss of the business owner/partner. Key person life insurance is payable to the company and provides money for training and hiring of a new employee. A buy-sell agreement, funded by life insurance, allows the other partners in the business to buy the deceased’s share of the business, which will provide money for his or her family.

Spousal Support / Income Replacement

Risk Factor

Many people mistakenly think that they don’t need life insurance if they don’t have children or if their children are grown. However, your financial responsibilities fall to your family when you are gone.

Solution

Life insurance can replace the income you would usually bring in and help support your spouse or adult children. Keeping your loved ones living in the way they are accustomed to is an important thing to think about.

Group Health Insurance

Risk Factor

One of the main factors in attracting and retaining good employees is the benefit program offered by employers. This typically starts with your group health insurance plan.

Solution

Regardless of the company’s financials, there are ways to make health insurance available to your employees and their dependents. Offering health insurance doesn’t have to break the bank. There are many solutions available to small, mid-size and large employers.

Group Life Insurance

Risk Factor

When employees are worried about their financial situation, they may not be as productive. Many individuals today do not have life insurance or adequate savings to cover final expenses, which places additional stress on employees and/or their families when the need arises.

Solution

A group life insurance plan can put your employees’ minds at ease, knowing their family will have resources available when they need them. Policies can also include a dependent benefit to help the employee pay for expenses if their dependent passes. Another solution is to offer a voluntary life benefit whereby the employee pays a lower premium through payroll deduction than they would if they found coverage on their own. Group life insurance is also tax deductible.

Disability

Risk Factor

Many employers are faced with offering lower wages than their competitors and find it difficult to find and retain qualified workers.

Solution

Offering a short-term and/or a long-term disability program can provide prospective and current workers with another form of financial stability. An employee may be offered a higher wage elsewhere, but are they offered protection if that paycheck stops due to pregnancy, illness or other disability? How will they pay the mortgage or other bills? Employers offering a disability plan can provide peace of mind to their employees and gain an advantage over those that don’t.

Group Dental Coverage

Risk Factor

Failure to have regular dental checkups can lead to more serious problems than a toothache.

Solution

Offering dental coverage to your employees can help encourage them to see a dentist on a regular basis. Gum disease has been linked to heart disease as well as diabetes. Catching these issues early not only helps your employees’ health, it may help reduce your long-term health insurance costs before a big claim hits!

Vision Care Coverage

Risk Factor

Similar to dental coverage, if your employees are not getting regular eye exams, they may have underlying medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes that can surface later at a greater expense to your medical plan.

Solution

Offering vision care coverage is a very affordable component to offering health benefits. It’s an inexpensive portion of the benefit package with a high value of return and can help offset the impact of increased medical costs, becoming a cost-effective, early intervention tool.

Voluntary Coverage

Risk Factor

Not being able to meet an employee’s individual needs can pose a threat to worker retention and attracting new talent, both of which can be costly to your bottom line.

Solution

Offering voluntary coverage lets your employees choose benefits that are important to them. It’s a cost-effective way to provide a variety of benefits at little or no impact to your monthly premiums. Examples of voluntary coverage include:

• critical illness, hospital indemnity, cancer coverage
• life, dependent life, short-term and long-term disability coverage
• dental care
• vision care

Compliance Audits

Risk Factor

Compliance audits are increasing and Department of Labor fines can be costly. Do you have all of the documents and paperwork at your fingertips should you receive an audit letter?

Solution

A good benefits broker will educate you on the compliance pieces so that you are prepared for that dreaded day. A wrap document covers most of what is required and the remaining forms should be readily accessible with proof of distribution to employees and/or eligible participants.