11 minute read
Life Insurance Options
9 Austin South Asian | October 2020
What To Know About Today’s Life Insurance Options
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans are looking into new life insurance coverage or taking a closer look at their existing coverage to make potential updates, according to a new survey.
While over one-third of consumers think life insurance is more important to own now due to the pandemic, just 50 percent of Americans actually own policies currently. The results of the survey, conducted by Lincoln Financial Group, suggest that consumers could use more information about life insurance in order to make good coverage decisions. “While COVID-19 has recently put the spotlight on the need for life insurance, it should always be regarded as a significant financial planning tool for families,” says Mike Burns, senior vice president of Life Solutions for Lincoln Financial Group. According to Burns, the survey highlights specific knowledge gaps around life insurance. To that end, he says that consumers should think about the following things as they weigh their options: 1. Life insurance can offer broad benefits: According to the survey, the primary reasons people buy life insurance are to cover final expenses and replace lost income for the family if they pass away. However, today’s life insurance can extend well beyond standard death benefit protection. Many types of policies also provide “living benefits,” that can be used to provide supplemental retirement income, cover long-term care expenses or protect a business, among other financial planning needs. The survey found that these types of benefits are very appealing to consumers, with 45 percent of respondents saying that would be more likely to purchase life insurance if it could be used it for future needs or emergencies while they are alive.
2. Costs vary: Those who don’t own life insurance policies often cite affordability as the barrier to purchasing coverage. However, the price of policy options ranges considerably and its worth looking into what’s available before as
suming it’s out of reach. For example, it may be possible for a healthy individual to get a term life insurance policy for less than $15 per month. Individuals may also be able to get life insurance through their employer at no or little cost.
3. You can get covered online: The end-to-end digital purchasing process of life insurance today will likely appeal to many younger consumers -- 40 percent of millennials surveyed said they would be more likely to purchase life insurance if they could do so electronically. Such options do exist, with some policies issued electronically within 24 hours. Many people also have the option to select additional life insurance as part of their employer-sponsored benefits during their annual open enrollment.
More information about today’s life insurance options can be found by visiting lfg.com.
At a time when many Americans are facing uncertainty, it’s no surprise that a financial tool which helps families protect and pass on their assets is in the spotlight. However, experts stress that life insurance is always an important part of any financial plan, especially given the broad benefits of today’s diverse life insurance options. A financial professional or workplace benefits specialist can help individuals determine what policy option best addresses their needs and circumstances. (StatePoint)
By Gulshan Singh Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. However, it has not been among the major sports in the US. Recently, with more immigrant families from cricket playing countries, it has been gaining (Continued From Page 01) “The fact that we gutted the State Department has caused a childlike approach to foreign policy by this administration,” she added. When asked how she would balance interests of her constituents with the corporate world, she said, “I don’t think we need to balance it at all.” “I would pay attention to corrupting influence of wealthy corporate world. If they are bringing jobs, I’ll have the conversation,” Hegar added. When talking about gun violence and open carry she said, “I was the first person running for office calling for an end to open carry. It is an assault on by standers. Gun violence is a big threat to Second Amendment. We have responsible gun owners crying for universal background check.” “Having used weapons of war and being shot with one, I can tell you military weapons of mass casualty should not be sold.
popularity. “Should I have a full-length cricket
pitch in my backyard during the pandemi¬¬¬¬c?” an enthusiastic parent of Indian origin asked. Another Sri Lankan parent shared his dilemma of how much time his When we stopped selling them, violence went down,” Hegar went on while showing support for universal background checks. Attendees commented about Hegar’s openness and clear thinking. Hegar did not hide her emotions when asked about the death of Supreme Court Justice Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg and its effect on the future. “It is a gut punch. I am devastated. When the affordable care act comes before Supreme Court, it might be dismantled and that will hit Texas and 2 million Texans will lose health insurance then,” Hegar explained. “Texas will be left behind in energy jobs because of John Cornyn. We had an oil economic crisis before Covid and lost 60K jobs,” Hegar said. “Texas has the opportunity to be America’s leader in wind and solar energy, and we should use our natural, renewable resources to create jobs here in our state,” Hegar added. twin sons should spend on drills and how much on playing a cricket game. Many other such eager parents in Austin have sought guidance to support their kids playing cricket even during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Greater Austin area, many young students have taken up cricket. Alok Singh, Sundeep Chadha, Santosh Pogaru and Amit Shukla have been instrumental in developing this from the ground up.
Alok Singh is also a Youth Coordinator at USA Cricket that governs cricket across the country. He explains the surging interest
Senate Hopeful Mj Hegar’s
in playing cricket: “2019 Cricket Hegar said, “I am not advocating for artificial price ceiling.
We need to make sure Big Pharma companies are fair.
If there is no incentive companies will not invest.
I am a capitalist. Once they get reward I am against over expensive life-saving drugs.”
Dr. Zarmeena Vendal, one of the hosts of the event, thanked MJ Hegar for her time.
“We want to be part of the fabric. We are passionate and couldn’t be more grateful,” she added.
Dr. Vendal, hosted the event along with Lubna Ashraf, Dr. Nadeem Malik and Amil Malik, Dr. Junaid and Yasmeen Siddiqui, Dr. Yasir and Ambereen Cheema, Adnan and Hawama Sattar. Austin Muslim Democrats also joined the event.
For more information on M.J. Hegar please visit https://mjfortexas.com/ World Cup had a huge influence. Many cricket loving families watched thrilling matches on the TV during the summer vacation. The kids who had earlier played casually in their backyard or parks now want to develop their skills.” Alok Singh then collaborated with
Hill Country Cricket Association (HCCA) to offer kids suitable cricket infrastructure and coaching setup. His proposal to start a youth club at HCCA immediately found support amongst HCCA club members. HCCA is a nonprofit organization comprising the largest group of cricket enthusiasts in Central Texas. Since then, about fifty kids under
the HCCA Youth Cricket Academy have shown eagerness to turn-up for the sessions. Their keen interest has led to the efforts to organize cricket events in schools. The cricket club at Cedar Valley Middle School enrolled about thirty students who played cricket on the school campus regularly before the summer vacation. “Love that our campus has so many opportunities for our students to get involved,” commented Dr. Zac Oldham, Principal of Cedar Valley Middle School in Round Rock ISD. Dr. Zac Oldham and Mrs. Katie Benson at Cedar Valley Middle S c h o o l have greatly supported in launching the first ever official school c r i c k e t club in the G r e a t e r A u s t i n area. Patsy Sommer Elementary School organized a “Cricket Festival” to demonstrate how cricket is played to over a thousand students. This school is also considering making cricket part of their regular PE activities. “The kids had a blast,” commented Coach Kassie Krusely at Patsy Sommer after ‘Cricket Festival’ on the campus. Many passionate parents have been involved in this journey. Ataullah Baig has commented, “It is an excellent program for youth cricket run by parent volunteers who are passionate and dedicated.” Peyoosh Jain said, “Great place for young kids to get introduced to cricket. Very encouraging coaches in a low-pressure environment.” “Certainly, more and more young students will enjoy cricket in the US. We just need to develop the cricket setup in schools across the country and equip PE teachers with basic cricket coaching skills,” says Singh.
11 Austin South Asian | October 2020 Austin Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month
By Sumaiya Malik By Sumaiya Malik @sumaiyasaidthis Right from the beginning, Intezaar gives the audience a sense of waiting. Abu is waiting for death. Ami is dying of cancer. Ruby is waiting for Ami to die so she can continue with her plans of visiting her son, and all three are waiting for Sameer, Ruby’s brother who lives in the US where he works and sends them expense money. Life is far from being at a dead stop even though they all feel stuck. “Intezaar,” a debut feature film directed, and produced by veteran Pakistani actor Sakina Samo, reveals the voice of the director portraying the insecurities of an elderly couple in a lonely house. The story revolves around a divorced daughter Ruby (Kaif Ghaznavi) and her parents (Samina Ahmed and Khalid Ahmed) who live comfortably in Karachi, Pakistan.
National Hispanic Heritage Month
which started September 15 still has two more weeks into October.
During this month we f o r m a l l y and completely recognize and c e l e b r a t e the contributions, cultures, and resilience of our Hispanic, Latinx and Latinoi d e n t i f i e d community members.
National Hispanic Heritage Month, first proclaimed as a month of commemoration in 1989, has its origins in National Hispanic Heritage week.
The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.
Día de la Raza, which is October ed single man who comes in every day to their home on his bike. He is of the view that cancer can be allayed by feeding fish some bread. The story moves slowly from the family members being upset with each other to becoming more accommodating with little cues from the hired help who slowly begins to find a place of acceptance. Little anecdotes between the parents to lighten the mood of seriousness of past life move the story slowly forward until one fine day Sameer, the brother arrives from the US. His practical nature and good intentions do mellow the family’s view of him, but he has been gone far too long to appreciate how his parents are finally in love with each other or that his sister needs more than a sense of direction. The cast of the film includes actors such as Samina Ahmed, Khalid Ahmed, Kaif Ghaznavi, Raza Ali 12, also falls within this 30-day period.
In 2019 the U.S. Hispanic population reached a record high of 60.6 million, up by nearly a million from the previous year according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.
In fact, in the last decade, the Latinx share of the country’s total population increased 2 percent from 16 percent to 18 percent, accounting for more than 50 percent of all U.S. population growth.
They’re now the country’s second largest racial or ethnic group, following white non-Hispanics. (the
Waiting Turns To Hope In “Intezaar” At Harlem Film Festival
hill.com) Abid and Adnan Jaffar among oth
ers. Screenplay is by Bee Gul. Samo makes a guest appearance as a physician and the audience gets to see once again what a convincing actor she is. Acting is par excellence of each character.
According to Samaa TV, legendary actor Khalid Ahmed bagged the Best Actor award at the Harlem International Film Festival this month in New York City for his recent performance in Sakina Samo’s feature film Intezaar.
The film is a must watch for a mature audience who take life as a real subject and learn from all that come their way.
Truly an intellectual watch reflective of Sakina Samo and the high caliber she is capable of delivering.
Samo received the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for her services to the Pakistani entertainment industry in 2011.
