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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
INFORMATION TO HELP YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS
Brigette Hunter with her children, James and Alyssa
ichele Krzewina enter) with her children
PROTECT THE ONES YOU LOVE
Learn about insurance through ichele Krzewina the enter) with her children experiences of five families
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>> THE HUNTER FAMILY
KEEPING A FAMILY AND A BUSINESS
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Af loat
rigette Hunter was just 27, and a new mother, when she was widowed. Her husband, Matt, was killed in a car accident. To compound her pain, she had to borrow money from her parents to pay for Matt’s funeral, as he had no life insurance. Just six months later, friends introduced Brigette to Anthony. She wasn’t looking for a relationship, but Anthony was persistent. “He could sell snow to an Eskimo,” Brigette says. They married and soon opened their own electrical business. With the business and three children to support, the couple bought small life insurance policies. Lisa Rinehart, a financial professional with the Principal Financial Group®, met them several years later, determined that they needed considerably more life insurance, and helped them through the buying process. A year later, Anthony found a bump on his chin. He had recently walked through a spider web at a job site and assumed it was a bite. But it didn’t go away, and Anthony learned it was melanoma, a cancer he had battled as a teenager. It soon spread to his lungs, brain and bones.
ichele Krzewina enter) with her children
Brigette Hunter
mes
, Alyssa and Ja
with her children
Still wanting to provide for his family, Anthony invoked a provision in one of his life insurance policies that allowed for an early payout to a terminally ill policyholder, and used part of his death benefit to buy a nicer home for his family. He oversaw renovations and was able to spend a month in the house before he died at 34. The remaining money from Anthony’s policies helped Brigette pay off medical bills and meet her household expenses. It also kept the business afloat. She could make payroll and pay vendors while she and her foreman reassured clients that the business would continue. “Without the money I would have had to close,” she says.
Financial pr ofessional Lisa Rineha rt with Briget te
Pre-existing condition?
DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T QUALIFY FOR LIFE INSURANCE
Despite having melanoma as a teen, Anthony qualified for life insurance in his late 20s because he was cancer-free for many years.
+ COMMON HEALTH CONDITIONS ( Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancer, etc. )
QUALIFIED INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL
= GOOD CHANCE YOU CAN GET COVERAGE
If your health condition is being properly managed and you’re not in the midst of a health crisis, chances are you will qualify for an individual policy, but you’ll pay more than someone your age with a better health history. If your employer offers a group life insurance benefit, look into it because you may be able to get a certain level of coverage without having to show evidence of insurability.
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>> THE MONTES DE OCA FAMILY
BUILDING AND PROTECTING
a Life Together
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elipe and Lissete Montes de Oca started dating while they were young, but they already had grown-up priorities. Even before getting married, the couple saved diligently to purchase a house, a dream for these children of Cuban immigrants.
Lissete Montes de
Oca with her childr en, (from left) Fel
That dream was realized when they got the keys to their first home just as they started their lives together. That’s when Pedro J. Busse, an insurance professional with New York Life, helped them get life insurance. He emphasized the importance of covering their mortgage should something happen to one of them.
ipe, Jr. and Lucas
As Lissete advanced in her accounting career, Felipe took his love for home renovation and construction and turned it into a profitable business. Their dream was to provide a better future for their sons, Felipe, Jr. and Lucas, as the couple had both come from humble beginnings. As their family and income grew, Pedro helped the couple increase their life insurance. In 2007, their lives took a detour when Felipe learned that the fatigue he was feeling was not due to overwork; instead doctors diagnosed him with leukemia. Aggressive treatments made it impossible for Felipe to work, but he didn’t worry about paying for his life insurance coverage because each of his policies had a rider that waived his premiums in the event of a disability. After a three-year battle, Felipe finally succumbed to the disease. He was 47. More than 700 people came to Felipe’s funeral. His love of life had touched so many in his community. His family, however, was at the center of that love. The life insurance ensured they would be OK financially and that his boys could attend college. “Life insurance is something you pay for, but never expect to use,” says Lissete. “But here I am, and I can’t imagine not having this support to help me through.”
ichele Krzewina enter) with her children
ro J. Busse and Lissete
Insurance professional Ped
Why It’s a Good Idea to Have an Annual Life Insurance Review As circumstances in your life change, your life insurance needs change too. Here are some examples of life events that can affect a person’s need for coverage. MARRIAGE—Sharing a life means sharing one’s financial obligations too. CHILDREN—As your family grows, so does your need for coverage. BUYING A HOME—Life insurance can help keep the family you love in the home they love. A JOB CHANGE—The more you make, the more insurance you’ll need. COLLEGE—As kids become independent, your need for coverage may decline.
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>> THE PAGE FAMILY
Norm Page (fa r right) and his son, Adam, wi his financial pr th ofessional Thom as Waring, Jr. CLU, ChFC, CL , TC, MSFS m, Sandy,
da From left, A
LIVING A Whole
T
The Pages’ plans changed in an instant when their son, Adam, was born with spina bifida, a malformation of the spinal cord. The couple had good health insurance coverage through their jobs, but there were certain things it didn’t cover like special braces that Adam needed to walk. To pay for these items, the Pages tapped into the cash value that had accumulated in their whole life policies.*
From Your Life Insurance During Your Lifetime
Permanent life insurance policies provide a death benefit as well as the ability to accumulate cash on a tax-deferred basis. The cash values may be accessed by withdrawals or through policy loans, and used in myriad ways including:*
Page ichele Krzewina enter) with her children
Life
here were no children on the horizon yet for Norm and Sandy Page, but this young couple, in their early 20s, decided to buy whole life insurance policies. They had met with Thomas Waring, Jr., CLU, ChFC, CLTC, MSFS, a financial professional with MassMutual, who explained that because whole life insurance also builds cash value, it would help them with their goal of saving for retirement, while also protecting them in case either were to die prematurely.
3 WAYS to Benefit
and Norm
The money from the policies even allowed Adam to pursue a special dream. He developed a passion for sled hockey, and Norm and Sandy borrowed from the life insurance policies to pay for some of his equipment and training needs. At 15, he became the youngest person to make the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team and at 18, he won gold at the Paralympic Games in Vancouver. Over the years, the Pages have purchased more life insurance to make sure that Adam will be adequately provided for should he outlive his parents, which doctors say is likely. For his part, Adam is now attending college to pursue a career in sports management. He even bought his own whole life policy, as he prepares for his life ahead. “I’ve seen what it’s done for me,” says Adam. “Whole life insurance has provided me the opportunity to live a whole life.”
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COLLEGE SAVINGS — If you die before your children reach college age, the death benefit can complete your college-savings goals; if not, your cash values can supplement other tax-deferred college savings such as money in a 529 plan.
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SUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT INCOME — The cash values in your policy can supplement other tax-deferred savings such as money in a 401(k) or IRA. CASH FOR UNANTICIPATED NEEDS — You can use your cash values at any time or for any purpose, such as for an emergency or a business opportunity.
*Withdrawing or borrowing funds from your policy will reduce its cash value and death benefit if not repaid, and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before the death of the insured.
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>> THE MOLLICONE FAMILY There’s No Place Like Home hter, Natalie
th his granddaug
Joe Mollicone wi
ichele Krzewina enter) with her children
Long-term care insurance policies give you the option to receive care in a variety of settings. Increasingly, people are choosing the comfort and familiarity of home for their long-term care needs.
HOME CARE
1
42.0%
NURSING HOME
30.5%
ASSISTED LIVING
27.5%
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Percentages are based on claims paid for people with individual LTCI policies Source: American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, 2010 LTCi Sourcebook
Financial advisor James Daoust, Jr. with Joe and his wife, Theresa
A BURDEN
T
Relieved
he first time that James Daoust, Jr. visited his clients, Joe and Theresa Mollicone, the couple rolled out a tray of cannolis. Daoust became their financial advisor and over the next three decades sampled countless Italian specialties in the couple’s home. “He got hooked on Italian desserts,” Theresa says. Daoust’s close relationship with the Mollicones is the reason they are living comfortably today instead of struggling after a health crisis.
burden to the other or to their two adult children, so they purchased policies from John Hancock.
In the early years, Daoust had helped the Mollicones with retirement plans as well as life, disability and health insurance, all of which they had to address on their own because each was self employed. Joe owned an excavation business, and Theresa ran a clothing boutique.
Less than six months later, Joe suffered a massive stroke that left him paralyzed on the right side and unable to speak. Three months after the stroke, the long-term care insurance policy started paying the maximum daily benefit of $150, which increases by 5 percent each year and has been just enough to cover Joe’s home-care needs. Four years later Joe reached his payout limit, but continues to receive benefits because of his policy’s shared-care rider, which allows him to tap into the benefits from Theresa’s policy. To date, the insurance company has paid out more than $400,000 in benefits.
As Joe approached his 65th birthday and his disability insurance was about to expire, Daoust suggested long-term care insurance. The Mollicones were initially hesitant, but neither wanted to be a
“If we didn’t have this insurance, caring for Joe would have depleted all the savings we had,” Theresa says. “Now I’m not afraid of running of out money.”