ISSUE 65 The Ziff Agency Monthly December 2 0 1 8 From the Desk of Adam Ziff The Ziff Agency, LLC Life Insurance for Married Couples If you’re married, a joint life Joint Life Insurance Coverage and Other insurance policy can save you Discounts money and keep your family Current News: financially secure in the event of While you may be familiar with life insurance in Indexed Universal Life you or your spouse’s death. To find general, many married couples who have a life Insurance Continues the best deal, comparison shop insurance policy when they get married aren’t Growth Streak P.2 because there are many different aware that insurance companies often offer a joint companies and options on the life policy. Instead, couples often carry over their The Underwriter's market, and their terms and rates individual policies and simply change the Corner P.2 vary. beneficiary to their spouse. Famous Estate Planning Blunders: For many people, getting married is It’s important to understand that joint policies Verne Troyer more than a ceremony with vows. In exist. Plus, they’re often less expensive than P.3 addition, married couples often merge keeping two individual policies, especially if those bank accounts and other financial two policies… Infographic: assets or liabilities. In some states, in The Young and Worried: fact, you are equally responsible for Who is Stressed about any debts and equally entitled to any Life Insurance? income. P.3 One of the facets you may have considered as part of your combined financial health is a joint life insurance Ph: 212.796.5433 Ph: 949.393.5433 policy as opposed to having a Ph: 941.922.9433 separate policy for each of you. Like Ph: 305.363.5433 most financial decisions, there are [email protected] pros and cons to such a move. www.theziffagency.com 02 Current News: Indexed are with different life insurance companies. Universal Life Insurance Universal Life Just like having multiple vehicles insured or Universal life policies, like their whole life counterparts, multiple insurance products with the same offer a cash value. Additionally, however, they offer a Insurance company can offer a discount, having a joint few extra benefits. You can use the cash value, once life insurance policy can cost less per month Continues it’s high enough, to pay your monthly premiums if you as well. Growth Streak choose. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Term Life Insurance If you or your spouse have significant With a term life insurance policy, you are covered only Indexed universal life medical issues, preexisting conditions, are for a specific time period. A term life policy is usually insurance sales are up double much older than the other, or are otherwise digits as market conditions considered high risk, you may find that the 10, 20, or 30 years, and your premium amount is fixed drive the product line to its cost savings is either much smaller or even for that term. At the end of the term, your coverage will eighth consecutive quarter of lapse. Then, you can either get a new term policy at growth in premiums, non-existent. In such cases, it may be a the current rates for your current age and other risk according to insurance financially smarter decision to buy life industry group LIMRA. insurance separately rather than jointly. factors, or you can simply let the policy end. IUL sales rose 10% in the third quarter compared with Different Types of Life Insurance Policies Deciding Which Type of Life Insurance is Right for the prior quarter and 12% year to date, LIMRA said, for Married Couples You buoying life insurance sales. Overall life insurance sales There are two major types of life insurance: The most important part of deciding which type of were up 3% compared with term life and whole life. Within the whole life policy you need is to first understand your own last quarter. type, there are other subtypes as well, situation. What are your long-term financial goals? The group declined to provide dollar figures for including universal and variable life How many dependents do you have? Someone who is sales, represented by insurance options. the sole breadwinner in their home, with a spouse and aggregate new insurance children to support, for instance, might have different premiums. Wink Inc., a Whole Life Insurance life insurance needs than a couple with no children market research firm, pegged With a whole life policy, a type of permanent Q3 IUL sales at $529 million. and a dual income. The products are similar in life insurance, you are covered until your death. The rates do not change throughout nature to indexed annuities. Once you know what you need, do some comparison Growth in a policy's cash your life. Most whole life policies offer a shopping. Don’t be afraid to contact multiple value is linked to a stock cash value that grows over time based upon companies and compare more than just their rates. market index and capped to your paid premiums. If you find yourself in the upside; interest credited Regardless of which type of policy you want, make need of cash for your child’s education, a to a policy over a given period sure to research your options to find the best fit. can't be less than 0%. big purchase, or even if you’re diagnosed IUL has steadily increased with an illness that requires expensive its share of overall sales of treatment, you can cash out your policy and (Source: Shop Tutors, Inc) universal life insurance receive a lump sum or annual payments. products such as fixed and variable UL. Year to date through the third quarter, IUL's share was 55%, up roughly two and a half times what it was at the beginning The Underwriter's Corner: Underwriting Q & A of the decade. IUL products Medical Exams and Questions in the Underwriting Process have largely experienced For most life insurance policies, especially those with a higher value, a full medical exam will be required. This exam resembles a double-digit sales growth standard physical complete with blood work, urinalysis, and other basic tests. These tests not only confirm your honesty to the since 2008. company but can also catch undiagnosed issues that could signal high risk. (Source: InvestmentNews.com) Some policies do not require a medical exam; these typically have lower monetary limits, narrower pay-out parameters, or a higher policy premium to offset the higher risk the company assumes by taking on a new client who may have undetected medical conditions. Whether an exam is required or not, most insurance companies do require you to complete a questionnaire about you and your family’s medical history, lifestyle choices such as alcohol or prescription drug use, and other health factors that the insurance company may need to know to determine your risk. This questionnaire is often done over the phone and requires about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. (Source: Shop Tutors, Inc.) 03 INSURANCE 101 Famous Estate Planning Failures NAME: Verne Troyer DIED: April 21, 2018; AGE: 49 CAUSE: Suicide by alcohol poisoning ESTATE BLUNDER: Leaving his parents and estate with a large debt. Troyer, best known for his role as Mini-Me in the "Austin Powers" movies, died after three weeks in a hospital back in April 2018. His cause of death was later ruled a suicide by alcohol poisoning. TMZ reports that Troyer's estate has since been billed $364,797.05 for his 3-week hospital stay. That's in addition to the initial $1,457 fee for the ambulance that took him there. Verne Troyer was worth $160,000 when he passed away. Court documents state that Troyer had $150k in personal property and another $10k annual gross income (Source: BusinessWire.com) from personal property. At the time of his death, Troyer already owed the state of California $22,224.70 in back taxes stemming from the years 2004 and 2005. Troyer’s parents, Reuben and Marie, are the heirs to his estate. (Sources: TMZ and AOL.com) 04 HERE’S A THOUGHT... "Winter is a season of recovery and preparation." - Paul Theroux www.theziffagency.com Happy Holidays! Protect what you are Thankful for and give your family peace of mind. Contact Us to discuss your needs today!.