Money, taxes and insurance · 10 guides
Life and Disability Insurance: problems and fixes, explained by Curtis
Curtis Tran is the only life and disability insurance member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- Why two life insurance quotes for the same amount can look nothing alike Life insurance is priced on who you are, how much coverage you want, how long you want it to last and how the policy is built. Here is what moves the number and how to compare quotes without being misled. The short answer: you are priced on risk, time and designWhat the insurer learns about youHow much coverage, and for how many yearsTerm, whole and universal life are priced for different jobs
- The life insurance mistakes families discover only when it is too late to fix them Most life insurance problems are not about the price paid. They are about a beneficiary form nobody updated, a policy that lapsed or coverage that ended with a job. Here is how to catch them while they can still be fixed. The costly mistakes are rarely about the premiumTreating the policy at work as the whole planBeneficiary designations nobody has looked at in yearsBuying a number instead of a need
- Term or whole life for a young family: how to decide without being sold Term and whole life are not rivals; they are tools for different jobs. Here is how each works, which obligations each fits, and how young families often combine them. Term covers the years you are most exposed; permanent covers needs that never endHow term life worksHow whole life worksWhere universal life fits
- Planning for long-term care in Texas: what Medicare skips and what a policy may cover Most people assume Medicare will pay if they ever need help with daily living. It generally does not. Here is how Texas families think about long-term care, the Partnership program and the options in between. Worth a serious look if you want to protect savings and choicesWhat long-term care means, and how likely you are to need itMedicare and health insurance mostly leave it outThe main ways families pay for care
- New job, new baby, new house: the yearly review that keeps coverage current Coverage that fit five years ago may not fit the household you have now. A short yearly review, plus a check after every big life event, keeps your protection in step with your life. Once a year, and every time your life changesLife events that should trigger a review right awayChanging jobs: what happens to the coverage from workThe yearly checklist for life insurance
- From application to policy in hand: what life insurance underwriting involves Applying for life insurance is a sequence: questions, sometimes an exam, a review of your records, an offer and a delivery. Knowing each step, and what slows it down, makes the process far less stressful. The process in one paragraphWhat to have ready before you startAnswer every question as if it will be checked, because it may beThe exam, the records and the underwriter's job
- Do you really need disability insurance? How to tell, and what the policy should say If your household runs on your paycheck, the question is less whether to protect it than how. Here is a quick self-test and the policy language that decides whether a claim actually pays. If someone depends on your paycheck, the answer is probably yesA five-minute self-testWhen it may not be the first priorityWhat coverage through work usually looks like
- Buying life insurance online or through an agent: when doing it yourself works A healthy person with a simple need can buy term coverage online. Health history, disability coverage, a business or a permanent policy is where a licensed professional usually earns their place. Online works for simple needs; complexity is where an agent helpsWhen doing it yourself can make senseWhat the online path does not do for youSituations where I would want a licensed professional involved
- Before you sign a life insurance application: the questions to ask the agent A life insurance policy can last decades, so the person who sets it up matters. These are the questions that separate an agent who explains from one who only sells. Seven questions that tell you most of what you needIs this person licensed, and for what exactly?Which companies can you offer, and how are you paid?Did they ask about your life before they talked about a product?
- Your income tripled and your coverage did not: a stress test for a high earner's household Sales directors and account executives tend to outgrow their protection without noticing. Here is how to test whether your savings, life insurance and disability coverage would hold up to a downturn, a long illness or a death, and what the review with a licensed agent looks like. The plan you set up at 28 is still the plan you haveWhy high earners are often the least protectedA stress test you can run at the kitchen tableWhen the current setup is probably fine, and when it is not