Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance coverage that provides a guaranteed death benefit along with guaranteed cash values. Part of each premium payment is applied to the policy’s cash value account, which grows on a tax-deferred basis (based on current federal tax laws).

• Premiums are set at a certain amount and don’t change.
• Premiums are partially determined based on the age of the insured. The younger the insured is, the less expensive the annual premium.
• The insured can borrow against cash values.
• Current federal income tax law allows for deferred tax advantages for some insurance policies.
• Whole Life Insurance provides coverage for the entirety of the insured’s life, as long as the policy is in force.

A universal life insurance policy works similarly to whole life insurance which is designed to cover a person’s entire life. Unlike whole life insurance, universal life makes it possible to adjust the benefit amount up or down without needing to get a new policy. Universal life insurance may be the right choice if you need long-term financial protection. As long as premiums are paid as requested by the policy, your beneficiaries will receive the death benefit.

Survivorship life insurance insures the lives of two people and pays the death benefit when the second person dies. It can be a valuable part of your financial strategy, particularly if you have a large estate you want to help protect. Since it pays after two people have passed on, it generally costs less than other policies.

Disability Insurance is the industry name for a plan that provides for periodic payments of benefits when a disabled insured is unable to work. The insurance product is designed to replace anywhere from 45 to 65% of your gross income on a tax-free basis should illness keep you from earning an income in your occupation. Every disability policy is different and should be assessed by the consumer based on the quality of plan created for the individual’s needs and not by the cheapest disability insurance policy on the market. Many consumers do not plan for the possibility that they will be faced with a debilitating accident or illness during their working years. A professional with a family, for example, should consider disability insurance a necessity. For a consumer, it is not a required purchase like home owner’s insurance. Individuals believe they may have disability coverage through their employer. This at times may be true, but the quality of coverage often leaves the disabled employee short of the protection he/she thought they had.

Long-term care insurance is a type of insurance developed specifically to cover the costs of nursing homes, assisted living, home health care and other long-term care services. These services are usually not covered by traditional health insurance or Medicare.

The majority of policies available are comprehensive policies. They typically cover care and services in a variety of long-term care settings:

• Your home, including skilled nursing care, occupational, speech, physical and rehabilitation therapy, as well as help with personal care, such as bathing and dressing
• Many policies also cover some homemaker services, such as meal preparation or housekeeping
• Adult day health care centers
• Hospice care
• Respite care
• Assisted living facilities (also called residential care facilities)
• Alzheimer’s special care facilities
• Nursing homes

Annuities are a type of investment account typically used for retirement savings or to generate regular income payments in retirement. Annuities are insurance contracts, and the issuing insurance company provides some type of guarantee on your investment.

• Income annuities can provide a stable and secure source of retirement income. With these types of annuities, you surrender future access to a portion of your savings in exchange for a stream of income that’s guaranteed for life. Payments from income annuities can typically start as early as 30 days from the day you sign the contract, as late as your 85th birthday, or on any date in between.
• Deferred annuities with lifetime withdrawal benefits offer a way to safely draw down your retirement assets by guaranteeing that, at a minimum, you will be able to withdraw a set percentage of your savings for the rest of your life. You retain access to your savings throughout the life of the annuity.

Group health insurance coverage is a policy that is purchased by an employer and is offered to eligible employees of the company (and often to the employees’ family members) as a benefit of working for that company. A group health insurance plan is a key component of many employee benefits packages that employers provide for employees.

The Affordable Care Act requires that insured small group plans offer health plans that meet certain benchmarks. The benchmarks are represented by the metal levels of platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Each metal level tier plan is designed to provide the same average level of benefit to an enrollee.

The tiers are based on the percentage the plan pays of the average overall cost of providing essential health benefits to members:

• Platinum plans are the most generous and more expensive. These are designed to pay as much as 90% of medical expenses
• Gold plans are designed to pay 80% of medical expenses
• Silver plans are expected to pay 70% of medical expenses
• Bronze plans are expected to pay 60% of medical expenses.