Rick Demko

Why Single Parents Need Life Insurance

This is a zero fluff post.  As Dave Garland puts it, if you want fluff, go pet a bunny.

Not only do I believe that everyone needs to have a life program in place, it is WAY more important for young families, and exponentially more important still for single parents to plan.

What single moms and dads really need to do is get something in place while the opportunity still exists.  Yea, I hear you saying, "I really need to..", just reach out and start!  You may not be insurable next year, month, week.. you know where this is headed.

Simple fact, you sign today and change your mind within 45 days.  You lost nothing and were covered during that time.

Step 1:  We need to get something in place that we can make changes to as your needs change and continue to get more settled.

We know that we want your child to have a small policy for a few reasons.

1. You need to enter into a life program now before something happens (a team member of mine just had a son diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, thankfully he already had a policy in force because now he is uninsurable.)
2. Purchasing a policy for your child can be something that will accumulate tax deferred wealth that will give you the option to later transfer ownership. (Maybe as a graduation present)
3. With the Guaranteed Insurability Option on a Universal Life Policy, you can increase coverage at 11 different option ages (even if completely incapacitated) without any underwriting.

I just did one of these polices for a friend’s three year old and it was $16 a month, and has a $50,000 death benefit.  It’s not about ‘making money’ if something were to happen to your child.  It's in place to help with medical costs should the worst happen and to help with medical costs.  Having a life policy on a child also provides the ability to be insured for their own family should something surface in their health that would prevent them from purchasing their own policy.

We also need to get YOU a life policy for a number of reasons:

1. You have a child that is going to be in the need of financial support should something happen.
2. A life program can take care of your remaining debt and other personal financial obligations (loans, mortgage, credit cards, etc.) leaving the legacy you intended to leave behind intact.
3. Your child wants to go to college (tuition projections just for next year are about $100k for a 4 year school, and that’s for a state school.)

Obviously I could go on for a while about the benefits of you both being in a life program.  What's next?

Step 2:  What really needs to happen is for us to sit down and talk.  If you're curious about how much insurance you need, try this tool.

Please stop putting it off, you really have no idea what lies in store.  Most of these policies I'm referring to can begin with nominal costs to young families!

Insurance, Meet Technology - We Use 'Smart Phones' Around Here

Becky Yerak wrote a wonderful article for the Chicago Tribune yesterday. Becky brings up several good points and I wanted to do my best to highlight some of these advances in technology as they apply to the world of insurance.

As I have been with State Farm I find myself playing with everything I can get my hands on. Being the technology guy in my office, one of the things that I keep gravitating back to is the State Farm Pocket Agent. I am an advocate of having the ability to access useful information when it is needed. Unless you sat in the office with our team and went through our Steer Clear program, there is a chance that you may not know exactly what you need if you are involved in or witness an accident… Unfortunately if you don’t get the right information, we may never find the other party involved in the incident again.

Becky’s article from December 4th highlights other insurance professionals voicing some of the same concerns that I have. Using your smart phone, and the State Farm Pocket Agent, you have tools literally at your fingertips should an accident occur. You will know the proper steps and a platform to document an incident, phone numbers for a body shop, towing company, or if you need to call for roadside service; no matter where you are (the app uses your location to determine whom to call).

“Why can't I use the phone to take pictures of my damaged car and generate an automated claim?"

You can. The State Farm Pocket Agent uses an easy to use graphic interface to help you document where damage on a vehicle occurred, the ability to snap photos of the scene and allows you to send the information to State Farm Insurance hence alerting your Agent and staff.

"Our industry is evolving rapidly due to trends associated with advanced technology in vehicles and homes; the power and ubiquity of mobile devices, tablet computing and social media; and customer expectations for a remarkable experience," said Mike Lamb, a State Farm strategic resources director. In 2009, the Bloomington, Ill.-based company began what it calls a collaborative foresight and innovation program.

Two innovations emerging from State Farm's collaborative foresight and innovation unit are On the Move and Driver Feedback.

These systems allow Android smartphone users to preload messages that can be sent as automated responses to text messages while State Farm policyholders are driving. The Driver Feedback app, which relies on sensors in the iPhone, has technology that measures acceleration, braking and cornering. Policyholders who sign up are given a score for each, as well as an overall score for each trip.

Said State Farm's Lamb, "We've seen husbands and wives compare scores."

As a State Farm Insurance team member I would love the opportunity to show you how this technology works before you have to use it in a real life situation. If you aren’t a State Farm insured, please contact myself or our team at 636.978.4800. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter or on our website.

For Becky Yerak’s entire article featured in the Chicago Tribune, please follow this link.

Drive safely everyone!