Author: Seek First Financial

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This may be a stupid Question

Posted on by Seek First Financial in Uncategorized

I have been helping people secure their finances through life and health insurance for a while now. I am always relieved when I get a client who likes to ask questions about the coverage we are discussing. As a customer, never apologize for wanting to be educated. An agent who cares always enjoys an educated client.

We get lots of common question and give many of the same answers often, but that is never an issue. If you have a question, please ask your agent to explain and in a way that you can understand. Most of the industry is very simple to grasp when simple language is used. I love it when a client says, “This may be a stupid question, but…” and then goes on to ask what’s on their mind. There truly are no stupid questions in this journey. Get answers and in turn get confidence you are making the best choices.

Joseph Doppe

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Budget Issues

Posted on by Seek First Financial in Uncategorized

As a life and health insurance agent, I have many conversations with people about the cost of plans. We aim to compare the impact that plan has on the life and connected family members compared to its cost. This is often a difficult comparison as we can’t predict the future. Insurance is often that cost we absorb in anticipation that bad things do happen and when they do, they have the potential to wipe out savings, retirement, and in many cases create unmanageable debt. This fear is the foundation of life and health insurance and for good reason. Most people have experienced themselves or know someone intimately who has been impacted by serious injury, disease and death. When your close to those sorts of experiences then you know that the cost is worth the investment. Most of the difficulties making a decision on these options are related to the budget available to cover the costs of the plan. Using a broker will help greatly in the process. Don’t let budget issues keep you from properly protecting you and your family. The cost down the road can be much greater than the monthly investment of the plan itself.

Whether you are weighing the options of life or health insurance, we can help you design a plan that fits your specific needs and family. Not all situations are the same and there are no blanket answers that can be evenly applied to all families. You truly will benefit from meeting with a professional who deals with this reality every day. Many people prefer to walk this out by themselves, without the help of an agent. That is understandable, and we offer many options to that group of people on our Self-Service page. However, we recommend meeting with an agent to confirm that you and your family are in the best possible place. Please reach out to one of our Brokers to help you navigate these questions and pick the best plan for your family and budget.

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What Now?

Posted on by Seek First Financial in Uncategorized

As the new year approaches, many people are wondering what their options for health coverage are going to look like. Some are wondering if they will be able to afford any coverage at all. As you walk into the New Year, you are likely asking yourself the question, “What Now?”

That is a valid question and one that we have been helping people answer continually over these past months. There are many options available to you, and you are not alone in this journey. We encourage you to put yourself in a situation with a professional that can guide you through this process. There are many coverage options that can continue to protect you and your family through these times of transition. So, if you have found yourself asking that very same question, we are here to answer that for you. Please reach out to one of our agents and get the answers you need.

Some of these answers include Membership Sharing, Short Term options, Indemnity plans and many other private solutions available off the state and federal marketplaces. While these solutions are not what most people are used to using to cover medical bills, many have been employing these plans and communities for years with great success. Eligibility and suitability need to be determined to use these options as not all solutions fit everyone equally. Here are Seek First Financial, we have been offering these options alongside the marketplace for years. We can help see which one fits your needs best and help you get started. We look forward to helping you through these times of uncertainty and we are grateful for your trust. Have a great day!

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TImes Like These

Posted on by Seek First Financial in common questions, Contact, Health, Health Insurance, Home

In the last few months, we have seen and felt the impact of rising health insurance costs. These increases have come at the hand of many factors, and we don’t try to point fingers in any one direction. The fact is… it’s complicated. We have sat with many people and solved many problems over these last few months and truly, things have just begun to shake loose. We are so grateful for the patience and trust of our clients and just wanted to extend that thanks and keep the invite extended for all of our family and clients to reach out and share the fears and concerns on their minds. It’s in times like these that we grow closer to our clients, and it seems more like family now than ever before. Please feel free to call us as things unfold and as the changes take effect. Thank you and we look forward to hearing and helping soon.

Joseph Doppe (Agent/Owner)

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Take the Time

Posted on by Seek First Financial in Blog, common questions, Contact, Health Insurance

As we turn the corner into the last month of Open Enrollment, many people find that the options offered to them through the state or federal exchanges just don’t fit them, their family, or their current situation. This could be due to the cost, the coverage, the timing their lives, OR some combination of those realities and others.

It would be a mistake to come to your Health Insurance planning with the understanding that a one size fits all approach is the best way to move through the process. This is just not true. The benefit of having an insurance professional walk out this journey with affords you the opportunity to see all of your options. This might be a traditional option through the typical exchanges, with the options that you are used too. However, many clients are opening up their eyes to the growing number of options and comfort that comes through designing a custom approach to their needs and the needs of their family,

If you are dissatisfied with the options provided to you this year, please take the time to learn about other options and opportunities that you most likely have access too. If you unhappy with price, deductible, out of pocket maximums and any other issue, please voice those things to your insurance professional and see what else is out there. Solutions are just around the corner for those who seek them.

We hope your 2024 health insurance planning has been fruitful and that you have put plans into place that actual serve you and your family. Remember, you are the customer! You should understand what your year is going to look like and what you’re signing up for. You should have support throughout the year, not just during enrollment. If you have any questions at all, reach out to your insurance professional and get answers. We would love to answer any of your questions here at Seek First Financial. Even if you don’t have coverage through us, please call us and get the comfort and support you need. If we don’ talk to you before Christmas, Merry Christmas!

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Know Your Agent

Posted on by Seek First Financial in About, Blog, common questions

I meet with many people for the first time almost every day. Introductions are made, problems are explained, and needs are assessed. We go from complete strangers to talking about intimate, personal, and sometimes difficult realities of their lives in minutes. This can be a positive thing and it also could be dangerous. As we know all too well there are many out there preying on strangers for their own gain. I want to share some simple steps to help you verify your agent and establish long lasting relationships that serve you and your family for years.

There are a few very effective ways to verify your agent or broker and I suggest you use them. The first method I will cover is not always available but in many states it is. This verification tool is simply using the states options to request an insurance agent. In my resident state of Kentucky, we work through the Kynect benefits portal for health insurance, and in this portal you can “Find an Insurance Agent” or request that one contact you. If you use this option and the Agent reaches back out in response to your request, they are likely a legitimate source of help and verified by both the state and carriers they work with.

Another option to verify an agent or broker is to ask them for their NPN. This number is like their “social security number” in the insurance world. You can take that number and their name and check them up and against the Department of Insurance or its equivalent in the state you reside. You will see if their license is current, their names match their NPN and even get other various bits of verifying information depending on the state site you’re using. Any agent or broker should be willing to give you this information and even answer verifying questions with understanding. As agents, we know all too well the risks facing consumers today and we strive to provide information and verification methods that show who we are and who we are accountable too.

Another verifying method that could be helpful is to do a quick internet search. While this is not completely foolproof, this step can help add peace of mind in connection with one or both of the steps listed above. You may be able to check reviews, see if they are listed or if they have any social media pages. These things could also be a helpful piece of the puzzle as you validate the person you are sharing so much of your personal information with.

I am writing this to inform you of your options, not to scare you. There are many other ways of verifying your agent, but the ones listed above, especially used together should weed out the bad apples from among the good. This is the time of year that you will be getting many phone calls regarding Medicare, ACA open enrollment and even options to apply for different life insurance plans. It’s good to be prepared and know how to navigate the system to best protect yourself. This is one of the reasons we developed the Verification page on our website. As more and more business is done over the phone, we wanted to put all the verification options out there for our clients to feel comfortable doing business with us. I suggest you check it out and you can even use the links on that page to verify the agent you’re working with. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us directly.

Joseph Doppe- Seek First Financial LLC

725-400-9136

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Medical Bill Sharing

Posted on by Seek First Financial in About, Blog, Health

As we begin to help many families design plans to protect their families from unexpected medical bills, we often do not get to talk about medical bill sharing. Medical bill sharing communities are groups of people who pay monthly contributions towards the medical bills of the people in the community. This type of community is not insurance, but it does offer the opportunity to have help paying your medical bills and often at a much lower monthly cost for many families.

Typically, there are multiple levels of membership that determine how much of a medical need you will be responsible for before the community begins to share the bill, either completely or up to a percentage. The higher your monthly membership fee, the less you will likely be responsible for before the community begins to share your medical bills. Now each community is set up a little different and they often have different requirements for being a member of that specific community. These communities are a great opportunity for many families, and we can help most people see if this is a right fit for them pretty quickly.

Medical bill sharing is a great option but like everything else, is not a one size fits all solution. Please reach out to us or the professional you trust to get more information and guidance as to which option best fits your family and situation.

Joseph Doppe- Seek First Financial

725-400-9136

Open Enrollment Season

Posted on by Seek First Financial in Blog, common questions

As we near the time of year when health coverage is fresh on the mind and many choices are being made for the future of your family, we wanted to sit down and share our thoughts on this topic. Health coverage can seem overwhelming and complicated at times. Because of those realities, it’s important to take your time making these decisions and get help and advice when needed.

Health coverage is very important to your financial stability and not having it can impact your future in some very difficult ways. There are many types of health coverage and options for people today and knowing your options in light of your typical annual health bills can help you choose which of your options is best. Now, while we cannot really plan for the unexpected; like cancer, injury, etc., we can look back at our past medical bills and see what is common and likely expected for the coming year. Making sure that your plan puts protections and coverage in place for these sorts of occurrences is wise and should be included in your plan. While we can’t plan for major unexpected medical issues, we can make sure that our medical coverage or plan puts protection in place for those as well.

We like to show people the options that protect them in the event of major issues and the everyday issues that we all face from year to year. Very often this means a combination of coverage is best for most people and this type of protection is normally affordable for most families. Many types of assistance are available to most families and being aware of what’s available to you could help you form an overall plan that really puts you and your family in the best possible place. We recommend using your insurance professional to help you ask the right questions and prepare properly for this year and this coming enrollment period. If you have any questions or don’t currently have an insurance professional helping you, feel free to reach out to us and we can help you at no cost to you. Happy Open Enrollment!

Joseph Doppe- Agent/Broker

725-400-9136

Why use an Insurance Broker?

Posted on by Seek First Financial in Blog, common questions, Contact, Home, Uncategorized

When it comes to putting coverage in place for yourself or for your family, you may be wondering why you would choose to work with a broker as opposed to a “captive agent.” A captive agent is an agent who specializes in and works exclusively with one company or insurance carrier. They offer all or most of the products that that one carrier offers, and they cannot offer you anything outside of that range of products. There are times and places when this makes sense and when it leads to the best deals for you or you and your family. For instance, there are sometimes products that carriers only allow their own captive agents to offer. They may have brokers they work with, but they do not allow these brokers to offer some of these exclusive products. If you would benefit from one of those products, then it would make sense for you to work with a captive agent that can meet that specific need. I have on multiple occasions, referred a client to work with a captive agent to get this sort of service when I could not offer them what they needed.

I am a broker and love being an insurance broker. That simply means that I am not a captive agent and I offer many different companies’ products, services, and plans. I think this serves people better in most cases because I can shop around for the client, after finding what their need is, and find something that meets that need and is the most affordable of all the options. I am also able to help clients with varying degrees of health for this same reason. While some of my options have more strict guidelines when it comes to health, I have other options for clients with companies that specialize in or simply offer products to higher risk clients. This helps more people get the coverage that they need. There are many more reasons I like to have options but what someone needs all depends on their specific situation. Make an APPOINTMENT today so that we can work through the needs and find the perfect fit for you and your family.

Joseph Doppe

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How Much Coverage is enough?

Posted on by Seek First Financial in Blog, common questions, Term Coverage, Whole Life

While some people come to us, and they know exactly what they are looking for and how much of it they want, most people need a little help and direction on what avenue is best for them. And in reality, many of those who “know exactly what they want”, don’t really understand what they need. Even my own understanding of how much coverage is enough has shifted greatly over the years.

In some cases, final expense coverage is pretty straight forward. Someone comes to me and wants their burial or cremation covered so that the bill does not fall on their loves ones after they are gone. This is an amazing starting place and should be the starting out point for those who currently have nothing in place. Final expenses do often reach well beyond burial and cremation. They include services, plots, monuments and even putting aside some funds to help with the travel expenses of those you would like to attend your services and celebration. People in this position may also want to consider any outstanding debts or loans. Do you want to leave your home to someone and how much is left on your mortgage? Do you want to leave your car? There are lots of ideas and our job is to help people sort through these ideas and put the proper amount of coverage in place to meet the need.

Term coverage face-values all depend on the client. We consider things like how old the client is as well as many other factors. Are they married and do they have children? Do they have a business they are trying to protect? Are they trying to put aside some retirement income in conjunction with their life insurance coverage? The answers to these questions, and many more, could all inform the final amount of overall coverage. Some people need to put quite a bit coverage in place and many others just need enough to meet very specific needs. You can use term coverage to pay your home off if you get a very serious illness or injury and even replace the income lost during a long recovery from cancer. These options are very important to consider, and you may even decide to choose a coverage where you can get your money back if you don’t pass away or use the living benefits that pay for serious illness or injury. It’s these sorts of options that really make it profitable to use a licensed agent or broker during your fact-finding process. We know how to ask that right questions that often get overlooked. You should at least have the option to choose these amazing benefits. Many people don’t even know such options exist!

While there is no right answer to the question of “How much coverage is enough.” There is a right answer for you in your particular situation and stage of life. Set up an APPOINTMENT with us today and see what options are available to you. Don’t wait any longer and get that peace of mind today! Our goal is to help people make preparations that put their future in the best possible place.