Tag: insurance

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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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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

What is Mortgage Protection?

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

Many people see the value of protecting their assets from the results of death, disease and disability. A growing number of people are putting coverage in place for these reasons, specifically in relation to their mortgage. While you can, and should, put coverage in place for all of your assets, especially assets with debt, your home is typically one of your largest assets and the landing place for a large part of your monthly/yearly income. If you were to die, get sick or disabled, what would happen to your home? Would your family be able to make the payments and stay in the home? Or would the bank quickly have to take possession leading to a loss of all the years of investment into your property? Even if your spouse or family could continue to make the payments, how would that affect their financial situation as whole? Who would you leave your home to and are they able to pay for it? What would happen if you got sick or hurt and couldn’t work? These questions and the many like them have led to a rise in coverage designed to protect the home in the event of death, disease and disability.

Mortgage Protection is simply a life insurance policy designed to protect your home and the equity stored up in your home. While everyone has a different situation and different desires, the foundation of Mortgage Protection is to first; protect all the money already invested into the property. Whether you are in your first year of payments or near the end of your mortgage term, Mortgage Protection can put a safeguard around all the money you have already invested into your home. Secondly, people don’t want their families taking on extra financial burden while dealing with a recent death, disability or sickness of a loved one. Death, disease, and disability most often results in a loss of income that paid for all or portions of the home and without that income many people would lose the home. Another reason people are increasingly putting this coverage in place are the Living Benefits included with many of the plans. These benefits also pay the insured (while they are living) for Terminal, Chronic, and Critical diagnosis as opposed to only paying their beneficiary in the event of death. This allows the insured to continue to make the mortgage payments while they are recovering from things like, heart, stroke, cancer, etc. because of the resulting loss of work and income in those cases.

These are just some of the benefits of Mortgage Protection and the reason many people are seeing the value in this type of coverage. Meet with a Mortgage Protection specialist and review your options today. Many of these plans have the possibility to get all or portions of your money back if you don’t use any of the death and living benefits. This simply means that if you don’t use the coverage the entire time you paid for it, you can get up to every dollar you put into the policy back tax free at the end of your term. Make an APPOINTMENT and learn more.

Joseph Doppe

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What is Whole Life?

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

Many people often wonder what the difference is between “Whole Life” and “Term.” When it comes time for people to consider which direction they should go preparing for their future, it becomes very important to know the difference. In this case we will briefly focus on whole life and in doing so, you will also come to better understand both. Whole life is permanent life insurance that stays in force as long as you’re paying the premium. In some cases, you can “pay up” this coverage which would just mean that the coverage is in force, but you no longer need to pay the premium anymore. Term on the other hand would expire as soon as the term period runs out. This means that you no longer have to pay the premiums and you are also no longer under the protection of the coverage.

The benefits of whole life insurance are very clear. First off, whole life insurance will be there when you pass away. As long as you’re paying for it OR as long as its paid up, this coverage will be there for you when you pass away. In many cases people will die after their term insurance has already expired. I am very often putting whole life coverage in place for people who just had their term coverage expire. This is not always a bad thing, but just something to consider as you’re setting up life insurance. Secondly, whole life insurance gains cash value, which can be used by you at any time for any reason. The cash value is considered your money and you can take out loans from it without stringent approval process. If you choose not too OR cannot pay the loan back, your face value is simply reduced the amount of the loan. The third reason I think whole life is beneficial is that it is far easier to qualify for. As age and health conditions become a factor people can nearly always qualify for some sort of whole life coverage.

The drawbacks of whole life come into play when someone qualifies for term coverage that meets additional needs above and beyond death benefit (payment the beneficiary receives when the insured dies.) Term coverage is often much cheaper than whole life coverage dollar for dollar, while also opening the door to much higher face amounts. This becomes a great advantage for people preparing income for their family in case they pass away young and leave behind spouse, children, assets and other debts above and beyond final expenses. Term coverage also comes with greater ‘living benefits’ which pay portions or all of the face value to the insured while they are still alive if they get a terminal, chronic, or critical illness. This benefit is so valuable that more and more people opt for this type of coverage as long as they qualify. There are also term options that would pay you back all or portions of the premiums you paid into the plan as long as you don’t receive any of the death or living benefits during the term. While whole life plans do have some living benefits, they are not often so wholistic and none of them offer return of premium in the same manner at the low prices term plans offer. While there are instances that whole life would be a better choice for some people at younger ages, all of these factors should be considered with your broker before you move forward so you know that you are putting yourself and your family in the best possible position.

There are many other pros and cons in regard to whole life protection and which direction you should go largely depends on your situation. When looked at properly, all forms of life insurance and various life insurance products are simply tools fit for different kinds of jobs. We love helping people navigate these tools and applying them to their lives fit for the job at hand. Set up an APPOINTMENT with us and we will help guide you through the process with ease.

Joseph Doppe

The Heart of Life Insurance

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

When you read the “About” section of our website, you will begin to understand the heart of why this field of work is so important to me. Before I ever put any value on being a life insurance broker and field underwriter, this sort of coverage already had great value in my life. This is the motivation and drive for me and my family to be in this field, even when its hard and heartbreaking. My desire and the desire of most of the people I work alongside in this field is this; that people find peace through putting themselves and their families in a good position in the event of the unforeseen. This is what I experienced so many years ago when my wife and I put some coverage and planning in place for our growing family through our first life insurance policy.

It had come up during a conversation with one of my wife’s friends and business partners that she and her husband had just put some life insurance coverage in place for their children in case something happened to one or both of them. This conversation exposed a weak spot in my provision for my family. I was simply younger and had never thought about the possibility of something happening to my wife or I, and we had never considered the outcome of that scenario for our children or for each other.

We contacted a mutual friend to help us with this problem and we began the process of putting our first policy in place. We had some difficult conversations about what life could look like without the other person, and what kind of position we wanted to leave each other in if one of us were to die. We had the difficult conversation of what kind of position we wanted to leave our three children in if we were to both die at the same time. During that part of the process, we had to decide who we wanted them to live with and then we had to contact that family and speak with them, making some very important plans with them so we could all be on the same page. These conversations were difficult and at times I didn’t even want to consider them. The policy was fully underwritten, so we had to give blood and do our medicals. My wife does not do well with giving blood and when she was white in the face and lightheaded, I guarantee she was not having a good time. But in the end, we were approved and made our first premium payment and our protection was placed. We felt a great sense of peace and realized the importance of what we just did for each other and our children. We continue to seek better ways to protect our growing family and plan for our future through the many options offered. All this took place before I ever imagined I would work in this field.

So, years down the road, I got the opportunity to pursue helping people in the same way our friend helped us so many years ago. I really love giving people the same opportunity at getting that same sense of peace my wife and I received back then. We love helping people explore their needs and we love having so many options for them to be able to meet their needs. I loved the idea of being a broker, with many carriers, so I could shop for people and offer them the lowest prices for their particular situations. I am grateful to be able to help people in this way and my family and I saw the value in this way before we every began to make it our work. Our heart is to serve and keep people first and I am grateful to share a little bit of my heart with you today.

Joseph Doppe