Life Insurance
Have you asked yourself: "Do I really need Life insurance today?" Remember, Life insurance isn't just about you and it may not be about today. Though it’s not a happy thought, it is important to think about the financial security of the people you’ll leave behind when you die. If you have a spouse, a family, consider how they will survive without your income. If you have a mortgage, plan to send your kids to college or just have long term financial goals and dreams for your loved ones, RamState Insurance can help you find the right product to cover your families needs and help those you leave behind to fulfill their dreams.
"What if I have life insurance from my job?" Many employers offer free life insurance as a benefit, known as group life. All you have to do is sign up, and sometimes enrollment is automatic. Many people opt to buy more insurance, known as supplemental life insurance, through such plans. In fact, 44% of all life insurance policies in force in 2015 were through groups, including workplaces, churches and other associations, according to the American Council of Life Insurers.Is buying group life insurance through your work a good idea? Here is a rundown of the advantages and disadvantages.
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"What if I have life insurance from my job?" Many employers offer free life insurance as a benefit, known as group life. All you have to do is sign up, and sometimes enrollment is automatic. Many people opt to buy more insurance, known as supplemental life insurance, through such plans. In fact, 44% of all life insurance policies in force in 2015 were through groups, including workplaces, churches and other associations, according to the American Council of Life Insurers.Is buying group life insurance through your work a good idea? Here is a rundown of the advantages and disadvantages.
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Reasons for buying group life insurance through work
There are three main advantages to buying supplemental group life insurance through your employer: convenience, price and acceptance. Convenience is key to those who know they need life insurance but haven’t bought it yet. Getting coverage through work can be the easiest way to protect your family.It also can be a good deal, sometimes offering rates you can’t beat by shopping around.Finally, people with serious medical conditions may qualify for a much better rate through the group policy than they could get on their own. A medical exam is not required, although you might have to fill out a detailed questionnaire.
Disadvantages of group life insurance through work
Most people are unlikely to stay with the same employer for their entire career, which brings up the first major disadvantage of tying your life insurance to your job. You might be able to convert your group policy to individual life insurance if you leave, but the cost could go up significantly.
Your next job might not offer group life insurance. You could go out and buy an individual life insurance policy, in that case. But the cost of life insurance rises as you age, and you never know when you might develop a medical condition that could seriously raise your rates or even make it impossible to get coverage.
When you buy life insurance through work, you won’t find the range of policy options that you might find elsewhere. But term life insurance such as what’s offered through work is generally the best option for most people. If you are looking for a more complex product like whole life or universal life, you should consult a financial advisor.
Finally, you might not be able to buy as much coverage as you need through your work. In that case, you might want to buy regular term life insurance instead of or in addition to supplemental life.
How to decide if you should buy private life insurance
The first thing to do is to take advantage of any free basic group life insurance offered. Next, compare the cost of supplemental life insurance available through your work to what you can find on your own. You can use Life Insurance comparison tool to shop around without entering any personally identifying information. You might find you can get a comparable deal on your own, in which case it’s not worthwhile to buy life insurance through your work. Even if the cost of an individual policy is slightly higher, it’s still probably a better bet because of its portability. If you have substantial life insurance needs, such as many dependents, you might consider buying an individual policy and supplementing it with life insurance through work. But if you fear you might not qualify for a good rate as an individual, perhaps due to a medical condition, group life insurance through your work is a good idea. Just remember the limitations, especially if you don’t expect to stay at the employer for a long time.
Contact us at RamState Insurance to discuss your families needs and to create a custom protection plan.
There are three main advantages to buying supplemental group life insurance through your employer: convenience, price and acceptance. Convenience is key to those who know they need life insurance but haven’t bought it yet. Getting coverage through work can be the easiest way to protect your family.It also can be a good deal, sometimes offering rates you can’t beat by shopping around.Finally, people with serious medical conditions may qualify for a much better rate through the group policy than they could get on their own. A medical exam is not required, although you might have to fill out a detailed questionnaire.
Disadvantages of group life insurance through work
Most people are unlikely to stay with the same employer for their entire career, which brings up the first major disadvantage of tying your life insurance to your job. You might be able to convert your group policy to individual life insurance if you leave, but the cost could go up significantly.
Your next job might not offer group life insurance. You could go out and buy an individual life insurance policy, in that case. But the cost of life insurance rises as you age, and you never know when you might develop a medical condition that could seriously raise your rates or even make it impossible to get coverage.
When you buy life insurance through work, you won’t find the range of policy options that you might find elsewhere. But term life insurance such as what’s offered through work is generally the best option for most people. If you are looking for a more complex product like whole life or universal life, you should consult a financial advisor.
Finally, you might not be able to buy as much coverage as you need through your work. In that case, you might want to buy regular term life insurance instead of or in addition to supplemental life.
How to decide if you should buy private life insurance
The first thing to do is to take advantage of any free basic group life insurance offered. Next, compare the cost of supplemental life insurance available through your work to what you can find on your own. You can use Life Insurance comparison tool to shop around without entering any personally identifying information. You might find you can get a comparable deal on your own, in which case it’s not worthwhile to buy life insurance through your work. Even if the cost of an individual policy is slightly higher, it’s still probably a better bet because of its portability. If you have substantial life insurance needs, such as many dependents, you might consider buying an individual policy and supplementing it with life insurance through work. But if you fear you might not qualify for a good rate as an individual, perhaps due to a medical condition, group life insurance through your work is a good idea. Just remember the limitations, especially if you don’t expect to stay at the employer for a long time.
Contact us at RamState Insurance to discuss your families needs and to create a custom protection plan.
Long Term Care Insurance
The phrase Long Term Care refers to the help that people with chronic illnesses, disabilities or other conditions need on a daily basis over an extended period of time. The type of help needed can range from assistance with simple activities (such as bathing, dressing and eating) to skilled care that's provided by nurses, therapists or other professionals.
More than 70% of people over the age of 65 will more than likely need some type of long-term care in their lifetime while over 40% will require care in a nursing home for some period of time. But, did you know that nearly 41% of long term care is provided to people under age 65 who need help taking care of themselves after an accident or stroke or as a result of chronic illness or debilitating diseases? Many people underestimate the need for long term care, and overestimate how much help they will receive from Medicare.
As life expectancy continues to climb, long-term care insurance should be part of any comprehensive retirement plan. RamState Insurance has formed a relationship with LTCi Partners to bring you the best LTC products and service.
RamState Insurance has the tools, experience, and expertise to help you take care of your long-term care needs.
More than 70% of people over the age of 65 will more than likely need some type of long-term care in their lifetime while over 40% will require care in a nursing home for some period of time. But, did you know that nearly 41% of long term care is provided to people under age 65 who need help taking care of themselves after an accident or stroke or as a result of chronic illness or debilitating diseases? Many people underestimate the need for long term care, and overestimate how much help they will receive from Medicare.
As life expectancy continues to climb, long-term care insurance should be part of any comprehensive retirement plan. RamState Insurance has formed a relationship with LTCi Partners to bring you the best LTC products and service.
RamState Insurance has the tools, experience, and expertise to help you take care of your long-term care needs.
Disability Insurance
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 can be true to a limited extent, but the quality of coverage often leaves the disabled employee short of the protection he/she thought they had as well as disability income from an employer is often taxable as regular income. As a qualified insurance agent we can assist you with exploring the sources of income that you will need and have available during a disability.
Individual & Family Health Insurance
The Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA was signed into law in 2010 with a goal of making health insurance more affordable for all Americans, even those with a preexisting condition. The health insurance Marketplace was created under ACA as a place where consumers can compare their options and choose coverage for themselves and their families.
Here’s why you should consider enrolling in health insurance.
Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that covers the cost of an insured individual's medical and surgical expenses. Depending on the type of health insurance coverage, either the insured pays costs out-of-pocket and is then reimbursed, or the insurer makes payments directly to the provider.
In health insurance terminology, the "provider" is a clinic, hospital, doctor, laboratory, health care practitioner, or pharmacy. The "insured" is the owner of the health insurance policy; the person with the health insurance coverage.
Broadly speaking there are two types of health insurance:
The five main types of health insurance plans in the USA
There are five main kinds of health insurance plans, with indemnity plans at one end, and HMOs (health maintenance organization) at the other end of the spectrum. POS (point-of-service plans) and PPOs (preferred provider organizations) include a combination of features from indemnity plans and HMOs; however, they are usually seen as managed care plans.
In 2003, the US Congress introduced a new option, the HSA (Health Savings Account), which is a combination of HMO/PPO/Indemnity and a savings account that has tax-benefits.
Understanding the differences between different kinds of plans is useful and extremely important when you are considering choosing one for yourself, your family, or employees. However, as plans evolve and add more details and take others away, there is more overlap and their distinctions become progressively blurred. The majority of fee-for-service plans (indemnity plans) use managed care techniques to control costs and to ensure there are enough resources to pay for appropriate care. Similarly, many managed care plans have adopted fee-for-service characteristics.
What are managed care plans?
Managed care plans are health insurance plans that have a contract with health care providers and medical facilities to provide medical care at special prices (lower costs). These providers form the plan's network. The network will have rules, which stipulate how much of the care the plan will pay for.
Restrictive plans usually cost the "insured" less, while flexible ones are more expensive. HMOs will typically only pay for care if you use one of the providers in their network. A primary care doctor (general practitioner) coordinates most of the patient's care. PPOs will cover more of the costs if the insured selects a provider within their network, but will also pay up some of the money for providers outside the network. POS plans allow the insured to choose between an HMO or a PPO each time care is required.
What are Indemnity Plans?
The insured can choose any doctor he/she wants. The doctor, hospital or the insured submits a claim for reimbursement to the health insurance company.
It is important to remember that, like any insurance plan, the insured will only be reimbursed according to what is listed and mentioned in the Benefit Summary. It is important to read the Summary carefully and understand all that is printed, even the "small print". Most indemnity plans claim to cover "the vast majority of procedures".
Coinsurance - while indemnity plans do not pay for all of the medical and surgical services, they typically pay for at least 80% of the customary and usual costs, while the insured is liable for the remaining 20 or so percent. The insured is also liable for any excess charges, e.g. if the provider charges more than what is considered as a reasonable and customary fee. Look at the example below:
Example of Coinsurance and excess charges
Deductibles - the amount of covered expenses the insured has to pay before the reimbursement system kicks in and starts covering medical costs. The deductible total may range from $500 to $3,000 per person annually, or from $1,500 to $10,000 annually for a whole family.
Out-of-pocket maximum - as soon as the insured's covered expenses reach a certain amount during a 12-month period, the plan will cover all usual and customary fees from then on. The insured has to remember that any charges above what are considered as usual and customary by the insurance company will have to be paid for by the insured.
Lifetime limit - if the insured has a lifetime limit of $2 million, it means the insurance company will only cover costs up to $2 million during that person's lifetime. Ideally, one should have a lifetime limit of at least $2 million.
Here’s why you should consider enrolling in health insurance.
- Pay less for doctor visits. With insurance, you pay monthly premiums whether or not you become ill. If you do become ill, those premium payments help cover your medical costs. Along with collecting premiums, insurers negotiate prices for certain services, including doctor visits. Those negotiations help lower your costs and lead to the discounted rates for doctor visits.
- Free preventative services. Under ACA, all qualified health plans must meet minimum essential coverage requirements, and they must offer free preventative services, such as screenings for cancer, certain vaccinations, mammograms and more.
- Prescription medicines cost less. Each time you fill a prescription, take note of the amount you pay. With insurance, your costs will be reduced because your insurer picks up part of the payment.
- Always be protected. You could choose a plan that provides coverage even when you travel out of state or the country. We can help you decide which plan may be best for you.
Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that covers the cost of an insured individual's medical and surgical expenses. Depending on the type of health insurance coverage, either the insured pays costs out-of-pocket and is then reimbursed, or the insurer makes payments directly to the provider.
In health insurance terminology, the "provider" is a clinic, hospital, doctor, laboratory, health care practitioner, or pharmacy. The "insured" is the owner of the health insurance policy; the person with the health insurance coverage.
Broadly speaking there are two types of health insurance:
- Private health insurance - the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says that the US health care system is heavily reliant on private health insurance. 58% of Americans have some kind of private health insurance coverage.
- Public (government) health insurance - for this type to be called insurance, premiums need to be collected, even though the coverage is provided by the state. Examples of public health insurance in the USA is Medicare, which is a national federal social insurance program for people aged 65+ years as well as disabled people, and Medicaid which is funded jointly by the federal government and individual states (and run by individual states), SCHIP which is aimed at children and families who cannot afford private insurance, but to not qualify for Medicaid. Other public health insurance programs in the USA include TRICARE, the Veterans Health Administration, and the Indian Health Service.
The five main types of health insurance plans in the USA
There are five main kinds of health insurance plans, with indemnity plans at one end, and HMOs (health maintenance organization) at the other end of the spectrum. POS (point-of-service plans) and PPOs (preferred provider organizations) include a combination of features from indemnity plans and HMOs; however, they are usually seen as managed care plans.
In 2003, the US Congress introduced a new option, the HSA (Health Savings Account), which is a combination of HMO/PPO/Indemnity and a savings account that has tax-benefits.
Understanding the differences between different kinds of plans is useful and extremely important when you are considering choosing one for yourself, your family, or employees. However, as plans evolve and add more details and take others away, there is more overlap and their distinctions become progressively blurred. The majority of fee-for-service plans (indemnity plans) use managed care techniques to control costs and to ensure there are enough resources to pay for appropriate care. Similarly, many managed care plans have adopted fee-for-service characteristics.
What are managed care plans?
Managed care plans are health insurance plans that have a contract with health care providers and medical facilities to provide medical care at special prices (lower costs). These providers form the plan's network. The network will have rules, which stipulate how much of the care the plan will pay for.
Restrictive plans usually cost the "insured" less, while flexible ones are more expensive. HMOs will typically only pay for care if you use one of the providers in their network. A primary care doctor (general practitioner) coordinates most of the patient's care. PPOs will cover more of the costs if the insured selects a provider within their network, but will also pay up some of the money for providers outside the network. POS plans allow the insured to choose between an HMO or a PPO each time care is required.
What are Indemnity Plans?
The insured can choose any doctor he/she wants. The doctor, hospital or the insured submits a claim for reimbursement to the health insurance company.
It is important to remember that, like any insurance plan, the insured will only be reimbursed according to what is listed and mentioned in the Benefit Summary. It is important to read the Summary carefully and understand all that is printed, even the "small print". Most indemnity plans claim to cover "the vast majority of procedures".
Coinsurance - while indemnity plans do not pay for all of the medical and surgical services, they typically pay for at least 80% of the customary and usual costs, while the insured is liable for the remaining 20 or so percent. The insured is also liable for any excess charges, e.g. if the provider charges more than what is considered as a reasonable and customary fee. Look at the example below:
Example of Coinsurance and excess charges
- You see a doctor for "diabetes care"
- The insurer deems that the customary fee for this type of diabetes care is $200.
- The insurance company pays $160 (80%), while the insured (you) is expected to pay for the rest ($40).
- However, if the provider bills you for $250, you will have to pay for those extra $50.
- So, you will have to pay $40 + $50 = $90.
Deductibles - the amount of covered expenses the insured has to pay before the reimbursement system kicks in and starts covering medical costs. The deductible total may range from $500 to $3,000 per person annually, or from $1,500 to $10,000 annually for a whole family.
Out-of-pocket maximum - as soon as the insured's covered expenses reach a certain amount during a 12-month period, the plan will cover all usual and customary fees from then on. The insured has to remember that any charges above what are considered as usual and customary by the insurance company will have to be paid for by the insured.
Lifetime limit - if the insured has a lifetime limit of $2 million, it means the insurance company will only cover costs up to $2 million during that person's lifetime. Ideally, one should have a lifetime limit of at least $2 million.
Dental Insurance
RamState Insurance offers plans that typically cover preventive and basic dental care. Picking the right plan for yourself is no easy task. That is why our team will work hand-in-hand with you to determine which plan best suits your needs. Getting dental insurance today could prevent more serious and costly issues down the line.
Vision Insurance
While you may have a health plan in place, routine vision care may not be totally covered by it. Getting vision insurance will give you peace of mind, reducing your out-of-pocket costs for eye care down the road by establishing a plan that protects you now.
Life & Health Insurance Form
Life moves pretty quickly. Make sure you get a life and health insurance plan that can keep up.
