Josh Schu - Life, Accident, and Health Insurance

06/24/2022

Have you or anyone you know been told that you don't qualify for life insurance? Or if a company tells you they can cover you, it's at an INSANE price? If you or anyone you know has experienced this, contact me.

05/04/2022

I apologize in advance, this post will be long-ish, but I promise you'll learn something.

My imaginary neighbors, Jack and Jill, are wonderful, thoughtful, careful people; they have two children under the age of 10 and both Jack and Jill have good paying, benefit providing jobs. They each have a $50,000 term life policy.

They've recently purchased their home for $115,000, have accrued about $5000 in credit card debt making their new place their HOME. Jack still has $10,000 in student loans and Jill has a $300/mo car payment. They've started saving for the kids education, but not enough to cover the whole bill by a long shot. None of this sounds too far fetched or unusual, right? Together, they make about $7000/mo take-home, making these financial obligations pretty insignificant. So, let's break this down in a couple of ways...

Expenditures:
$1000 mortgage
$300 car payment
$200 student loans
$450 credit card payments
$1000 utilities, phones, food, clothes
$500 misc
Total: $3450

Not too bad, right? This leaves over $3550 per month for incidentals and savings.

But here's where we depart the road of happiness... Jack is taking the kids to school and is sideswiped by a large SUV and he and the youngest die in the accident.

No one plans an accident, so here's how the next few months to a year play out for Jill...

There are two funerals to pay for and they cost the same regardless of how old you are. These typically cost about $15,000 each and need to be paid for when the service is provided, not when the life insurance company approves the claim and pays out possibly months down the road. Meanwhile, Jill is grieving the loss of Jack and their son, not even thinking of where this funeral expense is going to be paid from let alone the immediate loss of Jack's income means to their family.

The funeral expenses alone are $30,000. The mortgage, credit card bills, student loans that she's now responsible for, normal functions of the house, they're all on her shoulders. Saving for her child's education doesn't even make it to the backburner, it's off the stove. She now has a monthly obligation of $3450 on an income of $3550. When that $50,000 term policy pays out it will cover some of the bills for a period of time, but Jill is still in over her head. She has to sell the house, trade in the car, assume Jack's student loans, the credit card debt and still manage to put food on the table.

With a little bit of planning and foresight, Jack and Jill could have bought life insurance for themselves AND the kids with a small amount of that left-over money.

They both could have purchased mortgage and debt insurance, income protection, final expense protection, college education insurance, HeadStart programs (whole life children's policies for less per month than a third of a tank of gas right now.)

With the above policies in place, the mortgage and debts would be wiped clear; Jacks income would continue to come in every month for at least a year (or three or five) so she can transition to the next steps in her life. The child's education will be funded for $100,000. Both funerals would be fully covered and paid for immediately.

Sounds pretty logical, right? Here's a touch more logic for you... You are obligated to carry car insurance to operate a vehicle in Michigan. You buy a brand new car off the lot for $30,000 and you insure it. And you pay the same insurance premium every month over the next 5 years. Now you've got a paid off car that's worth MAYBE half of what you paid for it but you're still paying the same amount of insurance. To add insult to injury, if you file a claim you only get the fair market value of the car. Doesn't seem fair if you ask me. Life insurance payouts don't change and if it's a whole life policy, it's gaining cash value over time. But I'm off track a bit :)

So, will Jack's employer supplied term life insurance policy help? Absolutely. Will it cover everything it should? Absolutely not.

Here's what I want you to take away from this: LIFE INSURANCE ISN'T ABOUT YOU. YOU WILL NEVER SEE ITS BENEFITS. LIFE INSURANCE IS FOR YOUR FAMILY TO HELP DEAL WITH NOT ONLY THEIR LOSS OF YOU, BUT ALSO IN DEALING WITH FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS YOU LEAVE BEHIND. If you love your family like I'm pretty sure you do, take care of them later just like you take care of them now. If you have questions on how this works, reach out. I'll show you what's available and YOU decide what's of value to your family.

Please get the word out there and protect your loved ones - like, comment, and share this post to bring better awareness on this. Oh, and don't worry if you're out of state, give me a call or message anyways, I can still help.

04/30/2022

Eye-opening fact everyone knows: Life insurance gets more expensive the older you get. I'm 43 years old and if I purchased a whole life policy to keep my family from having to manage a GoFundMe to pay for my funeral out of pocket, that same policy would cost 4 times as much as my 22 year old self. EVEN BETTER is the Head Start program ($25,000 Whole Life Coverage) which insures children under the age of 18 at even lower rates that doubles in face value ($50,000!) at 19 and continues at those same low rates with no health questions asked. And when I say low rates, I mean less than some streaming channels cost per month. Parents and grandparents, this is perfect for protecting your family and THEIR future families.

04/29/2022

If you have life and/or accident insurance and you know everything you need to know, follow my page, there's always something new. If you don't know everything and know people who should know more, all of you should follow my page.

04/28/2022

Not everyone can afford a funeral service like this, but we can make certain that your family is financially secure and focus on what matters most to you... your grieving family instead of final expense bills. Not so fun fact: an average burial costs $15,000.

04/27/2022

Billions. There are billions (with a "B") of unclaimed life and accident insurance money EVERY YEAR. Make sure your beneficiaries know who they are and how to file a claim! Here are some of the top reasons claims don't pay out:

1. The life insurance company and the policy owner have lost track of each other
2. The life insurance company doesn't know the insured has died
3. The life insurance company is unable to locate the policy’s beneficiaries
4. Beneficiaries don't know that a life insurance policy exists under which they are beneficiaries
5. The original life insurance company no longer exists or cannot be located

Sometimes life insurance benefits are left unclaimed after a policyholder dies. This is an unfortunate problem under any circumstances, but especially now, when many people are struggling financially. What is more, this is an easily preventable outcome.

04/25/2022

Hello, friends! Insuring yourself for your family isn't just about funeral planning. How about an insurance policy that pays on claims when you run into some poison ivy? Or when your kid gets hurt at their game? Even an injury at work? Yeah, those are covered, just be seen by a Dr. and give us a call. Accident insurance can cover you and your entire family, no matter how serious the accident is. Call or message me and I can tell you how you can protect yourself with a policy that works in addition to your existing healthcare coverage. It can cover your co-pay, time off work, travel, lodging, food... or just keep it.

04/24/2022

If you'd like to know what life, accident, or health insurance coverages are available to you and your family, please contact me. I will help evaluate your family's current coverage and needs to make affordable recommendations.

04/24/2022

Well, friends, my rollercoaster life has taken me in yet another but very interesting direction.

After a bit of shifting around and looking for a good fit after leaving Library Land, I’ve found a new focus doing something that I truly care about and can also put all those years of customer service and “people-ing” to good use. I’ve gone through the process of getting licensed by the state to sell and service life, accident, and health insurance. Ok, I can hear the groans already… but stick with me. Family legacy planning is right up there with retirement planning; no one wants to think about it because it’s DECADES away, right? It’s closer than you think and the sooner you start, the more prepared you’ll be (according to financial gurus). One certainty that has smacked me in the face repeatedly over the last two years (thanks a ton, COVID), it’s that nothing is certain. While working a short stint with UIA, I listened to many unemployed claimants sob over the loss of family members, not knowing what the next steps were going to be due to the emotional and financial chaos left behind. It got me thinking about what my next career steps should be and how I could help.

So, why is this important to me? Because you’re important to me. Our families are our core, what we come home to, rely on, nurture and cherish. Your family is your HOME and your purpose and I don’t want to see what’s most important to you be destroyed emotionally and financially if they should lose you. I have no illusions that any amount of money can replace you because we’re all priceless to our loved ones. Recently I’ve grieved the sudden loss of a family member and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone; it leaves a void that can never be filled. It makes me sick just thinking about it, how different things could have been.

If you think that life insurance, final expense planning, or living benefits are a scam, I can assure you, they’re not. If you need convincing, you’ve entertained coverage of some sort but have thought, “it’s too expensive”, or you think your current coverage isn’t what you think it should be, reach out. I can show you what’s available and help you decide what’s best for you, even if it’s nothing at all; everyone’s situation is unique. The most important thing is that I get a chance to catch up with you. I miss all of you!

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