Read Part 1 here

If you woke up in the hospital tomorrow, how complete would your “mental checklist” be? There’s nothing like the peace of mind that comes from having protection so you know you can handle whatever comes your way – even if you can’t work for months at a time. We would naturally think of emergency contacts, health insurance, sick leave, life insurance, child care, pet sitter, lawn care, etc., but how about…

Do you have waiver of premium on your life insurance policy?

This rider ensures that your life insurance policy will not be canceled if a disability prevents you from earning an income and paying your premiums.

Why is this important?

The odds of becoming disabled before age 65 are greater than the odds of dying prematurely. During the course of your career, you are 31/2 times more likely to be injured and need disability coverage than you are to die prematurely. (Commissioners Individual Disability Tables, CSO)

What provisions have you made for other financial obligations?

Before you:

• Sell assets
• Drain your bank accounts or retirement savings
• Strain your relatives’ cash reserves (and relationships)
• Attempt to obtain a bank loan

…consider Individual Disability Income insurance.

We have several carriers that are experts in calculating how much protection you should have. This again is based on your asset to debt ratio or the right balance for your personal needs. This of course varies from person to person, family to family, but also life changes. At some point, we are aspiring in our careers, raising our children, paying for educations, mortgages, etc. but as our children become adults and our debt is coming down, we simply readjust our insurances to balance our obligations.

I know that I sleep better knowing that all of my obligations are provided for if I would have the unexpected happen to me. We simply do not think about things like this on a daily basis. We are all wrapped up in the moment, hustling around doing what we are doing. We know that we have exhausted all of our time…what would it cost to have someone else do all of these things? Where would the money come from? If we have to shift gears and downsize that is fine, but it does not have to be in an emergency. We do not have to have a fire sale to dispose of assets (at usually a reduced value) because we cannot support the expenses. This needs to be assessed and balanced out.