Why You Should Partner with Helton-White and Associates:
Our advantage lies in our relationships with the top-rated companies we represent, our clients and our specialized knowledge of the market. We consistently seek out new and updated information in our area of expertise pertaining to coverage and rate changes with insurance carriers and what risks each carrier specializes in.
With the ever-changing dynamics of the benefits industry, we take great pride in staying abreast of the market. This ensures we provide the most comprehensive protection for our clients.
Most importantly, we enjoy developing relationships with people, and getting to know their needs and what’s important to them.
We are Specialists in the Life and Health Insurance Markets Focusing on:
TERM LIFE INSURANCE
Term life insurance is designed for a specific purpose and lasts a specific number of years. Term life is a great option for those who need a large amount of coverage at a surprisingly affordable rate to cover any outstanding debts such as a mortgage, business loans, unsecured loans or preparing for college funding for your children should the unexpected happen.
UNIVERSAL LIFE INSURANCE
Universal life is designed to be a flexible option for coverage. Depending on the face amount of the policy and how the policy is funded, it can provide coverage for a set time period, or build a large amount of cash value inside the policy over a set number of years to help fund a retirement or to actually fund itself.
WHOLE LIFE INSURANCE
Whole life is designed to be a permanent product to last your “whole life” and have coverage when need it. Most of the time, whole life is used as a final expense product to cover funeral costs and any remaining debt as a result of medical bills toward the end of life.
MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTS AND DRUG PLANS
A Medicare supplement is actually what it says, a supplement to Medicare coverage. It supplements the other 20% of healthcare costs Medicare doesn’t cover. And, what’s great about a supplement is if your primary care physician or specialist accepts Medicare, the Medicare supplement you have will cover the other 20% of healthcare costs that Medicare doesn’t cover, and there are no networks to worry about. As of 01/01/2020, Plan F is no longer available to “newly eligible” Medicare beneficiaries, which has pushed most Medicare beneficiaries to choose more affordable options such as Plan G or Plan N supplements.
Medicare Drug plans or Part D of Medicare is designed as an affordable way to cover drug costs. It’s important to review your drug plan every year due to annual changes in drug plans.
LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE
Long-term care insurance is designed to cover or help cover the costs of care if you need assistance performing at least two of the six activities of daily living (ADLs) or if you have severe cognitive impairment, which would affect your ability to care for yourself. Some people believe this coverage only applies to people who enter a skilled nursing care facility, but that’s not correct. Long-term care insurance can also help with in-home caregivers as well so you can stay in your home.
INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE
We help individuals and families get health insurance if they do not have any coverage and need individual coverage. Coverage is normally obtained through the Affordable Care Act, and you may be eligible for a subsidy to reduce premium cost if you qualify based on income.
However, you may just need coverage for a short period of time if you have a break in employment or you may be looking at a way to save money on your coverage. Keeping that in mind, term medical insurance is an affordable solution to get the coverage you need.
Additionally, we also work closely with small businesses to provide group health coverage with the employees and business in mind. We spend time getting to know the nature of the business’ problems and work with human resource personnel to provide a solution best suitable for the business and employees.
About Us
HOW TO SIGN UP FOR MEDICARE
So, you’re eligible for Medicare because you’re either turning 65 or you have been disabled for 24 months. Now, how do you sign up? The quickest and easiest way to sign up for Medicare is to sign up online here. However, you can also call them at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or go to your local Social Security Administration office. Timeline to sign up for Medicare is three months before your 65th birthday, the month of your 65th birthday or three months after your 65th birthday. To learn more about one of the most affordable top-rated plans and networks in our area for Medicare that includes dental, vision and hearing benefits, click here!
*Information obtained from Medicare.gov.
COMPANIES WE PARTNER WITH FOR SUPPLEMENTING MEDICARE:
LIFE INSURANCE:
We specialize in working with top-rated companies to find the coverage you need. Whether you need coverage for your family, after recently purchasing a home or for final expenses, we ensure that your family will be financially prepared in case the unexpected happens. When you decide you need coverage, we take a consultative approach getting to know you and learn specifically what your needs are and then execute an aligned strategy to accomplish your goals.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFE INSURANCE:
Life insurance protects you and your family against unforeseen risks: the risk of dying sooner than expected and leaving unpaid debt and responsibilities that others in your family will be left with to pay. Also, for business owners, this comes into play when there are multiple owners. This is specifically why setting up a buy-sell agreement is beneficial to protect the business. Buy-sell agreements allow the surviving owner(s) to buy the interest in the business of the deceased business owner. Additionally, the proceeds of life insurance are paid to the beneficiaries tax-free and are not subject to probate procedures.
Many people overlook life insurance when they are healthy and just starting out in life. Whether you’re single and on your own, just newly married or married with children, it’s important to purchase life insurance while it’s still cost-effective for you. Rates are much lower for someone who is young and healthy than for someone who is near retirement age and not near as healthy. In some instances, coverage may not be available to you due to your health.
Though the couple below are not our clients, we’d like to share a story with you on the importance of life insurance:
A young couple newly married, Michael and Melissa, became pregnant just months after their wedding, and on one night approximately nine months into Melissa’s pregnancy, they had decided to go out for dinner with some friends. However, Melissa didn’t feel up to going, but she encouraged Michael to still meet with their friends and enjoy his night with them.
Just a few hours later that night, Melissa received a phone call from one of the friends that Michael had been out with that night. Melissa was told that Michael was in an accident and she needed to come see Michael because it didn’t look good. Later that night, Michael passed away due to another vehicle running a red light at an intersection, striking his vehicle.
Two weeks after that tragic accident, Melissa gave birth to her daughter. Thankfully, with Michael being a financial advisor, Michael put a plan in place and had purchased life insurance to protect his family. Because of the life insurance, Melissa was able to grieve, still stay at home to take care of her daughter and take care of any financial obligations.
This story, like so many others, underscores how important it is to your loved ones that you have life insurance. It’s more important than auto and home insurance, and surely more important than insurance on the electronic device you’re viewing this from right now.
We, at Helton-White and Associates, are prepared to guide you on your best options to protect you and your family!
COMPANIES WE PARTNER WITH:
LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE:
Long-term care is something very few of us think about, but it is something that, if we live into our 70’s, 80’s and beyond, we need to prepare for financially. According to the Administration for Community Living, a part of the Department for Health and Human Services, 69% of people turning age 65 today, at some point, will need some type of long-term care services, either at their home or in a facility.
And, cost of care is dramatically rising! Currently, the national average cost of care is hovering near $8,000 per month for a semi-private room in a skilled nursing facility and near $4,000 per month to live in an assisted living facility. According to Genworth, projected costs for the year 2039 for a semi-private room in a skilled nursing facility in our area will be near $13,500 per month and near $7,300 per month for an assisted living facility!
One way to off-set these costs, is to prepare now for the long-term (no pun intended). Long-term care insurance can give you the ability to pick how and where you receive care at your most vulnerable period of your life. It can also protect your estate from your State’s Medicaid spend down; especially, if your long-term care insurance policy participates in the state partnership program.
HOW TO PURCHASE LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE:
There are two ways to purchase long-term care insurance. I’ll call them the old way and the new way. The old way is to buy a stand-alone long-term care insurance policy. Just because I called this the old way doesn’t mean it’s the worst way to take care of your long-term care needs. However, this is what you need to think about. These plans tend to periodically increase premiums over the life of the policy, and if you never use these policies you have paid in thousands of dollars in premium for nothing.
The new way is to purchase a life insurance policy and add a long-term care rider onto the policy. The advantages to this are the premiums never increase, you know the policy will pay out even if you never use the long-term care rider and premiums are comparable to stand-alone long-term care policies.
When it comes to making a decision about how to plan financially for your long-term care needs, Helton-White and Associates are trained and experienced in providing coverage for our clients.
ANNUITIES:
When it comes to retirement planning, the protection of your nest egg becomes important nearing retirement age or if you’re already retired. An effective way to protect everything you saved for during your working years and still grow your nest egg is to consider a fixed index annuity. Fixed index annuities allow you to ensure principal protection in times of recession, thereby not losing any of your money. However, when the market performs well, you can see significant tax-deferred gains in your annuity. Plus, when you’re ready to start receiving disbursements, you can receive income for the rest of your life!
Below is a video describing how a fixed index annuity can help you. Be sure to give us a call if you have any questions.
COMPANIES WE PARTNER WITH:
