Wilkins Life Insurance Agency 

The year 2020 will go down as one of the most surreal years in U.S. history. A year in which all the things we took for granted came to a screeching halt. The Covid-19 pandemic has took a toll on all of us mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. It has been very tough, but, one thing that has remained constant throughout all of 2020 is the importance of life insurance. Individuals (young and old) and families interest in securing life insurance increased significantly this year and it was good to see. I have been a very busy man as people who would normally push the importance of life insurance to the side have reach out to me and realized the importance of having a financial plan in place due to the impact of Covid-19.

 

The lost of a breadwinner in the family could and in some cases (due to dying from Covid-19) have put a severe financial burden on a family struggling to maintain their standard of living, or task with raising money to cover funeral costs. Sometimes it takes the world being turned upside down to realize anything can happen at any moment, so, having life insurance in place helps to put a person mind at ease and families can rest easy knowing their financial well-being is secured. Hopefully, when this pandemic is behind us, the increased interest in life insurance remains. Whether it is in a time of calm or a time of chaos as with Covid-19, life insurance will always remain an important asset that individuals and families will be able to rely upon in the most uncertain of times.

 

Stay safe and stay healthy! 

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02/02/2021:

Why depending on your life insurance through your job is not a good idea.

By: Kareem Wilkins 

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I have been in this business for well over 11 years and the most common answer I have received throughout my career when it comes to asking individuals about their life insurance needs is ‘Oh, I have life insurance through my job.’ They say it proudly with a badge of honor then go on about their business to get away from that pesky insurance agent. However, not realizing, there is a danger to depending solely on their job to provide financial security for their family in the event of an unexpected event. Today, I will go through some of those risk.

 

1. Majority of Americans are underinsured.

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The majority of Americans (over 50%) have a coverage gap over well over $200,000. A large portion of those Americans are depending on their life insurance through their job. Majority of Americans take only the amount that is 1X their base salary, which normally is free coverage. Even those who get more in good faith than 1X their base salary underestimate his/her family true need. It is worthwhile for those who depend on their job for their life insurance needs to sit down with an agent to uncover their true need when you factor in variables such as your mortgage, child care/educational needs, spousal support, etc. that one truly get an understanding of simply saying ‘I have life insurance through my job’ is not a good idea to depend completely on.

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2. Your life insurance is gone if you change careers, get laid off, or retire.

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Your benefits through your job are only as good as you work there and this goes for your life insurance. Many do not realize that if you change careers, get laid off, or even retire that you lose your life insurance coverage. Some companies allow you the ability to take your coverage with you, however, many find out it is more expensive. A prime example of this is to think of the millions of Americans who lost their job during the Covid-19 pandemic who had life insurance through their job only to lose it once they were laid off. You can not and should not put all your trust in your job for the well-being of your family. Life insurance through your job is meant to supplement what you have outside your job that you customized with your agent, and know will stay with you regardless of job circumstances.

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3. You have better coverage options and potentially better rates.

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Life insurance has evolved throughout the years that you can no longer associate life insurance completely with death. Unlike with basic coverage through you job, life insurance protection outside your job provides you with more options such as providing you money from your policy in the event you are diagnose with certain illnesses that could result in loss of income. In addition, certain life insurance policies can help in supplementing your retirement income. Lastly, you get access to coverage options such as term life, whole life, and universal life at better rates depending on your health that you can lock in for the rest of your life. Unlike with coverage through your job, you will end up paying more via your annual enrollment as you age and changes in your health.

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I hope this serves you well in understanding the dangers of putting your trust through your job for the financial security and well being of your family.

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05/10/2021:

How lapsing a $30 policy resulted in a $33,000 medical bill.

By: Kareem Wilkins

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Millions of families benefit every year from the value of life insurance with living benefit riders. Living benefit riders allow the insured to accelerate the death benefit to pay for cost of medical care, lost of income, or whatever the person feels necessary. Unfortunately, for various reasons, some decide to lapse this all-important coverage. Personally, I would find other expenses to cut before I cancel my life insurance. Lapsing life insurance coverage that could make or break a family financial well-being should be the option of last resort. Case in point a real life scenario involving a life policy I wrote a few years ago for a client.

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This person constantly lapsed her policy, but, I was always there to reinstate her policy. I constantly explained to her the importance of keeping her policy inforce and what could happen if she failed to keep this all important coverage. However, I left the insurance industry as an agent for a few years and became a product manager for Transamerica. Recently, I ran into her sister and asked how she was doing. Unfortunately, she told me that her sister had ovarian cancer. I was shocked to hear, but, remembered that her life insurance policy had living benefit riders and one of them was call Critical Illness. If someone is diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke they could have access to a portion of their death benefit to use while they are alive for cover cost of care.

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However, her sister put her head down and told me she let the policy lapsed and never got it back. I was shocked, but, not surprised given my experience with her. But, to know she had a policy that would have paid her much needed money to cover for the cost of treatment, I was sad to hear what happened. Her sister was upset given they had to raise money to cover the cost of treatment which exceeded $33,000 when the premium was only $30 a month. She told me that her sister regretted letting her policy lapse and wished she would have kept it. I told her many people do not realize how much they need it until they truly need it. Her sister recovered, but, had a significant financial setback that her policy would have protected. I hope whoever read this and is considering lapsing their policy to reconsider. You may not see the value in paying your premium when everything appears fine, but, it only take one unexpected turn in life that results in an injury, illness, or death that you and your family will be happy you saw the importance of protecting your financial well-being. Do not make the same mistake, it could cost you dearly.

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08/25/2021:

A real life story of not having enough life insurance when tragedy happens.

By: Kareem Wilkins

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This story I am about to share with you really rocked me to my core. Being in the business of providing financial security for families in unforeseen moments is one of the most important responsibilities in the United States of America. But, sometimes you hear the stories of families who were not prepared and/or relied on life insurance through their job, only to find out it was not enough to sustain their family's lifestyle. Enter the story of Lisa Grim who lost her husband this year to Covid-19. All was great as they bought their first starter home, taking trips to Jamaica, and really working towards a wonderful life together with their two boys when disaster happened. He was diagnosed with Covid-19 and later died in a rural hospital. The story takes you on a heart wrenching ride of emotions as she navigate this new reality of losing her husband, being forced to move out of their home into an apartment, struggling with mental health issues, all while trying to raise two boys as a now single parent. However, as you read the story you will see two things that stand out which is 1. He did not have enough life insurance, and 2. He did not have a Last Will and Testament in place.

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I only wish we could have crossed paths while her husband was still alive. This story serves as a reminder why it is so important to take the time to talk with your spouse about making sure if there is an unexpected death or illness, that the family is financially be prepared to ensure that their lifestyle is safe and secure. I implore you to read this entire article and if you would like to sit down and talk about being financially prepared to avoid an unforeseen event like this, then I am always a phone call away. 

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Link to story: A Missouri covid widow loses home she, sons can’t afford anymore - The Washington Post

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04/08/2022:

The evolution of Life Insurance and how it can benefit you while alive

By: Kareem Wilkins

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Growing up I vividly remember a nice older gentleman coming up to my grandmother’s gate and asking if she was available. I remember letting her know someone was at the gate and she simply said ‘Oh, that is just the insurance man.’ She came to the door, gave him money, and she received a receipt as the guy said ‘see you next month.’ I remember her telling me that it was for her life insurance and how everyone needs life insurance in case you die. I just remember her saying ‘in case you die.’ Having life insurance in case of an untimely death has always been one of the primary reasons (especially in the black community) for having life insurance. But, in case you have not noticed, there has been an evolution when it comes to life insurance and you can benefit with life insurance while you are alive. Let’s go through some examples and hopefully this will resonate with you and reshape some of your views of Life Insurance.

 

Living Benefit Riders (Terminal, Chronic, and Critical Illness):

These riders are normally included in majority of life insurance policies at no charge to the person getting coverage. These riders allow for you to access cash (an acceleration of the death benefit) from your policy while you are alive to help cover some of the following:

1. Medical expenses such as cost for care, deductibles, and coinsurance

2. Supplement lost income due to being away from work and recovering

3. Pay for modifications for you home that assist with care needs due to illnesses

4. Pay for home health care needs, or

5. Even take a much needed trip after recovery

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This is money you would not have to pay back and you still get to keep a portion of your death benefit that is paid out upon death. Cost of care or loss of income by being away from work can have an immediate impact on families and knowing that these living benefit riders are there as an added resource from your life insurance is valuable.   

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Tax-Free child education / Tax-Free retirement planning (Index Universal Life):

Life insurance has become a valuable tool for people to utilize for educational or financial planning needs. A popular life insurance product called Index Universal Life (IUL) had a record breaking year in sales for 2021 ($2.4B). The primary driver of this is the IUL tracks the gains of the stock market (i.e. S&P 500) allowing a person to benefit on the gains made that is credited to their policy while protecting themselves from market downturns (you lose none of the gains made). If this life insurance product is properly structured, it allows for the person to accumulate cash into their life insurance policy (tax-deferred) that can be used to fund children/grandchildren college education, or another source of retirement income. Also, will allow for a person to access the cash accumulated TAX / PENALTY FREE unlike the taxes and penalties a person face if they take early withdrawals from their 401k and IRAs.  

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There are plenty other examples of how life insurance has evolved beyond being primarily associated with death. Depending on your goals and what you want to accomplish, life insurance can benefit you tremendously while you are alive. If you need to look at getting life insurance coverage or reviewing what you currently have to assess if you are properly covered or is meeting the goals/expectations you have, then feel free to reach out and I will be glad to assist you in any way I can.

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Warmest Regards,

Kareem Wilkins

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