Health Insurance

As the cost of health insurance continues to climb, businesses, families and individuals could contain costs with plans offered by several Shove Insurance providers. Those companies have high quality benefit packages that are budget friendly.

Shove Insurance will assist clients with issues such as carrier negotiations, premiums, deductibles, plan designs, descriptions of benefits and compliance with government regulations. Besides traditional health insurance, plans can contain provisions for dental, disability and vision coverage.

Before deciding on a health insurance policy, work with us to thoroughly examine several plans so you receive as much coverage as possible at a premium you can afford. Before signing a contract: 

• Make sure beneficiaries will be protected from large medical costs.
• Have a complete understanding of the policy, including what is or is not covered, so there are no surprises when an insured needs coverage.
• Know whether there is a waiting period before coverage starts.
• Insist that you have at least 10 days to look over a new policy and return it for a refund if you discover a provision you do not like or that is lacks coverage you expected.   
• Beware of policies that offer protection for just one disease such as cancer.

 

Life Insurance

If you are unsure of the type of life insurance to purchase, contact Shove Insurance. We can explain the difference between term, whole, universal and variable life insurance and which kind of policy is the best fit for you. Here is a brief explanation of each type of policy:

Term insurance – Term policies are purchased for a specific period of time. If the insured passes away during that period, then the insured’s beneficiary is paid the dollar value of the policy.  

Whole life – Whole life policies are effective for the insured’s entire life. Premiums, which insurance companies invest, stay the same during the life of the policy. Some firms use the investments to pay policyholders dividends, but the rate of return is generally not that high.

Universal life – Universal life policies are more of an investment vehicle. The insured specifies how much he/she will pay over the premium, and the insurance company decides on the investment vehicle, which is typically limited to bonds and mortgages. Returns are deposited into a cash-value account that can grow or be used to pay premiums. There are Type I or Type A policies under which the cash account goes toward the face value of the policy upon the death of the policyholder. In addition, there are Type II or Type B policies under which the beneficiary receives the face value of the policy plus all or most of the money in the cash account. While Type II policies are meant to partially offset inflation, it should be noted that the premiums increase as policyholders age.

Variable life – Variable policies offer more investment options than universal life policies. As with a universal policy, returns on investments under variable policies can pay for premiums or accumulate in an account. Beneficiaries receive the face value of the policy or the face value and all or a piece of the cash account.

 

Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-term care insurance is an asset that you may want to give serious consideration to purchasing. The odds are pretty high that you will be a caregiver or that you will need long-term health care.  

Consider that approximately 44.4 million Americans, or 21 percent of the adult population, act as caregivers; an estimated 17 percent, or 18.5 million, households in the U.S. contain at least one caregiver that looks after someone age 50 or older; of all caregivers, 83 percent are related to their care recipients; the majority, 61 percent, of caregivers are female, and at least 20 hours per week is spent providing care; the average age of all care recipients older than 50 is 75; more than half of care recipients – 55 percent -- live in their own homes; and more than nine out of 10 care recipients age 50 or older take prescription medication.

Long-term care costs that are not covered under government related or private insurance policies can drain financial resources at a rapid rate. To ensure you are going to receive quality care in your later years and will be able to leave your heirs some assets, call us as soon as possible to find out about long-term care insurance.

 

Disability Insurance

Do you know what you would do if you were unable to work and had no way to replace your income? To make sure you had a stream of revenue in such an instance to meet your financial obligations, Shove Insurance would recommend purchasing disability insurance. 

There are two kinds of disability insurance – short-term and long-term. Short-term policies have waiting periods of up to 14 days with a maximum benefit of no longer than two years. Long-term policies have waiting periods of several weeks to several months with maximum benefits that can last up to a lifetime. Protection features on policies that consumers should be aware of are called non-cancelable and guaranteed renewable.

Non-cancelable means an insurance company cannot void a policy except for nonpayment of premiums. Under that provision, consumers have the right to annually renew policies with no increase in premiums or reduction of benefits. With a guaranteed renewable provision, clients can renew policies with the same benefits and not have policies canceled, but companies can increase premiums. In addition, there are many other policy options such as cost of living adjustments and coordination of benefits that Shove agents can explain to consumers.

To learn more, call (401) 722-1185 or send an e-mail to whunt@shove.com.