For the "If's" in life.

Hey Y'all:

Last night I had the privilege to attend a New York Urban League Young Professionals (http://nyul.org/nyulyp) financial literacy series event. The topic was "Cover Your Assets: Protecting your house, health and future." There was a panel of three finance professionals that participated in the "living room" discussion that really got me thinking about insurance!

Here are a few things I learned last night and thought you should know.

• There are so many types of insurance besides life, home and health. Do your research about: Long Term Care Insurance (is designed to provide coverage for necessary medical or personal care services provided outside of a hospital setting, such as in a nursing home or in the insured’s home.), Disability Insurance ( is a type of heath insurance that pays a monthly income to the policyholder when he or she is unable to work because of an illness or accident.) and Variable Universal Life Insurance (is a type of life insurance that builds a cash value. In a VUL, the cash value can be invested in a wide variety of separate accounts, similar to mutual funds, and the choice of which of the available separate accounts to use is entirely up to the contract owner)
• Before buying a policy make sure you are working with a reputable agency that has a long history. Also, shop around. Meet with different insurance agencies before you buy a policy.
• If you have a policy make sure it's valid for the state you currently reside in. The rules for NY are different then the rules in NJ and the rules on the West Coast are different then the rules on the East Coast.
• It's great to utilize the insurance that your employer provides but you should also have your own disability insurance, because you can't always take your employers insurance with you if you quit or get fired.
• Insurance is all about protecting what you own or have and the people you love. Even though you don't own your house you should invest in renters insurance... "for the Ifs in life"
• It's a hard discussion but a very necessary one. It's very important to know where your loved ones keep their life insurance policies. If they are in a safe deposit box they need to make sure they give someone the key or power of attorney to get into the box. It makes no since to have a policy that no one can get access to!
• The younger you are and the longer the policy the cheaper it can be.
• After age 65 most insurance companies will not give you a policy! That sucks right?
• Life insurance is money that shows up when stuff happens. Stuff doesn't always mean death. It can mean, fire, accidents, illness and injuries.

This seminar was truly eye opening for me. Since the death of Michael Jackson I've really been thinking a lot about how I want my children to be taken care of if something should happen to my husband or I. Not only is life insurance important but you should also have a will, a health care proxy and a power of attorney. Those of us who aren't affluent or don't come from a family with lots of money never think about the need for an insurance policy outside of burial costs, but your income is what keeps your family afloat. Think about what would happen if you weren't here. We shouldn't just think about not leaving bills behind but also not leaving our family broke. I want my three children to be well taken care of if something should happen to me! So tomorrow I have an appointment to set up my policies with them in mind.

Have you taken any steps toward securing your future? It's hard to think about insurance when we are in a financial decline as a country but it's a necessary discussion.

BTW I won a Wii at the event! Put my name in for a drawing and won! Go me!!! and Merry Christmas to Erick LOL..

Well until next time...

MUAH!