Life Insurance · Lincoln, NE
It does more than pay out when someone dies.
Life insurance shows up in retirement plans for a lot of reasons — replacing income, covering final expenses, equalizing an inheritance, funding a buy-sell agreement. The right policy depends entirely on the job you need it to do.
Start with the job
The question isn't term or permanent. It's what the money is for.
People come in asking which type of policy is better. That's the wrong end of the question. A 20-year term policy is exactly right for a 42-year-old with a mortgage and two kids at home, and exactly wrong for someone who wants to leave a specific amount to a grandchild forty years from now.
We start by figuring out what the money needs to do, how long it needs to be there, and what you're comfortable paying. The product falls out of that conversation, not the other way around.
If you already own coverage, bring it. Old policies are worth a look — sometimes they're better than anything available today, and sometimes they're quietly heading toward a lapse nobody warned you about.
Common reasons clients own it
- Replacing a spouse's income or Social Security benefit
- Paying off a mortgage so a survivor can stay in the home
- Covering final expenses without draining savings
- Leaving money to children or grandchildren efficiently
- Leaving an equal inheritance when one child gets the business or farm
- Funding a buy-sell agreement between business partners
- Protecting a special-needs family member's long-term care
Reviewing what you already have
Three things worth checking on an existing policy.
Is the beneficiary still right?
Beneficiary designations override your will. An ex-spouse or a deceased parent listed on a policy from 1998 is more common than you'd think.
Is it still in force the way you think?
Some permanent policies rely on internal values to stay funded. It's worth requesting an in-force illustration rather than assuming.
Does the amount still match the need?
Coverage bought when the kids were small may be far more — or far less — than what your situation calls for now.
Policy guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Coverage is subject to underwriting, and policy terms, exclusions and costs vary by product and by insurer. We'll review the specifics with you before anything is applied for.
Bring the policy you already have.
We'll read it with you and tell you honestly whether it still fits — including when the answer is to leave it alone.