- Using Insurance In Wealth Planning
By 2052, it is estimated that approximately $41 trillion in US assets will have changed hands. Families, and this means wealthy families in particular, have needs in the area of specialized estate planning that can be confused by the introduction of complex estate planning strategies laced with legalese. To help overcome this, the Pacific Life Insurance Company and Pacific Life & Annuity Company are offering a kit that contains materials written in plain English that can show you how life insurance can be used to stabilize and strengthen estate planning techniques.
Pacific Life’s vice president for marketing services, Alyce Peterson, explains that by employing life insurance in a client’s estate planning it is possible to provide a death benefit that can be designated for use in paying off any pending estate taxes.
When you combine a life insurance policy with estate planning you can also:
Deep away with the possibly forced liquidation of assets (to pay estate expenses)
Renew wealth so that it can be passed on from generation to generation
infuse positive behaviors among heirs (as expected needs are met)
Make inheritances between family members equal and fair
Designate a charitable legacy
Clarify which assets are to be retained, which sold and which donated.
As Vice President Peterson explains it, there are many company clients that become overwhelmed and even overly cautious when they have to deal with complex planning strategies and try to decipher the legal language that is involved. She explains that the company’s new resource guide book is in plain English format and includes fact finders that address this problem.
The booklet, “What the Wealthiest Families Know” and the included kit is available to financial professionals by contacting their Pacific Life Insurance Company or Pacific Life & Annuity Company representative.
Pacific Life Insurance Company
The company was originally founded in 1868, as Pacific Life Insurance Company and established to provide life insurance products, annuities, and mutual funds. In addition, the company offers a range of investment products as well as services to individuals, businesses, and pension plans. The company, Pacific Life numbers more than half of the largest one hundred United States companies as clients and is also a member of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA). The Insurance Marketplace Standards Association is known for its promotion of high ethical standards in the selling of individual life insurance policies and annuities.
- Insurance Company Affected By Court
Maryland Condo Insurance Strongly Affected By Court
An unexpected court decision has been made in Maryland regarding a disputed $6,400 in damages over a Maryland townhouse that has reversed 26 years of normal industry practice, and that has left agents, insurers, lawmakers and condominium associations confused as who is liable when individual units in a complex are damaged.
For over 26 years Maryland insurance agents have used a basic concept to write condo and condo-association policies, the standard being that when there is a loss, association policies are to pay to restore damaged condo units to their original state. This meant that unit owners would then have to purchase additional coverage to cover any improvements that had been made to the condo, examples being more expensive countertops. Since Maryland revised its condo act in 198, this has been the standard employed.
This April however, this was all changed when Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that the insurance policy held by a condo association is not obliged to pay for damages to individual units. The standard set 26 years ago was established as the bases for the insurance industry practice in the state. Insurers say that this decision has a massive implication.
This is not a simple matter. What insurers and lawmakers specifically want is gain a legislative solution that more concretely defines what gets covered by a condo association and what by individual unit owners. This however, will not be possible until early 2009, which is the next time the General Assembly will be meeting.
Until this occurs, condo insurers have all agreed to continue operating in accordance with the old rules.
To work out what is in essence a gentleman's agreement as to how condo insurance will operate until the legislature reconvenes, insurers, agents, lawmakers and condo groups have begun holding town hall type meetings.
Until that time, it will be a wait-and-see situation for the insurance industry and condo interests, what Jason Ernest, who is the vice president of the Insurance Agents and Brokers of Maryland, calls a long summer.
This is also referred to as the Tuckerman case based on a decision by the Court of Special Appeals that concentrates on two separate claims made under two different policies that were issued by the Pennsylvania-base Erie Insurance Exchange.
- Insurance for Small Retail Stores
Whether your business is selling jewelry or garden plants, bicycles or lingerie, retail establishments typically have some features in common. For one, they usually have inventory that needs to be protected from physical perils, such as fire or theft. They also have a good deal of store traffic from the general public, raising the risk of third-party bodily injury claims.
Generally, the most cost effective and efficient way to provide property and liability insurance for your small retail business is with a Businessowners Policy (BOP) specifically tailored to small retail stores. Though marketed under a variety of names, policies will typically have provisions similar to the property insurance and liability insurance sections of the BOP, with the option to add various other coverages that you may need.
Property coverage
The BOP covers real estate your business owns. If your store rents or leases its premises, the BOP provides coverage, in the event of a covered cause of loss, for tenants' improvements and betterments. These are fixtures, alterations, installations, or additions that you have put into the space that cannot legally be removed from the landlord’s premises.
The BOP insures your other business property (in addition to real estate) and your inventory. The policy recognizes that many retailers experience seasonal variations in value. For the majority, Christmas is the big selling season, but for others, the biggest season may be summer. The BOP accommodates seasonally fluctuating inventory value with an automatic 25 percent increase in your policy limit for business personal property, which includes inventory. The seasonal escalator applies only if you have insured business personal property to at least 100 percent of your average monthly values during either the 12 months preceding the loss or the period of time you have been in business as of the date of the loss, whichever is less.
The higher your inventory’s value, the more attractive a target it is for thieves. Risk management can help reduce this risk, but can never entirely eliminate it. To protect from potential losses, you will probably wish to add Burglary and Robbery Coverage to your BOP. Employee dishonesty is another risk for which you can add protection. The BOP already covers your risk of accepting bogus money orders and counterfeit money, although you may want to add higher limits.
Depending on the nature of your retail business, other coverages that may be appropriate to add include:
o Spoilage.
o Food Contamination.
o Mechanical Breakdown.
- What is a universal life insurance quote?
Universal life insurance is a protection policy for your dependents in the event of your death. Unlike regular life insurance, it is much more flexible. There are several reasons why you should consider applying for a universal life insurance quote. Most importantly, a universal life insurance quote will give you an understanding of the costs and benefits of taking out universal life insurance. These include earning market rates of interest on the cash value account. It also allows you to borrow or withdraw money from the policy. There are also several limitations to this type of account which you should consider.
- What’s excluded in a home insurance New York policy?
These are the items excluded in a home insurance New York policy. You need to make special mention of these items if you want them to be covered in your home insurance New York policy: earthquake, floods, pet damage, damage by birds, rodents and insects, pollution damage, water damage resulting from flood or sewer backup, deliberate damage you do to your own or someone else's property by vandalism, normal wear and tear, war. This is a long list of exclusions and you are advised to discuss these fully your home insurance New York insurance agent before you sign anything.
- I defaulted on my mortgage payment – what now?
The last thing you want to do is to think about losing your home because you failed to make a couple of payments.
