Health and Life Insurance

Individual and Family Health Insurance (Colorado only)

What is Individual and Family Health insurance?
Health insurance is protection against medical costs. Individual health insurance covers the medical expenses of only one person or family. Health insurance usually provides either direct payment or reimbursement for expenses associated with illnesses and injuries. The cost and range of protection provided by your health insurance will depend on your insurance provider and the particular policy you purchase.

Why would I need health insurance?
Today, health care costs are high, and getting higher. Who will pay your bills if you have a serious accident or a major illness? The right health policy can protect you and your family from health-related financial difficulties. Without the insurance, the cost of hospital and medical care for unexpected illness or medical emergency could be financially devastating.

Short-Term Health Insurance

Short-term health insurance is a low-cost option for a temporary need. It is a temporary medical insurance for 30 - 185 days for people between jobs, laid off, waiting for employers sponsored coverage, recent college graduates, and temporary or seasonal employees. It provides coverage for unexpected illnesses and accidents; pre-existing medical conditions and routine doctor visits aren't covered.

Life Insurance

What is life insurance?
Life insurance is an agreement between you (the insured) and an insurer. Under the terms of a life insurance contract, the insurer promises to pay a certain sum to someone (a beneficiary) when you die, in exchange for your premium payments. Life insurance can be a valuable asset to your mix of insurance coverage, especially if you have loved ones who depend on your income. At the very least, life insurance can cover outstanding debts and funeral costs, which can be significant.

Why would I need life insurance?
The most common reason for buying life insurance is to replace the income lost when you die. When you die, the life insurance proceeds can be used to continue to support the family members you've left behind.

Another common use of life insurance proceeds is to pay off any debts you leave behind. For example, mortgages, car loans, medical bills, and credit card debts are often left unpaid when someone dies. These obligations must be paid from the assets left behind.

Life insurance can create an estate for your heirs. After your debts and expenses are paid, there may not be much left over for your family. Life insurance can automatically provide assets for them after your death. Life insurance provides liquidity to your estate. When you die, you may leave some liquid assets (such as cash, CDs, and savings bonds), and some illiquid assets (such as real estate, an automobile, and stocks). Your liquid assets may not be enough to pay all the debts that you leave behind, plus all the expenses that arise because of your death (such as funeral expenses and estate taxes). Your illiquid assets may have to be sold in order to meet these obligations when they come due if life insurance is not present.

Life insurance is a great way to give to charity when you die. You may have always had a great philanthropic desire, but not the means to make it a reality. Life insurance can do that for you. Life insurance can be a critical component for specialized business applications, such as funding a buy-sell agreement. Under a buy-sell agreement, life insurance can be used to provide cash for the purchase of a deceased owner's interest in the business.

Finally, life insurance can be an investment vehicle. Some types of life insurance policies may actually make money for you, as well as provide the benefits described above. This can help you with long-term financial planning & goals.

Disability Insurance

What is disability insurance?
Disability insurance helps protect you from an interruption of your income due to an accident, illness, or medical emergency. Disability insurance pays benefits when you are unable to earn a living because you are sick or injured, partially or permanently disabled. Like all insurance, disability insurance is designed to protect you against financial disaster. Most disability policies pay you a benefit that replaces part of your earned income (usually 50 to 60 percent) when you can't work.

Why would you need disability insurance?
Your chances of being disabled for longer than three months are much greater than your chances of dying prematurely. One reason for this is that medicine has made many illnesses and injuries treatable that formerly would have killed you. Although this is good news, it increases your need to protect your income with disability insurance.