If you haven’t considered long term care issues during retirement, then your financial planner most likely has neglected a very important aspect of your plan. We can help.

Most planners consider retirement income needs, needs for housing, food, travel and  health care needs. Those plans are usually well developed. You even may have considered the value of leaving a legacy for your family, your church, alma mater, civic organization or community. The economic crisis may have you concerned about realizing all of your goals and obligations, which means that now is a great time to reassess.

Even though your assets have been diminished with recent economic crisis, now is a good time to assess the value of long term care insurance along with your other considerations. Long term care insurance protects your retirement nest egg from the significant financial drain that long term care expenses can impose.

Long term care insurance covers expenses for caring for someone who can’t perform normal daily routines, like eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (walking) and continence. The issue relates to the costs, which can be upwards of $100,000 per year, and which would rapidly diminish most retirement assets that otherwise would be used by a spouse or for establishing that legacy we talked about.

The issues are very real. They can be complex. Even your financial planner may need some support. We’re happy to work with financial specialists to help them understand the value of long term care planning.

Meanwhile, please consider long term care in your retirement planning. Ask one of the Haas brothers for their ideas about the issue. Not only are they educated and experienced with the challenges, they offer strong connections to the professionals advisors you may need to help with your overall retirement plans.

Start with even the smallest life policy, say $10,000 coverage. It won’t cost much, and you might enjoy the peace of mind.

Call or stop-in and we’ll put a policy together for you with the least possible hassle. We can take an application in as little as twenty minutes. Visit out contact page fo info on how to reach any one of our experts at The Haas Agency.

• A permanent policy provides cash value that can be borrowed against or withdrawn, if needed
• Cash value grows tax free
• Cash value in a life policy is not counted by FASFA when determining financial aid for college
• Insuring anyone while there healthy is a good idea, because their health condition could change
• The unthinkable is possible and having some funds to cover final expenses and bereavement is worth considering
• Life insurance is a truly thoughtful and loving gift

Life insurance for children is a good idea worth considering. A permanent policy, like whole or universal life, is the right type of insurance for a child.

The conversations started a thought process about a product that would insure against market losses. It would work like this; if the market went down significantly you would not lose any money because the insurance you purchased would put the ‘paper” loss back in your account. I bet you would have some interest in that product today!

While that product does not exist, other products do exist that make people whole when there is a loss. Those products put people back into the exact same position they were in the second before the loss occurred. The plans they had for their family, their businesses and themselves come to completion just as they had planned. These products don’t have really sexy names, they’re all pretty basic like auto insurance, home and renters insurance and life insurance. Stuff no one really wants to talk about until there is a loss and when people want to go back to the way it used to be, just before the tragedy happened.

Hindsight is 20/20 if we knew then what we know now, would we make better decisions? Now is the perfect time to make sure your hopes, dreams and plans for the future happen no matter what losses occur. The Haas Agency’s Peace of Mind Conversation is the perfect place to start. Call us today to schedule your web conference at 860-659-1301 or 203-746-5077.

There are countless reasons why people buy life insurance. Here ten really good ones:

1. Protect the people you love most from catastrophic financial loss of income
2. Provide child care or elder-care, if the primary caregiver passes away and spouse or other potential caregivers must continue working or are geographically remote
3. Provide a vehicle to save for education, home purchase or retirement with a reasonable tax free rate of return
4. Pay final expenses and personal loans that would be otherwise unaffordable
5. Offset at least a little of the emotional pain from loss of a loved one
6. Show that you care about your wife and family
7. Show your community that you behave wisely and responsibly
8. Allow business partner beneficiaries to buy out economic business interests of a deceased business partner
9. Entice a highly valued employee to join your company or stay on-board
10. Protect your loved ones, even when you change jobs or lose employment for a period of time

When you’re ready to explore your life insurance options, please contact The Haas Agency.

I wonder about these things all the time. (I know it’s strange, but it’s my job).

In short, you will serve your best interests with a contractor by asking him or her for a current certificate of liability insurance — and workers compensation insurance, if he has employees. The certificate should be signed by th econtractor’s insurance agent. The contractor simply needs to contact his agent, and ask him or her to send the certificate to you. This approach is better than receiving a copy of the certificate from the contractor directly.

The long answer to the question is that in Connecticut, your homeowners policy covers any act of negligience on your part that would cause injury to another party, including the contractor.

Outside of your negligience, however, the policy does not cover the contractor or his employees. A conscientious contractor should have the following:

• General liability insurance to protect you from damage that the contractor could do to you or to your property. For example, what if he started an accidental fire? Your homeowners would cover the damage, but your insurance company eventually would seek damages from the contractor.
• Workers compensation insurance for his employees
• Optional workers compensation insurance, disabilty income, life and/or health insurance for himself

The world of hiring contractors is more complex than most people realize. This creates challenges and opporutnities for contractors with regard to price and value. Generally, the most professional and reliable contractors will have all of the types of insurance described, and they will be happy to discuss insurance issues with you. 

By the way, the contractor should also provide you with a written estimate and a time bound contract with a warranty for workmanship. You might consult your attorney to learn more about this issue.

If you would like an expert opinion at anytime about how to protect yourself in situations involving contractors, just call The Haas Agency, and we’ll be happy to help.