Category Archives: Life Insurance

Even after death we have to pay bills like mortgages, college tuitions and car payments and that’s one of the reasons we purchase Life Insurance. It protects your family after you’re gone and can give you peace of mind while you’re still walking this good earth.

Life Insurance policies come in two categories: 

Protection policies that pay your family a lump sum when you pass away, covering funeral costs, mortgage payments, college tuitions, monthly bills, etc.

Investment policies that grow capital through the premiums you pay and come in three types:      Whole Life, Universal Life and Variable Life policies.

Whole Life policies protect the insurer with a cash reserve to pay a future death benefit claim.

Universal Life policies offer permanent insurance coverage with more flexibility in premium payments
and the possibility to grow a bigger ‘nest egg’.

Variable Life policies feature a guaranteed death benefit and cash value that can be invested in other accounts.

My life insurance “go-to-guy” is Jody Graber an expert in the field with 25 years of experience and more than 60 insurance companies on his speed dial.  Jody says that since your lifestyle changes every few years, it’s important to review and make adjustments to your life insurance policy accordingly.

“Just because you bought a life insurance policy doesn’t mean you can then forget about it,” Jody says. “Age, health, job, and life changes (like having babies) – all these factors affect your policy which has to be adjusted accordingly. If I’m making $100,000 when I first purchase a life insurance policy and now I’m making $250,000 and something happens to me, I need more coverage.  I buy a house, I have a mortgage, I need more coverage.”

Any life insurance policies that are 2-3 years old, when they run out, the company makes you pay more money, Jody says. If you buy a 20-year term policy, you’re out of luck in the 21^st year. The rates are going to be much higher.

“I see five times higher or better,” Jody says. “So if you bought a policy in 1992 and now it’s up in 2012, the rate increase will be about five times the amount.”

Usually you can’t take a term policy and change it, but your insurance agent can look at other suggestions, programs that are better, like finding a better policy with a different company, Jody says. What’s important to keep in mind is that life is constantly changing and your life insurance policy needs to keep up with your lifestyle.

“The bottom line is that your life insurance policy has to be reviewed,” Jody says. “You want to update it.”

If you don’t have a life insurance policy, now’s the time to talk to your insurance agent about getting the protection you need. At Muller Insurance in Hoboken, our Certified Professional Insurance Agents can assist you in choosing the right life insurance policy that fits you and your family’s lifestyle. Our customer service is highly-rated and many of our customers have long-running relationships with us (see our customer reviews at www.MullerInsurance.com).

 

 

 

About Roger J. Muller, Jr.

Overseeing Muller Insurance’s day-to-day operations and always improving how the company can better serve its clients, Roger J. Muller, Jr. is a Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) with 32 years experience in the insurance industry. He’s a travel agent, Certified Real Estate Appraiser (CREA), Certified Environmental Inspector (CEI), licensed Real Estate Broker and licensed Insurance Agent in the following states: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Maryland, Washington D.C., New Mexico, Arizona, Vermont, Ohio, Delaware, Maine, Georgia, Virginia and New Hampshire. Roger J. Muller, Jr. is a member of Sigma Xi, a lifetime member of the Hudson River Fishing Association, and Shriners-Salam Temple. A graduate of Ramapo College of New Jersey, Muller is a past board member of the Ramapo College Alumni. He has been a member of the Board of the Hoboken Chamber of Commerce since 2000 and served as Vice President in 2010.  He is a New Jersey Notary Public and a member of the Young Insurance Agents, NJ. He is a certified member of  the Hoboken Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) that responds to emergencies like building collapses, flooding and acts of terrorism.