Life insurance

A policy you can use while you're still here.

Most people think life insurance only pays when you're gone. The ones I write can pay you during a serious illness, which is when the money is actually needed.

Text me about life coverage Or call 774-571-7487

The part nobody explains

Living benefits, in plain English.

A term policy with living benefits has riders attached that let you access a portion of your own death benefit as cash, while you're alive, if you're diagnosed with something serious.

Three situations can trigger it:

Critical illness Conditions such as life-threatening cancer, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, major organ failure, ALS and advanced dementia. The exact list is set by the rider.

Chronic illness Generally means you can't perform two of the six activities of daily living for an extended period, or you need substantial supervision due to severe cognitive impairment. Chronic accelerates at a lower rate than critical or terminal, usually paid out over time.

Terminal illness A physician certifies a life expectancy of roughly twelve months or less.

The 15 conditions that can trigger a critical illness claim

Invasive life-threatening cancer
Stroke
Major heart attack
End stage renal failure
Major organ transplant
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Blindness due to diabetes
Paralysis of two or more limbs
Major burns
Coma
Aplastic anemia
Benign brain tumor
Aortic aneurysm
Heart valve replacement
Coronary artery bypass graft surgery

In California the cancer condition is defined as invasive or metastatic cancer. Each condition has a precise definition in the policy rider, and the definition in your contract is what governs a claim — not this list and not any summary of it. I will put the actual rider language in front of you before you sign anything.

Depending on the carrier's rider, up to 90% of the death benefit can be accessed for a critical or terminal claim. That money pays the deductible, the mortgage, the treatment your network won't cover, or simply replaces the income that stopped.

Which riders are offered, and exactly what they cover, depends on the carrier and on your state. I'll confirm what applies where you live before you sign anything.

Straight about the trade-off

Taking the money early: what it costs you.

This is the part that usually gets skipped, so here it is up front.

Taking money early reduces what your beneficiaries receive. It's your death benefit, paid sooner. It is not extra money on top.
The maximum percentage differs by carrier, by which illness triggered it, and by state.
Some riders reduce the payment by an actuarial discount and an administrative fee.
Accelerated benefits may be taxable and may affect eligibility for programs like Medicaid.
Every qualifying condition has a precise definition in the contract. The rider governs the claim, not any summary including this one.

I'll show you the actual rider language for whatever policy you're considering before you sign anything. If a rider is weak, I'd rather you know.

The lineup

Term is where most people land. It's not where everyone should.

Here's the whole shelf, plainly, so you can see what fits before we talk. Every one of these gets priced on the call.

Term life with living benefits

The workhorse

Coverage window10 to 30 years, you pick
Living benefitsIncluded where offered, no extra premium
Face amounts, simplified$25,000 to $300,000
Larger amountsYes, with full underwriting
Health questionsYes; often no exam or labs
Built forIncome replacement

The default for young families and anyone whose paycheck is the plan. Level premiums for the window you pick, and the living benefits above ride along at no cost. Some carriers include conversion to permanent coverage later without new health questions; I'll tell you which before you sign.

Mortgage protection

Term, sized to the house

What it isTerm matched to your mortgage
Term lengthMatched to the loan, 10 to 30 years
Living benefitsIncluded where offered
Home takes $25,000+ in damage6-month premium waiver, select carriers
You lose your job6-month premium waiver, select carriers

Not a different product, a smarter way to size term: the house gets paid off if you're not here to pay it. The damage and unemployment waivers are built into the carrier I write most, and the living benefits mean a serious illness doesn't take the house either.

Indexed universal life

Permanent · cash value

TypePermanent, flexible premiums
Cash valueCan grow with a market index
Down market yearsCrediting never goes below zero
Above zeroNot guaranteed, market-dependent
Issue ages18 to 75
Living benefitsIncluded where offered

The permanent option with an engine in it: premium flexibility and index-linked cash value you can borrow against later. The honest catch, stated up front: the floor is zero, zero is not a return, and the death benefit runs on minimum-premium protection for 20 years or to age 80, whichever comes first, then continues on a non-guaranteed basis. If someone shows you an IUL illustration full of big numbers, bring it to me and I'll show you which lines are contract and which are hope.

Whole life for final expenses

Permanent · ages 45 to 85

TypeWhole life, smaller face amounts
Face amounts$2,000 to $50,000
PremiumsNever increase
BenefitNever decreases; holds to age 100, then pays out
Medical examNone, health questions only
Above $20,000Full benefit from day one

For making sure the final costs land on the insurance company instead of the family. Premiums set once and never rising, and the policy can't be canceled as long as they're paid. There's a one-time option to access the benefit early on a terminal diagnosis or a nursing home confinement past 90 days; the policy's own terms govern it and I'll walk you through the exact language before you decide anything.

Which one is you

Pick your situation. I'll pressure-test it on the call.

People depend on your income. If your paycheck stopped tomorrow, the mortgage, the groceries and the car payment wouldn't stop with it. Term life replaces those years of income, so the people you leave behind get time to grieve instead of a deadline to figure it out. Sized right, it also covers what you were planning to put toward your kids' college. This is most people, and it's the most protection per dollar on this page.

The mortgage is the thing that keeps you up at night. Here's the version nobody wants to picture: the income is gone, the payment isn't, and the house goes on the market in the worst year of your family's life. Mortgage protection is term matched to the loan, so the balance gets cleared and nobody has to sell a home they can't afford to keep.

You want coverage that lasts and builds something underneath it. Indexed universal life, eyes open. Permanent coverage with cash value you can borrow against later. Read the card above twice; the catch is stated in it.

You're 45 to 85 and you want the final costs handled. A funeral runs into the thousands, and somebody pays it either way — a policy, or the people you left behind. Whole life for final expenses means the bill is covered and nobody is passing a hat or starting a GoFundMe. No exam, premiums that never move, done.

Plenty of people end up mixing two of these: term for the income years, a small whole life policy underneath for the final costs. That's a fifteen-minute conversation.

Most policies I write use simplified or non-medical underwriting. Health questions on the application, often no exam or labs, depending on the case and carrier. Approval is not guaranteed and depends on underwriting.

The wrong answer is the one somebody sold you without asking about your life.

Text me about life coverage

Health conditions

Not perfectly healthy? I can still help you.

Every application asks health questions and the carrier's underwriting makes the final call. Here's what different situations typically look like, so nothing surprises you.

Managed conditions. Blood pressure, cholesterol, controlled diabetes, a prescription or two: cases like these get placed all the time, often on the simplified no-exam paths. The carrier and the rate class depend on the details, and I'll pick the carrier where your answers fit.

Diabetes specifically. Some carriers have non-medical paths built for diabetics, with their own questionnaire and their own coverage limits. A number quoted at application can shift after underwriting on these, so I'll tell you what's firm and what isn't before you count on anything.

Tobacco isn't one question. Carriers define it differently: with one, an occasional cigar can still count as non-tobacco; with another, any nicotine in the last 12 months moves your class and your price. Tell me exactly what you use and I'll pick the carrier where it costs you least.

Recent serious history. A cancer diagnosis inside the last year, a recent stroke, a major heart event: the standard products above usually aren't the path yet. There are still options, including coverage types with no health questions at all. Smaller amounts, different pricing, honest conversation.

Tell me the situation and let me work it. Between what's on this page, the guaranteed issue routes and the marketplace, I have access to all the options, and there's almost always something I can do for you. Underwriting still decides and approval is never guaranteed. Finding the carrier where your answers fit is my job, not yours to figure out.

Text me your situation

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