So who needs Disability, Life, Critical Illness and Long Term Care Insurance anyway?
Every minute of every day, somewhere you can get an update of the local and worldwide stock markets and commentary of how they are doing. We constantly hear about the doom and gloom that is being thrust upon us by a 1% decline followed by the exuberance of a 1% increase in the stock markets. No wonder the vast majority of us not working working in the investment field get confused and worried about our financial security.
A majority of my clients are Physicians, work long hours doing demanding work, making life and death decisions daily. They are bombarded 24/7 with financial news, and advertisements that assure them of the pot of gold by placing their investment here or there.
The investment community, the sizzle in the financial planning world, look at how much of your income they can take and place in their investments. Most often, this advise is given with little or no consultation for the need for insurance, the basics of a firm foundation on which to build that future financial success. Their advice is that if you really think you need insurance, just get the cheapest thing you can find as your investments will take care of you. In an ideal world, that may be true if you live long enough and stay healthy. What about the 38 year old Cardiologist who has a stroke. When she finishes her rehabilitation, she can never work to the same level she did before even though she still had student debts, to say nothing of her new mortgage...how is that investment adviser going to help her then? What about the young family doctor who recently opened his practice and has just had a severe skiing accident that places him in a wheel chair for 18 months while he goes through extensive rehabilitation? What about the Radiologist who died in a car accident...how does her family survive on the limited funds that she has accumulated? How about the Urologist who wants to retire in 10 years and is diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer that has metastasized in other parts of his body and he now knows how limited his time is? These are actual examples of what clients of mine have been through and thank goodness they listened to me.
Properly constructed insurance programs for Life, Disability, Critical Illness and Long-Term Care are the bedrock of your financial security and are the least expensive way to secure that. Don’t fall prey to any other advice about how unnecessary insurance is, because it just isn’t true and common sense will confirm that.