YOU MUST ASK QUESTIONS WHEN BUYING LIFE INSURANCE

Update January 16, 2012  There is nothing easy about buying life insurance because there are so many different types of life insurance and each policy -- and each company -- can have different rules, costs, terms, conditions and what the rest of us call "fine print."  So you must ask questions, and compare policies.  Sometimes you might not keep a policy for more than a few years -- so what happens?  Are there surrender charges, what happens to interest that is paid, what about commissions, when does a policy take effect, when does it lapse if you fail to make payments, do you need a physical exam, and on and on.

Certified Financial Planner introduced me to a consumer who was attracted to a whole life policy because it was supposed to pay him 7% interest on his money.  But Gilder found out that the forecast of 7% interest was not true, and he suggested that the consumer take a lower cost term insurance policy which would have given the consumer more protection at a much lower cost -- leaving the consumer more money to save and invest on his own.

There is a time when a whole life policy or universal policy is best, and there is a time when a term policy is best.  Each individual has to make this decision, but you must make an informed decision.  Contact a professional so you fully understand the differences among insurance policies and the benefits and liabilities of each kind of insurance.

Brian Gilder is with Gilder Financial Services in Beverly Hills and you can call him at 310-804-3767 or www.BrianGilder.com for information.  Our Best Buys TV Show report is below.

HOLIDAY 2011 SPECIAL FOR "THE LIFE LINK SAFE"

Update December 1, 2011  On this page, below, is our Best Buys TV Show report on "The Life Link Safe" which not only helps you organize your family records -- financial and medical and historical -- but also gives you an easy way to take them with you in case you have to evacuate your home.  For this holiday season, The Life Link Safe has a special sale price.  For this holiday speical when you buy one Life Link Safe including the hardware and computer program for $29.95 you will also get one free.  That's two for the price of one -- so with the price of one Life Link Safe you can give one to both sets of inlaws. 

The Life Link Safe comes as a three-piece set with a 2g "Emergency" flash drive, a keychain, and a presentation box.  Order at www.LifeLinkSafe.com and see our Best Buys TV Show report below.  This is a great and practical stocking stuffer.

LIFE INSURANCE WHEN YOU OWN YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Update September 28, 2011  If you've spent years -- or your whole lifetime -- building a business you know about the importance of insurance.  Of course you need business insurance including liability insurance but you also need life insurance.  Life Insurance?  Of course, because you will want your business to live on even after you pass.  And without life insurance your family -- your heirs -- could be unable to pay the estate taxes on that fine business you built up and made so valuable from your years of hard work.

Bruce Weinstein, a financial services professional with the Fraser Financial Group in Beverly Hills, told me that "the toughest part of owning a small business may be deciding when and how to hand it down to the next generation intact and healthy."  And he says Fraser Financial Group "can show you how life insurance can provide the money to help pay your estate taxes and achieve a smoother, easier transition."

For generations many families have thought that life insurance was needed for the father and husband -- and traditionally men were the chief breadwinner.  But today, in many families, women are the main breadwinner as well as the owners and chief executives of their own businesses.  And because of that change, it is more important for women to properly plan for the future with life insurance.  Bruce Weinstein told me that he specializes in working with women business owners for life insurance and other personal and business insurance needs.

Weinstein also helps women business owners with retirement plan services, disability income insurance, long term care insurance and annuities.

Contact Bruce Weinstein at the Fraser Financial Group at 8383 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 600, Beverly Hills, California. 

Call 323-965-6300 exty. 399 or go to www.financialguide.com/bruce-weinstein for information.  CA Insurance License #0796384

SAVE MONEY IN THE "CAR INSURANCE WAR"

A car insurance price war is raging in California -- and if you don't know that it's because you haven't shopped around for a lower auto insurance quote.  But Mario Sood, who is an independent insurance broker and represents about 90 different insurance companies with no particular allegiance to any company, cautions that a lower priced auto insurance policy might be full of loopholes that could cost you dearly should you have an accident.  He says some of the new cheaper insurance policies do not allow anyone else but the original car owner and policyholder to drive the car.  There are also restrictions and severe limitations on the amount of insurance and what is covered by insurance.  And Sood also warns that some consumers are being tricked into thinking that the "medical payments" part of their car insurance policies is also "health insurance" and it certainly is not.

Mario Sood's insurance office is called D-Zone Insurance Services and it has offices in both Southern and Northern California.  In the Los Angeles area, D-Zone Insurance Services is at 17208 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys.  Call (818) 609-8691 or go to www.dzoneinsurance.com for information.

In Elk Grove, California D-Zone Insurance Services is at 8106 Sheldon Road, #100.  Call (916) 544-5111 or go to www.dzoneinsurance.com for information.   D-Zone Insurance Services offers a full range of insurance products and because it is an independent insurance broker it can shop around for the best products.  California License # 0827141.  Our TV report is below.