Buying life insurance now provides a financial safety net for your dependents later if you’re not around to take care of them. After you’re gone, your family can use the proceeds to cover funeral costs, mortgage payments, college tuition and other expenses.

​There are two main types of life insurance:
Term Life Insurance is the easiest to understand and has the lowest prices. You can get term life insurance quotes online.
 
Permanent Insurance is more complex and tends to cost more than term, but it offers additional benefits. Whole life is the most well-known and simplest form of permanent life insurance. Other kinds of permanent life insurance include universal, variable and variable universal.
 
Term life insurance
Term life insurance provides coverage for a certain time period. If you have a term policy and die within the term, your beneficiaries receive the payout. The policy has no other value.
 
You choose the term when you buy the policy. Common terms are 10, 20 or 30 years. With most policies, the payout, called the death benefit, and the cost, or premium, stay the same throughout the term.
 
When you shop for term life:
-Choose a term that coincides with the years you’ll be paying the bills and want life insurance coverage in case you die early.
-Buy an amount your family would need if you were no longer there to provide for them. The payout could replace your income and help your family pay for services you perform now, such as child care.
 
Ideally, your family’s need for life insurance will end around the time the term expires: Your kids will be on their own, you’ll have paid off your house, and you’ll have plenty of money in savings to serve as a financial safety net.

​Whole life insurance
Like all permanent life insurance policies, whole life provides lifelong coverage and includes an investment component known as the policy’s cash value. The cash value grows slowly, tax-deferred, meaning you won’t pay taxes on its gains while they’re accumulating.
 
You can borrow money against the account or surrender the policy for the cash. But if you don’t repay policy loans with interest, you’ll reduce your death benefit, and if you surrender the policy, you’ll no longer have coverage.
 
Although it’s more complicated than term life insurance, whole life is the most straightforward form of permanent life insurance. Here’s why:
-The premium remains the same for as long as you live
-The death benefit is guaranteed
-The cash value account grows at a guaranteed rate
Some whole life policies can also earn annual dividends, a portion of the insurer’s financial surplus. You can take the dividends in cash, leave them on deposit to earn interest or use them to decrease your premium, repay policy loans or buy additional coverage. Dividends are not guaranteed.

​The term "vision insurance" is commonly used to describe health and wellness plans designed to reduce your costs for routine preventive eye care and prescription eyewear such as eyeglasses and contact lenses. Some vision plans also offer discounts on elective vision correction surgery, such as LASIK and PRK.
 
You can get vision insurance in one of two ways: as a standalone plan or as combined with your dental plan.
 
Going to the doctor, going to the dentist—all part of taking care of your health. But going to the eye doctor? Also important! Eye exams at every age and life stage can help keep your vision strong. Many people think their eyesight is just fine, but then they get that first pair of glasses or contact lenses and the world comes into clearer view—everything from fine print to street signs.

​Only Your Eye Doctor Knows for Sure
Eye diseases are common and can go unnoticed for a long time—some have no symptoms at first. A comprehensive dilated eye exam by an optometrist or ophthalmologist (eye doctor) is necessary to find eye diseases in the early stages when treatment to prevent vision loss is most effective.
 
During the exam, visual acuity, depth perception, eye alignment, and eye movement are tested. Eye drops are used to make your pupils larger so your eye doctor can see inside your eyes and check for signs of health problems. Your eye doctor may even spot other conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, sometimes before your primary care doctor does.
 
Vision Care Can Change Lives
Early treatment is critically important to prevent some common eye diseases from causing permanent vision loss or blindness:
-Cataracts (clouding of the lens), the leading cause of vision loss in the United States
-Diabetic retinopathy (causes damage to blood vessels in the back of the eye), the leading cause of blindness in American adults
-Glaucoma (a group of diseases that damages the optic nerve)
-Age-related macular degeneration (gradual breakdown of light-sensitive tissue in the eye)

​Why get a vision insurance plan?
-Protect your eye health. Routine vision care may not be covered by your health plan.
-Save money. A vision insurance plan may reduce your out-of-pocket costs for eye care.
-Maximize benefits. Receive discounts on vision expenses like glasses or even LASIK.
-Get personalized service.
 
The two popular Vision Insurance Carriers in California are VSP and Humana.

HMO - Health Maintenance Organization
An HMO is a type of health insurance plan that usually limits coverage to care from doctors who work for or contract with the HMO. It generally won't cover out-of-network care except in an emergency. An HMO may require you to live or work in its service area to be eligible for coverage. You will usually need a referral from your Primary Care Physician to see a Specialist, resulting in multiple co-pays. All healthcare services are managed in-network through your Primary Care Physician.​

​In California, the popular HMOs are Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health Plus, Western Health Advantage, Health Net of California, Sharp Health Plan, LA Care, Molina Healthcare, and Valley Health Plan.

PPO - Preferred Provider Organization
A PPO is a type of health plan that contracts with medical providers, such as hospitals and doctors, to create a network of participating providers. You pay less if you use providers that belong to the plan’s network. You can use doctors, hospitals, and providers outside of the network for an additional cost. PPOs do not require you to select a Primary Care Physician. One of the benefits of a PPO is you usually can self-refer to a Specialist.
 
In California, the popular PPOs are Blue Shield of California, Health Net Life Insurance Company, and Oscar.

EPO - Exclusive Provider Organization
A managed care plan where services are covered only if you go to doctors, specialists, or hospitals in the plan’s network (except in an emergency). Under an EPO plan you do not choose a Primary Care Physician. You can receive care from any of the in-network doctors and self-refer to in-network specialists.
 
In California, the popular EPOs are Anthem Blue Cross, Health Net Life Insurance Company, and Oscar.

A change in your situation — like getting married, having a baby, or losing health coverage — that can make you eligible for a Special Enrollment Period, allowing you to enroll in health insurance outside the yearly Open Enrollment Period.
 
There are 4 basic types of qualifying life events. (The following are examples, not a full list.)
 
Loss of health coverage

• Losing existing health coverage, including job-based, individual, and student plans
• Losing eligibility for Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP
• Turning 26 and losing coverage through a parent’s plan

 
Changes in household

• Getting married or divorced
• Having a baby or adopting a child
• Death in the family

 
Changes in residence

• Moving to a different ZIP code or county
• A student moving to or from the place they attend school
• A seasonal worker moving to or from the place they both live and work
• Moving to or from a shelter or other transitional housing

 
Other qualifying events

• Changes in your income that affect the coverage you qualify for
• Gaining membership in a federally recognized tribe or status as an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Corporation shareholder
• Becoming a U.S. citizen
• Leaving incarceration (jail or prison)
• AmeriCorps members starting or ending their service

​https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/qualifying-life-event/

At your first appointment, you’re required to have:

• A current health plan identification card
• A driver’s license, or another form of photo identification

 
The following lists will help the doctor get to know you and learn about your health care needs. While sharing personal health issues can be embarrassing, the more information you give, the better equipped the doctor will be to keep you healthy.
 
Before the day of your appointment, write down this information to bring with you:

• The names of your prescriptions, over-the-counter medication and vitamins. You may also bring them with you
• Your health history, including chronic conditions and illnesses and previous surgeries
• The names and phone numbers of any specialty doctors

 
With your written permission, your doctor can get a copy of your medical records from your previous doctor. The physician’s office will provide the forms for you to sign.
 
It’s often hard to remember what you want to ask the doctor. Here’s a list of questions to get you started:

• What’s the best way to contact you when I have a question?
• What’s the best way to get a prescription refilled?
• How far in advance will I need to call for an appointment?
• Where should I go if I need urgent or emergency care?

 
Want to know what your health plan covers before your appointment? Send me an email (george@gbeachinsurance.com) and I will review your policy with you. You can even text me at 209-353-2330.