Insurance Planning

What Insurance Do I Need?

Risk management is one of the six major components of a financial plan. For most clients this means insurance. Having the right insurance can save you from being financially devastated, but being over-insured can be damaging to your financial health. We help clients assess their needs for insurance, recommend types of insurance protection, and periodically review their insurance coverage.

As a client-centered, fee-only financial planning firm, Kahler Financial Group does not sell any insurance products such as annuities or whole life policies; instead we help our clients through sound insurance planning. Our philosophy can summarized as insurance that is necessary, optional, or unnecessary.

Necessary Insurance

• Property and Casualty. This insures autos and real estate against damage and also protects owners against legal action as the result of an accident
• Health Insurance. At Kahler Financial Group, we follow closely the Affordable Care Act and its impact on health insurance costs and coverage. We help clients find affordable ways to cover health care costs as part of their cash flow planning and budgeting.
• Disability Insurance. This often-overlooked coverage is important to protect income earners. For many clients we recommend both short-term and long-term coverage.
• Life Insurance. The purpose of life insurance is to replace earning power, so not everyone needs it. We typically recommend term life insurance, which provides the most coverage at the least cost, for both breadwinners and stay-at-home parents.

Optional Insurance

• Long-term Care Insurance. This can help cover the costs of nursing homes, assisted living, or in-home care. We help clients assess whether this coverage is an appropriate part of their financial plans or whether their net worth is sufficient to cover their long-term needs.
• Umbrella Policies. These serve as asset protection by providing higher liability insurance amounts than are available through auto or homeowner policies.

Unnecessary Insurance

• We rarely suggest cash value or variable life policies, as the investment returns are offset by high commissions and fees. Retired couples with ample net worth and single people with no children may not need life insurance at all.
• We advise against specialized policies like cancer or accident insurance.
• We rarely recommend annuities, which once again are often plagued by high commissions and fees.
• When we do recommend annuities or cash value policies, we usually suggest owning those offered by discount or no-load companies like Vanguard, TIAA-CREF, Jefferson National, or Ameritas.