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Sweet, sweet summertime! We love spending time outdoors during this time of year, especially with our furry friends. While you’re enjoying the sunshine, keep a close eye on your pet—the heat may affect your fur baby more than you realize! Here are some tips to make sure your pets are protected from the intense summer sun.

Life insurance should be a part of everyone's financial plan. Whether you are young and healthy or more seasoned with a family, life insurance offers peace of mind and protection for your loved ones. While it may not be comfortable to think about our inevitable death, as the old saying goes, the only thing certain about life is death and taxes!

Congratulations, you have successfully completed and submitted your life insurance application! So, what’s next? There’s a lot that goes into buying life insurance and many times, a life insurance medical exam is one of those items. Like any exam, being prepared can help eliminate those exam-day jitters. Your exam results will help an insurer determine if you qualify for a life insurance policy and if so, how much the final premium may cost you.

As a young adult, there are endless demands for your limited funds . . . rent/mortgage, student loans, homeowners/renters insurance, auto insurance, utilities . . . the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, you've got to get used to it, because those demands are all part (one of the bad parts!) of being a responsible adult. Other parts of adulthood include ensuring you're protected financially if you're unable to work and protecting your family members from bills upon your death.

You probably think disability and death aren't topics you need to concern yourself with at this age. However, plenty of us think that same way and unfortunately are proven very wrong.

You've walked down the aisle. You've said your I dos. You've enjoyed your honeymoon. Now life starts settling down as Mr. and Mrs. But before you get too comfortable, let’s talk about the thing no one wants to talk about—life insurance.

It may sound a little morbid, especially considering you've just enjoyed some of the best moments of your life, but as difficult and unsettling as the topics are, death and life insurance must be addressed. Joining two lives as one presents the perfect opportunity for you and your spouse to discuss what would happen if one of you died prematurely. 

You should put a plan in place, and here’s how you can do it.

Life insurance is a complex topic that takes many different considerations into mind. First, you need to figure out what the appropriate amount of coverage is for you. Next you must determine what type of policy fits your needs. Many types of life insurance policies offer various add-ons, also known as "riders," that may be tacked on to your policy to provide you with additional benefits. 

Not all life insurance riders make sense for every individual and not all policies provide every type of rider. Check out our list below for some of the most common riders today. Are any of them appropriate for you?

Although most people don’t like to think about it, getting life insurance is an important decision for you and your family. Buying life insurance now helps protect 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 and other loan payments, college tuition, and other expenses.

Figuring out how much life insurance you need doesn't have to become an extensive mathematical equation that you can't easily solve. As we know, life happens. What does that mean for you? As you reach different milestones in your life, you will need to determine if that requires you to increase your life insurance coverage. Let's say you receive a substantial pay raise, now your family will rely on that extra income to cover a larger portion of expenses. This is a great example of when you would want to reevaluate your life insurance coverage amount. 

According to LIMRA, as many as 132 million Americans rely on life insurance to protect their financial security. However, 30% of Americans know they need more life insurance. That’s more than 70 million people! So, why aren’t individuals purchasing the coverage that they need? Many consumers feel that life insurance, in general, is very expensive and confusing, and while this can be true, it’s important to educate yourself on the different types of coverage that are available and know what policy is right for you so that you aren’t paying for unnecessary benefits.

As a parent, you always want the best for your child. Safety and financial security is a number one priority and up until now, you think you've managed to do exactly what you should do to guarantee that. You have a strong life insurance policy for your family that covers the expenses that will ensure your child's financial well-being in the event of your death. But is that enough?