Failing This Quiz Is Bad for Your Financial Health

I spend time visiting and reading various financial websites and blogs to see what's up in the world of personal finance. Most of the time I see good advice being offered on these sites and blogs, although from time to time I do run across bits of “wisdom” that make me go "Hmmm"...But on the whole, I think they serve an important service: They get people to think about their insurance and financial lives in a way they might not have done before. The following article is an example of a smart people sharing smart information:

Long-term financial health encompasses a lot more than just making sure you’re saving smartly for retirement. Decisions you make—or fail to make—about how you safeguard your future with proper amounts of financial protection are also important. The type and amount of insurance you have now—from life to health to disability to long-term care, and even auto—impacts the amount money you’ll have for retirement.

Imagine, for example, what a protracted illness would do to your finances over the long term if you didn’t have in place the right kind of health insurance or disability insurance coverage (if that illness left you unable to work). Here-and-now insurance decisions can make a lasting mark on your financial future—for good or bad.

A smart thing for you to do is take the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ online Insurance Intelligence Quiz and test your knowledge. Most who have taken the quiz have gotten a failing grade on it! See how you stack up.

Once you get your score, be sure to follow through and educate yourself on the questions you got wrong. Lifehappens.org has a wide range of information to help you make smart insurance decisions, and a great place to start is with the Insurance 101 videos. It’s easy: Just sit back, relax and let the experts explain it to you.

Insurance Fundamentals
Life Insurance 101
Auto Insurance 101
Homeowners Insurance 101
Health Insurance 101
Disability Insurance 101
Long-term Care Insurance 101

Put yourself ahead of the majority of Americans by making informed insurance decisions. It’s a smart thing to do for your financial future.

April 9th, 2010
by Maggie Leyes, Communications Consultant, LIFE Foundation

Why the growing interest in annuities?

As the first quarter came to a close, Farmers Life Insurance experienced a dramatic increase in sales of traditional annuities. Through March 31, Farmers customers have placed more than $14.3 million in new annuities so far this year, up from $9.5 million in the same period last year.

Annuities provide customers with competitive interest rates in a low-interest-rate economy. Five-year certificates of deposit currently yield an average of less than 2.6%. Even ten-year Treasuries, which carry some investment risk, yield less than 3.9%(1). In this environment, annuities offer attractive current interest rates and guaranteed minimum interest rates, backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of Farmers Life.

Annuities also offer unique advantages – as the NAIC explains, “Annuities are most often bought for future retirement income. Only an annuity can pay an income that can be guaranteed to last as long as you live.”(2) And the interest credited to annuities in the accumulation phase of the contract accrues tax-deferred, boosting the effective yield. This is especially attractive for higher-income customers who have maximized other tax-advantaged retirement vehicles.(3)

1 Current interest rates obtained March 31, 2010, from Bloomberg.com. 2 Buyer's Guide to Fixed Deferred Annuities, National Association of Insurance Commissioners. 3 This blog is for informational purposes only. You should consult your attorney, accountant or tax adviser for legal or tax advice. Life insurance issued by Farmers New World Life Insurance Company, Mercer Island, Washington 98040. Products and features may not be available in all states and may vary by state.

et tu Brute

“Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.” John 8:7.

Since, my last blog about texting and driving (see Teen drivers ignore anti-texting laws Jan. 5th 2010) I’ve had many good discussions about the hazards of texting while driving. Almost daily I see someone driving and texting. I see this everywhere; on the freeway, school zones, driving through parking garages, it seems people cannot resist the urge to text while in transit. Well today, the reality of Mobile Texters hit home. My wife was driving us to pick up dinner and on a 3 mile trip I saw four people texting while driving. After almost getting clipped by the fourth person turning in front of us while they were texting. I turned to my beautiful wife to complain about the driver when I saw the worst thing imaginable...She too was texting with one hand and driving with her knees and the other hand. Why…WHY!! Is all hope lost?