Morrow Insurance and Professional Services

Individual Needs Coverage

"Own Your Future"

Family Protection - In the event of my death, I need to protect my family.

To meet this need, you may be most interested in products that provide a death benefit for your loved ones if something happens to you. And if you're looking for more affordability, consider coverage that is designed for low cost. You also may want to consider features that offer tax advantages - from tax-free death benefits to loans1 you may be able to take against the value of your policy without incurring tax penalties. If you choose to take loans or partial withdrawals, the surrender value and the death benefit payable to your beneficiaries will be reduced.

But remember that neither The Morrow Insurance Agency nor its representatives can give legal or tax advice, so consult your attorney or tax advisor about those issues. If you choose to take loans or partial withdrawals, the surrender value and the death benefit payable to your beneficiaries will be reduced.

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Final Expenses - I need to leave money to pay my final expenses
To meet this need, you may be most interested in products with a death benefit. A death benefit gives your loved ones money - typically, tax-free - that they may use to pay your final expenses in the event of your death.

If the cost of premiums is a concern, you may want to look at coverage that is designed for low cost, while still providing a death benefit that may be sufficient to cover the expenses your family will face when you're gone.

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Children's Education - I need to pay for my kid's education.
To meet this need, you may be most interested in products that provide features that could be used to pay a child's education costs - regardless of whether you're there or not. You may want to consider guaranteed cash value, so that you know a certain amount of money is available, and access to your money, which would let you to use it for tuition and other education expenses.

You also may want to consider market participation, which would give you the potential of seeing the value of your policy increase based on the performance of any investments in your policy. You also may find the tax advantages of various Individual products helpful in funding your child's education - from tax-free death benefits to policy loans without tax penalties.1 Finally, a death benefit feature would give you loved ones the option of paying education costs in the event of your death.

Remember that neither The Morrow Insurance Agency nor its representatives give legal or tax advice, so consult your attorney or tax advisor about those issues.

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Mortgage Protection - I want to leave money to pay off my mortgage when I'm gone.
To meet this need, you may be most interested in products that provide a death benefit and - if affordability is a concern to you - are designed for low cost. You may want to consider the various Individual Needs Coverage products offered by the Morrow Agency in the amount and for the duration of your mortgage. Then, if you die during that period or "term" that the policy is in force, your loved ones have the option of using the policy's death benefit to pay off the mortgage on the family home.

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Long Term Care - I Need to Prepare in Case I Need Long-Term Care
As we get older, it becomes increasingly important to plan for the future-but too many of us simply decide that it'll just be easier to "cross that bridge when we come to it." Successful planning for your long-term living needs should include measures to support a healthy and active lifestyle, but should also include plans for eventual long-term care needs that may arise due to injury, illness, disability, or age.

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Specialty Health and Travel Insurance
Whether your goal is maintaining good health, participating in league sports or traveling around the world, health care insurance should be a top priority. Smart decisions about health and accident medical insurance can provide you with protection and peace of mind in the event of an accidental injury or illness.

The Morrow Insurance Agency offers a wide variety of health insurance, travel insurance and travel-related coverage, group accident medical protection and benefit options to suit all of your health, travel and group accident medical insurance needs. Our accident medical insurance and travel insurance options are available countrywide.

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Maximizing your Estate - No matter your net worth, it's important to have a basic estate plan in place. Such a plan ensures that your family and financial goals are met after you die.

An estate plan has several elements.
They include: a will; assignment of power of attorney; and a living will or healthcare proxy (medical power of attorney). For some people, a trust may also make sense. When putting together a plan, you must be mindful of both federal and state laws governing estates.

Taking inventory of your assets is a good place to start.
Your assets include your investments, retirement savings, insurance policies, and real estate or business interests. Ask yourself three questions: Whom do you want to inherit your assets? Whom do you want handling your financial affairs if you're ever incapacitated? Whom do you want making medical decisions for you if you become unable to make them for yourself?

Everybody needs a will.
A will tells the world exactly where you want your assets distributed when you die. It's also the best place to name guardians for your children. Dying without a will - also known as dying "intestate" - can be costly to your heirs and leaves you no say over who gets your assets. Even if you have a trust, you still need a will to take care of any holdings outside of that trust when you die.

Trusts aren't just for the wealthy.
Trusts are legal mechanisms that let you put conditions on how and when your assets will be distributed upon your death. They also allow you to reduce your estate and gift taxes and to distribute assets to your heirs without the cost, delay, and publicity of probate court, which administers wills. Some also offer greater protection of your assets from creditors and lawsuits.

Discussing your estate plans with your heirs may prevent disputes or confusion.
Inheritance can be a loaded issue. By being clear about your intentions, you help dispel potential conflicts after you're gone.

The federal estate tax exemption - the amount you may leave to heirs free of federal tax - has been rising gradually and will hit $3.5 million in 2009.
Meanwhile, the top estate tax rate is coming down. The estate tax is scheduled to phase out completely by 2010, but only for a year. Unless Congress passes new laws between now and then, the tax will be reinstated in 2011 and you will only be allowed to leave your heirs $1 million tax-free at that time.

You may leave an unlimited amount of money to your spouse tax-free, but this isn't always the best tactic.
By leaving all your assets to your spouse, you don't use your estate tax exemption and instead increase your surviving spouse's taxable estate. That means your children are likely to pay more in estate taxes if your spouse leaves them the money when he or she dies. Plus, it defers the tough decisions about the distribution of your assets until your spouse's death.

There are two easy ways to give gifts tax-free and reduce your estate.
You may give up to $12,000 a year to an individual (or $24,000 if you're married and giving the gift with your spouse). You may also pay an unlimited amount of medical and education bills for someone if you pay the expenses directly to the institutions where they were incurred.

There are ways to give charitable gifts that keep on giving.
If you donate to a charitable gift fund or community foundation, your investment grows tax-free and you can select the charities to which contributions are given both before and after you die.

"Own Your Future" Individual Needs Coverage for Businesses

Buy/Sell Agreements - Business Continuation/Succession Plans
A major concern of the owners of a closely held business is what would happen to the business if one of the owners could no longer continue. Surviving owners generally want to ensure a continuity of ownership and management without having the departing owner's successor thrust upon them. Nor do they want to unduly compromise the liquidity needs of the business by funding a significant buyout. Disabled or deceased owners would want their families compensated fairly for their share of the business. A properly drafted buy-sell agreement can achieve all of these goals by:

Providing that upon the occurrence of a specified "triggering event," owners are guaranteed that their interest in the business will be purchased;
roviding that the owner's interest must be sold to the company, the remaining owners, or a combination of the two;
Providing a mechanism whereby the purchase price may be determined by market conditions in existence upon the occurrence of the event;
Providing a funding source, primarily through insurance policies, so that the liquidity needs of the business or its owners will not be onerous; and
Establishing a valuation of a deceased owner's interest in the business for estate tax purposes.

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Key Employee Coverage - At some point during your lifetime, either by choice or by necessity, you'll need out of the business you're in. Whether the change is due to an unexpected disability or even retirement, planning for this event is important.

It is also important to ensure that your business continues in the event that you or other key employees are disabled. How will overhead expenses be paid? Do you have a buy/sell agreement in place?

If the success of your business is dependent on a few key employees, consider a key person plan. You can offer supplemental insurance coverage to key employees in addition to their existing group coverage, or existing retirement plans. This coverage is portable, should you - or they - ever have to leave the company.

The Morrow Insurance Agency offers several types of individual disability insurance policies and individual annuities, each with various enhancements and benefits, which can be customized to meet specific needs.

Interested in learning more about the "Own Your Future" Individual Needs Coverage outlined above, contact The Morrow Insurance Agency.

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