Insurance Understood: Your birthday party

By Medicine Hat News on March 9, 2019.

What are you doing for your next birthday? Have you made a plan or do you try to avoid the issue? I have three daughters and they all love to plan their birthday parties. They make lists of who they would like to invite, debate about what kind of cake they hope for and, of course, what activities will happen. Do you remember doing the same as a child? What was your favourite birthday party? I am really excited that Swell Private Wealth is coming up on its own fifth birthday on April 1, 2019. On the flip side, my 40th is also sneaking up on me.

The love of birthday parties got me thinking of how you can do some planning to enjoy the features within your insurance policy. Some of the features are memorable and some are not, just like birthdays. Many insurance contracts use the birthday of the policy (a.k.a. policy anniversary) as an option date. Some policies have options that will allow you to extend your coverage period if you elect to do so before the policies fifth birthday. For term insurance policies, there is a birthday year in the future that ends the ability to change your policy to a permanent one. Unfortunately, many term policies also have a final birthday where you cannot have the coverage past that date, regardless of your wealth. Some birthdays can sneak up on you and you feel more than others, like your 30th, 40th or 50th birthday. Having a term insurance policy is no different. For example, if you have a 10-year term insurance then the price will go up significantly at your 10th birthday. Trust me; you will really feel this birthday. So there are a lot of things to consider with an insurance birthday party and some planning you can do. Just like real life, you usually need to plan your own birthday party if you want it to happen. However, I feel that an insurance specialist can help you get ready for the significant birthdays. In fact, I have been able to provide a surprise birthday party to new clients. That is, they asked us to do an insurance audit and we discovered a policy feature that helped them take advantage of their policy even more than they expected they could. Have you ever had a surprise birthday party?

Perhaps you would like to use your own personal birthday as a milestone to work with your insurance specialist in reviewing your insurance policies upcoming birthday. Overall, I am grateful for birthdays. They are fun when you plan for them. I am especially thankful to everyone who has contributed to the growth and success of Swell Private Wealth for the past five years. There are many more to come and we look forward to you celebrating with us.

Steve Meldrum B.Mgt. CFP CLU is the founder of Swell Private Wealth Ltd. For over a decade he has specialized in helping individuals and businesses expand protect and perpetuate their wealth. For further information or tailored advice, contact him at 403-487-0490, steve@swellwealth.com or connect on social media.

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