Thread: Are you prepared?

I think that's still dependent upon the company. It's illegal for me to name names, but there are certainly companies that operate like that. I think the telling factor is just going to be how the agent operates. If you sat down with me and said right off the bat "I want a million dollar whole life policy", my answer would be something like "I'm glad you've thought about this, but let's go through some of your goals and financial needs first to see if you even need a million." We're not all greasy car salesmen...but like I said, it's ok, it just makes my job easier when I can prove I'm not greasy.

We're not prepared for a normal future, no...because I fully expect the future to be ABNORMAL!

We are prepared for:

1. Inflation and hyperinflation
2. Very high unemployment
3. MUCH higher taxes
4. Food scarcity/skyrocketing prices
5. Skyrocketing crime rates
6. Wilder weather
7. Civil unrest
8. Nuke disasters (as long as it's at least 40 miles away)
9. Riots in cities and towns
10. Mass chaos and panic
11. Mutant zombie attacks upon our persons, vehicles, property or community
12. Liquor shortages (VERY prepared on that one!)
13. Shortages of first aid/medical supplies and medical/dental "how to" info
14. Sustainable home food generation ( wild game + homegrown veggies & fruits)
15. Small-scale wars (just like any good Texans)

But the normal stuff? Well, like I said...I seriously doubt that the future will look "normal."

Originally Posted by jockeys

yeah, the free health care in Somalia is fantastic, I'm sure. Pretty sure it involves a warlord raping the women and killing the men.

Dude, have you ever even seen Somalia on a map? It's totally the opposite of what you wrote. It's the MEN who get raped and the WOMEN who get killed.



This thread sounds like an insurance salesman.

-Rob

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I see no logic in saying well people don't invest in the stock market so they should invest in an inferior vehicle because something is better than nothing. Which is what you are saying.

You and I clearly disagree on this matter which I'm fine with; it would be a disturbing world if we ALL agreed on the same things.

I'll illustrate my logic in the following analogy:

Picture a person who has need of growing a crop to provide a necessary and beneficial food source for he and his family but has no prior experience in doing so. Someone tells him he should invest in a drip irrigation system that will provide the highest yield over the long term (stock market) and ANY other method of irrigating his crop is inferior and therefore not worth doing. He's heard of drip irrigation but knows absolutely nothing about it, nor do his family or friends and he has no one he knows who can testify to the benefit they've actually received from this system. He was planning on watering his small crop with a hose, sprinkler or any other manual method others have used that although not sophisticated, has yielded results for others that he knows. Taking the negative opinion the drip irrigation proponent had of his "inferior" method to heart however, he does nothing and grows no crop making no provision for him or his family.

I deal almost exclusively with small to mid-sized business owners for their liability, property and work comp needs. More specifically in the construction trades. These are guys I'm proud to know and help; they typically work long hours and "wear many hats" as small business owners must. Most have families. I can tell you from experience in this field that many do not have life insurance and almost none have the desire to buy stocks or invest in the stock market. My point in my involvement in this post was simply to stress that these are the guys that need some life insurance, period. Even just term life if nothing else (no cash value, not an investment). That's all.

Chris L

Finances? what are those? It's been so long that I've been able to work that I've forgotten what they are.

Originally Posted by Quick Orange

Majurey, it seems cold, but that's exactly what dismemberment is for- putting a price on your parts. If you lose your left arm, how difficult in dollars/pounds/euros will it be for you to provide the same standard of living for your family? It's all a numbers game. X number of people this year will become disabled in some way- it's just the facts. Unless they self insure, they need to place the risk of that occurrence somewhere else, otherwise risk financial ruin. I personally know several people that ended up that way.

Sorry, I forgot about this thread so dropped out momentarily -- hope you didn't think I was ignoring you!

Yes, I agree with you on the purpose of insurance here. Clearly it's something that happens (losing a limb) and would undoubtedly affect virtually anyone's future earnings. My beef with it is the conditions under which it's sold. My experience of the salesmen who have sat down at my table to persuade me to buy more insurance for this sort of eventuality is the use of disproportionate fear of such occurrences. It starts to move from the realms of logical thinking and probability to the total opposite -- financial decision-making driven by emotion and fear. What they have never told me is the relative risk of losing an arm. Sure, I'm given loads of info over what the outcome of losing an arm might be in terms of hospital costs, mental trauma, time out of work and its associated costs, lost opportunity costs, future revenue streams... but nothing about the likelihood, statistically speaking.

However, I think we both agree that one should have a back-up plan in these eventualities. I just happen to believe that I can make my own arrangements which are better value for money than putting monthly instalments into a financial package. I get no return from such plans, but investment in other financial vehicles or physical assets could provide me with such a cushion if the worst happens in future, and if it doesn't I still retain the asset value of what I've put aside.

The financial plans do indeed make it easier, but at a cost. And you also have to watch out about how hard it can be to make a claim!