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How different types of insurance help manage risk

How different types of insurance help manage risk

Find the right mix of coverage to live with confidence.

Let’s face it: Life involves risk. That’s why risk management is a crucial part of a long-term financial plan. When it comes to investments, we’re talking diversification and asset allocation. When it comes to your family, health, property and income, we’re talking insurance.

But what kind of coverage do you really need? Take a deeper look at four useful types of policies.

Life insurance

Perception: It’s just for people with dependents.

Reality: It can be used as a flexible planning tool that provides liquidity, and the survivor benefit is generally not considered taxable income.

Though term life insurance is designed to replace the income of a breadwinner if the unthinkable happens, what’s called a “permanent” policy has an investment component that can potentially be helpful for things such as keeping the family business functioning or paying estate taxes after death.

Disability insurance

Perception: The risk of long-term disability is too minimal to worry about.

Reality: Sadly, more than 25% of 20-year-old workers will become disabled before reaching retirement age, the Social Security Administration estimates.

If you’re out of work for an extended period, the lost income can easily reach six figures or more. Even if your profession isn’t strenuous, you may not be in the clear – cancer is the second-leading cause of claims, according to insurer Sun Life Financial.

What about that government safety net, you say? Workers who pay into the system are eligible to apply for Social Security disability insurance, but the average benefit in December 2019 was just $1,258 per month.

Considering all of this, it’s best to get a professional opinion about whether you can afford the consequences of going without this type of coverage.

Long-term care insurance

Perception: Coverage isn’t needed – doesn’t Medicare pay for that?

Reality: Help with the tasks of daily living, similar to care provided in a nursing home, isn’t covered by Medicare.

Such aid is a common necessity. Seven out of 10 people turning 65 in this day and age can expect to use some form of long-term care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, though only one out of 10 has planned ahead to pay for it.

Securing this type of policy allows you control over the situation, making sure your future needs will be met without creating an undue burden for your loved ones. Though coverage can be expensive, there are federal and state tax breaks available for qualified plans.

Umbrella insurance

Perception: Only people who are very wealthy need it.

Reality: If you often entertain at your home, own a dog, have a teenage driver in your household or ride Jet Skis in your spare time, you might want to prepare for a rainy day.

This basically is an extra layer of liability coverage above the limits on your home, auto and other policies – protection just in case you or a family member causes harm to someone else. For example, if your dog attacks a visitor and your home insurance covers up to $300,000 of liability, then you’re on the hook for anything above that amount if the injured party sues. If you don’t have the money, your wages could be garnished.

Time for a fresh perspective

Facing risk isn’t easy, but the protection you can gain for yourself, and your loved ones, can make it all worth it. That’s why you should review your insurance needs once a year and after each big milestone in life. You can always call on your advisor to coordinate with other professionals in determining the proper policies and coverage for you.

All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of Raymond James, and are subject to change. These policies have exclusions and/or limitations. The cost and availability of life insurance and long-term care insurance depend on factors such as age, health and the type and amount of insurance purchased. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of life insurance. Policies commonly have mortality and expense charges. In addition if a policy is surrendered prematurely, there may be surrender charges and income tax implications. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company. Insurance offered through the Raymond James Insurance Group, an affiliate of Raymond James & Associates, Inc. and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Asset allocation and diversification do not guarantee a profit nor protect against loss.

Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

Make data privacy a priority in 2022

Make data privacy a priority in 2022

As our lives become more digitally integrated, our data becomes more valuable.

Often, data collectors say that the vast amount of information they take in is tightly secured or anonymized before it is packaged and resold. However, MIT researchers discovered in 2018 that individuals could be identified by combining two anonymized data sets covering the same population. A 2019 series from The New York Times went further, exposing the risk to privacy on a massive scale if a major tech firm’s anonymized location data was stolen and cross-referenced to publicly available property records.

As long as consumers’ concerns about privacy remain limited, there is little incentive for companies to cull their data collecting habits. When buying a new smart device such as a phone, tablet or computer or using a new service, look into its commitment to privacy. The market for such devices is growing, but at the moment they tend to be on the premium side of the product spectrum. Expect that to change as this topic gains traction.

In the meantime, here are some best practices to help minimize the amount of your information that data collectors can access.

Turn off personalized ads

Many of the largest ad space sellers, particularly those providing tech services like email and social media, now give the option to depersonalize your advertising experience. They’ll still collect the information, but there are some limits to how specifically targeted the ads can be. This is becoming a battleground topic in the tech industry, as companies that don’t rely on ad sales are finding privacy to be a strong selling point.

Skip the quiz

That silly online quiz to help you determine which fast food mascot you are may be mining serious information about you. Though it’s a bad practice, many online accounts rely on security questions to establish your identity, questions that are easily snuck into online quizzes.

Go digital and shred the rest

Your home or driveway may be advertising your wealth, making your mailbox and your trash a target. Despite the well-publicized thefts of user data in recent years, an online account is in many ways more secure than an unlocked mailbox, and generally less personal. Privacy experts recommend making the switch, and when you do get mail that contains information about your health, finances or family, make sure to shred it before you toss it.

Know what health data is being collected

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, protects the information shared with your care provider. There is no similar regulation for health data you share with your fitness device manufacturer. It’s worth your while to make sure you understand what information is being collected and for what purposes. Go into the device settings to see what options you have. The EULA, or end-user license agreement, will have more information if you can read legalese.

Sources: The New York Times; Vox; The Washington Post; Fast Company; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Consumer Reports; NPR; Goldman Sachs; ZDNet.com

Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

Document shredding and food drive

Document shredding and food drive event

Clean out your cabinets and drawers of those old documents and bring them to be safely shredded, on site, by the professionals of Shred it™ and enjoy some good food and live music!

When: May 21st
Where: Outside of the Merritt Island office 2395 N. Courtenay Parkway
Time: 11:00am-2:00pm

Question please contact karin@crossleyshear.com or call 321-452-0061

Please consider bringing a non-perishable food item for our Food Drive to benefit Harvest Time International

Please Donate

  • Low sodium canned vegetables
  • Canned meats
  • Canned soups
  • Boxed oatmeal or grits
  • Canola or olive oil
  • Peanut butter
  • Nuts
  • No sugar added fruit cups
  • Canned beans
  • Granola/Protein bars
  • Pasta
  • Beans
  • Rice
  • Dry powdered milk

Raymond James is not affiliated with Harvest Time International or 4th Street Fillin Station

Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

From the Desk of Dale Crossley and Evan Shear

From the Desk of Dale Crossley and Evan Shear

“The stock market is a device to transfer money from the impatient to the patient.”
Warren Buffett

We’re approaching two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, which as we can all vividly remember, caused very deep wounds on the financial markets. With pandemic stimulus support and liberal monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, the economy largely rebounded and stocks flourished in 2021. Now, we’re ringing in 2022 with the worst market start to a new year since 2016. We’re hearing from many clients who are increasingly concerned that a pullback is in full swing and a market correction (or worse) is on the horizon. Federal Reserve changes are causing concern as they appear necessary to increase interest rates and curb rising inflation. While we all dread market corrections, we inherently know they are inevitable and, as an investor, being both patient and keeping history in perspective helps navigate through these times.

Gaining Reassurance from History

After surviving February and March of 2020 (and others this century), market fluctuations, corrections and, unfortunately, crashes are inescapable. However, in most years since 1928, we only experienced losses of 5% or slightly worse. As a matter of fact, we only experienced losses of 10% or worse in more than half of the years. Despite those fluctuations, long-term investors, who remained patient and invested, and are still very much ahead.

(These averages are skewed a little higher because of all of the crashes throughout the 1930s, but even in more modern times, stock market losses are a regular occurrence. Source: https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2022/01/how-often-should-you-expect-a-stock-market-correction/)

Is it a Pullback, Correction or Bear Market?

  • We experience pullbacks in most years, which are market declines of between 5% and less than 10% from a peak.
  • A correction is a loss of 10% to less than 20% from a peak. Far from uncommon, we’ve had seven since 2000.
  • A bear market is relatively rare and represents a decline of 20% or more from a peak. We’ve only had three since 2000.

Keeping Perspective

As always, we remind our clients that emotional financial decisions are rarely helpful and can actually be devastating. That’s precisely why we developed Voyage, our investment and wealth building process that uses mathematical algorithms, coupled with a methodical, proprietary scoring process. Our models provide disciplined and unemotional “buy” and “sell” signals as fluctuations in the market occur. Based on these signals, client assets are then moved between stock, bond, sector, money market mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. We stress patience and riding out pullbacks, corrections and bear markets. As you can see, history tells us they always rebound.

To learn more, click here to read our article “How Do Rising Interest Rates Affect Stocks.” We’ve also provided a short video recapping article.

Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. All opinions are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Are Your Important Documents Secure and Accessible?

Are Your Important Documents Secure and Accessible?

Keep your financial life organized with a thoughtful combination of digital and physical storage solutions.

Pop quiz: In an emergency, could your loves ones find your current will and power of attorney? If you had to evacuate your home, could you quickly get your hands on your passport, deeds and keepsakes? Are your documents in a watertight, fireproof safe, or scattered around unprotected?

It’s not enough to have the right documents – it’s also crucial to have them updated, neatly stored and accessible. Read on for five tips that can help you keep important files safe and handy.

Equip yourself for digital success

If you’d like to have a secure and organized system for paper, a scanner and a shredder are a must. Think you might need that document, but you can’t fit another thing in your file cabinet? Scan and toss, or shred if it contains sensitive data like a Social Security number.

Digital storage has many upsides. You don’t have to pay much attention to space restrictions as you would with physical files. Also, it’s easier to securely share and keep items, and you can search for files by dates or keywords.

Some fancy scanners such as the ScanSnap automatically sort documents based on file type (photo versus receipt) and name files based on scanned content. If you don’t have the budget or room for another machine, a smartphone app is a handy alternative.

One last essential tool: a service for storing and syncing your digital data in the cloud, so you don’t lose everything if your computer is stolen or damaged. Which one you choose will depend on what features are most important to you, but popular services include Dropbox, Google Drive and iCloud.

It’s also smart to take advantage of any proprietary storage features your financial advisor may offer, which allow you to securely store and share financial data with each other, as well as trusted family members, and helps them coordinate with other professionals (such as your accountant at tax time).

Think like an executor

The most crucial papers to organize are the ones those closest to you will need when you’re no longer around. This includes your will, bank statements, insurance policies and birth certificate, for starters. So put yourself in your executor’s shoes when storing estate paperwork – this kind of planning is about helping others.

Online services that organize and store all your vital details in a single convenient place are the latest innovation on this front. Some, such as Everplans, will even walk you through making a plan for everything from funeral details to healthcare wishes, sort of like TurboTax for end-of-life planning. You could also use an off-the-shelf workbook such as “The LastingMatters Organizer” to document your wishes.

As for notarized physical documents, storing them in a fireproof safe makes sense for most. Be sure your family knows where the safe itself is, how to get into it and what they can expect to find inside. You can also keep an extra copy in a safe deposit box or with your estate attorney.

Know what to keep

Certain official records deserve physical safekeeping: passports, Social Security cards, birth certificates and adoption decrees, property and vehicle deeds, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, signed and notarized powers of attorney, a will and medical directive paperwork. While you can pay to get another copy of many of these, it’s better to have them and not need them than the opposite.

Design a breadcrumb trail

This tip is especially relevant for worst-case-scenario documents such as your medical directive. Experts recommend keeping a copy in your car’s glove box, as well as giving copies to your doctor and your preferred healthcare proxy. You can then list these as “in case of emergency” or ICE contacts on a card in your wallet and in your smartphone’s emergency call screen (for iPhone users, add this data in Apple Health; Android users can go to Settings > About phone > Emergency information).

Don’t forget about digital access that your loved ones will one day need, which means everything from email and bank accounts to photo and music sites. Few of us think to create a paper trail to help locate these accounts and login IDs because it might invite unauthorized access. However, there is a secure way to guide your heirs.

The first step is to make an inventory. Next, document the details in a safe place. You can use a secure spreadsheet template to get started at yourdigitalafterlife.com or you can use a service like LastPass, which has an emergency access feature that allows you to hand down passwords to heirs who can then securely maintain or close your accounts based on your wishes. If it’s your main household responsibility to pay the bills and keep tabs on financial accounts, we’re talking to you. You want to leave a legacy – not a logistical headache.

Create a command station

Productivity pros say every home office needs a central collection spot for notes, bills, reminders, paperwork and actionable items. To make this a working system, you’ll have to regularly plow through it all, whether daily or weekly. This will help free your mind to focus on the given task at hand, knowing your household has a system for tackling all the incoming paper.

Progress, not perfection

If your home office is a wreck right now, start small. Pick one tip that speaks to your specific situation and take action. What feels like a small win today could make a major, lasting difference for your loved ones.

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, you can seek out a professional organizer or turn to your advisor. They know your financial situation and can help you focus on the record-keeping tasks that are important for your life.

Sources: Real Simple; pcmag.com; “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity;" LastPass; yourdigitalafterlife.com; Everplans; NPR’s Life Kit; keepitsafe.com

Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

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