Why buy insurance on yourself? The most common answer to that question is protection. Although this is not the only reason to buy insurance, it is a very valid reason. Protection from an early death that puts your loved ones in a difficult financial situation. Protection from a disabling injury that puts a major strain on your ability to generate an income. Lastly, protection from the constantly rising health care costs if you need these services for a long-term period of time.

In each situation, purchasing an insurance policy on yourself at a minimum, gives you some peace of mind that if something catastrophic happens, you, your family and your estate are protected. In addition to protection, personal insurance is also used in estate planning, business succession planning, retirement planning and charitable gifting.

At Private Client Services, we feel that product strength is critical when considering an insurance policy. Contact your representative to discuss your situation and allow us to find the right policy for you.

Life Insurance

Life insurance helps protect the financial security of your family in the event of your untimely death. Throughout the term of the policy, you pay premiums and at the time of your death, your beneficiaries are paid the amount of the death benefit. The amount of premiums and the amount of death benefit depend a great deal on the insurability of the person, as well as the type of policy that is purchased.

There are three types of fixed insurance products:

• Term Life — is purchased for a specific period of time (one year, five year, ten year and longer). With term life, if you die within the period of time, the death benefit is paid to the named beneficiary. But, if you live beyond that period of time, no payment is made. Because of this, the premium on term insurance is generally the lowest.
• Whole Life — is the traditional type of life insurance. Premiums are guaranteed in the contract for the entire time the policy is in force. You accumulate a cash value, but the insurance company determines the interest rate credited to the cash value.
• Universal Life — offers more flexibility than whole life. The amount of premiums may vary as long as the available cash value is sufficient to cover the costs of the policy. You also can opt to increase or decrease the amount of the death benefit while the policy is in force (subject to underwriting approval).

See your Private Client Services Representative to see if a fixed life insurance product is right for you.

Variable Life Insurance

One popular type of life insurance is variable life insurance. Just like with fixed insurance products, you pay premiums to the insurer in order to have your named beneficiaries receive a death benefit at the time of your death. The difference is that with variable life products the cash value varies with the performance of the underlying portfolio of subaccounts. As the owner of the policy, you select how to allocate the net premium among the investment options (subaccounts) offered. The subaccount values fluctuate with the market conditions. Due to this variable component, most variable products can offer a flexible premium, flexible death benefit or both.

Obviously with these type of products, you not only need to have access to a strong product, but also need the advice of an expert to determine the right portfolio mix. At Private Client Services, we strive on both these and will help you find the right product for you situation as well as the right portfolio to help you achieve your goals and objectives.

Variable insurance is offered by prospectus. The prospectus contains complete information including rates, fees and expenses, and should be read carefully before investing. For a prospectus of our variable life products, please contact your Private Client Services representative, or call the number below.

Disability Insurance

Although most people do not think that a disabling injury can happen to them, they do happen every day. The unnerving thing about it is that disability is one of those human conditions that is completely unbiased and can happen to anyone, regardless of their job, economic stability, personal wealth or health. To make matters worse, the medical bills, rehabilitation and other associated costs of disability make your expenses go up. Factor that with the fact that you are no longer able to work and your income has been cut substantially and you can clearly see that disability can seriously jeopardize anyone's lifestyle.

The fact is individual disability income insurance is among the most affordable — and necessary — coverages available. Contact your Private Client Services Representative to discuss adding a disability insurance policy. With so many options and products available, we focus on designing the right kind of disability plan for each of our clients.

Long-Term-Care Insurance

What is Long Term Care (LTC)? LTC is the day-in, day-out assistance you may need when you have a series illness or disability that lasts for a period of time and you are not totally able to care for yourself. It is a continuum of care either through the home or community-based, or via nursing home care. As you can imagine, LTC is very costly.

Individuals purchase LTC insurance to pay for these expenses along with Medicare or Medicare supplements. Without LTC insurance, the expenses will have to be paid with your own personal savings and retirement benefits.

There are six reasons why people usually buy long term care insurance:

• Independence
• Helps protect your family
• Provides you with choices
• Helps protect your retirement savings and family assets
• Peace of mind
• Favorable tax treatment

In addition, there may be some favorable tax benefits to LTC insurance for the individual, the claimant as well as a company who pays for a plan as a benefit to employees. Contact your Private Client Services Representative to design a LTC insurance plan for you.