When most leaders think about ways to build wealth, the idea of insurance often doesn’t register with them.
It’s for that reason that Howard Slater joined forces with other financial planners and wrote “Plan of Action, Strategies to Help You Build and Preserve Wealth.” Slater is the founding partner for Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC in Cleveland, and the fifth chapter of the book is his and addresses insurance.
“One of the keys to my practice is helping people understand the importance of insurances,” he says. “It’s a dirty word in the financial planning world — people either believe in it or they don’t, it’s a religion-like thing. The reality of it is, insurance is an asset, and it needs to be used properly.”
For example, unlike many of your other traditional forms of investments, if you make a huge mistake with your insurance, it could be detrimental to your portfolio because you often don’t get a second chance, which is why it’s so important to focus on upfront.
“You get ill, and it’s difficult to be underwritten by more insurance,” Slater says. “Insurance planning as part of financial planning is truly a key asset that gets overlooked.”
So what should you do? Slater says you have to write down all of your insurances. What benefits do you have at work? What group benefits do you have? Are they one-time, or do you have the ability to buy more? What do you have individually? What does your spouse have?
“Make a list and make sure you know exactly what the benefits are,” he says. “Then through your own research or analysis or working with somebody, determine where you need to be. What is appropriate given what your situation is — where you’re at now and your future.”
He says you also need to plan for immediate situations, such as if you were to die tomorrow or become disabled. Look at who’s dependent on you now, and who’s dependent on you in 10 years.
Then he says to do an annual review of your insurances to make sure you’re still covered well and your needs will be met.
By doing these things, you can better ensure your future.
How to reach: Howard Slater, (440) 683-9207 or [email protected]
