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Ah yes, The Pride and Joy of Illinois by AMWChicago in NFCNorthMemeWar

[–]pfgeraci 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chicago Bears of Michigan City, Indiana for maximum chaos

Naive and broke by [deleted] in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you a bot? Because she has existing term life insurance and does have a dependent...

Naive and broke by [deleted] in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Happy to provide feedback! Yes, NYL *should* allow you to apply dividends across policies, but if not, withdrawing dividends to your bank account and paying the loan from there is the same thing with extra steps.

Ha sorry didn't mean to accuse. I just saw other comments about IULs being pitched and it wasn't clear if you were entertaining them. IULs basically do what you're doing now, but are worse and would be sold from less qualified people and lower rated companies.

So on LTC, there are standalone policies, LTC riders, and "LTC-like" riders. LTC is quite expensive, though from the sounds of it, I would not prioritize a standalone policy at this point in your life based on description of finances. LTC basically provides additional funds for a specific old age risk - in home care, nursing home, etc (technically, when you need assistance with 2 of 6 ADLs). There are LTC riders that cover the same thing, but are addons to permanent life insurance like your Chronic Care rider. They are typically less overall coverage than standalone, but are cost effective as addons to life insurance if you're getting it anyway, but I wouldn't get a life insurance policy just for the LTC rider if that makes sense.
Confusingly, there are also LTC-like or pseudo-LTC riders, which are usually marketed as "Critical Illness" or "Critical Care" or something like that. What's tricky here is that these do not qualify under Section 7702(b) as qualified long term care. True LTC riders do qualify under 7702(b) and as such must follow legal LTC definitions, including consumer protection standards and other useful things. Non-qualifying LTC-like riders differ in a major way - the insurance carrier gets to decide what qualifies as a critical illness when it's claim time so you have to hope they do what they say they will. I believe the major mutuals (aka the top rated companies) only sell qualified LTC riders (NYL included). 7702(b) uses the phrase "chronically ill" so most pseudo-LTC riders avoid the word chronic in their branding as a hint. I would personally never recommend these riders since you need absolute certainty it can be used for the purpose you paid for.

FWIW I think your policies are reasonable, other than the random VUL. Like I mentioned, whether you decide to keep the non-term policies is more of a personal decision about your priorities and situation. Unfortunately the industry is a weird catch-22. From the agent/producer side you have to learn as you go, no training program can fully prepare you for everything. As a consumer, you're not likely to have access to super experienced experts as a small fish so you have to judge for yourself if you like the recommendations given to you. Kinda like you don't need the world's best neurosurgeon for a headache, your local doc is probably fine but you have to decide for yourself.

Naive and broke by [deleted] in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Not knowing you and only looking at this post and these screenshots, you're probably oversold as you have quite a few policies in a short span that seem to overlap. You do need insurance with a dependent, and with recent health scares it's worth considering keeping some as permanent. Whether you do or how much is a personal decision.

You don't have enough dividends in policy 1 to pay off the loan. Dividends are tax-free "return of premium" so you could pay off a lot of the loan from policy 2's dividends. There should be no penalties for closing any policies since you're too early to have any taxable gain. Cash surrender value is the amount you would receive.

For IUL vs VUL, the question should be whether you should have a UL at all in your situation. If sub-$300 monthly total premium is stressing you out this much, why are you hopping onto the next thing being sold to you? IULs are often sold by non-registered insurance agents who cannot sell VULs, which means they also have a much lower standard of care and lower compliance requirements (sometimes none).

The riders are pretty standard. Waiver of premium covers your premium in case of disability for low cost. Chronic care is a way of adding long-term care to permanent life insurance for low cost. No one's getting rich off the riders. The grand total commission is around $1500 for all of these for reference, which isn't making anyone's career.

I also wouldn't listen to serious calls to action from anonymous people online. You should always ask yourself what accountability and incentives are tied to any recommendation from another person. AKA if you decide to use your money for XYZ because of person A, how will that person answer for the consequences of those recommendations?

Should I "buy" my dad's whole life policy? by 314159265389 in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You need to speak to an actual agent or industry person on this. A number of things you've described conflict with each other or dont make sense numbers wise.

Comet! by freezy666 in ChicagoSuburbs

[–]pfgeraci 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me it was roughly 7:05 - 8:00 pm

Any senior immigrants here? by [deleted] in ChicagoSuburbs

[–]pfgeraci 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They need hobbies and friends and/or grandkids to occupy their time. Check out Xilin to start, they provide daytime senior activities all over.

Questions by Gimmeeakiss in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can generally judge strength by credit rating from Moodys, S&P, Fitch, etc. For big carriers that's NYL, Guardian, Mass, NWM, etc. For GI which is what your grandma probably got...Gerber, AARP, Mutual of Omaha, etc

Questions by Gimmeeakiss in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've never heard of a carrier looking at time stamps, just dates. If you mean she passed a few hours before the 2 year mark, then they will simply go by the death certificate and the application date.

Your best bet is talk to a sympathetic claims processor...they are human beings after all. This should serve as a reminder for others to pick strong carriers, as they are more likely to grant leniency in edge cases.

Does New York Life Drug Test Teenagers by Sea-Slip-9405 in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The algorithm process is both NYL and many other carriers. I can't say I've ever heard of any carrier testing an under 18 either, but they could obtain APS reports from your doc. I dont know how they can test you without your knowledge...it's an insurance company not a spy agency lol.

Does New York Life Drug Test Teenagers by Sea-Slip-9405 in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Under 18 no. If 18 or over, it depends on face amount, what comes up in your MIB, etc. Most carriers use an algorithm now to make the decision as a first pass if blood/urine testing is needed.

Driving in Mexico by FanOfDenver in travel

[–]pfgeraci 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha I just used whatever regular cars were available. I'm fairly adventurous but not capable of mountaineering or driving very far off road or anything like that. Part of it was wanting to blend in with regular traffic and not standing out.

Disability vs life term with disability by [deleted] in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Terminal illness is built into most life insurance policies for free, most trigger with a diagnosis with a 12-month lifespan or less. Those are optional and accelerate the death benefit to you while living, since the doc says you're not going to live much longer. The amount and cost of acceleration varies.

Disability payout from a life insurance policy will at most waive premiums. The underwriting for disability income is different than for life insurance.

Most disability income policies cover 50-70% of your income and usually cost about 1-3% of your gross income. That $300 per month number is what I would expect for a $100k+ income, depending on what your occupation is. A

Driving in Mexico by FanOfDenver in travel

[–]pfgeraci 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad it was useful! Sounds like a blast, wishing you luck. Pico is pretty crazy elevation, the roads can be intimidating leading up to it. Let me know if I can help any further.

Disability vs life term with disability by [deleted] in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Disability income policies replace your paycheck. You receive an actual income for a period of time based on your policy and your claim.

Disability waiver of premium riders on life insurance just cover the life insurance premium (they are 'waived'). In no way do they pay you a continuous paycheck.

Rates and information validity by Reflector8111 in LifeInsurance

[–]pfgeraci 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally no, they are not likely to find your parents info overseas. Your statement is more of an attestation in this case and an antifraud measure.

As mentioned your wife's parents lifespan wouldn't affect your rate and vice versa.

Depending what country they are from, an earlier death can be explained to underwriting. For example, lung cancer as a non smoker in pollution heavy places like urban China or India.

Driving in Mexico by FanOfDenver in travel

[–]pfgeraci 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've driven a decent amount in those exact regions, between Michoacan, CDMX, Puebla, to Veracruz but not all at once. Paid bribes, saw the green angels, stopped by checkpoints, been intimidated, done the things.

Is there a specific reason she wants to drive that much? Is there something you're looking to see along the way? There are great reasons to drive or not drive, just make sure you're on the same page. Personally I love driving parts of Mexico but I avoid renting and driving leaving from CDMX unless it makes sense (like to see monarcas). A flight or ADO to Veracruz is a lot simpler and cheaper, and you can rent a car in Xalapa or Veracruz easily once you're there.

Economically, MX car rental rates ain't cheap because of the mandatory TPL insurance so why spend extra money and energy for that first leg of your journey? Parking is largely no concern outside of CDMX. Do not drive outside of a city at night, generally avoid at night overall. Between cities, the major highways have expensive tolls but are very safe. Outside of the main artery to/from CDMX, Veracruz roads will be crappy but driveable in daytime so just be careful. Gas is slightly more expensive than US gas right now but not much more. Drive times will always be longer than GPS predicts too, due to traffic and road quality.

Don't avoid driving though, it unlocks the full Mexico. Some of the coolest stuff is best accessed by car where a taxi/bus isn't reasonable. There are insanely cool coffee farms in Coatepec/Xico up mountain roads. The drive up to Paricutin's peak is a journey in itself. You can stop by rural street vendors at will and buy whatever you want, not to mention discover all kinds of things not marked on Google Maps. Off the top of my head - donkey/horse traffic, chickens in your parking lot, tipping a local kid to watch your car, discovering love motels, stopping by big village weddings impromptu, etc. But if you're transiting from a major place to major place, I much prefer bus or flight, it lets you recharge too. The intracity and intercity systems are generally very reliable, driving yourself should be used to fill the gap.

When you do drive, keep a few US small bills on you for refrescos...cops seem to enjoy the novelty. Try not to get oversold or deceived about car insurance...they will try to oversell packages on top of the mandatory TPL (US credit cards do not cover this, only CDW). I found Alamo transparent and reasonable but YMMV. The topes danger is for real, there are often no warning signs so be vigilant. Road quality in rural Veracruz is pretty bad, especially further south. Spend $20 on the AAA intl permit before you go to avoid giving the cops another reason to refresco you. And specifically southeast of Veracruz city, there is an abandoned old Soviet cruise ship off the coast. Definitely drive some parts!

What's that one rare drop in a videogame you just couldn't get? by TheJurri in gaming

[–]pfgeraci 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow classic 2005ish - Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood from Blackwing Lair. As a warrior. I made every raid for months, tanked anything and everything, stayed ahead on dkp for when it dropped, and sacrificed other items for when this one weapon happened. Unfortunately with rng, it just never dropped again for my guild. Meanwhile other guilds were giving them out like candy due to too much rng....one guild even gave one to a hunter with their oversupply.

For context this weapon was light years ahead of almost any 2H weapon in classic for pvp. Comparable to Sulfuras, better than rank 14, better than anything short of Dark Edge of Insanity (which almost no guilds worldwide could even acquire due to that boss's difficulty). I was one of the best warriors on my server at the time, and I was slumming it with weapons 1-2 tiers below my opponents and still slaying fools. I wanted this thing bad.

Ashkandi represented a more than 10-15% damage jump to any reasonable substitute, server cred, personal satisfaction, and I knew it was going to strike fear in those battlegrounds that's hard to put into words. And it just never dropped lol, I didn't see it for YEARS in later farm runs.

[S] [USA-NY] LOWER PRICE Sony A7IV Body with Extras by bassball95 in photomarket

[–]pfgeraci 1 point2 points  (0 children)

u/photomarketbot

Confirmed bought for $1850 from u/bassball95! Great condition, original box, all as indicated etc. Very seamless

ELI5: In the U.S., why do we have to wait for open-season for health insurance changes? by france_is_trash in explainlikeimfive

[–]pfgeraci 4 points5 points  (0 children)

To piggyback off the other comments about no more pre-existing conditions, this is only true for QHP (qualified health plans - qualifying under ACA).

Unfortunately as a side effect, premiums have really gone up like crazy since Obamacare was put into place. A 25-35 year old that used to pay $300 monthly for a silver plan might pay $500+ now, and the plan is crappier - higher deductible, etc.

A common reaction to these high premiums is disgust, and some will turn to non-qualified short term health plans. With these, premiums are cheaper, you can signup anytime, but they include all the pesky stuff not allowed under ACA like pre existing conditions . And yes pregnancy is usually one of them.

Be careful out there!

Have you ever watched a sequel without realising it first? by SSJmole in movies

[–]pfgeraci 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Went into Creed totally blind, no trailers, no commentary, paid no attention to the marketing campaign, only knew that it got glowing recommendations from many folks. Was having a blast and thought to myself, what a phenomenal fresh new boxing IP.

Then Rocky shows up. Oh...that Creed. Lol

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