What we offer
Every piece of the picture.
Life insurance is not one product, it is a handful of different tools that solve different problems. Here is each one we place, what it is actually for, and what we would want you to know before you signed anything.
Term life
ProtectionCoverage for a set number of years, usually ten, twenty or thirty. If you die inside the term, it pays. If you do not, it ends. That trade is why it buys more coverage per dollar than anything else on this page.
Usually the right call when
- There is a mortgage with years left on it.
- There are kids who are not finished being expensive.
- One income would be badly missed by the people living on it.
- You want the largest death benefit your budget will carry.
Worth knowing
- When the term ends, the coverage ends. Nothing comes back.
- Most policies can convert to permanent coverage without a new medical exam, but only inside a window written into the contract. We check that window before it closes.
- Buying it younger locks a lower rate for the whole term.
Mortgage protection
ProtectionA life policy sized to what is still owed on the house. It is not a separate kind of insurance so much as a job we point a policy at, so the home stays with the people already living in it.
Usually the right call when
- You just bought, or just refinanced.
- The mortgage is the single biggest thing your family could not absorb on one income.
- You want the simplest possible version of this conversation.
Worth knowing
- The money goes to your beneficiary, not to the bank. They decide whether to pay the house off or keep the payments going.
- This is different from the mortgage insurance a lender may require, which protects the lender rather than you.
- It is usually a term policy underneath, so the term should outlast the loan.
Final expense
ProtectionSmaller permanent coverage, built for the bills that arrive in the first few weeks rather than for replacing an income: the service, the outstanding accounts, the travel for the people who have to come.
Usually the right call when
- The goal is to not leave the arrangements to someone else's credit card.
- A fully underwritten policy has already come back declined.
- You want coverage that does not expire.
Worth knowing
- Underwriting is lighter, often a set of health questions rather than an exam, which is what makes it approvable when other things are not.
- Some policies pay only premiums back for the first couple of years before the full benefit begins. We will tell you which kind you are being offered.
- Per dollar of coverage it costs more than term. That is the price of easier approval and no expiry.
Indexed universal life
GrowthPermanent coverage with a cash value that can grow based on the movement of a market index, inside limits the policy sets. It is the most oversold product in this industry, so we will be blunt about it.
Usually the right call when
- You want permanent coverage in the first place, not an investment wearing a policy as a disguise.
- The protection need is long term and not going away.
- You can fund it consistently for many years.
Worth knowing
- It is not an investment account and we will not pitch it as one.
- Growth is capped, and the cap can change. Policy charges come out along the way, so the illustration is a projection and not a promise.
- Underfunding one can cause it to lapse years later, which is the most common way these go wrong.
- If someone shows you an illustration with a single confident number at the bottom, ask what happens if the index does nothing.
Annuities
IncomeA contract built to turn a pile of savings into a stream of income, either for a set number of years or for the rest of your life, depending on what the contract says. This is the retirement side of the picture rather than the protection side.
Usually the right call when
- Retirement is close, or already here.
- You would rather have predictable income than the highest possible return.
- There is money sitting somewhere it is not doing a job.
Worth knowing
- Most carry a surrender period, meaning money taken out early costs you a penalty. Know that number before you sign.
- Terms differ enough between carriers that comparing them is most of the work, which is the part being independent actually pays for.
- Tax treatment depends on how the contract is funded. That is a conversation for your tax advisor, not for us.
Medicare
HealthHelp comparing Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans across the carriers we are appointed with, so the decision gets made against real options instead of whichever brochure arrived first.
Usually the right call when
- You are approaching eligibility and the mail has started.
- A plan changed underneath you and you want to know what it means.
- You want someone to read the network list before you find out the hard way.
Worth knowing
- Lara Benefits is an independent agency and is not affiliated with any government agency, and we are not Medicare.
- We can only discuss the plans offered by carriers we are appointed with, and there may be others available in your area.
- You do not pay us for the help.
Living benefits
RiderNot a product on its own, but the part of the policy that can pay you while you are still here. A qualifying critical, chronic or terminal diagnosis can release part of the death benefit early, so the money shows up when there are still decisions to make with it.
Why it is in our name
- The claim most families actually face is an illness, not a funeral.
- It is often included at no extra premium, and most people never learn they have it.
- We check whether your existing policy already carries one.
Worth knowing
- Money paid early is an advance against the death benefit, so it reduces what your family receives later.
- What counts as a qualifying condition varies by policy, by carrier and by state.
- The amount available is a portion, not the whole benefit.
Not sure which one
That is the normal starting point.
Most people arrive knowing they should do something and not much past that. Tell us who depends on you and we will work backwards from there. If nothing on this page fits, we will say so.