DG Life Group

This one matters more than anything else I'll post this month.

If you have a child with a disability who receives SSI or Medicaid, naming them directly as your life insurance beneficiary can end those benefits.

The SSI resource limit is $2,000. It hasn't moved since 1989. A death benefit paid to that child counts as a resource the day it arrives and in most states, losing SSI means losing the Medicaid that's paying for their care.

Parents do this because it's the loving thing to do. It's also, in this specific case, the thing that causes the damage.

The usual answer is a properly drafted third-party special needs trust as the beneficiary instead. The money still supports your child. It just doesn't disqualify them from what's supporting them now.

I'm a broker, not an attorney, this needs a special needs planning attorney, and I'd say that to anyone who asked. But if nobody has ever mentioned this to you, that's worth knowing before it's discovered at a claim.

A thing almost nobody knows, and it costs Texas families real money.

Your beneficiary form overrides your will.

You can have a will that carefully divides everything among your children. If your life insurance names someone else, the policy pays that person. The will doesn't touch it.

Where this gets serious is after a divorce. Texas law does automatically void an ex-spouse designation on a policy you own personally — that part works.

But it does not reach your coverage through work. Employer plans fall under federal law, which overrides the Texas statute. Your group life can still pay an ex-spouse years after the decree, because the plan pays whoever is on the form.

I'm a licensed broker, not an attorney, and anything involving a decree belongs with one. But you can request a beneficiary statement from every policy and plan you have this week, for free, and just look at what it says.

Most people have never looked. A surprising number don't like what they find.

"I have (whatever condition), so I probably can't get covered."

I hear this constantly, and it's usually wrong.

Most conditions change your rate, not your eligibility. Controlled blood pressure, treated thyroid disease, sleep apnea managed with CPAP... these routinely get standard rates or better. Diabetes, cardiac history, and mental health conditions are all commonly placed.

Here's the part that decides more of it than the condition does: carriers assess the same file completely differently. One company declines what another writes at standard rates, because they're working from different claims experience.

That's why a decline from one insurer tells you very little about what the rest of the market would do. It's one company's answer, not the market's.

If you've been putting this off because you assumed you'd be turned down... or if you actually were turned down once and left it there... it's worth a second look.

Here's the thing about life insurance that I wish more people understood before they needed to.

You're not buying a product. You're locking in a health status.

The rate you qualify for today is based on who you are today. If your health changes next year, and health changes without warning....the rate you could have had is gone. Not more expensive. Gone.

That's not a scare tactic, it's just how underwriting works. Insurance prices risk, and risk is assessed at the moment you apply.

Which is why the most common thing I hear from people over 50 isn't "I wish I'd bought more." It's some version of "I wish I'd bought it sooner."

If you're healthy right now, that's not a reason to postpone this. It's the reason to handle it.

Next week kicks off Life Insurance Awareness Month. 🗓️

It's a national campaign that's run every September since 2004, and I'll be honest about why it exists: roughly half of American adults have no life insurance at all, and a large share of those who do have it don't have enough.

So here's what I'm doing this September, and there's no catch to it.

A free 15-minute policy review. For anyone. Including people who aren't my clients and have no intention of becoming one.

Bring whatever you have — a workplace policy, something you bought a decade ago, a folder you've never opened. I'll tell you what it actually covers, whether the beneficiary designation still makes sense, and whether the amount still fits your life.

If it's all in good shape, I'll say so and you'll be done in ten minutes. That's a genuinely common outcome and a completely fine one.

Comment or message me and we'll find a time.

"I've been putting it off because I don't want to do the medical exam."

Fair. Also, increasingly, unnecessary.

A lot of healthy applicants now qualify through accelerated underwriting — no blood draw, no urine sample, nobody coming to your house. Carriers verify electronically through prescription history and medical databases instead. Approval can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.

Coverage available this way commonly runs into the $1–3 million range, depending on carrier and age.

One honest caveat: if you have meaningful health history, the full exam often works better for you, not worse. Labs and physician records give the carrier evidence to justify a better rate class. Without them, the algorithm tends to default conservative.

So it depends. But if "I don't want the exam" is the thing that's stopped you — that may not be a real obstacle anymore.

If you want to see numbers before talking to anybody: there's a rate tool on my site that shows real quotes from multiple carriers with no email or phone number required. You only hand over contact details if you choose to apply. Link's in the comments.

For the business owners here — one that catches people at the worst possible moment.

If you're applying for an SBA or business loan, there's a good chance the lender will require life insurance as a condition of closing. Very common, especially for 7(a) loans where the business depends on one owner.

Two things worth knowing before it lands on your closing checklist:

1. Start early. Underwriting takes weeks, and the carrier also has to acknowledge the assignment in writing. I've seen this hold up closings that were otherwise ready.

2. The structure matters enormously. The lender should be a collateral assignee — meaning they're paid only the outstanding balance, and your family receives the rest. Occasionally a lender asks to be named beneficiary instead. On a $1M policy securing a $250k loan, that difference is $750,000 that should have gone to your family.

If a lender has handed you that requirement, send it over. I'll tell you whether a policy you already own can be assigned — which is often faster and cheaper than buying a new one.

💡 8 Money Rules Every Kid Should Learn Early

Financial habits start young. The earlier kids understand how money works, the more confident and responsible they’ll be with it later in life.

Here are a few simple principles that can make a huge difference:

✔ Pay yourself first (save before spending)
✔ Know the difference between wants vs. needs
✔ Let compound interest work in your favor
✔ Avoid bad debt
✔ Track every dollar
✔ Build multiple income skills
✔ Understand how marketing influences spending
✔ Practice generosity and giving

Teaching kids these lessons early can help them build strong financial habits that last a lifetime.