Insurance advisors may have a less-than-golden reputation as a group, but when you think about it, this stereotype is mostly based on sales practices. Nowadays, with Internet resources at your disposal, you can educate yourself to avoid shady sales practices and select an advisor that offers real value. It comes down to personal preference.

Term life insurance is cheap and simple enough that most people can make an educated purchase, start to finish, on the Web or by phone from a direct insurance provider. Ideally you would want to work with an advisor who has a “complete picture” perspective of your needs and can assist you in this process. Also long-term care insurance is about as new, complicated, and expensive as it gets. Even after extensive Web research, many people will still benefit from the services of an independent financial advisor, particularly one with experience in long-term care issues.

In addition to the traditional insurance agent, there are a few other options. An independent insurance advisor represents a number of insurance companies and can more objectively weigh pluses and minuses across many companies and types of insurance.

Although we tend to be stubborn about doing it ourselves, a good financial advisor can build insurance into your overall financial plan. The key here, again, is independence. Work with a fee-only financial advisor. Many insurance salespeople masquerading as financial advisors will be all too happy to help you out, up to the point where you decide you’re not interested in the product they’re pushing.

An advisor can also help you with an annual insurance review. As your life situation changes, so do your insurance needs. Probably the simplest example is life insurance. The bottom line is that most people need less life insurance every year, as they build savings and approach retirement. On the other side of the coin, most people don’t need any life insurance until the baby arrives. You might want to drop collision and comprehensive insurance when your car reaches “licensed battering ram” status. And so on.

So, even if you’d prefer not to sit down with an advisor, an annual insurance self-review is a good idea. Drop me an email for some helpful tips on how to carry this out or if you want a second opinion.