More Wonderful Life Insurance

Capital Benefits brings new NJSPA plan that gives members unprecedented value

No NJSPBA supporter seems to serve to protect like Capital Benefits, the New Jersey insurance brokers who initially provided unprecedented service to members in 2018 with the NJSPBA Life Insurance Plan. And just when it seemed like they have served up the best coverage for law enforcement, Joe Ablahani and Eric Murtha from Capital Benefits have come up with an even more protective plan.

These Capital ideas are some of the best yet: a new life insurance product that offers living benefits from which members can claim up to 75 percent of the policy value while still alive. Add to that, new wrinkles in the disability insurance program that covers sickness and injury suffered on or off duty.

“It kind of puts life insurance on steroids,” Ablahani declares. “We rolled this out a few weeks ago, and when I have explained it to PBA members they are like, “Yeah, it’s a no-brainer.’ I think it’s a home run for every member.”

The virtue of the new life insurance is the living benefits upgrade. Here’s how it works: If you suffer a critical illness or critical injury, you can get up to 75 percent of the value of policy while you are still alive.

So say you have a $1 million policy, and you have a heart attack or stroke. You can get up to $750,000 tax free while you are still alive and still have the value of what’s left on the policy. If you have cancer or are incapacitated due to an injury, the same benefit is available.

The money can be used to pay for doctors, to pay off a mortgage or even to go traveling. If you suffer a chronic illness and can’t perform any two of the six daily living activities like bathing or dressing yourself, you can also collect the benefit, which can be used to pay for assisted living.

The claim is based on your doctor’s assessment, not one from the insurance company. Ablahani relates a case study that really accentuates the value of this policy.

“We had a client who had a $1.5 million policy on a 30-year term. He had the policy when he was younger and he was paying about $1,300 per year,” he explains. “After five years on the policy, he had a heart attack and was able to collect $1 million. He had paid in about $6,500. But he got the million tax free, and he’s back to work. And he still has a portion of that death benefit in place.”

The life insurance plan packs even more security. It’s available in 20-year term, 30-year term, whole life and what is known as Index Universal Life. The Universal Life has an investment attached to it based on the Index 500. If the index increases, the policy holder actually makes more than having it on a fixed rate. And there’s no medical exam required for policies of up to $2 million for anybody under the age of 60.

Murtha reminds members that the program can be of great value because the life insurance they get through being PFRS members pays three-and-a-half times their salaries while still on the job. But when they retire, it decreases to less than half.

“So do this while you are younger because the premium is a lot less,” Ablahani notes. “And if you’re taking a permanent policy, it locks in at a much lower rate for the rest of your life. The rate is never going to go up on a permanent policy.”

And here’s the best part. Well, maybe not the best part compared to living benefits, but Capital Benefits reports that approvals are coming almost as soon as the ink on the signature page dries. One member was approved in two hours. The average has been about two days.

The new disability plan from Capital Benefits came after six months of searching for a program. The policy provides that any officer who is out work for longer than 30 days can collect up to 60 percent of salary up to a $5,000 max.

It covers long-term illness, any accident or injury, whether it comes from playing with the kids in the backyard or chasing down a suspect, and even COVID. Costs are determined by age with the age groups being 18 to 49, 50 to 59 and 60 to 65.

“I think this is all about peace of mind,” Murtha emphasizes about both programs. “And it’s not just peace of mind for members but for their families too because they can take advantage of it.”