James Bowerman:
Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Creative Connections. I’m James Bowerman, the Creative Agent. And today, I am here with the Grim Reaper himself to talk about death. Thank you Mr. Reaper for being here. I’m sure you’re quite busy with Halloween being right around the corner. I know it’s not a comfortable subject to talk about death, but it’s coming for all of us. And I wanted to actually sit down with a good friend of mine, Leo Mercer of Phoenix Private Wealth. And he’s going to help talk to us today a little bit about how can we go about preparing for the unexpected and protecting what matters most. So, Leo, thanks for being here.
Leo Mercer:
Thanks for having me, James. Happy to be here. Thanks for having me on the show.
James Bowerman:
My pleasure. For those who may not know you, let’s put into context a little about who you are and why you decided to become a financial advisor.
Leo Mercer:
Yeah, so for me, my whole life, I’ve always had athletics as big part of who I am. I was put on skis when I could stand, but really the one that resonated with me most was swimming. And I stuck with that one all through college and would occasionally teach swim lessons on weekends. And with athletics and swimming. Really a big part of that development and growth is the coach figure. And when I was into sports, I wanted someone who had my best interests in mind, looked out for me, and I just knew that he cared. When I was looking for a job, I chose to be in the financial services industry, because I wanted to be that coach for my clients and I want to help people. I want to have an impact. And by aligning myself with Phoenix Private Wealth, I’m able to do that daily.
James Bowerman:
We’re sitting here, obviously I’m in real estate. A lot of people may not connect the two, specifically we’re talking about life insurance. So tell us a little bit about how life insurance ties into the home buying process.
Leo Mercer:
Whenever someone buys a house, it’s a big event, big moment in people’s lives, especially with that first house. While a lot of people they see the house, it comes with that unexpected debt. Or have a mortgage that they have. And while it’s uncomfortable to talk about, people don’t think about what happens if I’m not around. And life insurance can help give you that peace of mind. It can help pay off a mortgage. Maybe give you some extra money in the pocket, so you don’t have to really uproot your family, from what they call home.
James Bowerman:
Getting life insurance, I’m sure a lot of people who had an employer, they might get that as an option. So tell me a little bit about, having that as an option through the employer or maybe outside of it?
Leo Mercer:
What we see a lot of times, and it really depends on per person, but we like to have folks look on the outside. Because when you have insurance there, you don’t have to worry about a lot of different factors. So when you have all your coverage through the firm or through your company, if you change jobs get laid off, you’d have a gap there. Whereas if you had on the outside, again it’s that peace of mind you’re not going to lose your coverage. And it also locks you into the lower age and the lower health rating. So it could be attractive for the longterm for looking at the next 10, 15, 20 years.
James Bowerman:
Yeah, and you had mentioned before, open enrollment, is a time.
Leo Mercer:
Exactly.
James Bowerman:
Comes around every year which, allows new employees to jump in to those benefits. But a lot of times those things change.
Leo Mercer:
Absolutely. It does change. It’s always going to be dependent on the company, but it’s something that some people tend to overlook. They just check the box and it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind. And it’s really taken a deeper dive, which is what I’m here for and things that I helped with.
James Bowerman:
The last question I want to talk about is that process. So I’m thinking about getting life insurance sounds like a good idea. I don’t like getting my family not being protected. I’m taking on this huge debt of row of a house. What does that process look like? How do I get started with that?
Leo Mercer:
So it always starts with just a conversation, consultation, just setting up that time to speak and really walking through those numbers. What do I have out there right now? Do I want to replace my income, send some kids to college?
Leo Mercer:
So it’s finding that number first and then seeing what’s the right fit for me. So for someone that’s younger, it could just be, “I just want to offset my mortgage, maybe have a little bit left in the bank for my spouse.” And it could be someone who’s older and probably recent empty nester kids graduate off to college off the payroll. And it’s longterm care that’s kind of creeping around the corner. I’m worried about what some of those costs may be in retirement.
James Bowerman:
If they want to reach out to you and get in touch with you, how can they do so? What’s the best way?
Leo Mercer:
Yeah, reach out to me on my Facebook business page. Shoot me a message on LinkedIn. Always happy to have a conversation. Happy to help, and looking forward hearing from you.
James Bowerman:
Excellent. All right, well, thank you for watching. And Leo, thank you for being here.
Leo Mercer:
Thanks for having me.
James Bowerman:
I appreciate the time and the information. If you have any questions for us, please leave a comment below, we’ll gladly get back to you. Until next time. We’ll see you soon.