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Protect Your Family
& Build Your Financial Confidence
This insurance overview provides general information to expand your knowledge and learn the questions you must ask to protect your family.
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Life Insurance
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Retirement Income
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Consumer Resource
How To Buy Life Insurance
Without Getting Ripped Off
Most families know they need life insurance — but few know enough to shop confidently. This guide, based on Michael McMeniman's e-Book, gives you the essentials to make a smart, informed purchase.
How Life Insurance Works
Life insurance is a contract between you and a carrier. The carrier pays a death benefit to your named beneficiaries when you die. Your cost (premium) is primarily based on three factors: your age, your gender, and your health history. Younger, healthier people pay less. Once approved and premiums are paid, the carrier fulfills the contract when a verified death claim is filed.
You decide who receives the money — an individual, multiple people, a class of people (e.g., "all my children"), or even a charity or organization. Knowing exactly how much coverage you need is best determined through a conversation with a licensed agent who can apply their experience to your unique situation.
Why Buy Life Insurance? — L.I.F.E.R.S.
Six reasons, one easy-to-remember acrostic.
Life insurance leverages your present assets into a larger benefit for your heirs and can pay estate taxes — keeping other family assets intact for the next generation.
When a working household member passes away, family income can drop by half or more. Life insurance replaces that lost income, giving your family time to grieve and survive.
Burial costs are unavoidable. Intentionally purchasing coverage to pay these inevitable expenses is a wise financial decision.
Debts transfer to your estate or surviving spouse upon death. Life insurance provides funds to cover mortgages and consumer debt, leaving your family financially secure.
Permanent policies can be funded to create a tax-free retirement income stream — even one guaranteed for life.
Living Benefits provide cash to the insured when they experience significant health events while still alive — an often-overlooked but powerful feature.
The 3 Major Types of Life Insurance
Term Life
Temporary, affordable coverage for 10, 20, or 30 years. If you die during the term, the death benefit is paid. If the term expires, the contract ends with no payout — no cash value.
Whole Life
Permanent coverage designed to last your lifetime. It builds a guaranteed cash value account you can access through loans or withdrawals.
Indexed Universal Life (IUL)
The most flexible permanent policy. Cash value growth is tied to a market index (like the S&P 500) — capturing gains in good years while being protected from losses in down years. When funded properly, it can generate a guaranteed lifetime income.
How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off
The key principle is simple: know what you have, know what you need, and purchase only what you need. Work with an excellent insurance agent or financial professional to accurately determine what is needed and which product meets that need.
- • Never buy coverage based on price alone — the cheapest policy may leave your family underprotected.
- • Understand your policy before signing — ask your agent to explain every benefit, exclusion, and rider.
- • Verify the carrier's financial rating (look for A- or better from A.M. Best) so they'll be there when your family needs them.
- • Review your coverage at least annually — life changes (marriage, children, new home) mean coverage needs change too.
- • Interview your agent — hold them to a high standard of knowledge, integrity, and compassion.
How to Select an Excellent Insurance Agent
Industry Knowledge
A great agent has a thorough understanding of the industry, current products, history, and trends — this is what separates excellent agents from average ones.
Strong Communication
They ask meaningful questions, listen with empathy, and explain complex financial concepts in plain language.
Trustworthiness
Insurance is highly regulated because it impacts people's lives deeply. An excellent agent operates with integrity, transparency, and a strong ethical compass.
Customer Connection
They act with compassion and intention to solve problems quickly — especially when clients are frustrated or confused.
Adaptability
The industry changes rapidly. A great agent continuously evolves and minimizes confusion for clients throughout those changes.
Get the Full E-Book
How To Buy Life Insurance Without Getting Ripped Off by Michael McMeniman walks you through every step of the process — from understanding policy types to building a foolproof family financial plan — so you can protect your family with confidence.
Purchase on Amazon →Consumer Resource
15 Most Frequently Asked Questions
About Life Insurance
Most people know life insurance can protect their family — they just don't know how it works. These answers, drawn from Michael McMeniman's e-Book, give you the foundational knowledge to ask the right questions and make confident decisions.
Get the Full E-Book
This e-Book goes deeper — covering advanced questions on term vs. whole life, IUL policies, tax implications, riders, policy reviews, and much more. A valuable resource for any family serious about financial protection.
Purchase on Amazon →Consumer Resource
15 Most Frequently Asked Questions
About Health Insurance
A plain-language guide to ACA Marketplace plans, supplemental coverage, and Medicare — drawn from Michael McMeniman's e-Book. Raise your awareness and make confident health insurance decisions for your family.
Get the Full E-Book
15 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Health Insurance by Michael McMeniman covers ACA Marketplace plans, supplemental coverage, and Medicare in plain language — giving you the knowledge to protect your family with confidence.
Purchase on Amazon →Thank you for visiting Maneuver Financial
Insurance is a subject most of us know little about — even though we often suspect we need it. And even then, we are not entirely sure how much we need, or when we should sacrifice the limited funds in our family budget to get it.
And most importantly, who do we get it from safely?
I trust you found these educational tools helpful in continuing your learning process. Each video is compact and designed to provide basic information.
The goal here is to get you thinking more clearly, so you can begin to formulate the questions you most want to ask a financial professional.
When you are ready, please schedule an appointment with me, Michael McMeniman, or one of my associates, so we may assist you personally.