Take a moment to consider your most valuable asset.  

For most, a home will come to mind because it tends to be a large, long-term investment. This line of thinking is short sighted. Isn't the income source that allows for the material comforts of a home a more valuable item?

The idea that the home is the most valuable financial asset a person possesses is myopic. In working with my clients, we approach this line of reasoning in a different way: Compare the present value of the next 20-25 years of future income earnings to the value of the home. Through this simple comparison it is easy to see which is greater, and which is a more valuable asset. 

Nevertheless, a constant charge in my practice is suggesting my clients to protect their income against a loss, through a potential long term disability. There are objections to this sort of protection, one of which relates to the chances of becoming disabled and using the insurance. What is ironic is my clients do not hold the same objections against purchasing & using their home or auto insurance.  

Thus, they sometimes end up only protecting the less valuable asset. I wonder if the fact that the disabled are not particularly visible in the workforce gives the illusion that it is an unlikely event. 

Prepared by, 

Ashvin Chheda, ChFC®, CLU®
Opes One Advisors
President 

For more information on the topic of protecting your most valuable asset, email Ashvin_Chheda@opesone.com, or call 214-346-0985. 

_{This material contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Guardian or its subsidiaries and such opinions are subject to change without notice.}