Risk management is intended to minimize financial and other losses potentially associated with risks to your assets, business, or health. Some examples of risk are personal and professional liability, business ownership, property loss, and catastrophic illness or disability. Your first line of defense is to identify your sources of risk and then to either avoid or minimize the major exposures. Your last line of defense is insurance.

Asset protection planning manages risks to your wealth. Lawsuits, accidents, property damage, and other financial risks are facts of everyday life and asset protection planning looks to transfer the risk of these events through:

• Insurance
• Repositioning asset ownership
• Other protections available under the law.

Starting and running a business carries its own set of risk exposures. Certain factors can have a huge impact on how safe your personal and business assets are from risk. These include:

• The type of business entity you choose
• The state you choose to do business in
• How you manage your business
• Your human resources
• Your taxes

Business risk management identifies your options for handling these risks.

Both genetics and lifestyle affect your risk profile. Being overweight, eating poorly, failing to exercise, smoking, driving unsafely, and not wearing a seatbelt will increase your insurance premiums. On the other hand, making healthier lifestyle decisions can help to reduce your insurance premiums.

While you have no control over your genetics, you do have control over how you live your life. Educate yourself on how making healthy choices can not only improve your general health and wellness, but can also have a direct impact on your health care costs.