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Articles — page 2

Timely takes on life-insurance trends, data, and decisions — written for families across Sioux Falls and South Dakota.

Mike Moore of Big Sioux Life at a kitchen table with a young couple reviewing a coverage chart on a laptop, Lake Kampeska visible through the window behind them on an early autumn morning in Watertown, South Dakota

Families and Parents 22 min read

How Much Life Insurance Do Watertown, SD Families Need?

Run the DIME method with Watertown, SD's own income and home-price numbers to find out what life insurance coverage your family actually needs in 2026.
Mike Moore, a life insurance advisor, reviewing a life insurance application with a South Dakota truck driver beside a parked semi truck at a Sioux Falls freight yard

Health and Underwriting 21 min read

Life Insurance for Truck Drivers in South Dakota: 2026 Guide

Truck driving raises your life insurance cost more than it blocks your approval. How South Dakota carriers actually rate the occupation, and how to shop it.
Mike Moore of Big Sioux Life at a kitchen table in a South Dakota home, reviewing paperwork with a middle-aged woman while her elderly mother and young son sit nearby

Families and Parents 20 min read

Life Insurance for the Sandwich Generation: A 2026 SD Guide

Supporting kids and aging parents at once changes how much life insurance you need. A South Dakota guide to sizing coverage for both generations.
Mike Moore of Big Sioux Life sitting across a table from an adult daughter in a Sioux Falls office, reviewing a final expense planning checklist together

Seniors and Final Expenses 19 min read

Who Pays for a Funeral in South Dakota? 2026 Guide

If you die without life insurance in South Dakota, who pays the funeral bill? What state law says about family liability, probate, and small estates.
Mike Moore of Big Sioux Life at his Sioux Falls office desk pointing to a guaranteed death benefit line on a life insurance illustration next to a client

Life Insurance Basics 20 min read

Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance in South Dakota (2026)

Guaranteed universal life insurance locks in a death benefit for life at a fixed premium, but it isn't whole life. Here's how it works and who it fits.
Mike Moore of Big Sioux Life chatting with a young family on the front steps of their brick home on a tree-lined Brookings street in the fall

Families and Parents 21 min read

How Much Life Insurance Do Brookings, SD Families Need?

Run the DIME method with Brookings, SD's own income and home-price numbers to see what life insurance coverage your family actually needs in 2026.
Mike Moore, Life Insurance Advisor at Big Sioux Life, next to the title Does SDRS Cover Your Family If You Die, a 2026 South Dakota Retirement System guide

Life Insurance Basics 22 min read

Does SDRS Cover Your Family If You Die? A 2026 SD Guide

SDRS pays a real survivor benefit, but for most working-age members it does not start for decades. How the pension actually works if you die young.
Mike Moore of Big Sioux Life talking with grandparents in their living room while their grandson does homework at the coffee table

Families and Parents 23 min read

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: SD Life Insurance Guide

If you're raising your grandchildren in South Dakota, life insurance and guardianship work differently. What SD law requires, and how to size coverage.
Mike Moore, life insurance advisor at Big Sioux Life, reviewing a beneficiary designation form with a special needs trust document at his desk in Sioux Falls

Families and Parents 23 min read

Life Insurance and Special Needs Trusts in South Dakota

How South Dakota parents can name a trust, not their child, as life insurance beneficiary without putting SSI or Medicaid eligibility at risk in 2026.
Mike Moore, life insurance advisor at Big Sioux Life, working through a family's coverage numbers at his desk with the Black Hills visible through the window

Families and Parents 22 min read

How Much Life Insurance Do Rapid City, SD Families Need?

Run the DIME method with Rapid City, SD's own income and home-price numbers to see what life insurance coverage your family actually needs in 2026.
Mike Moore, life insurance advisor at Big Sioux Life, working through a family's coverage numbers on a laptop at his desk

Families and Parents 21 min read

How Much Life Insurance Do Aberdeen, SD Families Need?

Run the DIME method with Aberdeen, SD's own income and home-price numbers to see what life insurance coverage your family actually needs in 2026.
Mike Moore, life insurance advisor at Big Sioux Life, reviewing a term life insurance comparison at his desk in Sioux Falls

Life Insurance Basics 22 min read

Return of Premium Term Life Insurance: Worth It in 2026?

State Farm's own rates show ROP term costs nearly 4 times standard term. Here's the real, sourced math on whether the refund is worth it in 2026.

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