Jul 25
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Life insurance is an agreement between you (the policy owner) and an insurer. Under the terms of a life insurance policy, the insurer promises to pay a certain sum to a person you choose (your beneficiary) upon your death, in exchange for your premium payments. Proper life insurance coverage should provide you with peace of mind, since you know that those you care about will be financially protected after you die.
The many uses of life insurance
One of the most common reasons for buying life insurance is to replace the loss of income that would occur in the event of your death. When you die and your paychecks stop, your family may be left with limited resources. Proceeds from a life insurance policy make cash available to support your family almost immediately upon your death. Life insurance is also commonly used to pay any debts that you may leave behind.
Life insurance can be used to pay off mortgages, car loans, and credit card debts, leaving other remaining assets intact for your family. Life insurance proceeds can also be used to pay for final expenses and estate taxes. Finally, life insurance can create an estate for your heirs.
How much life insurance do you need?
Your life insurance needs will depend on a number of factors, including whether you’re married, the size of your family, the nature of your financial obligations, your career stage, and your goals. For example, when you’re young, you may not have a great need for life insurance. However, as you take on more responsibilities and your family grows, your need for life insurance increases.
There are plenty of tools to help you determine how much coverage you should have.
Your best resource may be a financial professional. At the most basic level, the amount of life insurance coverage that you need corresponds directly to your answers to these questions:
What immediate financial expenses (e.g., debt repayment, funeral expenses) would your family face upon your death?
How much of your salary is devoted to current expenses and future needs?
How long would your dependents need support if you were to die tomorrow?
How much money would you want to leave for special situations upon your death, such as funding your children’s education, gifts to charities, or an inheritance for your children?
Since your needs will change over time, you’ll need to continually re-evaluate your need for coverage.
How much life insurance can you afford?
How do you balance the cost of insurance coverage with the amount of coverage that your family needs? Just as several variables determine the amount of coverage that you need, many factors determine the cost of coverage. The type of policy that you choose, the amount of coverage, your age, and your health all play a part. The amount of coverage you can afford is tied to your current and expected future financial situation, as well. A financial professional or insurance agent can be invaluable in helping you select the right insurance plan.
What’s in a life insurance contract?
A life insurance contract is made up of legal provisions, your application (which identifies who you are and your medical declarations), and a policy specifications page that describes the policy you have selected, including any options and riders that you have purchased in return for an additional premium.
Provisions describe the conditions, rights, and obligations of the parties to the contract (e.g., the grace period for payment of premiums, suicide and incontestability clauses).
The policy specifications page describes the amount to be paid upon your death and the amount of premiums required to keep the policy in effect. Also stated are any riders and options added to the standard policy. Some riders include the waiver of premium rider, which allows you to skip premium payments during periods of disability; the guaranteed insurability rider, which permits you to raise the amount of your insurance without a further medical exam; and accidental death benefits.
The insurer may add an endorsement to the policy at the time of issue to amend a provision of the standard contract.
Types of life insurance policies
The two basic types of life insurance are term life and permanent (cash value) life. Term policies provide life insurance protection for a specific period of time. If you die during the coverage period, your beneficiary receives the policy death benefit. If you live to the end of the term, the policy simply terminates, unless it automatically renews for a new period. Term policies are available for periods of 1 to 30 years or more and may, in some cases, be renewed until you reach age 95. Premium payments may be increasing, as with annually renewable 1-year (period) term, or level (equal) for up to 30-year term periods.
Permanent insurance policies provide protection for your entire life, provided you pay the premium to keep the policy in force. Premium payments are greater than necessary to provide the life insurance benefit in the early years of the policy, so that a reserve can be accumulated to make up the shortfall in premiums necessary to provide the insurance in the later years. Should the policyowner discontinue the policy, this reserve, known as the cash value, is returned to the policyowner. Permanent life insurance can be further broken down into the following basic categories:
Whole life: You generally make level (equal) premium payments for life. The death benefit and cash value are predetermined and guaranteed. The policyowner’s only action after purchase of the policy is to pay the fixed premium.
Universal life: You may pay premiums at any time, in any amount (subject to certain limits), as long as policy expenses and the cost of insurance coverage are met. The amount of insurance coverage can be decreased, and the cash value will grow at a declared interest rate, which may vary over time.
Variable life: As with whole life, you pay a level premium for life. However, the death benefit and cash value fluctuate depending on the performance of investments in what are known as subaccounts. A subaccount is a pool of investor funds professionally managed to pursue a stated investment objective. The policyowner selects the subaccounts in which the cash value should be invested.
Universal variable life: A combination of universal and variable life. You may pay premiums at any time, in any amount (subject to limits), as long as policy expenses and the cost of insurance coverage are met. The amount of insurance coverage can be decreased, and the cash value goes up or down based on the performance of investments in the subaccounts.
Choosing and changing your beneficiaries
You must name a primary beneficiary to receive the proceeds of your insurance policy. Your beneficiary may be a person, corporation, or other legal entity. You may name multiple beneficiaries and specify what percentage of the net death benefit each is to receive. If you name your minor child as a beneficiary, be sure to designate an adult as the child’s guardian in your will.
Generally, you can change your beneficiary at any time. Changing your beneficiary usually requires nothing more than signing a new designation form and sending it to your insurance company. If you have named someone as an irrevocable (permanent) beneficiary, however, you will need that person’s permission to adjust any of the policy’s provisions.
Where can you buy life insurance?
You can often get insurance coverage from your employer (i.e., through a group life insurance plan offered by your employer) or through an association to which you belong (which may also offer group life insurance). You can also buy insurance through a licensed life insurance agent or broker, or directly from an insurance company.
Any policy that you buy is only as good as the company that issues it, so investigate the company offering you the insurance. Ratings services, such as A. M. Best, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s, evaluate an insurer’s financial strength. The company offering you coverage should provide you with this information.
Mar 11
adminArticles Annual Salary, Approximate Number, Buying Life Insurance, Cheap Life Insurance, Death Benefit, Insurance Experts, Insurance Option, Investment Options, Life Aspects, Life Insurance Coverage, Life Insurance Market, Life Insurance Options, Life Insurance Policies, Life Insurance Policy, Real Insurance, Strict Rules, Term Life Insurance, Term Policies, Whole Life Insurance, Whole Life Insurance Policies
There are so many life insurance options out there that one can spend a lot of time on just choosing what type of life insurance they need. But before you even start thinking about your options, decide whether you need life insurance at all. It’s the most important decision concerning this type of insurance, because if you don’t really need it then it’s better to go without it altogether. But if you feel the need to keep some of your life aspects covered then get ready for a deep investigation of the life insurance market.
How can one determine whether they need life insurance? It’s not that hard like you would imagine. This decision depends on your current responsibilities you bear. If you have dependents, a spouse, a mortgage loan or any other aspects that should be secured no matter what, you will definitely find it useful to buy life insurance coverage.
Once you have decided on buying life insurance, it’s time to determine how much coverage you actually need. It’s important, because the amount of coverage carried by your policy strongly affects the cost of your policy. There are no strict rules and methods of defining the amount of coverage as there are many factors involved (number of dependants, your income, your loans), however you can start with multiplying your annual salary by 5-10 to get an approximate number.
Deciding on the type of insurance you would like to buy is also a complex question that needs detailed analysis. Most insurance experts agree that younger people with no serious obligations and serious health risks should consider term life insurance. Term policies are a real cheap life insurance option, however they do not carry any additional cash value besides providing a death benefit. Whole life insurance policies offer cash value and additional investment options, but are much more expensive, especially in the first couple of years after signing them. So define your real insurance needs and choose the type of insurance that appeals to you the most.
When you have strictly defined what policy you want to get, don’t rush getting it from the very first insurance company you can find. Shop around and make sure to get plenty of insurance quotes from reputable companies licensed in your state. You will be surprised to learn that the very same insurance policies with the same coverage amounts can be priced quite differently between companies, and it’s a really great way to get cheap life insurance. Some insurance companies will offer discounts to customers that already have other types of insurance policies with them. So if you have homeowners or auto insurance with a company that also provides life coverage, it may be a good option for cheap life insurance in your case.
Remember that the more time you spend considering and comparing your options, the easier it will be for you to find a policy that you will really be happy with. Don’t rush with your decision and get the offer you really think will match with your needs without any compromise.
Apr 21
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When you think of buying life insurance, you might have term life and whole life insurance come to mind. However, you should consider the mix of these two policies before you start looking for life insurance quotes. This is universal life insurance.
Definition
This policy also called universal life, it is a type of permanent life insurance that has additional features and advantages; it accumulates cash value through investment of the premium payments, it is similar in some ways and was developed from whole life insurance.
The attractive feature of this policy is that it has flexibility of premium payments, and has greater potential for cash value growth; the buyer has the chance to change the policy to suit his changing needs. In another word, this policy allows the buyer to decide how much of his premiums will be used for the insurance benefits and how much for investment.
If things go well, he can increase the investment part of the policy if the market is good, so that he can gain more profit, or if he has financial difficulties, he can use the accumulated cash value to pay for his premium. As a result, the buyer benefits protection and at the mean time can have his premium invested in the market.
Advantages
Flexible protection – it provides the buyer the flexibility to choose the amount of protection he wants, and allows him to increase or decrease the coverage, but increased coverage may subject to underwritten requirements.
Flexibility of premiums – it offers the buyer the flexibility to pay either lesser or more premium depending on the circumstances.
Guaranteed return of money – if the insurance company made profit on investments, the interest return of the cash value will increase, but no matter how bad the investments were, the buyer is guaranteed a certain minimal return on the cash portion.
Tax free death benefits – life insurance proceeds are generally income tax free to the beneficiary in most of the countries.
This policy also has its disadvantages, such as fewer guarantees than whole life insurance, no investment flexibility; the growth in cash value of the policy is limited.
It is said this policy is illegally sold as an investment, and some insurance agents recommended it to their customers because they earned more commission on this product compared to others, buyers are advised to know this product thoroughly before they purchase.
Mar 12
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Nothing in life can give one the security of knowing that their family is catered for in their absence like life insurance. Life insurance investment is a risk free investment that every person who cares about their family should consider buying. The benefits are guaranteed and unlike other investment options, there is no risk of loss involved. The much that you put in is the much that your dependents will get when you die.
The greatest challenge when buying life insurance investment is determining how much insurance is really enough. Most people think they have adequate life insurance only for the family to be left in debts after their demise because the death benefit was so little it could not meet all the funeral costs, let alone cater for the family’s regular expenses.
To keep your family from going through turmoil after your death, it is important that you buy adequate life insurance.
With a sound life insurance in place, you can help preserve the lifestyle your family is accustomed to living. You can easily incorporate life insurance in your existing investment plan, no matter what your financial status is. Provided you have a regular income, this is very easy. Insurance experts say that an equivalent of ten times one’s annual income is enough to support the family for a number of years after the policy holder’s death.
This means anyone can afford life insurance especially because it is based on one’s level of income.
To find out how much life insurance investment you should buy, visit an insurance website where you will fill out a form that seeks to get a definition of your financial situation. You will be required to input information about your income level, spending habits, regular expenses, projections for future expenses and value of any assets and investments you may have. Factors such as age, gender, health, addictions and participation in risky hobbies/leisure activities will affect the life insurance rates you get.
Jan 29
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A mention of life insurance conjures up thoughts about death. This is what life insurance is most associated with. For many people, buying life insurance means they are planning ahead as concerns the future of their dependants.
Even though planning for one’s death is not something to rejoice over, it is the most practical thing to do because eventually, everyone has to die at some point in time. People are increasingly becoming more open-minded about this, with majority going ahead and purchasing life insurance policies.
With the right life insurance plan, your family will benefit in the event of sudden death. In order to choose the right plan, you must understand what your needs are and the kind of benefits you want for your family. Then you can look for a plan that gives you just that.
Lloyd’s insurance company in London was the first insurance company to provide life insurance policies to people whose jobs exposed them to high risk of death. They included traders, merchants and ship owners. The first American life insurance followed suit in 1760, offering life insurance policies that were modeled on the Lloyd policies.
A life insurance policy covers the burial costs of the policy holder, settles any debts he may have left behind and provides financial support to his beneficiaries. When choosing a life insurance company, go for a company that is not only licensed to operate in your area, but one that is also reliable, especially when it comes to claims settlement.
Here is a list of insurance companies providing life insurance plans:
- Allstate
- American National
- Liberty National Life
- Northwestern Mutual Life
- Guardian Life
- The Hartford
- United Health
- Protective Life Corporation
- Genworth Financial Group
- Jackson National Life
There are many more companies whose services are just as good as those offered by the above companies. It could be that they are not as big or have entered the market recently. You can find them by searching on the web. It is important to check their credibility before signing up with them. First of all, they must be registered to operate in your area. A good starting point would be visiting your state’s department of insurance and requesting for a list of insurance companies in the area.
Beware of fraudsters operating online. There are plenty of them posing as genuine insurance agents. Run a background check on everyone you are dealing with online to ascertain that they are indeed trustworthy before doing any transaction with them.
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