What is Term Life Insurance?

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Term life insurance is basically a no frills type of life insurance. It is a life insurance for a specified duration limit, or time. You buy a specific amount of coverage for a specific time period by signing a contract. You pay for that coverage period and at the end of the term the policy expires. For example, the term might be until retirement, or until children are grown, or until college is paid for.

Term life insurance is the least expensive available insurance policy and allows you to spend a lot less and use the extra money in a better investment. It does not build up cash value and the premium normally increases as the policy owner gets older. Usually term life insurance covers
a specific term such as term of 1year, term of 20 years or term of 30 years.

If you die while the policy is active, term life insurance provides a stated benefit for it; and your survivors will be paid the agreed upon amount. However, the policy does not provide any returns beyond the stated benefit and once the policy expires, the insurance coverage ceases and the insurance company keeps the money. Some term insurance policies give you the right to renew at the same rate for multiple years, while others do not. The former are generally a bit more expensive.

Term life insurance is most suitable for you, if you are:

in need of coverage for a limited period of time,
young and looking for lower premiums,
buying a home or car, where the financial burden of a loan will disappear in time.

Term life insurance policies must be renewed when each term ends. Before buying a term life insurance policy, you should ask about the renewal provisions for the protection of your future insurability. There are some typical choices:

Annual Renewable—–the premium go up each year.
Level Term—–the premium stays the same for specific period like 5, 10, 15, or 20 years, then increases sharply.
Automatic Renewable—–you’ll have to pay more for this feature.

Some other options on term life insurance policies may include:
Re-Entry – it requires a lower premium than an automatically renewable policy. You can renew at the same low rate offers to new customer; but you’ll have to pass a physical examination. If you’ve developed any health problems, your premium could go up and cost more than an
automatic-renewable policy.
Convertable term – youll have the option to convert to a whole life insurance policy in later years.

The Importance Of Having A Mortgage Protection Insurance

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

It is unfortunate that one might get laid off, involved in unwanted accidents, faced with natural catastrophe or even face the death of a family member that is a bread winner. Not to mention most people take for granted of their financial situations and never even bother to be too far fetch when making plans for the family.

Before investing in a home, it is important to stop and think about how the house payments could be made if a major source of household income were to become permanently unavailable as the result of an unanticipated death.

While no one wants to think that their family will ever face a worst case scenario, it’s necessary to make contingency plans for every possible situation. Mortgages are such a large expense that it is important to consider how one’s family would be able to avoid the threat of foreclosure, in addition to losing a loved one, if such a situation were to arise. Fortunately, it is possible to protect your family from having to face the possibility of such a situation by investing in mortgage protection insurance.

Simply put, mortgage protection insurance is a life insurance policy that will pay off your mortgage following the death of one or more covered individuals. The primary purpose of this type of coverage is to reduce the financial burden placed on surviving family members following the death of a loved one. Homeowners who invest in this type of insurance coverage are making an important commitment to their families. This type of converge can ensure that one’s family will never be forced out of its home as the result of income loss following the death of a family member.

In single income households, or families in which one partner earns the majority of the money, many people think that the only covered life needs to be that of the primary breadwinner. However, it is likely that the death of a non-working spouse, or one who works part time, can also have a serious impact on a family’s ability to continue to afford to make mortgage loan payments.

People focuses on the loss of income and start making budget deductions following the death of the head of household. In fact they neglect to think about the increasing expenses once the deceased is no longer around. For example, if the non-working spouse is staying home with young children, the family does not have to pay for full-time child care. However, if that parent were no longer there, the working parent would have to pay for child care, which is a significant expense, in order to continue working.

Second to DIe Life Insurance

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

Usually, the death benefit from a second-to-die life insurance policy is intended to go to the children , a charity or pay taxes owed after both spouses pass away.

In the U.S. there is a marital deduction permitting you to leave an unlimited amount of assets to your surviving spouse with no taxes payable at your death. Those assets then become part of the estate of the spouse and if it includes a second to die life insurance policy it could help pay any taxes. In Canada, there is more lenient tax treatment.

There are also tax ramifications for small businesses, which is why business partners also purchase second-to-die policies.

THE REASON TO BUY SECOND TO DIE LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

With a second-to-die life insurance policy your beneficiaries can pay debts with the proceeds of your policy, so they won’t be forced to sell your house or liquidate assets to pay the bill.

A second-to-die life insurance policy can help to construct a financial plan reducing the tax burden of wealthy individuals by creating trusts and using second-to-die life insurance as part of the estate-planning process.

ADVANTAGES TO SECOND TO DIE LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

1.Less expensive. Second-to-die life insurance is usually less expensive than life insurance but depends on the blend of the ages. The premium is based upon the joint life expectancy.

2.Estate Preservation. A second-to-die policy appeals to individuals who feel strongly about preserving their estates with the life insurance paying the taxes.

3.Easier to buy. It’s easier to qualify for a second-to-die policy than for individual life insurance. Since both insures must die before the benefit is payable, the insurance company is less concerned that one of them might not be in good health.

* Builds your estate. In some cases, second-to-die life insurance is marketed as a way to build an estate, not just insulate it from taxes. Much like individual life insurance, the death benefit of a second-to-die policy can ensure that certain people receive money, even if you spend every nickel.

4.Second-to-die life insurance might make sense for people who don’t have a lot of money but want to leave an estate for their children.

No Medical Life Insurance

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

When applying for life insurance many life insurance companies require you to answer medical related questions and or to undergo a medical examination as part of the application process. These medical examinations are often required as proof of your health status as given on your application form. They are used by the life insurance companies to help them decide upon the insurance premium you’ll be charged for your life cover, and in some instances, as to whether you will be given life insurance at all.

Life insurance products where intensive medical questioning and or a medical examination is required effectively penalise you for pre-existing medical conditions, pushing up the cost of life cover. Taking a medical examination may also prove stressful, especially for the elderly who are looking for life insurance coverage later on in life.

Increasingly though, life insurance companies are offering life insurance products where no medical is required. What’s more some life companies even guarantee acceptance before you apply!

What is no medical life insurance?
No medical life insurance, to use a well-known phrase, does exactly what it says on the tin! It is a life insurance product where no medical examination is required. You may not even have to answer medical questions and yet still be guaranteed acceptance for life insurance. No medical life insurance is open to people of all ages, so whether you’re 20 or 65, no medical life insurance can give you the peace of mind that your loved ones will be financially secure in the event of your death during the term of the life insurance policy.

You may be questioning the ethics of such a life insurance scheme at this point? If you are don’t worry! No medical life insurance is all above board, and is in fact offered by some of the most well-known insurance companies in the UK. Even supermarkets like Tesco for instance now have a no medical insurance policy available for the over 60s.

The premiums on life insurance where no medical is required are competitive too. Life cover can be acquired for as little as 7 per month, with some life companies guaranteeing that the insurance premiums on no medical policies will not rise through the life of the policy. Of course, how much you pay into the life insurance policy each month will affect the final life insurance total available upon death. Generally, there are no issues involved with increasing the life insurance premiums later on of your own accord should you wish to do so.

All About Senior Life Insurance

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

In young age you are energetic, full of glamour and perfection, but with time they all fade away. What were all beautiful and filled with colours change into gray. This is all but natures law and you should happily accept this changing phase in your lifetime. As you grow old your body gets easily susceptible to various physical ailments – you need to go regularly to the hospital; do various tests and then undergo treatments and all these cost you a fortune. To make yourself feel safe in old age you should get a senior life insurance.

Senior life insurance pays for almost all the major mishaps in an individuals life. If you are suffering from a chronic disease, senior life insurance will bear your medical expenses. Senior citizens are most susceptible in regard to illness; hence, many government corporations and private companies provide senior life insurances. Life insurance policies even provide money for funerals and other ceremonies after death. So each and every senior citizen should go for a senior life insurance.

Senior life insurance can be obtained for people in the age group of 55-75. You should do a bit of research work before buying your policy to know the authenticity and reputation of that company or discuss with an expert before choosing a senior life insurance.

Some benefits of choosing a right senior life insurance:

1.A fixed premium, which will not increase.

2.You can also avail a no medical life insurance, which is also called as no exam life insurance.

3.You will get death benefits, which will not decrease up to three years.

4.With senior life insurance you will get facility of senior life settlement or life insurance settlement: Senior life settlement is a deal where a senior citizen sells his life insurance policy and in reward gets some cash, which can be utilized for some other purpose.

5.Guaranteed cash value on tax deferred basis.

A senior life insurance benefits also depends upon the insurer. The policy of benefits differs from one company to another. If you are net savvy can get free online life insurance quotes from various web sites and can then go for the best offer.

Considerations When Choosing Life Insurance

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Making the decision to buy life insurance can have a lasting effect. Without a life insurance policy your family could suffer great financial hardship when you die. Life insurance is a way to ensure that you can still take care of your family after you are gone. Knowing what considerations you should make when choosing a life insurance policy can help make the process easier.

Determining the amount of life insurance really depends on your personal situation. Consider what would happen to your family without your income. If it would cause financial problems then you should take that into account when choosing the amount of our policy. You should also consider factors like health insurance that could increase the needed income.

The cost of life insurance policies also varies depending on many factors. Company life insurance policies are usually always going to be the cheapest. Most often, though, you are only covered for the period of time you work for the employer. Also you usually have to be with an employer for a certain amount of time before you are eligible to receive life insurance benefits. Private life insurance polices can range in costs depending on the agents fees, types of coverage and limits. Other factors that effect costs are high risk factors, like someone who smokes, is overweight or has a preexisting medical condition.

The best way to choose a life insurance policy is to consider all the factors and take time to compare different policies. This is an important decision and should not be rushed. Discuss the policy with you spouse to ensure you have covered everything and havent forgot any important details. Once you have chosen a policy be sure to review it often, especially after any significant life change. The importance of life insurance is often underestimated until the need for it arises, so planning ahead and purchasing a policy will ensure a stable future for your family.

Considerations When Choosing Life Insurance

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Making the decision to buy life insurance can have a lasting effect. Without a life insurance policy your family could suffer great financial hardship when you die. Life insurance is a way to ensure that you can still take care of your family after you are gone. Knowing what considerations you should make when choosing a life insurance policy can help make the process easier.

Determining the amount of life insurance really depends on your personal situation. Consider what would happen to your family without your income. If it would cause financial problems then you should take that into account when choosing the amount of our policy. You should also consider factors like health insurance that could increase the needed income.

The cost of life insurance policies also varies depending on many factors. Company life insurance policies are usually always going to be the cheapest. Most often, though, you are only covered for the period of time you work for the employer. Also you usually have to be with an employer for a certain amount of time before you are eligible to receive life insurance benefits. Private life insurance polices can range in costs depending on the agents fees, types of coverage and limits. Other factors that effect costs are high risk factors, like someone who smokes, is overweight or has a preexisting medical condition.

The best way to choose a life insurance policy is to consider all the factors and take time to compare different policies. This is an important decision and should not be rushed. Discuss the policy with you spouse to ensure you have covered everything and havent forgot any important details. Once you have chosen a policy be sure to review it often, especially after any significant life change. The importance of life insurance is often underestimated until the need for it arises, so planning ahead and purchasing a policy will ensure a stable future for your family.

Buying life insurance: A Shopping Checklist

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

When shopping for term life insurance, you want to find the right amount of insurance coverage at a reasonable price with a company you can trust. But for many people, getting started is the hardest part. That’s where the following Life Insurance Checklist can help.

1. What you would like your policy to achieve?
Ask yourself what it is you want your life insurance to do. For example, do you want to have insurance coverage that will:

Pay funeral arrangements?
Pay the outstanding balance owing on a mortgage and other debts?
Offset the loss of your income? And if so, for how long?
Contribute to the future education of your children?
A combination of all or part of the above?

Knowing what you would like to accomplish with your life insurance policy and approximately how much you need to achieve these goals will help you determine how much life insurance you should consider purchasing. Online life insurance calculators are available to help you put a pound value on the amount of coverage you need.

2.Who would you like to insure under the life insurance policy?
Most insurance companies offer a variety of life insurance products to suit your lifestyle and family needs. You can get an insurance policy on your own life, or you can get one policy for both you and your spouse (called a joint life insurance policy). The most common joint life policy provides coverage when the first partner dies, leaving the life insurance benefit to the surviving spouse.

3.How long will you need life insurance?
Consulting a psychic isnt necessary, although it does require that you estimate the timing of your life insurance needs. For example:

When will your mortgage be paid off? The amortization period of your mortgage will often determine how long your term life insurance policy should be.
When will your children be finished school? One day they’ll finish their education and having enough life insurance coverage to pay their educational expenses won’t be necessary.
When are you planning to retire? You will have less income to replace at that time.

Knowing how long youll need life insurance coverage before you begin shopping will ensure you’re comfortable with the life insurance product you end up purchasing. Online tools are available to help you figure out which term for your life insurance policy is most recommended for people with similar lifestyles.

So now that you’ve got the how much, who and how long questions answered, youre ready to shop.

1.Compare life insurance quotes from multiple companies:
It pays to shop around because life insurance rates can vary considerably depending on the product you choose, your age, and the amount of coverage you request. This is the easy part, because with the Internet you can compare life insurance quotes easily, online, anytime.

2.Which life insurance rate has been quoted standard or preferred?
There are two basic life insurance rate groups you should know about when shopping for life insurance coverage: standard rates and preferred. Standard life insurance rates are the rates the majority of Canadians qualify for, while about one third of the population is eligible for preferred rates.

Preferred life insurance rates are typically offered to very healthy people and means you may pay a smaller premium than most. Usually preferred rates are offered only once the results of the medical information and tests are known. It will depend on your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, height, weight, and family health history. But preferred rates are worth it. They could save you up to 30-35% off your quoted premium.

When comparing prices, make sure you’re comparing ‘standard to standard’ or ‘preferred to preferred’ life insurance rates. If you’re not sure, ask the broker. It would be disappointing to find out you were quoted preferred rates at the beginning, only to find out you don’t qualify for them later.

3.Review the life insurance broker’s availability:
How easily can you get a hold of the broker? What are their hours of operation? Whether it is through their website or telephone, the life insurance broker should be easily accessible to you should you ever have questions or need to speak to them about a change in your life insurance needs. Look for toll-free numbers and extended hours of service as guides.

4.Review the medical information required to obtain the policy:
Typically the more medical information you provide, the better the price. For a policy that asks few or no medical questions, you can bet the premium is higher for the same coverage then a plan asking for more information. Depending on the company, your age, and the amount of coverage you want, you could be asked to provide blood and urine samples. To obtain the samples, a nurse will visit at not cost to you.

5.Consider a life insurer’s financial stability and strength:
A company’s financial stability is something to consider if you are planning on making a long-term purchase like life insurance. There are organizations out there, like A.M. Best, that evaluate insurers and provide a rating on their stability and strength.

6.Ask about renewal options and requirements:
Once the initial premium is set, it is usually guaranteed for the length of the policy (often 10 or 20 years). But what happens when the policy expires? Most policies are renewable until you are 70 or 75 so don’t forget to ask your broker if you will have to take a medical to renew your policy. While your premiums will be higher on renewal, find out if they will also be guaranteed to remain level for the second term of the policy.

7.Confirm the policy can be cancelled without penalty:
Most term life insurance policies can be cancelled at any time without penalty. Make sure to check with your broker to see if the life insurance company has any unusual cancellation policies.

8.consider the conversion options and restrictions for the policy:
As your life changes so do your life insurance needs and you may want the option to convert your coverage some day.

To convert a term life insurance policy means to transfer all, or part of, the death benefit of the policy into a permanent life policy without a medical. For example, say you originally bought a term policy to protect a mortgage and child. Once the mortgage is paid and the child grown, you might find it desirable to convert the policy into one that will give you a new level premium for the rest of your life, and a death benefit that is guaranteed not to expire as you age.

When you purchase your life insurance policy, find out if there are any limitations on your age at the time of conversion. In most cases, you have the option of converting up until you are 60 or 65. As well, ensure you are given several options of the type of policies you can move into, the more the better.

Final tip choose a life insurance broker you trust:
While it doesn’t necessarily impact the type of policy you choose to purchase, a rapport with your broker is critical in feeling comfortable with the life insurance policy you buy and the information you’ve received.

Whole Life Insurance AdviceIs It Better?

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

If you have decided that whole life insurance is the route you want to take, you need to be well-aware of both its pros and its cons.

Whole life insurance covers you for your entire life, as opposed to term life insurance which only covers you for a certain number of years. However, with that additional coverage comes additional costs. Isnt that the way things always happen? With whole life insurance, not only are you paying for the cost of the insurance, but you are also paying for the cost of investment. Some have referred to the investment costs as forced savings, and, admittedly, there are ways of saving for retirement that make more sense to some. As you get older, the cost of insurance coverage gets higher and the cost of investment gets lower. If you decide to cash in your whole life insurance policy, you may be paid in cash or in insurance that has been paid-up. Yet, with commission fees, market fluctuations, and hypothetical numbers that agents use for illustration purposes, it is not so easy to know how much you will cash in.

Still, there are many wealthy people who opt to purchase whole life insurance policies, and for a good reason. Whole life insurance policies help them in estate planning. By setting up an insurance trust through whole life insurance, they can make sure the proceeds of their insurance policy are used to pay their estate taxes. This is helpful, as estate taxes would otherwise be left to be paid out-of-pocket.

After understanding whole life insurance, it might not seem as safe and secure as its name sounds. Yes, you will be covered for life, but there are also additional costs for coverage that some people just do not need. If you have the extra money to invest in whole life insurance, by setting up an insurance trust, you wont exactly be wasting money, either.

Whole Life Insurance

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Whole life insurance, also known as cash-value insurance is a basic and consistent type of permanent life insurance which remains in effect your entire life at a level premium. This life insurance is a good choice got you if you do not expect your life insurance needs to diminish over time. A portion of your premium goes into a reserve fund called cash value that builds up over the years your policy is in affect. Your reserve fund is tax-deferred and you can borrow against it, until you withdraw it.

The premiums must generally remain constant over the life of the policy and must be paid periodically according to the amount indicated in the policy. You may also have the option of a single premium —– paying all of the premiums at once with a single lump sum. Your cash values will grow to equal the amount of the death benefit when you turn to age 100.

Although, whole life insurance is very expensive, and if you’re on a limited budget, you may not be able to afford all the insurance coverage you actually need. But the plus point is that the death benefit is guaranteed as long as premiums are met. Also death benefit will never decrease if you don’t borrow against it.

Whole life insurance policy’s returns will fluctuate with the markets and will usually follow returns available from other investments like equity mutual funds. However, if you decide to quit your policy, your cash value can be paid in cash or paid-up insurance.

Whole life insurance is most suitable for you, if you want to:

use it as a tax and estate planning vehicle,
accumulate cash value for a child’s education or retirement,
pay final expenses,
provide money for a favorite charity,
fund a business buysell agreement,
provide key person protection.

Before buying the whole life insurance, you need to think carefully about choosing your level of coverage. Too often people make the mistake of insufficiently covering or even worse, financially overextending themselves. This would be a tragic error with whole life insurance policy because defaulting on premium payments can mean policy cancellation and the loss of your entire investment. So be careful and make sure you:

pick a life insurance policy that has a guaranteed cash value starting at the very first year,
choose the one with the highest cash value in the very first year,
consider “participating” insurance policies which can pay dividends, increasing your policy’s value by boosting both the total cash value and the death benefits,
beware of any insurance policy that levies “surrender charges” when you cancel.
if you ever need to stop paying premiums, your policy lets you use the accumulated cash value of the life insurance policy to pay the premiums, thus keeping your coverage current.

Discover How Easy Life Insurance Shopping Can Be:

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