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Archive for September, 2010


Buy your Term Insurance the modern way, online.

Now that so many term life insurance policies are available online, it makes sense to use this option when you are looking for protection for your family, you can take your time to consider all the different types of term insurance, and the different rates available. There’s a ready supply of information, which puts you in a position of knowledge and will help you to make the correct decision.

There are several different labels applied to term insurance, but basically it comes down to three different types.

First, there is Level Term Insurance. This is designed to pay out a lump sum on the death of the life or lives assured, this type of policy can be used to cover immediate expenses i.e. funeral estate taxes outstanding debts, this type of term insurance can be written on either a joint or single life basis.

Perhaps the best-known type of term insurance is that associated with a mortgage, which not
unsurprisingly is called Mortgage Term Insurance. It is designed to cover the declining balance on the outstanding mortgage on your home. It is a very cost-effective type of term insurance because it is covering a reducing liability as a mortgage comes down so does the level of cover. This type of life insurance can also been written on either a single life, or join life basis.

The third main type of term life insurance is Family Income Benefit, unlike the previous types, as its name suggests this type of policy is designed to pay a regular income, rather than a lump sum. This type of policy has been rather overlooked until recently, but now that interest rates are so low, it is gaining in popularity, because of the extremely large amount of capital that is required to be invested to produce a reasonable level of regular income. By taking the Family Income Benefit route, you can sometimes save as much as 50%PRCTG% of the premium cost.

All the above types of policy can have various additional benefits added for instance, critical illness cover, guaranteed insurer ability options, automatic renewable options, etc obviously not all companies offer all the benefits, and it does require you to compare the cost of the policy with the benefits provided. However, by shopping for your life insurance online, you are better able to do this for yourself and hopefully will end up making the correct decision.

Term insurance is a very low-cost option, and while some would argue that it is better to go the whole of life route, with such a low-cost option, there is no need for any family to be without some life insurance or term insurance protection.

Roger Overanout

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Term Insurance vs. Whole life or Permanent Insurance – A Car Analogy

Should I lease a car or buy it?

Think of a term life insurance policy as leasing a car. When you lease a car you get the benefits of using the car, but when you stop paying you don’t have a car anymore. As with term insurance as long as you pay your premiums you get the benefit of the term life insurance policy, but when you stop paying, you no longer have any coverage.

Whole life or “permanent policies” are designed to build up a cash value. So similar to buying a car you have an asset that you can keep. Unlike a car, hopefully this asset will grow in value. Whole life, Universal life and Variable Universal life are all different types of permanent insurance. Permanent insurance, most of the time, is meant to keep until you die or as a saving vehicle.

The way the policy grows in value gives you the different names of insurance such as, Whole Life, Universal Life, and Variable Universal Life. That leads to the understanding of the different types of permanent policies.

” Whole Life- Is an insurance policy where premium payments are usually the same throughout the life of the policy, as is the death benefit. You usually need to pay the premiums as long as the policy is in force.

” Universal Life – Is an insurance policy where premium payments may be changed and the death benefit can also be changed by the owner. Usually if the death benefit is being raised you will have to show some evidence of insurability (medical information) or other information requested. Your policy grows at a stated interest rate which changes every so often.

” Variable Universal Life – Is an insurance policy where premium payments may be changed and the death benefit can also be changed by the owner. Usually if the death benefit is being raised you will have to show some evidence of insurability (medical information) or other information requested. Your policy grows at the rate of your investment choice you choose. Since you may invest in market instruments similar but not exactly like mutual funds. Your policy can lose value causing larger premium payments than expected.

Take a step back and think about it from the insurance company’s point of view, its easier to understand the difference. A portion of the cash value that builds in the insurance contract will pay for the “cost of insurance”.

Whole life- The insurance company is taking most of the risk. They are paying a death benefit to you no matter what happens to the cash value in the account. As long as you make your payments the insurance company has to pay your death benefit. This may be the most expensive.

Universal life – The insurance company is taking some risk. The policy grows give the current interest rate it pays. At times you are only able to earn low interest rates. You may need to make up more payments to keep your policy.

Variable Universal life – The insurance company has taken the least amount of risk. In the Variable policy the rate of return is variable, meaning you don’t know how fast your policy will grow or shrink. This type of policy is most likely used for someone who is younger and can ride out the volatility of their portfolio. Since you take on the most risk in this type of policy it usually has the smallest premiums.

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The Comparison of Term Life Insurance with Whole Life Insurance

Life insurance is a serious business that people should think twice about before signing, because it is not an investment tool, nor a way to save for college when purchased for children. However, for those who understand what insurance is intended for, term life insurance versus whole life insurance is a consideration coming into play.

A whole life insurance company generally may provide a term life insurance quote to help you decided on the insurance to be purchased. Money is the critical factor between both insurance coverage?s. As an example, the first annual premium of a whole life insurance policy is typically much higher than the annual premium for a term life insurance.

Life insurance can be purchase for many purposes, including providing financial security for your spouse, children’s education after your death, pay death expenses, donate the proceeds to a charitable organization, and so on. The top reason people usually buy life insurance is as an income replacement after death for their dependents.

Term life insurance is a life-only coverage policy, in which the benefits are obtained after your die. Therefore, if you are alive, there is no money for your beneficiaries. Whole life insurance offer death benefits but also a savings account, called “cash value?, giving money back if you are alive after the signed term, cashing the policy before it occurs, or borrowing money against the policy.

Typically, if you require a life insurance quote before buy the policy, either the insurance company, financial institution or online services, provide it for free. Purchasing life insurance from a whole life insurance company may result in a more expensive plan than buying term insurance, because of the funds put into the cash value account.

In addition, the longer your policy term, the higher cash value to the name beneficiaries or the surviving insured due to the insurance money being paid and the cash value earned dividends, interests or both, for terms ranging from 1 to 30 years. However, any whole life insurance company or other institution can lock whole and term life insurance policies into the same monthly payment over the whole life of each policy.

When it comes to life insurance, many people consider whole life insurance as a type of retirement plan; however, they are more likely forced saving with high commissions and fees, including up front hidden commissions up to 100%PRCTG% of the first year’s premium. On the other hand, premiums for term life insurance are cheaper for people in good health up to age 50 or so.

If you ask for a term life insurance quote, you will be able to notice how premiums become progressively more expensive after 50 years, although a whole life insurance company may apply higher premiums according to the insurer’s age, and most companies do not sell life insurance to people over age 65.

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What Factors Determine Term Life Insurance Rates

Term life insurance policies provide a limited coverage period, which is determined by the policy owner. Term life insurance rates are actually the cheapest form of life insurance, but there are different rates for different people. This is because once the term of the policy is up you don?t receive any payout from the policy. If you take out life insurance at a young age, you will get much better term life insurance rates than if you wait until you are older.

The total cost of your term life insurance rates can be tricky. Some term life insurance policies appear to cost more, but may, in fact, be cheaper when you look at the total cost of the term life insurance policy. For example, annual renewable policies increase your premiums every year and thus may appear to be more expensive than level term policies where the premiums never increase (although the initial premiums for a level term policy will be higher). But, in fact, level premium policies may involve higher costs over the policy’s full term, and become particularly expensive when you try to renew your policy at the end of the term. This is why you do have to compare term life insurance quotes.

Some of the factors that influence your term life insurance rates are:
? Whether or not you smoke. Tobacco users are twice as likely to die as non﷓tobacco users while they are insured. Life insurance companies take this into account when they set their premium and cash benefits levels. You can save from 20%PRCTG% to 30%PRCTG% on premiums by quitting smoking.

? Medical Record. If you have a terminal illness, it is unlikely that any life insurance company will issue a policy. In the case of heart disease, you will get a policy but your rates will be high

? Occupation. if you work in a dangerous occupation, such as working on a ship that carries gas, this will put you into a higher bracket when it comes to getting rates for term insurance. You will have to shop around to compare term life insurance quotes if you are in this category.

Term life insurance rates vary a lot, and you can do something about your premiums by taking some decisions to become more healthy, like giving up smoking.

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3 Ways Your Life Insurance Company Is Scamming You

Although it makes sense to get in touch with a life insurance company to cover your dependents in the eventuality of your untimely death, there are integrity issues surrounding the insurance companies and agents. Broadly there can be 3 ways your life insurance company is scamming you. We have enlisted them for your benefit.

Selling Coverage that you don?t need!
The insurance companies thrive on the fact that most people don?t understand their life insurance needs. With standard products, they try to sell you coverage that you might not need, but, which are lucrative for them. The insurance agents expedite the process so that you skip the fine print and sign up for a coverage that is ill-suited to your needs. The trick is to play on your fear factor and sell you heavy insurance, even if you don?t have dependents.

Coaxing you to pay ?Cash?
We strongly suggest, do not pay your premium through cash to an agent. Further, do ensure that you get a receipt for the payment. There are numerous fraudulent entities posing as genuine insurance agencies that extract hard cash from you in lieu of insurance premium. They ask you to sign at blank spaces in a form, assuring you that it is just a formality. Once you have fallen for their trick, you are left without an insurance coverage. The worst part is that most victims only come to know of this scam, when they have met with some mishap and there is not insurance to cover them.

Luring you with benefits!
Insurance agencies and agents have a way of promising you unbelievable benefits out a life insurance policy. Life insurance agents might offer you plans, with a guarantee that the policy would run premium-free for a specific period. Some agents play it smart and offer you great discounts for signing you up for a new policy, while replacing an old policy. The trick is that the old coverage gets terminated and new coverage does not get initiated due to the cumbersome procedural bottlenecks. Thus, exposing you to risk without cover.

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Term Vs. Whole Life Insurance

Posted on: 10, Sep

Term Vs. Whole Life Insurance

Life insurance as a risk mitigation element provides protection against casualties in life. The history of life insurance began with providing coverage for a particular period of time, and if the insured died during the period, the beneficiary got the death benefit. The disadvantage was that the period was limited, which led to the innovation of new products that gave death protection coverage for the entire life of the individual.

In term insurance, the premium increases during the time, as the chances of death are greater. The term policies include renewable, which means the policies can be renewed after the period with a higher premium; decreasing policy in which coverage lessens each year; and convertible in which the policy can be converted to cash value policy after the period. In whole life, the premium remains constant for the entire life. Generally, the premium for the whole life is higher than that of term.

The premium for term increases to cover the cost of the insurance. Therefore, in the beginning, the premium is less and it increases thereafter. In whole life insurance, the premium is higher than the cost of the insurance in the beginning. This extra amount is kept as a cash value component, which is invested to get an annualized return of 5-6%PRCTG%. In the latter years, when cost is more than the premium, money is taken from the returns of the cash value component and the cost is recovered.

The benefit of term is that since the premium is less, the extra money can be prudently invested elsewhere to get a higher return by the individual. Whole life provides cash value, which can be used to borrow money to spend for other purposes such as education of children. There are many innovative policies that provide many features such as guaranteed returns and dividend payments.

Before deciding between term and whole life insurance, it is important to consider the financial resources and the objective of the insurance policy. It depends upon the age of the insured, his or her future needs and the number of dependents.

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Why Families Shouldn’t be Without Term Life Insurance

My father died when I was nine. He left behind my mother and four children aged between seventeen years and nine and no money. Sure I missed him but at nine I didn’t really have much idea about death or loss. I know it sounds selfish but what I really missed was our old lifestyle. We had to move house because we lived in a company house and couldn’t stay there anymore. We had to give up our car because that was provided by the company too. All we could afford was a run down council house. It was small and cramped and didn’t have much in the way of fences so we felt we had neighbours right on top of us. This was all salt to the wound of our grief, all these niggly things that had now become our life. I don’t know why my father didn’t take out life insurance, all I know is that he didn’t and we bore the consequences of that decision for a long time.

It has made me wonder why so many people roll their eyes when the words ‘life insurance’ are uttered out loud. Sure I can understand not wanting to contemplate a scenario that would require you or your family to actually need it but that is no excuse for ignoring it altogether and not planning ahead. Imagine, just for a moment, your family?s life if the worst was to happen and you didn?t have life insurance?

The purpose of life insurance is to guarantee an income to your spouse and children if you were no longer able to contribute to their welfare like you do now. Think about it, if something were to happen to you, could your family afford to live in your current home? Would there be enough money to maintain their current lifestyle? Would the cost of a funeral become a burden? Would your spouse be able to support your family easily? Or would the stress and grief and financial burden of loosing you cause unendurable hardship for them?

Maybe you think that because you have saved and invested wisely and setup a solid foundation that despite missing you, your family would be OK financially. The reality is that it is unlikely. This is particularly true for families with young children. This is often a time where families are still struggling to become established and often debts are high, savings low, caring for children is costly and income may not be at its peak or perhaps one partner is out of the workforce to care for the children. Of course, it is this time when funds are often stretched that life insurance is most needed but often that very fact puts families off from the regular commitment of insurance premiums.

But the good news is that it makes you a good candidate for term life insurance because it is the most inexpensive form of life insurance around. The premiums for term life insurance are worked out based on your age and health and is usually purchased in terms of a specific number of years ? 1, 5, 10, 20 or whatever period you would prefer. The upshot is that term life insurance has the highest coverage for the lowest premiums.

While term insurance is not ideal for older individuals as prices go up substantially with age, it is the a great solution for younger couples or families who have high debts including mortgages, life expenses and dependants. The insurance can cover you while your children grow and the mortgage is paid off. By the time the policy expires you will more than likely have invested, paid off your major debts and no longer have dependants.

So Who Needs to be Covered with a Life Insurance Policy? Given that insurance is really about income protection ? providing funds when you can’t ? you would normally cover whoever is contributing to the family finances. So first up, make sure the primary income earner is covered. If this income disappeared then you want to make sure the ongoing family needs are covered.

But don’t stop there. If your spouse looks after the children full-time and something were to happen to them, how would you fund childcare? Insurance could cover that additional cost. So if any secondary income is relied on to cover expenses either through income or an unpaid contribution then that person should also have an insurance policy.

Do you need to get life insurance for your children? Generally, this is only advised if you can’t afford funeral expenses (generally about %5000). Otherwise, there is no reason for children to be insured as they do not contribute to the family income.

Having life insurance not only gives you peace of mind knowing your family will be taken care of after you or your spouse has gone, it may well be one of the best financial decisions your family could make.

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