A Case For Life Insurance To Prevent Financial Disaster In Your Life

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Sunday 7 March 2010 4:56 pm

Life Insurance is one of those topics that most people just hate to deal with. The typical problem with life insurance is that there are a wide variety of options and many times the options are very complex. The goal of this article is to explore some of the critical aspects of life insurance and provide a logical foundation you can use to help you decide which type of life insurance policy provides the best option for you.

In the event of a tragedy, life insurance is all about replacing your income for your loved ones that depend on your income. If you do not have anyone who depends on your income there is typically not a compelling reason for you to have a life insurance policy. Therefore, before you can select a type of life insurance policy it is highly important you consider all the dependents that are supported by your income. A dependant could be your children, a spouse, a parent, or grandparent.

After determining your dependants, it is time to select a type of life insurance policy. Life insurance policies come in many types and each year new types of policies are introduced. The broad categories include term life insurance, whole life insurance, universal life insurance and variable life insurance.

Term life insurance normally provides the best value and coverage option for most people. It differs from whole life insurance, universal life insurance and variable life insurance in that it can be up to 10 times cheaper, but if you do not use the coverage before it expires there is no redemption value for the money that you paid into the insurance policy. On the other hand, whole life insurance, universal life insurance and variable life insurance are known as cash policies because they provide an investment component and other benefits that can provide income to you in your retirement years.

The main consideration when selecting between term life insurance and a cash policy like variable, whole life or universal life is typically focused around your objective. For instance, if your objective is to get the most possible life insurance coverage for the least possible cost you will most likely want to select a term life insurance policy. On the other hand, if you desire only a little coverage but would like future investment income a variable, whole life or universal life cash policy may work well for you. When selecting an objective you should highly consider your loved ones as your principal concern. This will ensure that your loved ones do not have to struggle because you were underinsured.

Once you select a type of policy you will need to consider how much coverage to get. This decision should focus highly on how much your loved ones will need to comfortably live without your income. In making this decision ensure you think of long term expenses, including college expenses, mortgage payments, weddings, private school tuition, credit card debt payoff, etc. In selecting the amount of coverage every persons situation is unique, but a good rule of thumb is to consider for the worst in setting how much to insure yourself for. For instance, if your children are your primary dependants, you should assume the worse. A worse case situation would be a tragedy happens to you and your spouse at the same time and your children are left without parents. You may say to yourself that this will never happen, but every year couples leave their children behind due to unforeseen tragedies such as car accidents.

Since cash life insurance policies are much more expensive than term life insurance one last consideration is that you may be better off selecting a term life insurance policy and investing the cash savings yourself in a tax free Roth IRA or other investment account. Remember a life insurance policy is primarily to protect yourself in the event of a tragedy not to invest for your retirement. There are far better way to invest for retirement which is why term life insurance may offer you the best coverage for the value.

About The Author: Jay Fran has a background in financial services and enjoys helping buyers of financial services make the right decisions. Jay is also an avid Suzuki motorcycle rider and the creator and main publisher at http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com, a website specializing in assisting motorcycle buyers in making the right decisions pertaining to Motorcycle Loans. If you are in the market for a motorcycle, be sure to check out motorcycle-financing-guide.com. You will gain valuable insight on how to make the best decision for you in obtaining a motorcycle loan.

Use Life Insurance To Make A Charitable Donation With Lasting Benefits

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Friday 5 March 2010 12:56 pm

I have always been a fan of using life insurance as a way to make a charitable donation. It provides benefits to the organization you are supporting in both the near and short term. Once it is set up, administration is easy for you and the organization.

Life insurance would probably be used more often for this purpose if it was easier to understand. There are variations, but probably the most straightforward is to purchase a life insurance policy from an agent. A type of life insurance called whole life insurance must be used for this purpose. Term life insurance is ideal for other situations, but doesn?t work for this application. Your agent can explain why this is the case. Life insurance rates vary, so it is a good idea to get a life insurance quote from a few different agents, or check life insurance rates online. Age, health and lifestyle all have an effect life insurance rates.

At time of purchase of the life insurance policy, you should designate the organization you are supporting as the beneficiary of the insurance proceeds. This means that when you die, the life insurance benefit goes to the charity. Once you purchase the life insurance policy and it is issued, you must then assign ownership of the life insurance policy to the organization. You continue to make the premium payments to the life insurance company, who will issue you an annual tax receipt that can be deducted as a charitable donation.

In summary, you receive the same tax benefits as if you made a donation, the organization accrues equity in the life insurance policy that it can use at any time, and when you die, the organization receives the life insurance proceeds. These final proceeds may be far more than the sum of payments you have made. As mentioned earlier, there are a few variations to this concept and regulations regarding tax deductions and other tax considerations vary from country to country, so check with a life insurance agent or do some more research about life insurance online before you proceed.

Ron Strand is a college instructor and consultant. He has written some of his 30 years of fundraising experiences in a new website, Ron’s Fundraising Ideas.

Helpful Tips For Buying Term Life Insurance Online

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Monday 22 February 2010 8:57 pm

Term life insurance is very simple, and can easily be purchased online. For this reason the number of people buying term life insurance online has doubled in two years. There are some advantages and disadvantages to buying term life insurance online.

Advantages

?Term life insurance is simple, there is no cash value, so it is easy to comparison shop for the right policy for you

?There are numerous websites that will compare hundreds of different policies. This makes it easy to take advantage of a policy that you otherwise would not have found

?You eliminate salesmen that may have been able to convince you to buy a more expensive policy that you don?t really need.

Disadvantages

?There is no personal service. If you have questions it is often hard to find someone you feel comfortable talking to

?Often agents can offer special rates or deals, and that is lost when you are working through comparison shopping online

When you buy online, there is no one to walk you through the process so you need to be sure that you know how much coverage you need and what type of term life insurance you want to buy. There are three basic types of term life insurance: Decreasing Term, Annual Renewable Term, and Level Term.

Decreasing Term

This policy is set up for a specific number of years usually between ten and thirty years. The face amount decreases over that period of time. This is a good type of policy for a couple that will have fewer financial responsibilities as time passes.

Annual Renewable Term

This type of policy has the same level of death benefit, but the rates increase each year. You have to renew the insurance each year. This is the most temporary life insurance coverage you can get and may be useful for a person whose situation changes often.

Level Term

This is usually the most common type of policy. It has a level death benefit and a fixed rate for a specific amount of time. Most allow you to renew the policy when the term is up if it is desired. This is most popular because the premium remains low, especially if the policy is bought when a person is young, for the life of the policy.

Good things to ask about or include with your policy are:

?Make sure the insurance is ?written in trust.? This insures that the money goes immediately to those you list. It also makes sure that those who receive the money do not have to pay taxes on it.

?Consider having the policy also include critical illness insurance. This will provide money for your family if you suffer from long-term illness. Buying it with an insurance policy is usually cheaper, but be sure not to confuse this with terminal illness coverage.

?Be sure that you can easily find contact information for the company you are buying the policy from.

?Before buying a policy do a little research about the company and make sure it is legitimate.

Chris Simons is a prolific freelance writer. You are welcomed to visit http://life-insurance.cyberinformer.com, for more information on Life Insurance.

A Report On Cheap Term Life Insurance

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Thursday 18 February 2010 8:56 am

People will always search for the best life insurance schemes with cheap premium cost to reduce the burden of the installment. Most of the insurance companies realize the requirement of the people and they are offering different kind of policies with affordable premium value to match the financial background of the customers.

The term life insurance policy carries very low premium value than the whole life insurance policies. The term life insurance policies also have many other options to reduce the premium by selecting lesser coverage and a lower span of the term.

Many insurance companies will not even test your health conditions, if the person is selecting the term life insurance policy with a short span. Otherwise the premium value will be decided depending on the health condition of the person.

The term life insurance can be taken for the period of ten, twenty or thirty years, as you opt to take. The premium of the policy depends on the coverage and the span of the term life insurance.

The term life insurance is most preferred as it is beneficial for many reasons as well as the coverage for the family of the insured person. In addition to the after-death benefits the term life insurance is more valuable for the protection of the person.

It can also be utilized for the buy & sell agreements, credit guarantee, and asset plans. If the insured person does not pass away during the term, he will get back the face value of the policy as an additional fund for his life in the latter years.

The term life insurance policies are cheaper than the whole life insurance policies. The coverage of the term insurance policy will be lesser than the whole life policy however it is more beneficial to the insured person as well as his family.

The term life policy covers the life of the insured person and some times the person may be alive even after the expiry of the policy term. In such cases the insured person can receive the face value of the insurance.

The renewable term life insurance can also be picked with an affordable premium value. This type of policy is having the facility to renew for another extended period, regardless of the age and health condition of the insured person.

Find more Cheap Term Life Insurance articles and information on how to save money when buying life insurance by visiting LifeInsuranceAdvice.info. Dominique Gillard, a well respected writer and web developer, created this site for those needing additional advice.

Whole Life Insurance: An Introduction

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Monday 10 August 2009 1:59 am

Whole life insurance is one of the most commonly utilized forms of insurance. Often referred to as permanent or straight life insurance, it is a form of life insurance that can be maintained through one’s entire life. Whole life insurance policies are popular due to their ability to provide financial protection for beneficiaries while simultaneously generating a cash value that may be of use to the insured.

In many whole life insurance policies, one can choose to pay a regular premium that remains unchanged throughout the life of the policy. The total cost of the policy is basically averaged over the life of the insured. Usually, whole life policies are designed so that the benefit amount of the policy will be equal to the sum of all premiums paid by the insured through the age of one hundred years. If the insured should reach the age of the policy’s full maturity, the face value of the policy would then be paid directly to the insured.

Whole life insurance policies generate what is termed a cash value. Basically, this sum grows as one pays premiums. The cash value of a whole life policy is allowed to increase over time with the taxes on its value deferred. If one opts to cancel their whole life policy, they will receive a payment of the accumulated cash value of the policy. One may be required to pay some taxes on the lump sum payment in particular circumstances.

The cash value of whole life policies makes them very attractive to many consumers. Unlike term life policies, for instance, whole life insurance not only provides a death benefit but also accumulates useable cash reserves.

Those with whole life policies do not intend to pay insurance premiums until they reach the age of one hundred. After all, even the most optimistic among us realize we are unlikely to reach that milestone. Instead, whole life insurance is used as a means of protection of future income while one is working and is then later often used to provide cash resources during retirement.

The cash value of whole life insurance policies can also be tapped prior to retirement should an emergency need arise. The insured is able to take out the equivalent of a loan against the life insurance policy and is then afforded the opportunity to pay that loan back in order to restore the policy’s full value.

Whole life insurance policies really accomplish two different things. First, they do provide the insured with a way to protect loved ones from financial loss should the insured die. Benefits are paid to the beneficiaries based on the stated benefit level of the whole life insurance policy.

Simultaneously, one is able to create a source of cash reserves by paying regular premiums-with all taxes deferred until dispersal. The policy can eventually become a means of supplementing retirement income or as a mechanism to handle an emergency financial problem during the life of the policy. The protection and flexibility provided by whole life insurance policies makes them very attractive to many consumers and a key element of their long-range financial planning.

Evan C. Davis works in Medicare customer service and is the webmaster and owner of Easy Insurance Finder. Find out about whole life insurance and whole life insurance quotes online at http://www.easy-insurance-finder.com.

Whole Live Vs Cheap Life Insurance

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Tuesday 7 July 2009 2:00 am

Term life insurance is generally the cheapest form of life insurance, but it?s not the only option. Unlike term coverage, in which only the face value is paid out upon your death, a whole life policy accrues a cash value.

In order for the cash value to increase, money over and above that which is necessary to cover the premium must be collected. Because of this, whole life insurance rarely will be the cheaper of the two.

With a whole life insurance policy, a portion of the premium you pay will be used to invest in mutual funds, stocks, bonds or other type of interest bearing investment. Even though whole life is not as cheap as term life insurance, such a policy can make sense if it?s managed properly.

Benefits of Whole Life Insurance

One of its best benefits is that it will cover a person for his or her whole life. Once the policy is purchased, it will never have to be renewed. It will remain in effect until you die provided you do not allow it to lapse or be compromised in some other way. In addition, the amount you pay for the premium will never change which makes it easier when you?re trying to budget.

Another benefit is that you have access to the cash value the policy accrues. You can borrow against the cash value just as you would another type of loan. No one has to approve a loan made against your whole life insurance cash value. You are the one who gets to decide how you?ll use the money.

If you?re not restricted to purchasing only the cheapest life insurance, whole life is an option worth considering. Universal life insurance, which is a variation of whole life insurance, gives you more flexibility in your premium, the term and death benefits, but this flexibility does come with increased risks.

However, since universal life insurance premiums are flexible, it sometimes is the cheaper of the two.

The potential disadvantages

Whole life insurance does have its downsides. One is that it?s not possible to guarantee a rate of return on your investment so it may not pay the dividends you expect. Another fact worth noting is that a whole life policy probably won?t have a cash value until a minimum of 3 or even 5 years so if you surrender the policy during this time, expect it to be costly.

The debate rages on as to whether it makes sense for anybody, regardless of age, gender or marital status, to purchase anything other than the cheapest term life insurance policy.

Some critics believe that if you took the extra money you?d pay in premiums and instead deposited it into a savings account or other low-risk interest bearing account, you?d accrue more savings. True or not, whole life is an option many people do take advantage of.

And while it may not be the cheapest form of life insurance, it does seem to meet the needs of those who purchase it.

About the Author Find Cheap Life Insurance in the UK. You will not believe our low rates.

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