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Save on your insurance by improving your credit score.
Did you know that you could make sure to get the best rates on your auto and homeowners insurance simply by having a good credit score. Additionally a great credit score will allow you to get the best interest rates on your credit cards, car loans and even your home mortgage. With interest rates as low and as favorable as they current are why shouldn’t you take advantage of them?
What to do – Probably the most important first step you can take would be to order your credit report in order to view its accuracy and check for any glaring errors that could cause you problems or lower your credit score. A good credit score generally speaking is above 750. There are 3 companies that offer credit reports. TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. There is a slight cost however a new law allows consumers the right to one free credit report every year. As of this writing only consumers on the West Coast can enjoy this benefit. Mid-west states can start receiving their free credit reports around the 1st of March 2005. For those of you that live in the South expect to be able to order your free report starting 1 June 2005 and if you’re on the East Coast you’ll unfortunately have to wait until the beginning of September 2005 in order to claim your free report.
Please don’t take this lightly - your credit score is very important to your financial success in life. Even if you have managed to avoid making late payments or over drawing on your current credit limits you can still be in harms way. Recent reports have suggested that almost 79% of credit reports contain an error of some kind. The really bad news is that 25% of these errors are harmful enough to where they could cause some serious issues in your attempts to receive credit, better rates and lower your insurance premiums. Additional recommendations include the obvious such as continuing to make payments on time combined with an outstanding long-term credit history and low credit usage. You can use this to your advantage by keeping your oldest credit cards debt free. Also ask for credit limit increase every once in a while. However make every attempt to avoid signing up for new credit cards or other forms of credit unless absolutely necessary.
If you do find out that your credit report does indeed contain errors promptly contact the credit bureau that issued you the credit and dispute the errors. If the bureau is unable to verify that the errors are indeed correct within a 30-day time frame they must remove the erroneous information from your report.
Taking the simple precaution of verifying your credit score could result in a substantial deduction on all of your insurance premiums and could significantly improve your rates for a new home or car loan.
Is Life Insurance Comparison Really Necessary?
When you want to purchase a life insurance policy, you really do need to do a life insurance comparison. This is to ensure that you get the best possible rates and the best possible life insurance for your needs. Different life insurance companies sell different types of policies so you need to do a life insurance comparison of all the different types available. You also want to get a policy with low cost premiums.
In a life insurance comparison, you have to decide whether you want variable universal life insurance or whether you will ask for a low cost term life insurance quote. There is a vast difference between the two. Term life insurance is only good for a specific period of time. If you do not die within that term, then the life insurance policy expires and you will need to renew the policy or purchase another. Variable universal life insurance lasts for your whole life and has options included to help you make money on your life insurance.
With all the life insurance companies online, it is not difficult to do an online life insurance comparison. If you are looking for term life insurance, then you can request a free quote for low cost term life insurance. It is advisable to have at least three quotes so that you can do a comparison of the settlement and the premiums offered by each one.
A life insurance comparison, whether it is for term life insurance or variable universal life insurance, also means that you need to do a comparison of the monthly premiums you have to pay. Since most people look at the amount of money that they need to budget for each month, they want this premium to be as low cost as possible. With variable life insurance, the amount of the premium changes according to market conditions, so it may be a little harder to budget for, but it works out to be more low cost than term life insurance.
Whatever you need in life insurance, you have to make sure you are comparing the same thing when you do a life insurance comparison. For example, a comparison of quotes for low cost term life insurance with those for variable universal life insurance would be like comparing apples and oranges, since they are not the same at all. You have to make sure your comparison is for the same type of life insurance and for the same length of the term. Otherwise, you are only wasting your time.
A proper life insurance comparison is essential.
6 Good Things To Know
We know the importance of life insurance as we want to make sure that our loved ones are taken care of when we die. But do some research so you'll be sure to get the best possible coverage at the right price. Here are some helpful tips:
1. Shop for your life insurance coverage 2. Never buy more coverage than you need 3. Buy sooner rather than later 4.
Realize the importance of reviewing your coverage 5. You will be paying more by paying monthly 6. Don't rely solely on the life insurance offered by your employer
SHOP FOR YOUR LIFE INSURANCE
When it comes to life insurance, it pays to shop around because premiums can vary widely. And thanks to the Internet, it's now easier than ever.Make sure the website considers the factors in your medical history that can affect the premiums.
BUY LIFE INSURANCE THAT YOU NEED
The key to purchasing the right amount of life insurance is to have enough to meet your needs. It's important not to have too little coverage as it would be difficult to purchase if you get sick.
The healthier you are, the better the life insurance rates Healthy people get better rates on life insurance. You will be asked to pay a higher rate if you smoke, take medications regularly, are overweight or have a bad driving record.
GET YOUR LIFE INSURANCE WHILE YOU ARE WELL
If you've been putting off purchasing life insurance because you don't want to pay the premiums, you may be doing yourself a disservice in the long run. If you are in good health, buy it now.
YOUR LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE SHOULD BE REGULARLY REVIEWED
You'll want to make sure that a major life event such as the birth of a child, marriage, divorce or perhaps that the children are grown won't leave you underinsured or overinsured.
MONTHLY PREMIUM PAYMENTS FOR LIFE INSURANCE COSTS MORE
You will be paying more for your life insurance if you pay your premium in monthly installments.
GROUP LIFE INSURANCE
Don't rely solely on the life insurance offered by your employer Many employers offer their employees some sort of group life insurance. But this amount of coverage is usually not enough and group life insurance policies are not portable, meaning that if you leave your job, you can't take your life insurance coverage with you.
Everyone Wants Affordable Whole Life Insurance Quotes
Although term life insurance looks cheaper when you request free quotes, the whole life insurance quotes you get are much better.
With whole life you are covered for as long as you live and keep paying the premiums. In whole life insurance quotes, the cost of the policy is stretched over a longer period of time, so you are actually paying less in monthly premiums.
If you want to have a period of time when you don’t have to pay any premiums, you can have the whole life insurance quotes calculate the premiums to a certain age. Most people like to have the premiums spread over a 30 year life insurance because this is usually their working life. Then they can enjoy retirement knowing that they do have whole life insurance and don’t have to pay any more premiums.
Even though the lowest life insurance rates are for term life insurance, if you get whole life insurance quotes at an early age, the cost will be very similar. There are added benefits to getting whole life as opposed to term life. Once you have the whole life insurance policy in place, it won’t run out at the end of the term leaving you without life insurance.
Even if you can’t afford a high payout with whole life insurance quotes, you can choose a lower death benefit and upgrade when you can afford it. This gives you the best life insurance for your whole life at the lowest life insurance rates. You should buy what you can afford. The difference between a policy that pays out $100,000 and another that pays $125,000 is very little when it comes to the monthly premium. When you are comparing the quotes choose the highest possible payout for the lowest rates.
You’ll never know how much life insurance you can afford if you don’t look around. With the online whole life insurance quotes available, life insurance protection for your family is only a click away. You are never under any obligation to buy. You only need to contact an agent when you find the lowest life insurance rates that suit you.
Whole life insurance quotes often return lower premiums.
Discount Life Insurance Will Give You The Best Protection You Need
There is always a chance that there is a better deal somewhere else, no matter what you are buying. That is why you should research and find discount life insurance. Did you know that life insurance rates can vary as much as 50% between carriers?
That's why you should have a licensed professional help you make a good choice in discount life insurance.
Most life insurance professionals work with some of the nation's leading experts in discount life insurance who want to compete for your business. Just the very nature of the name tells you that you will be getting the lowest rates in life insurance. You can get online life insurance quotes at a discount as well as business life insurance for you and your partners.
Most people looking for life insurance look at the bottom line for the total price. If this is lower than other online life insurance quotes, they feel they are getting discount life insurance. The fact is that you have to compare the details of the policy to see whether or not the policy is really a discount.
There are factors involved in determining whether or not you qualify for discount life insurance. If you fit into the
preferred rate class, which involves: · No health problems ·
Young age · Ordinary occupation then you won’t have any
difficulty getting online life insurance quotes at a discount price.
Every life insurance company that provides discount life insurance has different criteria. This is why it is important to shop for online life insurance quotes to make sure that you fit the criteria for the lowest rates in life insurance. Read through the company policies to see whether a medical exam is necessary and then you can request the free online quote.
The premium for the life insurance is the amount you pay for the policy. You have to carefully read the policy to make sure that the discount life insurance stays in place for the term of your policy. There are some life insurance companies that give you a discount on the first year of the policy or the first six months. After that the premiums go up to the regular rate.
Reading the fine print is just as important in getting online life insurance quotes as it is in anything else.
Life insurance rates vary, you can find discount life insurance.
How Can I Compare Life Insurance Quotes?
The online life insurance companies offer a free service where you can request a free quote for your life insurance needs. This enables you to compare life insurance quotes to see where you can save money with one over the other. To compare life insurance quotes, all you have to do is request a quote from as many companies as you wish and them compare the terms, the premiums, death benefit and clauses contained in each one.
There are also internet sites where you can compare life insurance quotes from up to five different companies at one time. This saves you the time of having to wait for each quote to come in and then print each one off to compare the best rates. The reason for comparing the quotes on life insurance is to make sure you do get the best rates on life insurance. This lets you get the best possible death benefits at the lowest possible premiums.
There is no problem with entering your information on the online life insurance company websites. These companies are looking for your business and are therefore secure sites. Your personal information will not become part of the public domain when you want to compare life insurance quotes. The company does have your best interests at heart and does want to have you as a customer.
To get the best rates on life insurance you need to look at the companies themselves. Choose life insurance companies with a proven track record. This way you know that when you compare the life insurance quote, an agent has checked it and that you won’t run the danger of the company going out of business. Just remember that you do have to look at the length of the term to get an overall picture of the best rates on life insurance. A longer term with low monthly premiums means you won’t have to start your search for the best rates again in the near future.
The best rates are ones that you can afford. You should start out with an amount that you can afford each month and then compare life insurance quotes that come close to that amount.
You may have to revise the amount of the life insurance and the length of the term to get the best rates that fit your budget.
You can always upgrade to a longer term, a higher payout or even whole life insurance when you can afford it.
To get the best life insurance rates you need to get a few quotes and then compare the life insurance quotes that you have.
But it’s not just about price. There’s more to compare than just price.
Life insurance-features and objectives
The life insurance is conceived to protect people dependent on one from the financial losses that such people would incur in case of one’s death. The life insurance policy has become a fundamental part of sound financial owing to its association with investments, retirement plans and plans for real estate.
Nowadays, various life insurance products are available. Each one is designed to fit certain unique circumstances and satisfy individual needs.
Two main kinds of life insurance are there:
i)Term insurance: This does not accumulate cash value and this is issued in order to cover the life of the insured person for a specific period of time only.
ii)Whole life insurance: These do accumulate cash value and are issued in order to cover the insured persons throughout their lifetime. The life insurance contract comprises of several rights and the person entitled for exercising these rights during the lifetime of the insured is the owner of the insurance policy. The following are the most common of these rights:
designation of beneficiary, selection of settlement options, assigning of policy benefits, transfer of ownership, making policy loans and exercising policy of cash surrender.
The key purpose of life insurance is to provide security to one’s dependents in the event of one’s death. The family of the person insured will be protected from the risk of ruin due to financial crisis. It serves a two-fold purpose:
i)Protecting one’s dependents with the monetary assistance to meet or settle one’s financial obligations.
ii)Providing funds for covering the loss of income (of family or
dependents) resulting from one’s death.
Can I Really Get Life Insurance, No Exam Required?
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 nontobacco 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% to 30% 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.
Tips for Choosing a Life Insurance Company
More than 150 insurance companies offer thousands of life insurance products in the UK.
Choosing the right company and right product from this bewildering choice is challenging. Fortunately, there are some common sense guidelines that will help you narrow the field to a more manageable selection of companies and products.
Looking at the Cost The UK life insurance business is highly competitive, but the industry tries to avoid price competition whenever possible. Instead, companies attempt to make their products sufficiently different from their competitors so that price is less of a factor in product selection.
However, there are ways you can keep your premium rates to a minimum without affecting the quality of your cover.
•Consider Term Life Insurance - Term Life Insurance is the cheapest form of life cover available and premiums are very competitive. •Shop around - in particular, if you know exactly what type of cover you require and don’t need advice, you can reduce your premiums by applying through a discount life insurance broker such as Life Saver. These broker's discount the insurance companies standard premiums by rebating the majority of the commission paid to them as an agent for the company. This reduces your monthly payments below the premium you would pay by applying direct to the insurance company. •Stop smoking - premium rates for smokers are 30-40% higher than for non-smokers. If you can or are thinking of quitting you will save hundreds on your premiums over the term of the policy.
•Only pay for the cover you need - If you are looking for term insurance and critical illness, you can make big savings by buying a combined policy. These only pay out one lump sum rather than the two that separate policies would pay, if you suffer a critical illness and then die.
Obviously, the cost of monthly premiums is going to be a major factor in your choice of insurer but, it should not be your only consideration.
Product Quality There can be major differences between UK life insurance policies so it is important that you compare like with like and check the small print. This is particularly important if you are including extra’s such as Critical Illness Cover. Always read the Key Facts document carefully and look for some of the following benefits:
•Are the premiums Guaranteed? This means the premiums are guaranteed to remain the same throughout the term of your policy. This is opposed to `Reviewable´ premiums which, as the name suggests, are reviewed usually every 5 years and can increase dramatically. •Check that the policy has terminal illness benefit included. This is a valuable extra which is now included in most Term Life Insurance policies for free and will pay the life insurance amount early if you suffer a terminal illness. •Can the policy be written in trust? This will avoid any delay in the money going to your dependants and the risk of inheritance tax being charged on the benefit. •Can waiver of premium benefit be included in your plan. This is a valuable extra which, if you become too ill to work for a number of months, will ensure your cover continues without you having to pay the premiums. •A valuable feature of some policies is counselling for your family if you die?
Claims History No matter how good the policy it will all be for nothing if your insurer is difficult or obstructive if you should have to make a claim.The industry pays out over £166 million a day in pension and life insurance claims and all insurers have procedures in place to process claims on their policies.
Before taking out a policy it is advisable to contact your prospective insurer and ask about their claims history. Note their willingness to provide this information and the attitude promoted by their response. Do they look for reasons to pay claims or excuses to avoid them?
Financial Strength When selecting or evaluating a UK life insurance company, a logical place to begin is by reviewing the ratings given by major insurance company rating services such as Standard & Poors and AM Best. In a rating, the rating company or agency expresses its opinion of the life insurance companies financial condition.
The Best Kept Secret About Life Insurance
Do you love someone <b>deeply enough</b> to spend your hard earned dollars on a life insurance premium -- month after month?
After all, the benefit from a life insurance policy isn't for you. It's for the ones you love, but after you've gone.
Life insurance is money paid to those who rely on you today to give them a <b>secure</b> standard of living, which they can lose in a heartbeat.
This is money when they need it the most ... with no income tax or publicity.
Buying a life insurance policy can be <b>challenging</b> because it isn't an easy subject matter to begin with.
Most people get somewhat confused about how it works and whom they can trust enough to make the purchase.
And there's an overwhelming number of companies and agents all clamoring for your attention.
The purpose of this article is to help clarify a huge misconception about term life insurance.
While doing this, I'll introduce you to what many knowledgable professionals consider to be <b>the best kept secret</b> in a life insurance policy.
Buy term and invest the difference is a phrase touted by those ... including some life insurance agents ... who have absolutely <b>no idea</b> how much harm it's implementation can cause.
The principle theory behind this idea is you no longer need a life insurance policy when you reach a certain age such as 55, 60 or 65.
Supposedly your kids have finished school and are doing just fine earning their own income. And you and your spouse are living comfortably on retirement savings and social security.
On the surface and to the naive, this <b>might</b> appear reasonable.
It's relatively easy to blow holes in this hypothesis, but let's focus instead on the <b>real</b> problem with this scenario.
We are living longer ... much longer ... than ever before. We may not be enjoying it very much due to poor health but, nevertheless, we're hanging on.
Life insurance companies know this better than anyone. In fact, most of them now use <b>age 115</b> has a factor when calculating life insurance policy premiums.
You hear about retirees who are forced to find work at McDonald's or Walmart. Have you ever joined a seniors chat room on the Internet and witnessed the concerns most of them have about running out of money <b>before</b> they die?
Many of these seniors are frightened to death. And this is before we even consider the babyboomers right behind them.
An intelligently purchased life insurance policy can be the <b>saving grace</b> for those you love the most.
Now, let me set the record straight. I have <b>nothing</b> against term life insurance. Over the past 24 years I've personally sold millions of dollars worth.
What bothers me ... and what I believe to be criminal ... is when term life insurance is sold under <b>false</b> pretenses.
Let's use a simple example.
A 35 year old nonsmoking male in excellent health can buy a $500,000 term life insurance policy for about $700 per year.
The premium is guaranteed to be $700 for 30 years. Some companies will be a little cheaper and some a little more expensive.
The buy term and invest the difference advocate would compare this to a $500,000 whole life insurance policy at $3,650 per year. Once again, some companies will be higher and some lower.
Theoretically, you have $2,950 to invest each year for 30 years.
I say <i>theoretically</i> because in the real world you would never consistently invest $2,950 each year.
Not the same way you would commit to a life insurance policy premium.
Why do I know this? Call it human nature based on 24 years of experience.
But, let's give you the benefit of the doubt and say you actually <b>do</b> invest according to this hypothetical plan.
What rate of return are you going to make over 30 years? 5% ...
8% ... 10 percent?
By the way, this question opens up another can of worms. The psychology of investing. But, we'll save that controversy for another time.
For arguments sake let's assume you get an 8% compounded rate of return each year for 30 years. This comes to $360,920.41.
Okay ... so now you're 65 years old and you have $360,920.41.
But guess what?
When you reach 66 your $500,000 term life insurance policy will lapse <b>without value</b> because the annual premium becomes $21,180.
Yep, you read that right! It jumps from $700 to over 21 thousand dollars.
At age 70, it's $31,430. At age 75, it's $52,970.
There's no way on earth you'll pay this premium. Problem is ...
you <i>ain't</i> dead yet!
You have paid $21,000 over a 30 year timeframe to have a $500,000 life insurance policy during a period of time when the odds are you <b>would never</b> die anyway.
Under normal circumstances you will die somewhere around age 80
-- give or take. Your loved one's investment account still won't be worth $500,000.
What's more, she will have to pay income tax on the investment gains. Remember, life insurance proceeds are income tax free.
Now let me quickly repeat myself. I am <b>not</b> against term life insurance ... as long it's purchased with an eye towards the reality of future expectations.
If your term life insurance policy is issued by a highly rated company with a broad selection of products, you will have ample opportunity to <b>convert</b> the term into something more permanent over the course of the 30 years in our example.
Keep in mind your age determines the length of time the term policy will have a guaranteed level premium.
You may not be able to get more than a 10 year guarantee if you are over 50 years of age.
So, exactly <b>what is</b> the best kept secret in a life insurance policy?
It is a universal life insurance policy that <b>guarantees</b> the death benefit <b>regardless</b> of investment performance.
Universal life is the most <b>flexible</b> type of policy on the market. The premium is higher than term, but lower than whole life. There are several on the market, so you must be careful.
If you decide to buy term because of budget constraints, then be certain to buy from a company that <b>also</b> offers universal life.
This gives you the chance to slowly convert the term into universal with the same company over the length of the term guarantee.
As your budget permits convert term into universal.
One word of caution though. Long term interest rates are critical to the performance of universal life insurance.
Because they've been depressed for several years and will likely continue so, you must get the universal life with an <b>unconditional</b> death benefit guarantee.
Here's an example using our 30 year old male. The $500,000 universal life insurance policy premium is $2,871 per year. This compares with the already discussed $700 term and $3,650 whole life premiums.
Let's say you really <b>do</b> decide life insurance isn't important when you reach 65. By that time, you would have paid $86,130 in total premiums.
Down a rat hole like the term plan? Nope!
The cash surrender value would be at least $85,501. It might well be over $100,000 based on the actual competitive interest rates credited to the policy over the 30 years.
By paying more in premium using universal life you guarantee the death benefit for as long as necessary ... <b>plus</b> you have the ability to recover your expense if you wish to cash it in.
You have the <b>best of both worlds</b> when you use the <b>best kept secret</b> in a life insurance policy.
Life insurance, the universe and everything
If you have yet to consider taking out any life insurance, don’t worry –there’s plenty of information out there including consumer organisations such as which? and moneynet. Start with some simple, easy questions such as:
* Would my dependents need a lump sum, such as to pay off the mortgage?
* Will they need a replacement income?
* Should my partner and I both take out life insurance?
You need to ensure whatever life insurance cover you take out accommodates funeral expenses, an emergency fund to encompass household expenses in the short term, repayment of the mortgage, repayment of any other loans, inheritance tax, bequests in your will to people – in addition to your dependents, any other possible lump-sum expenses.
Life insurance broadly falls into two categories: <b>term life insurance</b> (protection only) and <b>investment type</b>. Term insurance is the cheapest type of life insurance and provides a pay-out if the person / policy holder dies within a selected period of years. If you survive beyond the given period of years, then no pay-out is given.
Investment insurance advises that you should choose a whole-of-life option which is a form of investment type policy.
Whole-of-life insurance provides cover for as long as the policy holder lives. The policy must eventually pay out and therefore builds up an investment value which can be cashed in by surrendering the policy. However, it often takes many years for a surrender value to build up and in general, whole-of-life policies are expensive if your main requirement is protection, the same is true endowment policies. Endowment policies are investment insurance products which pay out upon the death of the policy holder and also if they survive.
If you’re considering term life insurance, bear in mind there are multiple variations encompassing increasing term insurance, increasable term insurance, decreasing term insurance, renewable term insurance, convertible term insurance, family income benefit insurance and pension linked term insurance.
<b>Increasing term insurance</b>
Increasing term insurance is just like basic term insurance, except that, as the name suggests, the level of cover increases – typically alongside the premiums. This policy is suitable for long-term insurance as increasing prices reduce the value of a fixed level of cover over policy period.
<b>Increasable term insurance</b>
Increasable term insurance provides the option of increasing the level of cover either at specific intervals (such as anniversary of policy start date) or specific events (such as marriage or birth of a child). Premiums increase for additional cover, but they are based on your health at the start of the policy, even if it has since deteriorated.
<b>Decreasing term insurance</b>
Decreasing term insurance reduces cover year on year, with the policy holder usually requiring the cover for loan repayments such as a mortgage or to cover a potential inheritance tax bill.
<b>Renewable term insurance</b>
Renewable term insurance gives the policy holder the option to extend the insurance term when it comes to an end; the premium paid is the same at the start of the term, in spite of any deterioration in the policy holder’s health.
This may be beneficial to parents whose children stay in full-time education longer than originally intended.
Alternatively if someone cannot afford the cover for the period they want, they could take out cover for a short period and extend it later with slightly high premiums.
It might be a financial jungle out there, but it’s not impossible to navigate your way through to financial security.
Guaranteed Life Insurance
I have recently started my own business, and was paying big bucks for insurance through Cobra. While shopping for Life Insurance, I was amazed at all the paperwork and red tape you have to go through just to purchase a simple term life insurance policy.
At last, I found a quick and easy way to purchase term life insurance. I only wish I had found this from the start. <b><a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-1558463-10363467">American
Life Insurance Direct</a></b> is a quick and easy way to purchase life insurance.
Hopefully you will read this early on in your quest for insurance, and save a lot of trouble.
Jamie
Why Should I Go To A Life Insurance Broker?
A life insurance broker is a dedicated person that encourages and listens to the needs and wants of a person looking for life insurance. It doesn’t matter what type of life insurance you are looking for, whole or term life. A broker will be able to find suitable rates for you to choose from. When you contact a life insurance broker, you can get the life insurance you need from a company in another city or state that you probably never even heard of.
There are many benefits to dealing with a life insurance broker when you want to purchase a life insurance policy. The broker is familiar with the requirements of many different companies and knows which ones he/she can contact to get you the best rates on life insurance. It does not cost anything extra to use a broker for your life insurance needs and you do get lower rates than if you went searching on your own.
When you contact a life insurance broker, he/she will sit down with you to determine your needs in life insurance. The broker will help you decide how much of a settlement your family would need in the event of your death and whether or not you need whole or term life insurance. Once those matters have been settled, the broker will then offer your needs to several different companies in order to get the best rates on life insurance.
The companies that the broker contacts will come back with quotes based on the specifications you set out in the application for life insurance. You can take these home with you can go through them on your own to decide which one offers the best rates on life insurance. Of course, the life insurance broker can advise you about which quote is the best, but the final decision rests with you.
Once you accept the offer, the broker will write up the policy for you based on the quote you choose. You pay the life insurance broker and your policy comes into effect. You can search online for a broker just as easily as you can search for life insurance. Instead of having to contact three or four life insurance companies for quotes in order to get the best rates, let a broker do the work for you.
It pays to consult a life insurance broker, provided they are expert and experienced.
Life insurance - wise investment in personal finance or excessive caution?
Life insurance is typically taken out to offer valuable financial protection for your family in the event of your death, upon which a payment is made to your financial beneficiaries, heirs or family members. The extent of this payment will depend on your insured sum and earnings. Life insurance may be interlinked in advertisements, though bear in mind the two policies are different. Life inssurance is a form of financial protection which is also an investment, as you should always get a pay-out at the end of the term of the policy. Life insurance on the other hand is simply financial protection for your family, avoiding the issue of debt in the event of your death.
According to an article by the Fair Investment Company, the British life insurance industry shrank to almost half the size of the pensions industry last year and according to the Association of British Insurers, less than 50% of UK households hold a life insurance policy.
In their most recent newsletter about this issue, the Association of British Insurers found that 25% of mortgage holders had insufficient life insurance to cover their debt. The ratio of new life insurance policies to new mortgage loans was apparently 68% in 1994, but by 2004 this had dropped by half to 33%.
The absence of mortgage life coverage poses a serious risk for the dependants of homeowners. If banks were to embark on wide scale repossessions as a result of this absence of life insurance, this would impose a risk on their loan books and reputations. The Association of British Insurers also state that one of the main reasons behind the increased gap between mortgage loans and insurance is the emergence of people remortgaging their property to take advantage of equity release through a rise in value, without insuring their borrowing. In their report it was stated that around 63% of new mortgage loans were remortgages or further advances, compared to 34% in 1994.
Egg reported at around the same time, that three out of four of these new loan homeowners had no intention of insuring this additional debt. This is particularly worrying if couples are remortgaging their property later in life – towards retirement, given that should anything happen to the breadwinner, the partner would be left with significant debts without the capability of paying the loan back.
Reasons for the downward trend in life insurance take-up include:
* Relaxation in lending policy – increased competition in the mortgage market means that lenders are not forcing life insurance policies on their customers
* High house prices have stretched homebuyers, in particular first time home-buyers, in terms of their mortgage repayments, that the additional costs of a life insurance policy are deemed too expensive
* There are more households with no dependents
If you’re interested in researching a life insurance policy, make sure you shop around. UK websites such as moneynet ( <a href="http://www.moneynet.co.uk/insurance/life-assurance/index.sh
tml">life insurance</a> ) provide life insurance and life assurance information guides, as well as providing price comparison research for the different products. In the states, the website LowerMyBills.com also offers a similar service.
Because of the various factors listed above, people have also become less familiar with the term life insurance and without the awareness there is little recognition of the importance of this type of insurance. However as speculation increases that UK households are not coping with their debt, so should the awareness of life insurance as an essential product in the personal finance portfolio.
The Life Insurance Policy and What You Need to Know Before You Buy
Are you looking to buy a life insurance policy? Well, be careful. Life insurance can be difficult to understand and it's easy to be conned into buying something under false pretenses.
Recently a prominent life insurance company together with several of its agents paid a huge fine because it permitted the sale of a life insurance policy disguised as a retirement plan.
There was little attention given to what a life insurance policy is truly designed to provide.
Life insurance is not an investment for your benefit. It's guaranteed income tax-free cash paid to someone you designate in the event of your death. If you deeply care for someone and want to protect them, then buying a life insurance policy makes sense.
As primary bread winner in your family, your lost income could jeopardize the ability of those you love to continue to enjoy their standard of living.
The only way to guarantee an immediate replacement of this money is with the intelligent purchase of a life insurance policy.
Notice I didn't say term life insurance, low cost life insurance, or whole life insurance.
To your loved ones ... this doesn't really matter.
Over the years I've delivered millions of dollars of life insurance benefit to the families of deceased bread winners. And you know what?
No one ever asked me what type of life insurance policy it was.
They were just extremely grateful to get the money.
Term is the cheapest, but it's unlikely the death benefit will be paid since the life insurance policy will probably lapse before you actually die. Right now the premium may seem cheap compared with other types. But what happens when you're older?
Term life insurance premiums can be level for a specific number of years, but when that number of years is up the price will skyrocket to a point you won't be able or willing to pay.
Whole life insurance provides a lifetime level premium until the policy is literally paid-up. This could be 10, 20 years ... or when you reach age 65, 85 or 100. One big advantage is you don't have to worry about your policy expiring before you do.
One type of life insurance policy is not necessarily better than another. But it's critical you understand what you are buying, how it works and your net cost.
After all, if the policy isn't in force when you die you have thrown your premium dollars right down a rat hole.
By the way, don't fall for that line about buy term and invest the difference. Anyone who cons you with this bunch of malarkey has absolutely no idea how to intelligently evaluate the purchase of life insurance.
An excellent life insurance policy to consider is universal life. This is the type of policy that guarantees the death benefit up to age 115 regardless of the performance of the underlying investment.
Although more expensive then term life insurance, universal life is far less costly than a typical whole life insurance policy.
But be careful because some universal life policies are sold by focusing on projected interest rates rather than contractual guarantees.
If you are considering the purchase of a whole life insurance policy from a mutual company that declares annual dividends, ask the agent for a hypothetical illustration using a dividend forecast at least one percent less the current rate.
In the past when long-term interest rates were higher, mutual companies credited very handsome dividends to their policies.
But today with long-term rates still depressed, it's unlikely a life insurance policy will perform as illustrated.
In summary, pay close attention to the guarantees of whatever life insurance policy you decide to buy. Also, make sure you know the credit rating of the life insurance company.
There is nothing wrong with term life insurance, but understand your options about converting to a permanent plan. This could be critical if you become uninsurable before the policy expires.
Remember, you may never get a second chance to make the right decision.
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