The Life Insurance Review
Where Life Insurance is Talked About
Term Life Insurance – Say Goodbye to Return of Premium Term Life Insurance
Jun 22nd
There exists a great debate among so-called financial experts with respect to what type of life insurance policy is best. One one hand, you have the camp that believes in the value of a properly funded “permanent” insurance contract (i.e. whole life or universal life). The other camp feels that you should purchase term insurance and invest the difference into some financial product. Regardless of which camp you fall in to, the insurance industry created a Term Insurance product which included a “rider” that allowed you to receive all of your premiums paid into a term life insurance product back at the end of that policies term.
Let’s assume that you go to your agent and needed to purchase life insurance. After you and the agent completed an Insurance Review (hopefully), you determined that you needed an additional $200,000 worth of protection. After looking at whole life & universal life, you determined those two options to be out of your budget. You agent then showed you a Term product which was much cheaper. However, you did not like the idea of paying for something, which if you did not die during the policy’s term would just vanish. Your agent then showed you that you could amend that term product, for an additional premium, with a rider which would return every premium dollar you had paid into the policy should you not die during the policy’s term. That is a win/win for everyone!
Well, if you like the idea of that “win/win” scenario, you better act fast. The rules that regulate life insurance contracts are changing January 1st, 2010. Actuarial Guideline 45 applies to individual life insurance products that offer endowment benefits prior to the expiration date of the insurance coverage (most ROP products offer the clients a partial return of their premiums paid should the insured cancel the contract before the end of the Term). The new rules make these Return of Premium products too costly for Insurance Carriers to profitably sell.
While many companies will continue to sell these Return of Premium Policies, they will have ot increase the cost of the actual rider. This increase will, more than likely, cause many individuals to stay away from these products as the “cost / benefit” analysis will be drastically reduced. Further, many carriers are completely stopping the sell of their Return of Premium Policies. Unfortunately, the real losers in this increased regulation (from the government) of the life insurance industry is the consumer.
Reviewing Your Life Insurance Policy Yearly
Mar 29th
With life insurance, it can be easy to fall into the pattern of simply paying towards it each month and conveniently forgetting about it. As a new year rolls around, most people do not even take thought to the slight interest rate increase in their premiums, when in fact they should use that time to review their policy and ensure they are paying a fair amount.
Most life insurance companies will ask a whole lot of questions in your signup process. If you are unsure of the answers to some of the questions, especially regarding the ones about genetically related illnesses and family health history, then you need to take some time to reassess your policy. If you know that you answered some of the questions off the top of your head, and not based on fact, then you need to ensure that you return to the insurance company and review your policy. First you need to approach your life insurance company and ask them the questions again. If you are not sure of any of the answers, then you need to approach family members and speak to them in depth about any illnesses that have occurred along the line. Ask them the cause of death in the passing of any family members that are directly blood related to you. Then you need to return to the life insurance company with the correct information, as you would not want them to refuse payout after you have passed away if you have died from a genetic illness that you failed to tell them was in your family.
Take the time to update your personal details with the insurance company too. If you change addresses, where you live and where you work, you need to inform them. It may seem trivial to inform them but they need all your correct information. If you pass away and no one is aware of your insurance policy, they have to know how to get a hold of people close to you, and need to have all your correct details for a smooth payout process.
Once a year, review your financial situation. If you find that you can spare a bit of extra money, put it towards your life insurance policy, or even take out a second one. This way, you can increase the payout to your chosen beneficiaries, add more beneficiaries, or add benefits onto your policy. If you have more money to spare you can perhaps add disability cover and funeral cover. The range of extras you can add onto your policy can be quite broad.
In conclusion, it is never a silly idea to review your life insurance policy, even if only to give your life insurer a call and make sure that everything has been running smoothly and your policy coverage is still what you require it to be.
The Most Suitable Life Insurance Company
Feb 12th
Finding a life insurance company which offers the best benefits and provides the ultimate coverage at the least cost is quite a cumbersome task. It is a very big decision to zero in on one company and you would need to review a lot of details before you are able to separate the best companies from the average ones.
Another factor that you would need to consider while selecting an insurance company would be to decide whether you want to purchase from a stock company or a mutual company. Stock companies are owned by stock holders and the mutual companies are owned by the policy holders. While the mutual companies pay dividends, the stock companies do not. Always remember to compare the rates of the different stock companies and the mutual companies before deciding on one.
Five Factors Which Would Help You Choose The Correct Life Insurance Company
Shop around a bit and find all the available information on the various companies. Ask around and talk with others as well. The more research you do on the life insurance online companies, the easier it would be to zero down on one.
Secondly, try and choose a company that does not discriminate against age, sex or health issues.
Thirdly, choose a company whose premiums do not rise as you get older and whose policies do not change with time.
Fourthly, select a life insurance company which has a proper trained staff and objective insurance agents. The agent should be unbiased and should help in locating the best policy for you. He should be able to provide you with good options rather than make money for himself.
Lastly, the policy chosen should be just for you. It should fit into your life insurance needs and should give you maximum coverage in the minimum cost.
Once you have taken the above factors into consideration you are sure to find the best life insurance company for yourself. Because the insurance industry is a carefully regulated industry, the different states have their own insurance departments. Online you would be able to find the entire product related information and the details of the financial strength of the company. You could also consider group life insurance as an alternative. This might be also offered to you as a perk in your working place.
It takes time to be able to locate a life insurance company which fully satisfies your needs. If you are patient during your search, you are sure to reap the rewards of safety and security in the end.
Alcoholism and your Insurance
Oct 10th
Being an alcoholic or even being a moderate drinker has implications which could affect your insurance cover or the amount you would have to pay comparable to being obese. Any factor that can contribute to deteriorating health can either disallow your ability to get insurance or have you pay premiums at higher prices. Medical records that show several visits to a medical facility due to alcohol related injuries or injuries that have been brought about by alcohol dependence would be a point against you during your application for insurance cover. Alcohol use and abuse, is attributed to be a precursor for heart disease, liver problems and other illnesses which can ultimately end in death thus labels you as a high-risk individual.
Term Life Insurance : Elaborated
Jan 10th
Term is the cheapest form of life insurance and is also considered to be the least problematic for you only make payments without the nuances of the other types. Term is a form of insurance you get when you have long term insurance needs but do not have the financial capability to pay the high-priced premiums of the other types of life insurance. Terms can last from 5 to 30 years depending on the contract or term indicate don your policy. There are significant differences in the sense that there is no accumulated cash-value that can be claimed at the end of the said term. The Premium increases after the initial contract period till it is renewed for another term. Also if you are still alive when the term expires, coverage ceases. But if you should happen to pass on during the coverage period, your beneficiaries are paid the full amount as stipulated in the policy.
Life Insurance – the different types
Jun 1st
There are two general types of life insurance and choosing the best of them assures that you get the best value for the premiums you pay. They are term and permanent life insurance, and from the names you can surmise their differences. Term insurance is effective for a time period (term) that is indicated in the policy. For cost effectiveness this is the choice for it is cheaper and some companies offer conversion from term to permanent as an option. Permanent insurance stays enforced as long as the policy is within the coverage period.