Insurance Centre

When it comes to understanding term or whole life insurance policies, there’s good news and not so good news. The good news is that both term life insurance, which covers a set length of time, but gives no benefit once that period expires, and universal or whole life insurance, which is more expensive, but a whole-life policy that leaves a set amount to your beneficiaries, have become cheaper over the past decade. The bad news is that almost all of we mortals are going to need life insurance if we want to protect our loved ones after we die.

These are heavy considerations, but according to research firm LIMRA, the cost of this somber type of insurance has dropped 30 percent since the 1990’s. Studies also indicate that one in three Americans doesn’t have a policy, and of those who do, another third don’t think they own enough.

What that means to the savvy consumer is that now is a terrific time to compare online life insurance quotes and nail down a policy that will yield the biggest return for your investment. Marvin Feldman, president of the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (a.k.a. the Life Foundation), notes that “the reason premiums have dropped is life insurance is now based on the new 2001 CSO mortality tables, and those mortality tables show that people are living longer, so that when companies are calculating the cost of insurance, from a mortality standpoint, they can charge a lesser amount.”

But Feldman adds that to find those deals, you have to shop carefully – and doing it online is the best, quickest way. A rule of thumb is “the average person should have 20 times their annual income,” Feldman advises. Those figures are derived from findings in The 911 Report, but essentially, there are two major tests for determining how much you need: One is based on ascertaining what the surviving parties will need in the event of your death-to cover things like mortgage, college, car payments, and cost of living. The other is based on human life value-how much income are you currently earning and how many years can you expect to be earning it.

It’s important, when making those estimates, to get a notepad and write down unexpected expenses that your dependents may be surprised by-things like accounting fees, emergency medical and auto expenses, home repairs, the cost of returning to school, etc. A key insurance information site also recommends consumers not overlook hidden sources of income, which may well disappear with the deceased-for example, 401(k) plans and matching stock option plans, as well as health insurance subsidies.

To drive home just how important it is to provide for your family long after you’re gone, consider that they’ll need an estimated minimum of $15,000 to cover funeral and estate costs.

Term life insurance policies are very popular these days, and of course, they can provide very valuable protection at a low cost for many people. However, the problem with term life insurance is that it expires just when the covered person would find it harder to find protection, after ten or twenty or thirty years, the term life insurance expires. The theory behind term life insurance is that by that time the insured person will have less obligations, and they will have enough money saved to self insure.

However, we find many senior citizens and retired people who have not had the good fortune to be free of obligations, and with sufficient savings to cover their debts, final expenses, and other obligations. Also, by the time we reach maturity, we may also have developed more health problems. As if an advanced age were not enough, health problems may make us very tough or expensive to insure at all!

However some life insurance companies have developed senior life, guaranteed life insurance, or final expense life insurance programs to meet these needs. These are, basically whole life insurance policies. This means that the policy will stay in force as long as the policy is kept in force. A policy is usually kept in force by paying premiums, or by having the policy “paid up”. Yes, many whole life policies can be paid up over a period of years, usually ten to twenty years. In this case, an insured person can relax, knowing they will have life insurance for their whole lives, and not just for a period of years.

These type of senior life insurance or final expense policies come in two types that do not require a medical exam. For a face value that usually ranges from $2,500 to $25,000, many senior life insurance companies will offer simple issue and guaranteed issue life insurance policies. Because the face value is lower, and so the risk to insurance companies is lower, you can find some more relaxed requirements to gain affordable coverage for life insurance. Seniors can leave this money to a beneficiary, usually their spouse or children, to cover burial expenses, settle final debts, and leave some money as an estate.

Simple issue life insurance policies provide immediate death benefits. They do as health questions on the applications, but the great majority of seniors can qualify. They usually only declined applicants who have a terminal disease, or are in a nursing home. So smaller health issues will not prevent an applicant from obtaining coverage. Since the coverage is immediate, as soon as the insured person is notified that their policy has been issued, they will be covered.

Guaranteed issue life insurance policies do not ask any health questions at all! Instead they underwrite by delaying full coverage for a period of months, from 24 to 36, or 2 to 3 years. If the insured person passes away during this qualification period, they will refund all premiums with a specified interest rate. For an older individual with serious health issues, this is still a no-lose deal.

If you are an older person, or if you are concerned about paying final expenses for your parents, consider a senior life insurance policy. It will be much easier to pay an affordable monthly premiums than to come up with several thousand dollars for a burial and other expenses after the person dies.

You probably realize that you need life insurance and you may have even already decided upon getting a term life insurance policy, but you may still be relatively new to the whole process and may need a little guidance in how to go about getting the best policy; fortunately there are brokers that are available to help you.

While many people will use the term broker and agent interchangeably that is not the case; they are similar but an agent will work on behalf of the insurance carriers while term life brokers will work on behalf of the client, you, while still having some obligations to the insurance carriers.

Life insurance is complicated and very multi-variable so it takes quite a bit of energy and time on the term life insurance brokers part to keep up with all of the legalese and this normally comes from experience. Other things that you want to look for in a good broker include fairness, impartiality and honesty.

While you naturally want to find the most affordable policy that you can you also need a policy that will best suit your personal needs. You want a broker that has no problem with keeping up with the new changes, strategies and products when it comes to comparing life insurance policies. Term life insurance brokers need to be competent; they need to know exactly what questions to ask of both you and the life insurance companies and then they should be able to guide you through the compete process with a successful ending.

Ask yourself several questions when looking over the different policies: does it have the best possible options for you at the best rate or are they perhaps just pushing some of those certain options because they get a bonus, or something similar; maybe they don’t want to take the time or energy that is involved with finding out what is really the best one; good term life insurance brokers have no problem finding out all of these answers and others for you.

The process normally begins with the broker asking you several questions, sometimes in the form of a questionnaire, pertaining to what you are looking for in an insurance policy. You will also be asked to supply any and all information for any and all of the insurance companies that the broker may work with. Be sure that you supply all of the required information completely and accurately to avoid any type of problems or misunderstandings at a later time. Then this information will be submitted to several different insurance carriers; the number is based upon how many companies the term insurance brokers work with and how many they fell may meet your particular needs.

When choosing from among the many term life insurance brokers you will also want to find someone that you are comfortable with, it can be a difficult subject to discuss and you need someone that is both professional and empathetic.

When you are purchasing term life insurance for yourself or a family member, you are creating a contract between you and the insurance company. When you hire a contractor, wouldn’t you check out the company before you hire them? Getting to know the insurance company that you are going to trust with your family’s future is far more important. There are some basic things that you need to look at before you sign on the bottom line.

Currently in the United States, there are over 1,500 insurance companies operating that sell life insurance policies to clients. Most of these companies are simply subsidiaries of their parent companies. These subsidiary companies are commonly created because each state has different laws, and this allows the companies to be able to tailor their policies to be able to meet that state’s rules and regulations. The parent company and the subsidiaries are separate companies, but they all operate under the same corporate umbrella. Using a single centralized company would not work due to all the disparate laws and jurisdictions. A very important consideration is whether the insurance company has an entity in your local state. Otherwise, in the case of a dispute, you will not be able to bring the case before your state insurance regulatory agency.

Once you find a company that has an operation in your state, there are some important considerations that you should look at, including the following: the policy, the company, financial stability, and claims settlement.

Obviously, you want to verify the policy. Typically, this is the step where most people stop, but this is only one part of what you should check. Make sure that the policy meets your needs. Read the whole policy, including the fine print. Make sure that the policy has all of the features and services that your agent promised. After you sign the policy, it is too late.

When selecting the insurance company, never rely solely on the company name. The name that they select has a lot to do with marketing, and the name that they choose is intended to project financial strength, fairness, dependability, etc. Words that are commonly used in the name include reserve, security, assurance, and equity. Don’t trust these words without examining the company’s history and credentials. It is also a good idea to go with trusted companies that have been in the business for many years. They have been around long enough to have a trusted name in the business.

Because you are buying this policy for many years, you want to make sure that the company will be there when you need them most. It is important to take a look at the financial strength of the company. In order for the company to survive, you need to make sure that they have a strong financial foundation so they can survive down times in the market. You can check their financial ratings from several independent agencies. You want to select a company with the highest rating possible.

Also take a look at the company’s record for paying claims. You can get this information from the national claims database or from your state’s insurance regulatory agency.

These are just some of the things that you should check on before you sign up for any policy. Make sure you are comfortable with it before you purchase the policy. There are many companies that can offer you quotes on term life insurance.

Term life insurance is what is known as the original life insurance. In this form of insurance the beneficiaries get the sum insured in the event of the death of the insured and there is no appreciation of the premium paid. In term life insurance the insured is covered only for the specified period of time as mentioned and agreed to in the term life insurance policy. After the completion of the policy the insured can terminate the policy or continue it by paying an increased premium annually to the company. In either case the insured does not get any financial benefit in his or her lifetime.

Being the most inexpensive of all the life insurance policies, term insurance is the most sought after life insurance policies by the middle class of society. Every one looks forward to being able to take care of the financial needs of their families and doing so even after their death is an opportunity no one will forfeit.

Term life insurance is also the most competitive of insurances doing the rounds today even if it is the oldest form of insurance. In this type of insurance the policy holder will have to forgo all his premiums should he live and not wish to continue the policy on an annual basis. If he does continue the policy he or she will ensure that on his or her death the named beneficiaries of the policy will get a sum of cash predetermined at the time of signing the policy.

Being the most competitive form of insurance it is important to get an term insurance quote online before signing any policy with any company. There are scores of insurance companies offering term life insurance to people and this is why there will be many different rates too. A simple search for companies offering term life insurance policies on the internet will result in many companies in your area.

Make it a point to do adequate research online by reading all the information provided by insurance companies in your area. Every insurance company will have an online portal with an online calculator to calculate your premiums. Make ample use of these online resources because it is possible to determine which is the best policy for you and which company is offering it to you for the cheapest premium.

Should, for some reason, there be no calculator on the site you should make it a point to take down the contact details of the insurance company and contact them personally for a quote for your term life insurance policy. Do not take the fact that they have not provided you, a prospective customer, with an online tool to calculate your premium and make your work easier, as a lack of service. Perhaps it is a way of cost cutting in order to provide better service. So contact each and every provider in your area before deciding on your term life insurance.