Entries Tagged 'life insurance' ↓

The modern Western society is at war, which influences and affects virtually all domains of life and forces people to reconsider traditions, judgments and practices. This is the war of sexes. And if some domains women are left by men behind, when it comes to insuring Why insuring your life?

The major reason for insuring one’s life is taking responsibility. People tend to have more responsibility over their family, their debts, their property and other things as the life goes on. And when it ends, these responsibilities are left over without security. When you insure your life you take care of your responsibilities when you’re gone, providing the necessary support to your family or those who need it.

Term or permanent policy?

When insuring your life you are likely to encounter two distinct types of policies: term and permanent (also known as cash value). The first provide less costly coverage for a specified amount of time and can be renewed after the term expires. The second usually pay out more money upon the person’s death but are more expensive in general. There are also convertible types of policies, which let you switch from term to permanent when needed without canceling it. Cash value insurance policies cover the person throughout the whole life and are sometimes used more like investments and financial tools rather than simple insurance. Some people use them as retirement plan funding source. So choosing whether to go with term or permanent insurance, you have to decide what you really want from your policy.

Defining the amount of coverage

How much coverage to take with your policy is defined by the amount of income to be replaced when you’re gone. Life insurance in that sense is your replacement in terms of financing, so you should take your usual earnings as a starting point in defining the final amount. Think of the money amount your family would need to sustain a good life when you’re gone – this should be the approximate amount to take with your insurance policy.

For what period?

When getting term life insurance the duration of the policy usually varies between 1 to 30 years. Defining the term means thinking about your exact insurance needs you have in the first place. Want to make sure your new-born child is going to college no matter what? Make it 20 years then! There are also additional benefits provided by different types of policies, so make sure to learn more from your life insurance provider when choosing the policy. Continue reading →

Some insurance companies are criticized because it’s not always clear how your premiums are used nor how the value of your policy is calculated. At a state level, insurance departments and commissioners do their best to protect your interests, but the majority of consumers are not well protected. This is less important with term insurance, but whole life and universal life policies have an investment element that slowly builds up and gives you a cash value in addition to the minimum guaranteed death benefits. Getting the most out of these more expensive policies is important.

Note that, unlike “ordinary” policies, cash-value policies do not lapse if you stop paying the premiums. Once you reach a minimum threshold, the policies remain valid and the investment element continues to accumulate value – this assumes the wider economy is doing well and the stock and bond markets provide a worthwhile return. So the best way of looking at these policies is as a saving fund. If you had run a savings account in your bank, this would give you a nest egg to draw down when you retired. You can treat cash-value policies in the same way. Continue reading →