Posts Tagged ‘Premiums’
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
No one likes to think about the consequences of death and its affects on those that we leave behind. It is however an indisputable fact that sooner or later we will all shuffle off our mortal coils, often without warning. When that time comes a life insurance policy will ensure the financial security of our loved ones in their grief, and will ultimately give each of us the peace of mind that our mortgage is paid off and our families taken care of when we die.
Life insurance these days is in fact fairly cheap to maintain. Increased competition in the life insurance marketplace, coupled with its ease of purchase over the Internet has bought premiums down to record low levels. You can now obtain a life insurance policy that pays a lump sum of 100,000 upon your death for as little as 5 per month.
How Much Insurance Do I Need?
Those that do decide to take the plunge and sign up for a life insurance policy though often struggle to decide how much insurance they should take out. As life premiums go up in line with increases in the sum insured, the ultimate insurance amount is often dictated by how much the person taking out the life insurance can afford to pay each month.
Then there is the thought of the mortgage. If we are still owing money on the mortgage when we depart this world, many of us would not want to see our loved ones struggle to meet the mortgage repayments each month. The amount of insurance taken out therefore should at least cover the cost of our mortgage, or what is left on the mortgage as it would be if a reducing term life product is purchased.
Protect Your Mortgage
In fact, many mortgage lenders these days insist that life cover is taken out to protect the mortgage repayments in the event of the owner’s death. On joint mortgage applications, a joint life policy is strongly recommended by lenders, and in some instances mortgage lenders will include a basic life policy in with their mortgage products that reduces in line with the outstanding amount to pay. However, life cover issued direct by mortgage lenders may not always be the cheapest insurance policy available. It therefore pays to shop around for life cover on the Internet as you may be able to save 15 or 20 on your insurance premiums each month.
Deciding on the amount of insurance coverage
So, how is it best to decide on the amount of insurance coverage? It varies for each family individual, but in general you should take out a life policy not only to cover the cost of your mortgage but also to provide your family and dependants with a lump sum after you’ve gone. What lump sum you decide upon will depend on many factors, but it should at least cover the cost of your monthly household expenses minus the mortgage payments.
Tags: Consequences, Financial Security, Grief, Indisputable Fact, Instances, Life Insurance Marketplace, Life Insurance Policy, Lump Sum, Mortal Coils, Mortgage Applications, Mortgage Lenders, Mortgage Products, Mortgage Repayments, Owing Money, Peace Of Mind, Plunge, Premiums, Struggle, Term Life, Ultimate Insurance
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Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
In general, may people understand that having life insurance in any form is a necessity. The policy of life insurance is an excellent method of providing protection for your family members in the event of your death. While many people understand that is important to have life insurance they may not understand that there are many different types of policies available in the world today.
One type of life insurance policy is called Whole Life Insurance, this type of life insurance is effective provided you continue to make the monthly payments upon the premium. This is a very popular type of life insurance because it allows you to build a cash value on the policy and is on a basis that is tax-deferred. The way this works is that a portion of the premium you are paying is put into an account of savings that the policy invests into. All interest that is earned upon the policy is put into the savings and helps to build the cash value. Once the cash value reaches a higher level, you could be required to pay the premium after age or you could be allowed to borrow against that cash value.
Another attractive benefit of having a whole life insurance policy is that your premium will always remain the same. At no time will the amount change at all, therefore as long as you continue to pay the premium each month, you will remain at the same amount for the entire time. If you choose to take a loan out on the cash value you have earned, the only difference you will have to pay is paying back that loan. One downside to this policy is the fact that you will have no control whatsoever over how the company chooses to invest the pounds you pay on your premium.
Another type of life insurance is the term life insurance policy. This policy is selected for a specified amount of time. If you should happen to pass away during the term of this specified time, then your family would then receive payment in the form of a lump sum as the contract specifies. Typically, the premiums upon this type of policy is far cheaper than other types and it does not allow you to build any type of cash value. With this type of life insurance, your premium can change or increase on a yearly basis and it generally does increase each year. It is the more expensive type of insurance that is available however it will provided your family with complete protection in the event of your death.
Tags: Amount Of Time, Attractive Benefit, Downside, Family Members, Insurance, Life Insurance Basics, Life Insurance Policy, Lump Sum, Many Different Types, Premiums, Term Insurance, Term Life Insurance, Term Life Insurance Policy, Whole Life Insurance
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Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Term insurance provides coverage for a pre-specified period. For example, term insurance is designed to protect a mortgage or provide income for your family in case of your death. You pay the term insurance premium each month and as long as you pay the premium your policy will stay in force. Once the contract reaches maturity (usually in 10 years) you need to renew your policy at a higher price. If you die while you’re paying the premium your estate gets a large sum of money.
In contrast, permanent or whole life insurance remains in force until you die. You pay the premium on a monthly basis for a pre-specified term, which can range between 10 to 20 years. A portion of your monthly payment pays the insurance and the life insurance company that provided the insurance invests the remainder. Eventually you don’t pay any premiums but your estate still receives a large payment upon death.
Whole life polices have been criticized because their investment returns are low. Thus you were often advised to buy life insurance protection with a term policy and invest the difference between term and whole life payments in a separate investment vehicle, such as mutual funds, stocks, or bonds. Once you have built up a large pool of assets you don’t need the insurance because the assets will provide security and stability in the event of an unexpected death.
However, there is a new, more flexible product called universal life insurance. While the life insurance company controls the savings in a whole life policy, the savings in a universal life plan are owned and controlled by the policyholder. Insurance companies offer a large variety of investment options for this savings component, including mutual funds. Thus, you have the ability to meet your life insurance needs and increase your return on investment.
The major advantage of a universal life policy is tax-advantaged growth. When you pay the policy premium, a portion of the premium pays for the insurance and a portion is invested. However, when you are ready to withdraw the money from your investment, your cost basis ( the portion not subject to tax) is higher with a universal life policy. The cost base for a universal policy is equal to the sum of all your premiums – the amount of money you have invested plus the money you have used to buy life insurance. This is very useful because increasing your cost base will ensure you pay less tax once you sell your investments within the universal life policy.
Universal life insurance provides a powerful combination of life insurance and tax-advantaged investment opportunities. Investors should realize that universal life insurance premiums work twice as hard as other premiums. They should also know that choosing the right product is an important element in the overall success of this strategy. Finally, the benefits of this strategy are magnified if you are in a higher tax bracket.
Tags: Flexible Product, Insurance Companies, Insurance Premium, Investment Options, Investment Returns, Investment Vehicle, Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Protection, Maturity, Mutual Funds, Polices, Policyholder, Premiums, Return On Investment, Sum Of Money, Term Insurance, Unexpected Death, Universal Life Insurance, Universal Life Policy, Whole Life Insurance
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Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Have you filled in a life assurance application recently? Theres a little box that strikes fear into the heart of the slightly overweight. It simply asks you to state your weight. Do you go straight to the scales, undress to the state of nudity and jiggle about on the said scales, trying to pinpoint the lowest mark on the gauge? No, I thought not, you probably take a vague and over optimistic guess, write it in and swiftly move on to the next question. Most of us do it. Its not really cheating. You know youre going to lose it soon, before Christmasholidaysthe wedding. If only!
Now, one of Britains biggest names in life insurance, namely Scottish Provident, in an effort gain more accuracy in working out the risk factors, has added another innocent little question, i.e. When did you last weigh yourself? Aware of the fact that many people are self conscious about their weight and tend forget the odd few pounds gained since they were last on their diet to end all diets, they feel that this should help to give a true picture of their clients potential health risks. It should also be noted that there are some people who will lie in an effort to obtain cheaper premiums.
Scottish Provident are quite rightly concerned that they are being told the truth. The UK government are taking obesity very seriously and it has been announced recently that almost a quarter of us are overweight, and its thought by Cancer research UK that around a quarter of these are not interested in losing weight. We are second only to Greece in obesity levels as a nation.
The definition of obesity is based on the British Medical Associations Body Mass Index (BMI). To work this out, you need to know your height in metres and then multiply by the same figure. Take the result of this and divide by your weight, using kilograms. This gives you your BMI, which can be used to indicate if you are underweight, normal, overweight or obese. It will, however, overestimate fatness in people who are muscular or athletic. These figures are for adults.
BMI categories are
Underweight = less than 18.5
Normal weight = 18.5 to 24.9
Overweight = 25 to 29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
In a recent study of 33,000 adults reported in the Lancet, the above figures for normal weight were agreed and there was a suggestion was that only adult patients with a BMI of 35 or above would present a serious lowering of life expectancy.
Most of the life insurance industry has accepted a BMI level of 30, which seems fair and even generous. For anyone with a BMI of over 30 your premium will be loaded and you may even be asked to take a medical examination. This means if youre overweight you could find your critical illness or life assurance premium could increase by 50% and it seems likely that for some, cover could be refused.
Its a risky business!
Tags: Body Mass Index, Body Mass Index Bmi, Cancer Research Uk, Definition Of Obesity, Diets, Jiggle, Kilograms, Life Assurance, Life Insurance, Losing Weight, Medical Associations, Nudity, Obesity Levels, Potential Health Risks, Premiums, Risk Factors, Scales, Scottish Provident, Uk Government, Undress
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Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
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.
Tags: Buy Insurance, Child Marriage, Disservice, Good Health, Group Insurance, Group Life Insurance, Healthy People, Helpful Tips, Installments, Insurance, Insurance Shop, Life Insurance Costs, Life Insurance Coverage, Life Insurance Rates, Marriage, Marriage Divorce, Medical History, Premiums, Purchasing, Shop Insurance
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Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Do you need affordable term life insurance? This seems to be the million-pound question. When you want to purchase life insurance you often do not know how much you need or if there is such a thing as having too much life insurance. What constitutes affordable life insurance and how much you need is totally dependant upon your own situation.
Don’t be fooled into determining the amount of insurance you should have to what your best friend or neighbour has. Remember, every situation is unique and your needs will be unique. Your need will be determined by what you wish to see happen in the event of your death. You do have to look at the life insurance cost of the premiums and decide how much you can afford from your monthly budget. There is affordable life insurance available at very low premiums and that will help your family out in the event of your death.
When considering what affordable life insurance is needed in a family situation, you need to do a life insurance comparison. This will help you get the most affordable rates and there are countless life insurance companies able to help you in this regard.
In order to determine how much life insurance you should have, a number of factors need to be considered. For a person with family needs, these may include such things as:
Do you have dependants? If so, how long will they be dependant upon you?
Do you have children? If so, how old are they?
Do you want to insure your children have a post secondary education?
Will your household income be greatly reduced upon your death? If so, how much income do you need to replace so your family maintains their standard of living?
How long will you need to replace your household income?
What taxes may be incurred upon your death?
Do you need to cover debt obligations such as loans or a mortgage?
When you try to determine whether or not you can afford life insurance, think about whether or not your family can afford to be without affordable life insurance.
You can find affordable term life insurance, but you need to establish exactly what you need first.
Tags: Affordable Insurance, Affordable Life Insurance, Affordable Term Life Insurance, Best Friend, Budget Insurance, Debt Loans, Debt Obligations, Family Situation, Household Income, Insurance Cost, Insurance Life, Life Insurance Companies, Life Insurance Comparison, Monthly Budget, Mortgage, Post Secondary Education, Premiums, Regard, Term Insurance, Term Life Insurance
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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Whole life insurance quotes the most expensive kind of policies that are on the market due the fact of cash value over time. Whole life insurance is permanent life insurance coverage that lasts as long as you live and continue to make ontime premium payments. The reason that whole life insurance quotes are so much more expensive is due to the fact that the policy will have to pay out a death benefit when you die.
Whole life insurance quotes are available online from many insurance companies that have an online presence. Online life insurance quotes let you search for the life insurance policy that best suits your needs. When you log onto each site, you can read the information regarding the whole life insurance policies available and request free quotes. You should request at least three quotes so you can compare the different rates.
When you compare the online whole life insurance quotes, the cheapest is not always the best one to choose. They are quite affordable because the payment of premiums stretches out over a longer period of time. When you are comparing the online life insurance quotes you receive, you shouldnt just think about the amount of the monthly premium but the length of time that you have to pay the premiums.
The death benefit you choose in the whole life insurance policy will never decrease and the premiums will always stay the same. With online life insurance quotes for term insurance, the benefit and the premiums remain the same for the term, but could change dramatically when you renew the policy at an older age.
In order to determine how much of a death benefit you need with whole life insurance, you should sit back and evaluate how much money your family would need to survive without you. You have to look at the fact that the bills still need to be paid and your income will no longer be available. The sum of the death benefit is one of the factors that does determine the price of the whole life insurance quotes you receive. Other factors include your age, occupation and health.
The younger you are when you choose to get whole life insurance, the lower cost it will be to you. In your later years, you wont have to budget for the premiums, because they will be paid up. You can also borrow against the amount of money you build up in the whole life insurance, but this part of the policy and doesnt have any effect on the whole life insurance quotes you receive.
When comparing whole life insurance quotes there are quite a few things to think about.
Tags: Cheap Insurance, Death Benefit, How Much Money, Insurance Companies, Insurance Life, Insurance Online, Length Of Time, Life Insurance Coverage, Life Insurance Policies, Life Insurance Policy, Life Insurance Quotes, Online Life Insurance Quotes, Period Of Time, Permanent Life Insurance, Premiums, Suits, Term Insurance, Whole Life Insurance, Whole Life Insurance Policies, Whole Life Insurance Quotes
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
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 wont 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 wont 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 its not just about price. Theres more to compare than just price.
Tags: Clauses, Company Websites, Death Benefit, Death Benefits, Different Companies, Going Out Of Business, Insurance Agent, Insurance Life, Insurance Online, Insurance Quote, Internet Sites, Life Insurance Companies, Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Quotes, Online Insurance, Premiums, Proven Track Record, Public Domain, Quote Insurance, Secure Sites
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Purchasing life insurance is a big decision, and we all want the best coverage for the least cost. However, money is not the only factor that goes into choosing a life insurance company. Below are five factors that separate best life insurance companies from the average ones. You will want to consider when choosing the best life insurance company, and policy, for you.
First, after you have shopped around a bit, thrown out the definite no ways and decided on a couple of maybe candidates, you will want to make sure that the one you choose in the end is both well-established and financially stable. You can find this information from the insurance companies themselves, but you might want to consider asking around, as well. Talk with someone who has used or is still using the companys services. Research the life of the company, too.
Second, you will want to choose a company that does not discriminate against age or existing health issues. These kinds of discriminations make it almost impossible for people to get life insurance.
Third, choose a life insurance company whose policies will not change and premiums will not increase as you get older.
Fourth, it is important for the life insurance company you choose to have a staff of well-trained and objective insurance agents. You want an agent who is unbiased and will help you find the best policy for you, and not what will make the most money for them.
Fifth, and last, make sure the life insurance company you choose has a policy just for you. Your policy needs to fit both your coverage needs and your budget.
Once you have taken these factors into consideration, you will find the best life insurance company for you. It will take time, so be patient during your search. It will be worth it because you will reap the rewards of safety and security in the end.
Tags: Best Life Insurance Companies, Budget, Company Insurance, Fit, Health Issues, Insurance, Insurance Agents, Insurance Life, Insurance Policies, Insurance Policy, Life Insurance Companies, Life Insurance Company, Money, People, Premiums, Purchasing, Rewards, Safety And Security
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