Posts Tagged ‘death’

Types Of Life Insurance Policies

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

All life insurance policies are either term, whole, or some combination of these two types of policies. However, there are many different forms that life insurance can take, even within these types.

Universal life insurance allows you to adjust the premium and policy amount to what you feel you need.

For someone who wants to have control over the financial and investing aspect of their insurance, the variable life insurance policy will be the best option.

So let us find out what is A Term Life Insurance Policy?

A term life policy provides insurance over a specific period of time, and expires after the coverage period ends. They come in different lengths, including 5, 10, and 20 years. After the policy expires, there is no accumulated cash value, and no benefits to be paid; death benefits are only paid if you die while the policy is active. Term insurance could be described as a policy that’s designed to expire before you do.

The premiums on term life policies start out low but can increase substantially as your age increases. This makes term life the best type of policy to purchase when you’re young and the term of the policy is long. Although the shorter term renewable policies would be less expensive in the beginning, the premiums start to increase significantly after middle age.

Below here is an illustrative example which shows the difference of term life insurance policy cost with age.

$300 / year age 35

$900 / year age 50

$2,500 / year age 65

Now we shall see what is a Whole Life Insurance Policy.

A whole life insurance policy remains in force until you either die or reach age 100, so long as you pay the premiums on time. Whole life is the most common type of life insurance sold. Whole life is also known as “ordinary life” or “permanent” insurance. The main characteristics of a whole life insurance policy are level premiums, level face amounts, guaranteed values, and a relatively high degree of safety. Whole life policies accrue cash value over the life of the policy; a policyholder can access this cash for emergencies, as a supplemental source of retirement income or for any other needs.

Whole life insurance includes both insurance and savings: whole life policies are often used in long-term financial planning. The level premiums of whole life policies also mean that the premium will never change. This gives you the peace of mind of always knowing how much your premium will be; it will not increase as you grow older.

There are different risks involved for companies which provide whole life insurance policies and those which offer auto policies, for example. With an auto policy the insurance company hopes the policyholder will be a safe driver and never be in an accident. On the other hand, when an insurance company issues a whole life policy it knows it will someday have to pay the claim.

The internet has made researching and comparing different life insurance companies very easy. By doing your research online, you can ensure that you have the best policy at the best premium to meet your needs. It’s also a good idea to see how the companies you’re researching are rated with the Better Business Bureau. Also be sure to check each company’s financial stability before you sign up for a policy. If you work to get all the information you need before buying, it will be very easy to get the best possible life insurance policy online.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.

Having Life Insurance That Will Cover Your Debts

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Unless you or your family is very wealthy you most likely don’t have money saved up and set aside for a funeral if you should pass away sooner than expected. To avoid this problem and potential financial catastrophe for their family many people will turn to life insurance. Life insurance can help your family pay for those large, unexpected bills that will be handed to them after a funeral. Life insurance can be used to pay for other expenses besides the funeral itself helping your family avoid debt being passed to them.

People usually are trying to help their family avoid the funeral costs when they think about getting life insurance. For most people a cost of a funeral, which is thousands of dollars, is more than they have saved up and set aside for the situation. Life insurance can help cover the costs of the funeral as well as other costs so long as the policy is large enough. Since all plans are not as good as they may seem you should therefore be careful when picking out a life insurance plan. Term life insurance, for example, will usually cost less however it does not offer as much coverage as other plans.

One huge problem with term life insurance policies is that they expire after a set period of time. This can often leave a person looking for another plan in their later years only to have trouble finding an affordable plan. When you decide to get life insurance you should make sure that your plan will be in place until after you’ve passed away.

After the funeral costs have been paid for a life insurance policy may have money left over. If there’s extra money left over it should be first used for any outstanding debts that you still have. This is because credit companies will take your debts and put them on your spouse or children (if they are of legal age). Since this is not illegal your family will be faced with your debts and may get their credit damaged if they are unable to pay them off. To avoid this, you should have a plan that will have a large enough payout to your family to cover the cost of your funeral, medical bills, and debts.

After your debts have been paid off and the funeral has been paid for there will be money left over in some cases. This money will be split between your beneficiaries. To ensure that you have money left over you need to choose a good insurance plan. You will want to take some time and plan out what the costs will be for a funeral and your debts. You will also need to factor in medical bills that may arise before your passing.

Otherwise your family may have to use the inheritance money to cover the costs of the medical bills rather than have it for themselves. As long as you plan it out ahead of time and take the time to search for life insurance plans you should have no problem finding a life insurance plan that will meet your family’s needs.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.

An Overview Of Term Life Insurance

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Term life insurance, as its name suggests, is basically a sort of life insurance policy. At its simplest level, it promises your payment will be fixed at a set rate for a set period of time. This is known as the “term.” After this “term,” though, your payments are likely to change leaving you with no choice other than to meet them or to stop with that policy.

It is purely a life insurance policy in that it will not pay out if you are injured or something similar. It will only pay out in the event of your death. Payout will be to your named beneficiary in most cases, unless there are reasonable legal grounds for a dispute.

As there are with all types of insurance policy, there are circumstances in which term life insurance policies will not pay out even if the policy holder dies. Let’s say, for example, that the premiums are not up to date and policy holder was behind or there was a breach of one of the terms. In almost all life insurance policies, there is a clause stating there would be no pay out in the event of suicide.

However, what they are useful for is situations where the policy holder fears that, in the case of his or her death, there would be no means of covering any expenses. Such expenses include debts held by the policy holder, mortgages, the care of any dependents the policy holder may have and, of course, funeral expenses.

It often works out much less expensive than a permanent life insurance policy and it sometimes used to “bridge” for those concerned about the possibility of leaving those expenses with their families. For example, someone who is just a few years away from retirement may well decide to take out a term life insurance policy just until they reach retirement, at which point they feel they would have enough money to cover these expenses themselves in the event of their death.

Find out more about term life insurance.

Life Insurance Policies And Your Rights

Friday, August 13th, 2010

You have to understand the rights that you have when it comes to your life insurance policy as it may affect your family greatly if you don?t. You should find a policy that will fit the needs of your family after you?ve passed away because it?s easier to find a policy than it is to try to negotiate a change in policy.

The rights you have when it comes to life insurance are related to the type of insurance that you get. The most known type of life insurance is whole life insurance. This insurance provides your family with a monthly rate of money until the total is paid out. The other main type of life insurance is term life insurance. This type of insurance has lower premium rates however it expires after a certain number of years.

In both cases you will be entitled to what is known as a free look period. This is a law in every state that the companies are required to give you a time period between 10 and 30 days to review the policy. The actual time period will vary from state to state however some states require that a notice of the law is actually given to you with your policy. If you decide that you don?t want to continue the policy after the time period all you will have to do is have a written statement and hand them the statement with the policy. They will refund your payment and the policy will become a voided policy.

This period is extremely important for many people as they will be able to take it to someone and have that person help them understand the technicalities of the policy. The free look period varies from state to state and in some cases from company to company. Although contracts are supposed to be easy to read they are not in most cases. Thus you should take full advantage of this free look period so that you get what you want in your policy.

Understand that it will be harder for you to get life insurance down the road if you decide to get term life insurance now. Since older individuals are not expected to life as long they are usually subject to higher rates. It usually costs a fair amount of money but you can arrange the payouts and monthly payments to your liking. Also if you?re an older individual looking for life insurance then you should consider offering an initial lump sum of money to the insurance company. This will not only lower your monthly payments but it will help you get a policy with that company. Educate your family so that they know that they may be able to negotiate the payment policy even after you?ve passed away.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.

Life Insurance VS A Retirement Policy

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

Many people find out at retirement that they have not enough money to live the lifestyle they are used to. There are too many people in this country that have no retirement benefits and will be living on social security benefits alone. For someone living on social security benefits their lifestyle will change dramatically and they will find that they may not have enough money to keep their home and retirement becomes a burden rather than a joy.

When you hear about a life insurance policy you automatically assume it is only to be used for death benefits. The fact is that many life insurance policy pay out retirement benefits that are tax free. You can find the policy with mutual funds, stocks or bonds, and even with cash from your bank account.

Having the security of death benefits for your family is very important but having peace of mind about your financial well being after retirement is a huge concern for most people. The life insurance policies can be created to offer payouts over a specified period of time or can be paid for your entire lifetime. The best feature of the policies is that you put in it what you want to invest in your future and the payments will not be considered taxable income.

The benefits packages can be treated different ways. Borrowing cash from the policy or having annual payments made are two of the most common methods and both have their ups and downs.

Any money that is accumulated from a life insurance policy offering retirement benefits will be able to be withdrawn and no taxes or penalties will be assessed. If you have a standard IRA account set up for your retirement you will be able to have payments made to you after retirement as well but they will be counted as taxable income from the government. The fact that the insurance policy offers a tax free way to save and earn your money at retirement is a big advantage over the standard retirement policy.

If you are borrowing cash from the retirement policy as a method to avoid having to pay any taxes on the money you may be surprised that you could be hit with capital gains tax on any payments that aware in excess of the premium, this is for the lifetime of the policy so if you paid over for 40 years you can expect a huge penalty. If you are now 80 or 85 and are trying to just get by with paying estate taxes and pay the high cost of health care this tax could put you in the poor house and cause you to lose everything you own trying to pay it back.

You may have been shown a great retirement package from the agent you bought the policy from and then find out when you retire it is less than what it should have been. The rates change and if you had a great rate at the time of purchase and they have since fell you will not have the benefits you once though. With a standard retirement package you may be able to have more security in knowing what your benefits will be but they will be taxable and you have less chance to increase them over time. With the insurance policy you can add as much cash to your policy as you wish and you will never be taxed on your payments after retirement but you do have a slightly larger risk involved with your money.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For tips on how to save on your life insurance visit our website.

Getting Life Insurance If Your Are HIV Positive

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Life insurance is an important part of planning for your future. If you have dependants or loved ones who rely on you for their financial well being then life insurance can offer you a peace of mind and some comfort knowing they will be taken care of after your death. Finding out you are HIV positive can be stressful enough but when you try to obtain a life insurance policy it can create more stress when you are rejected on the spot. There are way to protect your loved ones after you pass away, some insurance companies will offer burial costs to you but very seldom will you be offered lump sum payments.

You may have life insurance policies already in place and you should locate them and start reviewing them to see if they include any riders. Your employer may have a life insurance policy included in your employment package or you could have one that is linked to your home mortgage. Any existing policies should be kept active and be very careful not to allow them to terminate or lapse, upon doing so you may find that you cannot get them back with your HIV status.

You may have social security benefits available to you and by visiting your local social security office they will be able to explain if you do and give you the amount in which will be paid. You can make any changes that are necessary concerning your beneficiaries at the office during your visit as well.

An attorney can be helpful to explain the death benefits that you have in place and to answer questions about beneficiaries and how they are to be paid after your death.

Speak with human resources at your current employer and find out if there life insurance programs that you might qualify for as part of your employment package. Many employers will take out automatic life insurance policies for their employees that will pay out a lump sum pr make payments that are a percentage of the employees current wages. The type of group policies require no underwriting or qualifications. If your employer offers this type of benefit you will be able to obtain it and might even be able to include a rider policy with it as well.

If your job does not offer any type of life insurance policy with the employment benefit package you might consider finding a job that will. You could possibly earn less and you may not be doing what you were trained to do but having the peace of mind that your loved ones will be cared for is worth it.

An HIV AIDS case worker will be able to help you find programs that you would be qualified for if you express your desire to obtain life insurance. Many insurance companies are beginning to include policies to HIV positive people since the effectiveness of the AIDS medications are far better and create a much longer life for the individuals.

You can find guaranteed life insurance policies from companies that will insure anyone. The premiums will be much higher on this type of policy and you can expect that the pay outs will be much less. Some insurance companies will only offer burial costs at an extremely high premium for terminally ill clients such as someone who is HIV positive.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover website.

Assessment Of Risk With Life Insurance

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

So many people apply for life insurance policies, but only a few of them get approved for the same. It is certainly not the easiest of jobs to get a life insurance policy. You may have enough money to pay the premiums, but it does not make you eligible for the policy. Your application for a life insurance will be assessed and analyzed. In other words, a thorough underwriting would be done on the application. Underwriting consists of the risk analysis to approve the application, and the decision on appropriate premium amounts to be paid by the individual.

Companies hires experts, called the underwriters to do the underwriting for them. At the end of the day, insurance companies need to earn profits that make them so choosy about accepting life insurance applications. There are three steps involved in the process of underwriting which are examine the application, decision to insure or not, determine the premium. Below is a discussion on these steps.

The first step needs the companies to gather information about the applicant. The application needs to be examined against many parameters, such as marital status, sex, type of living area, age, and current health status and so on. All these parameters are looked into one by one, and a final conclusion is then drawn.

After the details are collected, the decision making phase starts. Here all the parameters are gauged one by one, and the applicant is remarked for each parameter. These parameters are also known as the risk factors. For an applicant to have his application approved, he must score low on these risk factors. Although each of the risk factors has its own weight and importance, it is common belief that most insurance companies emphasize more on the age and health of the applicant. A young age and a good health of the applicant make it easy for the insurance company to approve the application. Similarly, an old aged and ailing applicant may not get a nod fro the insurance company. Living environment is another aspect considered by the companies. A good living environment implies that the applicant would suffer lesser ailments, and hence live long. As against this, a polluted and unhygienic living environment creates doubts in the minds of the insurance company. The gender of the applicant can also play a role at times. Many companies believe that women live healthier and fitter than men, for they do not take depressions. Interestingly, married men are believed to live a healthier life than the married women, indicating that the marital status also plays a role in the approval or denial of the insurance policy application. Lastly, the living habits of the customer also determine the fate of the application. If the applicant is a smoker and/or drinker, the chances of an approval are bleak.

The above risk factors also help in determining the premium amounts for the individual. A high score would get the individual to pay higher premiums. A young and healthy individual normally pays lower premiums as compared to an old ailing individual.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For tips on how to save on your life insurance visit our website.

Best Ways To Get Life Insurance Quotes

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

The insurance industry is quite a complicated one. And, this is the same for coverage regarding life, automobile, home or renters, or any other type. It is one in which it requires knowledge and research as well as experience. So, having said that, the best ways to get life insurance quotes is by putting in your own effort and talking to professionals.

If you’ve never had life insurance, then it is recommended that you speak to those who have. People in your circle of friends and family could certainly help out. They can also recommend someone that they have been associated with either in the past or present.

Of course, that is a great tip but you should definitely continue your own research using the Internet. The Internet is full of valuable information on every subject, including this one. Thoroughly researching, you’ll find even government websites that can be very helpful in educating you and protecting you.

After informing yourself to the best of your ability, visit various websites that allow you to do quotation’s online. They’re quick and easy to do. Of course, how precise the quotation is depends completely on the amount of information you provide to the various insurers. If you feel wary about providing detailed personal information, just do simple comparison shopping.

The majority of sites will not charge for any quotations. If you find some that do, simply skip over them and move on to the next ones. There may be differences in what one insurer charges in comparison to another. This is because they have over writing guidelines that differ. It could also be due to the fact that there are differences in the coverage, the terms, and many other details.

After getting roundabout figures, talk to professionals in the field that could answer some serious questions or queries you may have. The truth is, you will have questions because it is a tricky field for those who don’t know the terminology.

If you find some deals, you should be approaching them with more caution. Depending on where you live, the insurance industry is government regulated. Many countries require them to have money set aside to provide the insurance people have paid for. So, more often than not, you will be protected. But you should be certain of this to avoid any problems in the future, which is what life insurance is for. The bottom line is you want your loved ones to be protected financially in the event of death.

Affordable life insurance quotes can sometimes be hard to find, although when it’s your family’s welfare that’s in question the cheapest option may not always be the best. Visit www.forlifeinsurancequotes.com for so detailed information about life insurance quotes

How Did Insurance Start

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Life insurance or life assurance is an agreement between the plan owner (the insured) and, the insurer (insurance company) where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money fixed in the contract at the time of the insured?s demise. This may also comprise but also promise to include indicants such as an incurable disease. The plan owner agrees to pay a certain sum each month, three months, six months or a year which is affirmed upon by the contract. The policy can also state that the insurer will pay for memorial service and some health expenses independently from the agreed compensation sum.

The imbursement sum usually goes to the agreed beneficiaries in the result of the policy holder?s death. The beneficiaries are usually predetermined when the insurance is purchased but can be altered by the policy holder at any time before his/hers death. The acknowledged sum is usually at least one hundred thousand dollars for your average plan. The amount can be increased but the premiums also increase. Another way to increase the sum is to have several life insurance policies for one policy holder.

The earliest known form of a true form of a contractual insurance agreement came as early as 3 or 2 millennia B.C. These simple agreements stated that a merchant, trader or transporter of goods would guarantee the safety of said cargo or shipment. If the goods were lost, the transporter of said goods would pay either the sender or receiver for the loss or both. Other agreements were simply a fee paid by the transporter so that of the goods were lost then the fee would cover said loss of goods. These agreements were usually done by a verbal agreement, but they were later back up by laws etched in stone and papyrus.

Contemporary life insurance began in the late 17th century England as a replacement for traders insurance. In America the first modern life insurance plans began in the late 1760s. The Presbyterian Church in New York and Philadelphia created the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers in 1759. This was fashioned under the Christian doctrine that it is the responsibility of the Church to help the poor, needy, and widowed. Later the Episcopalian priests created a comparable fund in 1769. From 1787 to’37 over a dozen life insurance companies came into being, but less then half survived that century.

Before the American Civil War plantation owners could insure the lives of their slaves against suddenly or unnatural death. They could also insure against crippling ?damage? to a slave. The plantation owner would be paid a sum if said slave died or was rendered unable to work. This repulsive practice was done because slaves were seen as property, not as human beings. The sale of these policies ended fifteen year before the Emancipation Proclamation was passed.

The first insurance company in the United States was founded in Charleston, South Carolina in 1732. The company insured against fire damage and Benjamin Franklin assisted in popularizing the concept of insurance in the country at the time. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin founded the Philadelphia Contributorship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Franklin’s company was the first to make contributions toward fire deterrence. His company also tried to warn against certain fire hazards, but it refused to cover structures that were at considerable risk of fire, such as wooden houses or warehouses.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.

Finding Life Insurance Quotes For You

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

There are many reasons why you could be looking for life insurance quotes, you may want to ensure that loved one’s are catered for should you die unexpectedly, it could be you want to know that any mortgages are paid off or your spouse need never struggle for money again, Whatever your reasons life insurance can give you that sought after peace of mind.

It used to be an extensive and time consuming task to find the best insurance company but now, thanks to the internet the speed of this task is much quicker and you can have hundreds of quotes sent to you in a matter of minutes. By choosing to look at a comparison website you can receive quotes from all the major players in the insurance industry.

Companies will give you a price based on a number of different factors, your age, weight and even your occupation can all be taken into consideration when calculating a personal quotation for you.

One of the most important things that you have to do is to fill in any forms absolutely correctly; they have to be very accurate. Mistakes that are made on the forms could prevent a policy payout when you die and this could mean that your loved ones that you are trying to protect are left financially vulnerable.

If you are a smoker, then put this on your form as if you were to die from a smoking related illness and you haven’t declared it, it could jeopardise the payout. If the form asks for any family history be sure to fill this in to the best of your ability as it all gets taken into consideration.

Its normal industry standard to pay a fixed price each month and you’ll notice this on the proposals that you receive; you will also see a fixed sum that is paid if you die. It is very important to look at these details very carefully and make sure you are getting enough cover. Calculate how much you think you would need to have to pay off your mortgage or how much your loved ones would need to have to stop them worrying about money.

The details in the small print are very important and you must check them thoroughly. The small print contains all the restrictions and rules so be sure to do your due diligence and ensure you have found the right policy.

When it comes to deciding which the right quote is, cheapest doesn’t necessarily mean best, if you are looking at the details of a policy from a brand new company then perhaps you should consider an established and potentially more financially stable company. In the unstable economic world it’s vital you know that you have your loved one’s as well protected as you can. Do your research on the people providing the details and make sure you’re paying into a strong company.

A good idea is to ask someone to read the life insurance quotes for you; they will give you another opinion and may be able to spot any problem areas for you and stop you from making a wrong decision.

If you need to find life insurance quotes right away or if you are searching for more good resources about life insurance just visit this website: http://www.InsuranceQuotes.info