Thursday, November 27, 2008

Life Insurance online

Life Insurance - the sooner the bette
by Michael Challiner

A pension scheme is important to the individual, and most people are aware that if they have no other cover it is essential to initiate a scheme in preparation for later life. Really it has a close relative in life insurance, although the pension is tied in to receiving a repeating payout if you survive to a specific date. Its relative - life insurance - still operates to a specific date, but payment can be triggered by an early demise of the policy holder. The factor common to both pensions and life insurance is that getting an early start can reduce costs considerably. It is however a long time from starting work to retirement and circumstances can change considerably in this interval. When you are young and healthy it is very difficult to think about long term illness, but it can hit any of us at any time and the effects can be devastating. It is difficult to prioritise these items but certainly critical illness cover should not be last on the list.
Treatments for cancer are improving all the time, and many forms which once were fatal can now respond to newly discovered cures; the fact remains that the even tenor of life can be seriously disrupted by this or other major illness. During treatment it may be difficult to retain your current employment, especially when there are long periods when time away from your job cannot be avoided. If rest and recovery is necessary it is likely that your salary will be paid for three months, and then you will only have incapacity benefit to fall back on.
Don't delude yourself with the rumours that many people can live like kings on disability and incapacity payments - maybe the odd one can, and maybe there are reasons of which others are unaware. Suffice it to say that if you are reduced to this level of income, you will almost certainly find that kings must live frugal lives indeed.
So what is to be done to avoid this situation? The answer lies in critical illness insurance, but again it must be stressed that this should be taken out at the earliest possible opportunity. If an opportunity does not appear to be available, do your best to make one - start soon enough and there will be no necessity to live a life of denial to meet the payments, as the costs will be much less. Leave it a few years and it may well be that you just cannot find the necessary funding.
Why not begin your search on the internet, or collect recommendations from acquaintances, and then request further details from your chosen source. Examine the information very carefully; it is all too easy to think that you are covered for every eventuality, then when illness strikes, to find out that what you have got comes in the list of exceptions. Above all, make sure that you are covered for the core or most likely conditions i.e. cancer, heart attack (and often associated by-pass surgery), stroke, kidney failure (not forgetting organ transplant) and MS.
Not a cheerful list, but these should be covered as a bare minimum. Examine in fine detail the policies on offer - many will provide cover for a range of other potential illnesses, but keep an eye on the costs. Medical insurance is not noted for its 'buy one, get one free' approach! Once you have settled on which company will supply the cover and exactly what cover you require, you can then complete the application form - but beware - pitfalls ahead.
You are of course applying whilst still young so you are probably fit and healthy, or if you have had any potentially major problems they are easy to remember. It is vital that you do not (accidentally or deliberately) miss any known condition or significant previous illness. If in doubt, put it down; you do not want to find that, some years in the future when you submit a claim, it is refused because of an earlier and undisclosed illness.
Now you can start to relax, but (sorry to nag) have you taken out life insurance? If not, then this is your next priority. Again you could make a start by browsing the web or picking up recommendations. You will quickly find that there are a number of options available to you, usually with names which make a poor show of revealing their exact purpose to the uninitiated. Such items as 'term insurance', 'increasing term', 'decreasing term' and 'whole of life' are likely to be offered to you.
What you shouldn't do is accept these titles on trust as though you know what they mean; if you don't understand them, ask questions. Any salesman worth his salt will be only too happy to explain the operation of these plans in layman's terms. If your contact appears to be reluctant to explain or worse still tries to 'blind you with science', then you have to accept that you need to look elsewhere for your policy. It is important that you do look elsewhere and don't just give up - at some time in the future you will be very glad that you persevered.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

All About Term Life Insurance

All About Term Life Insurance by Sarah Martin
Term life insurance is one of the types of life insurance policies you can purchase. This type of life insurance will only pay the amount of the policy to your beneficiary if you die during the term specified in the policy, which could be between one and thirty years depending on the length of term you choose. It is the simplest form of life insurance in that you choose the amount of life insurance you need and make the annual premiums for each year of the term. If you are still alive at the end of this term, then this policy is no longer valid and you have to take out another policy for another term.
Within term life insurance there are two types of policies - level term and decreasing term. Level term is the most commonly purchased policy because it pays out the same amount when you pass away at any point during the term. The term lengths you can choose from are:
• yearly, which means you renew the policy on an annual basis
• 5 year renewable term
• 10 years
• 15 years
• 20 years
• 25 years
• 30 years
• a policy that lasts until you reach a specific age, which is usually age 65
Of these, the 20 year term life insurance is the most popular. Your age is a determining factor though, because if you take out life insurance at age 65, very few insurance providers will provide you with a policy beyond the age of 80, so this would shorten the term.
When choosing a term life insurance policy, a renewable policy is really something that you need to look for. With this type of policy, when the term ends, you have the option of renewing it for another term. This is important because by this time you may have medical conditions that would make it hard, if not impossible, to take out a new policy. When your policy is renewable, you will be able to renew it without any problems in spite of these medical conditions.
The premium that you pay for term life insurance depends on several factors. Your age is one of these factors. The younger you are when you purchase a policy; the cheaper it will be because there is not big likelihood of you passing away at an early age. Your lifestyle also factors into the cost as well. If you smoke, drink alcohol excessively or take drugs, your premiums will be higher than that of a person who does not.
You will have to pass a medical check by a doctor to ascertain that you are in good health as well, unless the company offers no medical exam life insurance. Your occupation will play a part if you work in a field classified as dangerous, such as working in a mine. This is because there is a greater possibility of you being killed on the job.
The premiums will remain level for the length of the term. In a renewable policy, the premiums increase at the time of renewal. For example, in a five year renewable policy, you pay an annual premium that stays the same for the first five years and then the rate increases for the next five years.
The reason that level term insurance is more popular than decreasing term insurance is that the amount paid to the beneficiary remains the same throughout. With decreasing term insurance the amount of the payout decreases each year of the policy, which means that if you pass away about a month before the end of the term, there is no money left in the policy to pay to your beneficiary.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Life Insurance

A proper financial plan can mean the difference between leaving your loved ones well-positioned financially and leaving them to cope with debts and an inadequate income.
Life insurance can help create financial security for you and your family. If you should die prematurely, it can be used to:
Pay final expenses and any debts
Provide an income for your family
Ensure your family has the resources to maintain a comfortable standard of living
Leave a legacy to your favourite charity
While you’re still living, some life insurance policies can:
Build tax-advantaged savings you can draw upon as needed for personal or business opportunities
Supplement your retirement income or provide for long-term care or home care for yourself or a family member

Ok. Read the article bellow:

Life Insurance Quickguide

Life Insurance Quickguide: Cheaper Life Insurance

Cheap Life Insurance: What It Is - And How to Get It
By: Kade Phillips, contributing writer at kanetix.com.

What is cheap life insurance?
Life insurance or life assurance is basically a contract between an insurance company and the life insurance policy owner. Cheap life insurance is a policy that has been obtained at a very good price, and is not necessarily an indication of a lack of quality. Under a life insurance policy, the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the death of the policy owner under certain circumstances. In return, the policy owner agrees to pay a stipulated amount of money to the insurance company at regular intervals, which is called a premium. Insurance companies each have a slightly different view of the risks involved, and therefore calculate the premiums differently. This is one of the reasons why there can be quite a difference in price between insurance companies for essentially the same product.
Cheap Life Insurance – An affordable life insurance policy can be a smart financial decision
Life insurance is a unique form of insurance that offers notable advantages. It makes provisions for, and ensures the financial protection of your loved ones in the event of your untimely demise. Apart from this fact, an affordable life insurance policy can also help you to develop and achieve your own personal financial goals. Certain kinds of life insurance can allow you to be in a position to utilize more of your assets during your retirement. There are many different types of life insurance policies, however, not all of them can be classified as cheap. The more benefits, and protection they offer, the more expensive they typically are. But all life insurance policies follow a common trait of functionality: On the occasion of your death, the life insurance company pays an agreed upon amount to the beneficiaries (the people that you have named to be the receivers of the money). Also, the named beneficiaries in your insurance policy, may receive the payment(s) free of income tax. This is often true of cheap term life insurance policies. Some affordable life insurance plans also grant cash benefits while you are living. In this type of life insurance, a part of your premium is transferred to a cash reserve and this amount builds on a tax deferred basis. This money is called cash value and you can have access to this capital. You can use the cash value to support education costs, enhance retirement cash flow and many other purposes. A cheap life insurance policy can be the foundation of an ideal financial plan, and ‘Term Life Insurance’ is typically the way to get the protection you need at the most affordable price. By focusing on cheap life insurance, you are not only making a smart and caring financial decision for your family and loved ones, but also making certain budgeting and money management decisions. Through cheap life insurance, you can ensure protection for the people you care most about.
Choose a reliable and affordable life insurance policy
When you’re looking for cheap life insurance, it’s important to choose the right insurance provider and not simply rely on price alone. The primary intention for choosing life insurance is to provide protection for your loved ones, and a cheap policy offered by an underperforming life insurance company may not meet your expectations as you had intended. Financial resources and financial goals act as the decisive factors when choosing a life insurance policy. Term life insurance has proven to be a highly affordable type of life insurance policy, and is often much easier to purchase - sometimes requiring no medical exam. A term life insurance policy provides protection for a fixed duration of time, which is why it is called a “term” life policy. The premiums tend to be lower for a term life insurance policy since it does not build any cash value. If you possess greater financial resources, a whole life or universal life insurance policy can offer excellent options for life insurance, with a build up of cash value which can be kept for retirement or passed on to your heirs. But typically, cheap life insurance is obtainable through a term life policy.
Get free life insurance quotes to compare prices and providers
If you’re searching for cheap life insurance, comparing term life insurance quotes through Kanetix.com is a fast and easy way to compare quotes from different insurance companies, and the providers we have selected can help you to select a cheap life insurance policy to meet your exact needs. Kanetix.com is committed to providing a range of options to help enable cheap term life insurance for you and your family. We do this by enabling free access to life insurance quotes from the top-notch insurance companies. Kanetix.com will help connect you with the insurance companies that specialize in the right coverage at the right price for your needs. We invite you to compare competitive rates from highly rated insurance companies almost instantly through our online facilities. Compare providers and prices today, to determine the best course of action going forward. Click on: cheap life insurance to get started.