Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Buying Life Insurance

Author: Mike Armstrong

I am considering buying some life insurance what do I need to know ?

In the past life insurance was something that you sorted through your broker when he or she came to visit at home and they sat and discussed it with you for a couple of hours and answered any questions you had. As with everything else and as socitey has changed so has how we now buy our life insurance. With the advent of the Internet and with technology transforming the insurance industry the days of the visting broker are numbered. Car insurance led the way with instant online quotes and applications on the Internet, however this is not as hard to understand as life insurance as apart from what make is it and whats it say on the numberplate what else do you need to know ?

With life insurance there are a number of key factors you need to understand before you make the purchase.

Level or Decreasing ?

Where level life insurance is selected the amount of cover will stay the same throughout the length of the insurance. Your payments will stay the same except if you change cover. This is also known as term life insurance or family protection and is ideal to cover interest only mortgages or leave income for a family should you be no longer with us.

Where decreasing life insurance is selected the amount of cover will reduce each year on the anniversary of the start date of your life insurance. The amount of insurance is calculated to match the maximum outstanding on a loan in the next 12 months. This is the basis for the decreasing life insurance regardless of the purpose of cover for example if not taken out to cover a loan or mortgage. The payments will remain the same throughout the length of the cover.

Decreasing is often cheaper than level life insurance as the sum assured is coming down over the term of the policy.

Can the payments change ?

This is purely dependant on the type of basis you choose, this can either be guaranteed or reviewable ?

Guranteed - If you choose to guarantee your payments they will not change during the term of the cover unless you make any changes.

Reviewable - If you choose to make your payments reviewable they may change during the length of the cover, these are offered to make the payment more affordable at the start of the contract, more often than not the review occurs after 5 years and then every 5 years during the term of the contract. The review of the life insurance could recommend the policy premium is reduced - very unlikely, stay the same - likely, go up in premium - likely. The review is not based on your medical history or because you are older but normally on industry claims experiance.

It says i have terminal illness included with my life insurance whats this ?

Terminal illness is normally included as standard to any good life inusrance contract, this pays the guaranteed sum immediately rather than upon death if you are diagnosed as being termninally ill with a life expectancy of less than 12 months. This does not apply during the last 18 months of the period of cover. Please dont confuse this with critical illness cover as this is far more expensive option and wont be included standard.

Life Insurance: Tell Me About It And How It Works

Author: Mike Armstrong

Life insurance offers you an opportunity to ensure the financial security of your family and loved ones, no matter what happens. Life insurance can be used to:

* Pay off any final expenses or personal debts like credit cards, car loans or a mortgage
* Offset the loss of your income for those who rely on you for financial support
* Contribute to the future education of your children
* Protect your estate by helping to pay the taxes due on an estate upon death
* Leave a legacy to your favourite charity

Who should buy life insurance?
The purchase of life insurance is often associated with major life events like getting married, buying a home, or having children. However, if these don't apply to you ask yourself the following questions. If you answer yes to any of them, you'll want to consider life insurance:

* Does anyone rely upon you for financial support? Whether it's a spouse, child, grandchild, parent or dependent adult, life insurance will help them protect their financial well being no matter what happens.
* Do you have a mortgage, or any other debts? If so, a life insurance policy can provide a way to take care of these outstanding bills along with any others like funeral expenses, legal fees and taxes, and medical expenses.
* Do you own a business?
o For sole proprietors, you're accountable for the debts your business owes. If you do not have enough life insurance to cover these debts, your personal assets could be liquidated to pay them off, possibly leaving little left for your family.
o If you're in a partnership, a life insurance policy where the other partner is the beneficiary means the surviving owner has the cash easily available to buy out your portion of the partnership from the estate.
* Do you want to leave a legacy? Life insurance policies can be used to leave money to your favourite charity.

How much will life insurance cost?
There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all insurance policy. Insurance professionals need to look at a lot of different things before they come up with a final insurance rate. They'll consider your age, gender, whether you're a smoker, and your past and current health record and family history. Then they'll balance all that with the amount and type of policy that you're applying for.

What types of life insurance are available ?

There are two main types of life insurance, level life insurance also known as term life insurance and decreasing life insurance or mortgage life insurance.

Level life insurance as it suggests is level cover that stays constant during the full term of the insurance and a level lump sum pay out would occur upon death. The sum assured is decided from the outset of the policy.

Decreasing is most often used to cover a mortgage and works exactly the same as level life insurance however the sum assured decreases over the term of the policy this is ideal cover for a mortgage or any decreasing debts that maybe paid off over a period of time.

Life Insurance Quotes Why The Difference

Author: Ivon T. Hughes

Why is it when you are talking about life insurance quotes with someone, your life insurance rates never match up? Well, different personal elements go into giving you your life insurance quotes.

Everybody's situation is different as you may or may not know. Your life insurance quotes are based on what you want to have in your life insurance policy. Do you want to add a savings plan in your life insurance policy? What are your personal characteristics; like gender, height and weight, occupation, smoking status, date of birth, etc. There are many components that make a life insurance policy.

What Considerations Go Into A Life Insurance Quote?

When people have family and they are looking for life insurance there are other considerations that they take into account:

* Do they have dependents?
- How long will they be dependent on you?

* Do they have children?
- How old are they?

* Do you want to insure your children?
- Is trying to give your children a post secondary education a factor?

* Debt Obligations?
- Do you have a lot of debt or a mortgage left to pay?

What Is The Best Way To Obtain Life Insurance Quotes?

With a little effort, you can better prepare yourself with proper life insurance quote. When you are trying to determine how much life insurance to purchase and you are the main breadwinner, figure out how long it would take your family to replace the income that you generate now. Note that many internet searches reveal that you can get free quotes and premiums that are up to 70% off, however the best way to get life insurance quotes is with an independent life insurance broker who has access to all the companies on the internet. This is making it easy to see which life insurance company has the most competitive life insurance quotes.