Monday, 26 March 2012

Advice To Get The Most Out Of Life Insurance

By James Harris


Interested in buying permanent life insurance, but are afraid you may not buy the right policy that would fit your personal needs? Buying insurance is like renting a product to help you financially in case something unexpected happens. Most permanent life insurance includes universal, variable, and whole life insurance. These policies hold a value that fits most individuals' needs. Here are some tips to help you find the policy that will suit your needs.

Term Life

If you find life insurance too expensive, you should consider term life insurance. You can subscribe to term life insurance for a certain number of years, which is perfect if you do not expect to live beyond this point. If you do, you can always renew your term life policy.

Think about getting term life insurance. It will give you the highest coverage for the least amount of money. While there is no saving with this type of plan, you could just invest the savings on your own, and earn more than you would have with the insurance company save it.

Consider the risk involved in your potential life insurance policy. If you feel comfortable with a high-risk investment as your life insurance, variable or universal policies may be the ones for you. If you are more conservative and want a positive guarantee take an old-fashioned term life insurance policy.

With life insurance it's all about finding the right type of insurance. There's term life insurance, whole life insurance, universal life insurance, and variable life insurance. Each have their positives and negatives and it's good to research or talk to an agent about which type would be the best fit for you and your family. All insurance plans should be individualized to meet your desires.

Look for a decreasing term life insurance policy. This policy will supplement your investments if anything happens to you before your investments reach a predetermined amount of money. Since you will also pay less as your investments do better, this policy is a great choice for individuals who wants to save money over time.

Be careful when considering new life insurance coverage. You don't want to replace older whole-life policies. You can lose everything you put into them and have to pay big fees on top of that. It is much better to add some term-life in the form of a new policy, in addition to your old one.

Annuities

When thinking about life insurance consider whether or not you would like your policy to earn you money, or just be there in the event of your death. There are now life insurance policies that also double as annuities. This makes it possible to have a great deal of insurance when your kids are minors and a great deal of retirement savings for you, as you age.

Whole Life

Buying whole-life insurance is a sound investment because it allows you the freedom to cash it out should you want to. The amount of money you receive is the surrender value of the policy and you may not receive as much as you have paid during the life of the policy. However, the advantage of having the option to withdraw your money at some point in the future is attractive buyers.

If you have a whole-life insurance policy and have had it for a long while, whatever you do, don't get rid of it or replace it with another one. Hold on to the old policy because you don't want to lose the investment that you have already made into past premiums. The better option is to keep the old policy without making any changes and purchase a new whole-life policy instead.

To save money on your life insurance policy, understand the difference between term insurance and permanent life insurance. Term insurance should cover most financial need and debt, and it may not be necessary for you to purchase an expensive permanent whole life policy. Purchase what you currently need, and then make adjustments if your needs change.

People under the age of 50 may want to opt for term life insurance as opposed to whole life insurance. Once you're 50, the rates are fairly steep and hard to keep up with. Under 50; however, and the term payments are reduced significantly and the policies are much easier to carry.

Make sure you select the right type of life insurance for your current and long-term needs. Of the four primary types, some policies only cover you for a specific period of time while others cover you for the remainder of your lifetime as long as you keep premium payments current. Younger purchasers may want to start with term life insurance which can often be converted to whole life policies later.

When purchasing life insurance, remember that insurance agents make much higher commissions from whole-life policies than they do for term policies. The cost of whole-life insurance is much greater, thus agents are pressured to push you toward buying these policies. If you know that term life insurance is the best deal for you, stick to your guns and resist high-pressure sales tactics--or buy online to avoid them.

Purchase whole life insurance to build cash value. Whole life insurance not only protects you through your lifetime. It also builds cash value. Using policy loans, you are able to access the cash value for a number of things, including education costs and retirement income. Remember that whatever you borrow from the insurance policy will reduce the final death benefit, and you will be charged interest. This type of policy is renewed every year regardless of health.

Sometimes people with life insurance (whole-life, not term) feel like updating or changing their policies after a few years, especially when a company introduces a better policy. This is why it's important to think first before getting into a commitment, because changing now could cost you your premium payments and policy. So you should avoid this.

For the most life insurance coverage at the lowest price, choose a term policy instead of whole life insurance. The high costs of whole life are due to the investment aspect and the fact that these polices result in a cash value, but it really is better to keep your investments separate from your insurance.

Before purchasing life insurance, you must understand that insurance is for protection purposes only, which does not include investing. Term insurance gives you protection only, with no savings. Whole life and universal policies offer savings, but they are a lot more expensive and you would be better off using the cost savings to invest in something else.

Annuity

Lifetime policies versus term life policies - lifetime policies are generally more expensive but work similar to an annuity, meaning you can take out a portion of the amount you have paid in when you retire or when you need the money. Term life does not work this way, you receive a "locked in" rate for a set amount of time, if you do not pass away in that time frame, then you can re-up to the next age tier, which will likely be more expensive. However, the gain in term life is the price, which can be cents on the dollar, but much more expensive when you get older.

Having to think about the possibilities of something unfortunate happening to you is uncomfortable and can be very stressful. However, it is an important financial decision that should be made in order to protect your family and their future. Investing the effort and time to learn all of your options and choosing your policy will in the long run make everyone feel easier.




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