Term Life Insurance vs. Permanent Life Insurance

Choosing a life insurance plan is difficult; it takes a lot of time and research in order to ensure that all aspects are thoroughly examined before making a final decision. There are basically two forms of life insurance to choose from: term life insurance and permanent life insurance.

Below you will find valuable information regarding both forms of life insurance as well as other helpful information which will assist you in deciding which form of life insurance is best suited for you and your situation.

The first thing to do is to research and understand the concept of both forms of life insurance. These two forms of insurance have been compared to buying or leasing a car. Term life insurance is much like leasing a car, you can purchase insurance for a specific number of years, but once those years are up, so is your insurance coverage. Permanent life insurance is similar to buying a car. When you buy a car, it?s yours and you can drive it forever if you like. Permanent life insurance stays with you until you die.

Depending on your situation, each form of insurance can be very beneficial and offer many great opportunities. Below you will find a more in-depth explanation of each form of insurance providing advantages and disadvantages of both.

Term Life Insurance

Benefits
? Term life insurance is inexpensive and can cost a considerable amount less than permanent life insurance.
? There are no strings attached with this form of insurance and you are free to stop paying whenever you want.
? You can begin using term insurance and if you feel like you want more coverage, you can then convert to permanent life insurance if you wish.

Downfalls
? Term life insurance only provides coverage. There are no other rewards and there is no cash value.
? Yes you are free to stop paying whenever you please, but should you choose to do so you will no longer have any life insurance coverage.
? Term prices increase at a rapid pace as you get older and as you get older, your need for this type of insurance will become more and more crucial.

Permanent Life Insurance

Benefits
? Permanent life insurance can accumulate into cash value and savings. Any cash value which you receive will be tax deferred.
? There is no risk involved in this form of insurance. Your loved ones will receive a death benefit regardless of when you pass away, whereas term life insurance will only pay out if you happen to be covered when you die.
? You can borrow the cash value you receive to pay for college, a vehicle, etc. You can do this without receiving a penalty for doing so.

Downfalls
? The most noticeable disadvantage to permanent life insurance is the cost. This form of life insurance will cost you a great deal more than term life insurance.
? Should you decide to forgo your permanent life insurance coverage, you will be required to pay a large penalty which will be bounded by law.

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Life And Health Insurance

Buying life and health insurance products is something that many of us keep putting off for as long as we possibly can. We know that we should buy into these insurance policies but we tend to shelf the idea, preferring to live for today rather than plan for tomorrow. Rather like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, a lot of us it seems choose to take our chances in the hope that our circumstances will never merit the use of life or health insurance. But it can be an awfully big gamble to take.

Advantages of a life and health insurance policy

As we get older we often become more susceptible to health problems, disability and poor mobility; eventually of course we will all die. Both situations are naturally very distressing for family and dependants. However, the situation can be made worse if the ill / deceased was the main income producer and there are still bills to pay. The last thing anybody wants in this situation is to have the bailiffs knocking at the door, or your home repossessed because you cannot keep up your mortgage repayments.

A life and health insurance policy combines cover for the likely and the inevitable. By opting to take out a life and health insurance policy you and your family will have peace of mind that should you become critically ill or die during the term of the policy, your family and dependants will be financially secure. There will be no worries about bailiffs or repossession orders and through the health insurance side of the policy you’ll be able to select a level of quality health care to suit your needs rather than relying on treatment through the NHS.

Cover provided by a life and health insurance policy

The cover provided by a life and health insurance policy is quite comprehensive. On the life insurance side of the policy you will be able to choose between a term life insurance product and a reducing or decreasing life insurance product.

Term life insurance via the policy pays out a fixed lump sum upon the death of the policyholder, providing the insurance policy is still active. A reducing term life insurance policy is a type of insurance where the amount paid out upon death reduces to zero in line with the policyholder’s mortgage balance, and is suitable only as a financial instrument with which to pay off the mortgage in the event of an early death. If you want to leave your loved ones in complete financial security then a term life option on the policy is recommended.

The health insurance part of the mega insurance policy provides comprehensive health care. It will cover you for all diagnosis, treatment and recovery costs associated with the illnesses, disability and diseases noted on the mega policy. Health insurance also means that you do not have to wait for treatment on the NHS. Instead, you will be able to select when and where you want to receive treatment, so tailoring it to your own convenience.

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Deciding if you need Life Insurance?

Most people are aware of how life insurance works and what are the events and dangers that it is designed to protect against. They may also have family commitments and people who they provide for and know that some sort of life insurance would protect their family financially, if something were to happen to them. However, it is still often a very difficult decision to make if you are trying to decide whether or not you need life insurance.

Life insurance is a big commitment financially speaking. The premium can vary in cost but can be considerable, then there is also the issue that life insurance often extends over many years, even decades. This means that not only are you committing to pay the premium for this year, but also for many years into the future. There are not many people who can say with certainty what their earnings will be in ten or fifteen or twenty years time.

There are also early termination penalties, which means if you want to end the policy before the expiration of the entire term, you will be financially penalised. This is generally more relevant for life assurance but can also apply to life insurance if your rate has been calculated on the condition that you remain insured for so many years into the future.

If you have life assurance, then it will also be a method of saving for the future. This is a very popular concept, especially these days with the growing concern about the state of pension funds, but it again deserves careful consideration. There are many ways to save for the future, and by deciding to do so by way of a life assurance policy still entails deciding that life insurance is something that you want and are willing to pay for. If you do not need life insurance, then there are probably more efficient ways of saving for retirement than with life assurance, which places a proportion of your savings against the insurance aspect of the policy.

In general, most people will really only be considering life insurance if they have a family to support. This can be a spouse and generally children. However, situations frequently change, people get divorced, and children always grow up and become independent. If your family situation is likely to change, you should familiarise yourself with the ways you can end the policy early and what penalties would apply. However, if you have a young family and are concerned about their financial security for the future, then life insurance will be a great opportunity for you to provide for these concerns.

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The Best Kept Secret About Life Insurance

Do you love someone enough to spend your hard earned dollars on a life insurance premium — month after month?

Because the real benefit of a life insurance policy isn’t for you. It’s for those you love… but after you’ve gone.

Life insurance is money paid to those who rely on you right now to provide a secure standard of living. They can lose this in a heartbeat.

Life insurance is money when needed the most… with no income tax or publicity.

Buying a life insurance policy is challenging because it isn’t an easy subject matter to begin with.

Most people get confused about how it works and whom they can trust enough to make the purchase.

And there’s a large number of companies and sales agents all clamoring for your attention.

This article will help to clarify a huge misconception about term life insurance. Also, I’ll introduce you to what many knowledgable professionals consider to be the best kept secret in a life insurance policy.

Buy term and invest the difference is a phrase touted by those … including many life insurance agents … who have absolutely no idea how much harm it’s implementation can cause.

The principle theory is you no longer need life insurance when you reach a certain age such as 55, 60 or 65.

Supposedly your kids have finished school and are doing just fine earning their own income. And you and your spouse are living comfortably on retirement savings and social security.

On the surface and to the naive, this might appear reasonable.

Now, it’s easy to pick apart this hypothesis, but let’s focus instead on the real problem with this scenario.

We are living longer than ever before. We may not be enjoying it very much due to poor health but, nevertheless, we’re hanging on.

Life insurance companies know this better than anyone. In fact, most of them now use age 115 has a factor when calculating life insurance policy premiums.

You hear about retirees who are forced to find work at McDonald’s or Wal-Mart. Have you ever joined a seniors chat room on the Internet and witnessed the concerns most of them have about running out of money before they die?

Many of these seniors are frightened to death. And what about the millions of babyboomers right behind them.

An intelligently purchased life insurance policy can be the saving grace for those you love the most.

Now, let me set the record straight. I have nothing against term life insurance. For over 24 years I’ve personally sold millions of dollars worth.

What bothers me … and what I believe to be criminal … is when term life insurance is sold under false pretenses.

Let’s use a simple example.

A 35 year old nonsmoking male in excellent health can buy a %500,000 term life insurance policy for about %700 per year.

The premium is guaranteed to be %700 for 30 years. Some companies will be a little cheaper and some a little more expensive.

The buy term and invest the difference advocate would compare this to a %500,000 whole life insurance policy at %3,650 per year. Once again, some companies will be higher and some lower.

Theoretically, you have %2,950 to invest each year for 30 years. I say theoretically because in the real world you would never consistently invest %2,950 each year.

Not the same way you would commit to a life insurance policy premium.

How do I know this? Call it human nature based on lots of experience.

But, let’s give you the benefit of the doubt and say you actually do invest according to this hypothetical plan. What rate of return are you going to make over 30 years? 5%PRCTG% … 8%PRCTG% … 10 percent?

By the way, this question opens up another can of worms. The psychology of investing. But, we’ll save that controversy for another time.

For arguments sake let’s assume you get an 8%PRCTG% compounded rate of return each year for 30 years. This comes to %360,920.41.

Okay… so now you’re 65 years old and you have %360,920.41. But guess what?

When you reach 66 your %500,000 term life insurance policy will lapse without value because the annual premium becomes %21,180.

Yep, you read that right! It jumps from %700 to over 21 thousand dollars.

At age 70, it’s %31,430. At age 75, it’s %52,970.

There’s no way on earth you’ll pay this premium. Problem is… you aren’t dead yet!

You have paid %21,000 over a 30 year timeframe to have a %500,000 life insurance policy during a period of time when the odds are you would never die anyway.

Under normal circumstances you will die somewhere around age 80 — give or take. Your loved one’s investment account still won’t be worth %500,000.

What’s more, she will have to pay income tax on the investment gains. Remember, life insurance proceeds are income tax free.

Permit me to repeat myself. I am not against term life insurance … as long it’s purchased with an eye towards the reality of future expectations.

If your term life insurance policy is issued by a highly rated company with a broad selection of products, you will have ample opportunity to convert the term into something more permanent over the course of the 30 years in our example.

Keep in mind your age determines the length of time the term policy will have a guaranteed level premium.

You may not be able to get more than a 10 year guarantee if you are over 50 years of age.

So, exactly what is the best kept secret in a life insurance policy?

It is a universal life insurance policy that guarantees the death benefit regardless of investment performance.

Universal life is the most flexible type of policy on the market. The premium is higher than term, but lower than whole life. There are several on the market, so you must be careful.

If you decide to buy term because of budget constraints, then be certain to buy from a company that also offers universal life.

This gives you the chance to slowly convert the term into universal with the same company over the length of the term guarantee.

As your budget permits convert term into universal.

One word of caution. Long term interest rates are critical to the performance of universal life insurance.

Because they’ve been depressed for several years and will likely continue so, you must get the universal life with an unconditional death benefit guarantee.

Here’s an example using our 30 year old male. The %500,000 universal life insurance policy premium is %2,871 per year. This compares with the already discussed %700 term and %3,650 whole life premiums.

Let’s say you really do decide life insurance isn’t important when you reach 65. By that time, you would have paid %86,130 in total premiums.

Down a rat hole like the term plan? Nope!

The cash surrender value would be at least %85,501. It might well be over %100,000 based on the actual competitive interest rates credited to the policy over the 30 years.

When you buy the right type of universal life you guarantee the death benefit for as long as necessary… plus you have the ability to recover your expense if you wish to cash it in.

You can benefit from the best of both worlds when you use the best kept secret in a life insurance policy.

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