Term Life Insurance
by: Gary Tallon
Term life insurance is a life insurance product that pays out a cash lump sum upon death of the insurance policyholder or at the point that the insurance policyholder is diagnosed as terminally ill. But, despite it being a low cost term life product - insurance cover can be acquired from as little as £5-£10 per month - surprisingly few of us have term life insurance in place.
For people with a mortgage and family to support, not having a term life insurance policy exposes them to a large financial risk. This risk becomes apparent when you consider how the mortgage and household bills would be paid if the main income producer were to die or to become terminally ill. The end result could be that loved ones who are left behind find their home is repossessed because they cannot keep up the mortgage repayments.
Some people prepare for such an eventuality by taking out a mortgage life insurance policy. This is all well and good for covering off the remainder of the mortgage loan, but where will the money come from to pay the gas & electricity bill and the council tax bill every month, let alone the money needed to cover the policyholder's funeral expenses? It is at this point that a term life insurance policy becomes very useful indeed.
If you don't have a term life insurance policy in place, here are some sobering reasons why you should consider taking out a term life policy now…
• CANCER - One in three people will develop cancer at some point in their lives. Research into cancer is of course ongoing, and one day some cancers may be curable. In the meantime a term life policy offers income protection for loved ones left behind in the event of terminal cancer diagnosis and death from cancer.
• HEART DISEASE - Heart and circulatory disease accounts for more than 35% of all deaths in the UK each year. The number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease is on a falling trend, but the number of people becoming morbidly obese is increasing, and so may reverse this trend in the near future. Term life policies can be configured to pay out if cause of death is heart-related.
• MRSA (SUPERBUG) - The death rate from the MRSA superbug has doubled in the last 4 years. MRSA is a bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotics. It commonly causes death in people with weak immune systems, and so easily spreads amongst the sick & old in hospital wards. Many life insurance policies pay out if the cause of death is MRSA related.
• AVIAN FLU (BIRD FLU) - Recent comments by the Society of General Microbiology in the UK sparked controversy when they estimated that 2 million people in the UK could die from a highly infectious strain of mutated Avian Flu. If you are worried about Avian Flu check with the life insurance agent to see if their term life policy covers such an eventuality.
About The Author
Gary Tallon has been in the finance industry for over ten years, and is now working for PowerInsurance.com, leading providers of life insurance http://www.powerinsurance.com products.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Choosing the Best Life Insurance Option for You
Choosing the Best Life Insurance Option for You
by: Claire Bowes
Life insurance in is becoming more and more popular with many people now realizing the importance and the benefits of a good life insurance policy. There are two main types of popular life insurance, both of which offer a range of invaluable benefits to consumers.
Level Term Life Insurance
Level term life insurance is the most popular type of life insurance policy with consumers, and this may be because it is also the cheapest form of insurance. With level term insurance, you and your family can enjoy peace of mind at an affordable price. If you die during the term of this insurance policy, your family will receive a lump sum payment, which can help to cover a number of costs as well as provide some degree of financial security at what will inevitably be a difficult time. The money could assist with costs such as:
* Mortgage repayments
* Funeral costs
* Education costs for the children
* Day-to-day living
One of the reasons that level term life insurance is a fair bit cheaper than other life insurance is because the insurer only has to make a payment if the insured party passes away, and even then the insured party has to die during the term of the policy for the next of kin (or the named beneficiary) to be eligible for a payout. One of the great things about levels term insurance is that you can benefit from cover for just a few pounds each week, and because the payments remain the same throughout the term of the policy, you'll never have to worry about rising payments.
The reason why a level term insurance policy is so called is because the repayment remain level throughout the term of the policy, so you will never have to worry about the cost of your policy rising. The policy is also taken over a fixed term, which is where the 'term' part of the policy comes in. This means that you can enjoy easy budgeting and low cost repayments, and you'll know exactly how long you will be making payment for. On the downside, once the policy expires you will not be able to reclaim any money and the policy will be cancelled, so you will then need to look at taking out alternative life insurance cover.
The average term of a level term life insurance policy - unless otherwise specified - is fifteen years. There are a variety of factors that contribute to the cost of the policy such as whether you go for the most basic package or whether you include a bolt-on such as critical illness cover, whether you are a smoker, your general health, and the term over which you take the policy out.
Whole Life Insurance
Unlike level term life insurance, whole life cover offers a guaranteed payout, which to many people makes it better value for money in the long run. Although the repayments on this type of cover are more expensive than level term insurance, the insurer will make pay out whenever the insured party passes away, so the higher monthly payments will guarantee a payout at some point.
There are a number of different types of whole life insurance policies, and consumers can select the one that best fits their needs and their budget. As with other insurance policies, you can tailor-make your whole life insurance cover to include additional cover such as critical illness insurance. The variations on whole life insurance cover include:
Non-profit UK whole life insurance policies: This is the simplest form of whole life cover, and enables you to enjoy the convenience of level payments through the term of the policy until you die. Upon death, your family received a payout and the policy becomes null and void. If you want to pay a little extra, you can take out a policy that is fixed over a specified term, which means that you will only be making payments for a certain amount of time, but your family will still receive a payout when you die.
With-profit UK whole life insurance: This is a cover and investment type scheme, where your monthly payments are split between your cover premiums and the investment side of your policy. You will enjoy a guaranteed assured sum, and you may find that your insurer adds discretionary bonuses.
Low cost whole life insurance: One of the cheapest forms of whole life cover, this type of policy features a decreasing term plan, and the policy is combined with a profits fund. As bonuses are added to the profit side of the policy, the policy term decreases. This provides a cost effective solution for those that want to enjoy the benefits of whole life insurance cover without having to make high monthly payments.
Unitised UK whole life insurance policy: When you purchase this type of whole life cover, you will also be investing in with-profit units. This means that when the insurer makes a payout, the sum awarded will be dependant upon the value of the units in comparison to the value of the death benefit (the payout will be based upon whichever is the highest in value). Each month units are cancelled in order to increase levels of death benefit cover, with reviews carried out from time to time to ensure adequate levels of death benefit cover.
Summary
Both level term insurance policies and whole life policies offer valuable peace of mind to policyholders. The cost of this type of life cover is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that comes with being protected, and you can increase this peace of mind by adding extras such as critical illness to your policy for just a small extra fee.
As a nation, we like to insure just about everything we can…our cars, our homes, our belongings, our pets, and even our credit repayments. It therefore makes sense that we should insure the most important thing of all - our lives.
About The Author
Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of http://www.a1-life-insurance-quotes.co.uk where you will find futher advice on life insurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and unemployment cover.
by: Claire Bowes
Life insurance in is becoming more and more popular with many people now realizing the importance and the benefits of a good life insurance policy. There are two main types of popular life insurance, both of which offer a range of invaluable benefits to consumers.
Level Term Life Insurance
Level term life insurance is the most popular type of life insurance policy with consumers, and this may be because it is also the cheapest form of insurance. With level term insurance, you and your family can enjoy peace of mind at an affordable price. If you die during the term of this insurance policy, your family will receive a lump sum payment, which can help to cover a number of costs as well as provide some degree of financial security at what will inevitably be a difficult time. The money could assist with costs such as:
* Mortgage repayments
* Funeral costs
* Education costs for the children
* Day-to-day living
One of the reasons that level term life insurance is a fair bit cheaper than other life insurance is because the insurer only has to make a payment if the insured party passes away, and even then the insured party has to die during the term of the policy for the next of kin (or the named beneficiary) to be eligible for a payout. One of the great things about levels term insurance is that you can benefit from cover for just a few pounds each week, and because the payments remain the same throughout the term of the policy, you'll never have to worry about rising payments.
The reason why a level term insurance policy is so called is because the repayment remain level throughout the term of the policy, so you will never have to worry about the cost of your policy rising. The policy is also taken over a fixed term, which is where the 'term' part of the policy comes in. This means that you can enjoy easy budgeting and low cost repayments, and you'll know exactly how long you will be making payment for. On the downside, once the policy expires you will not be able to reclaim any money and the policy will be cancelled, so you will then need to look at taking out alternative life insurance cover.
The average term of a level term life insurance policy - unless otherwise specified - is fifteen years. There are a variety of factors that contribute to the cost of the policy such as whether you go for the most basic package or whether you include a bolt-on such as critical illness cover, whether you are a smoker, your general health, and the term over which you take the policy out.
Whole Life Insurance
Unlike level term life insurance, whole life cover offers a guaranteed payout, which to many people makes it better value for money in the long run. Although the repayments on this type of cover are more expensive than level term insurance, the insurer will make pay out whenever the insured party passes away, so the higher monthly payments will guarantee a payout at some point.
There are a number of different types of whole life insurance policies, and consumers can select the one that best fits their needs and their budget. As with other insurance policies, you can tailor-make your whole life insurance cover to include additional cover such as critical illness insurance. The variations on whole life insurance cover include:
Non-profit UK whole life insurance policies: This is the simplest form of whole life cover, and enables you to enjoy the convenience of level payments through the term of the policy until you die. Upon death, your family received a payout and the policy becomes null and void. If you want to pay a little extra, you can take out a policy that is fixed over a specified term, which means that you will only be making payments for a certain amount of time, but your family will still receive a payout when you die.
With-profit UK whole life insurance: This is a cover and investment type scheme, where your monthly payments are split between your cover premiums and the investment side of your policy. You will enjoy a guaranteed assured sum, and you may find that your insurer adds discretionary bonuses.
Low cost whole life insurance: One of the cheapest forms of whole life cover, this type of policy features a decreasing term plan, and the policy is combined with a profits fund. As bonuses are added to the profit side of the policy, the policy term decreases. This provides a cost effective solution for those that want to enjoy the benefits of whole life insurance cover without having to make high monthly payments.
Unitised UK whole life insurance policy: When you purchase this type of whole life cover, you will also be investing in with-profit units. This means that when the insurer makes a payout, the sum awarded will be dependant upon the value of the units in comparison to the value of the death benefit (the payout will be based upon whichever is the highest in value). Each month units are cancelled in order to increase levels of death benefit cover, with reviews carried out from time to time to ensure adequate levels of death benefit cover.
Summary
Both level term insurance policies and whole life policies offer valuable peace of mind to policyholders. The cost of this type of life cover is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that comes with being protected, and you can increase this peace of mind by adding extras such as critical illness to your policy for just a small extra fee.
As a nation, we like to insure just about everything we can…our cars, our homes, our belongings, our pets, and even our credit repayments. It therefore makes sense that we should insure the most important thing of all - our lives.
About The Author
Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of http://www.a1-life-insurance-quotes.co.uk where you will find futher advice on life insurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and unemployment cover.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Life Insurance - Who Needs It
Life Insurance - Who Needs It
by: Neil Mercer
Why Do You need Life Insurance Cover?
Who needs it?
Life Insurance cover provides either a lump sum or an income on the untimely death of an individual. Therefore, anyone who's death would create a financial loss to another has a need for life insurance cover. This could/should include the following: -
Parties to a Mortgage or indeed a loan (mortgage life insurance cover)
Anyone with dependents (whilst a parent may not work, surely there would be a financial loss if anything were to happen whilst there are young children to be cared for)
Key Individuals. Where a business would suffer financial loss on the death of an essential employee.
In essence any situation where monetary loss would be incurred could possibly have a need for life insurance cover.
630,000 people in the UK will die this year* *source:National Statistics, Winter 2002
Types of Cover
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is as it suggests taken out for a specified number of years at outset. With this type of policy you are merely paying for the cover provided based on your age, health and the term. Therefore, it is important to obtain the most competitive term life insurance quote for the cover provided. It is possible to take out term life insurance that will pay level lump sums, decreasing lump sums (mortgage life insurance cover) or regular payments (income).
Whole of Life
As the name suggests, potentially, this type of policy will provide cover through an individuals life time. However, when obtaining a whole of life insurance quote, as well as level of premium there are other aspects to be considered, such as investment performance, effect of charges, financial strength of the company.
Which one?
There are good arguments for both type of policy. We would suggest that the following could make up the main considerations: -
Cost - Whole of Life insurance, as a rule of thumb is usually the more expensive type of product.
Period that cover is required - If cover is required for a specific period i.e. a Mortgage then Term cover could be more appropriate
Future Plans - If, for instance a family is planned, then whole of life can offer the flexibility to increase cover for this or other like events.
Note
Critical Illness(CI) now provides an equally important benefit and we would strongly recommend that you view the CI Factsheet.
Conclusion
This factsheet is meant merely as a rough guide to the needs and options surrounding Life Assurance. It is by no means a comprehensive outline to anyones particular requirements. It would be, therefore, wise to use this as a guide and seek more comprehensive advice, via a professional Independent Financial Adviser. All advisers are Regulated and Authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and are now required to explain their status to you (either independent and fee charging, independent but paid by commission only, or tied)
About The Author
Neil Mercer is a Consultant with STE Associates Ltd and is Regulated and Authorised by the Financial Services Authority.
www.1st2last.net/lifeins.html
neil@1st2last.net
by: Neil Mercer
Why Do You need Life Insurance Cover?
Who needs it?
Life Insurance cover provides either a lump sum or an income on the untimely death of an individual. Therefore, anyone who's death would create a financial loss to another has a need for life insurance cover. This could/should include the following: -
Parties to a Mortgage or indeed a loan (mortgage life insurance cover)
Anyone with dependents (whilst a parent may not work, surely there would be a financial loss if anything were to happen whilst there are young children to be cared for)
Key Individuals. Where a business would suffer financial loss on the death of an essential employee.
In essence any situation where monetary loss would be incurred could possibly have a need for life insurance cover.
630,000 people in the UK will die this year* *source:National Statistics, Winter 2002
Types of Cover
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is as it suggests taken out for a specified number of years at outset. With this type of policy you are merely paying for the cover provided based on your age, health and the term. Therefore, it is important to obtain the most competitive term life insurance quote for the cover provided. It is possible to take out term life insurance that will pay level lump sums, decreasing lump sums (mortgage life insurance cover) or regular payments (income).
Whole of Life
As the name suggests, potentially, this type of policy will provide cover through an individuals life time. However, when obtaining a whole of life insurance quote, as well as level of premium there are other aspects to be considered, such as investment performance, effect of charges, financial strength of the company.
Which one?
There are good arguments for both type of policy. We would suggest that the following could make up the main considerations: -
Cost - Whole of Life insurance, as a rule of thumb is usually the more expensive type of product.
Period that cover is required - If cover is required for a specific period i.e. a Mortgage then Term cover could be more appropriate
Future Plans - If, for instance a family is planned, then whole of life can offer the flexibility to increase cover for this or other like events.
Note
Critical Illness(CI) now provides an equally important benefit and we would strongly recommend that you view the CI Factsheet.
Conclusion
This factsheet is meant merely as a rough guide to the needs and options surrounding Life Assurance. It is by no means a comprehensive outline to anyones particular requirements. It would be, therefore, wise to use this as a guide and seek more comprehensive advice, via a professional Independent Financial Adviser. All advisers are Regulated and Authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and are now required to explain their status to you (either independent and fee charging, independent but paid by commission only, or tied)
About The Author
Neil Mercer is a Consultant with STE Associates Ltd and is Regulated and Authorised by the Financial Services Authority.
www.1st2last.net/lifeins.html
neil@1st2last.net
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Life Insurance - A Beginner’s Guide
Life Insurance - A Beginner’s Guide
by: Micheal Reese
When it comes to life insurance we have two primary types of policy to choose from – term life insurance or whole of life insurance. Many people find it hard to come to a decision about which type of policy to take out but the decision you have to make really isn’t that complex and both will offer good levels of cover for the majority of people. Let’s take a closer look at your options.
The most popular type of life insurance is, without a doubt, term life insurance. This kind of policy will be set out to last for a specified ‘term’ – i.e. it will last for a set time period. So, you can take out a life insurance term policy for 25 years, as an example. During this 25 year period you will make your policy payments and you’ll have the protection of the policy if you die. So, your next of kin can claim against the policy in the event of your death. But, at the end of the 25 years your policy will be finished and you’ll get no further protection from it.
Many people opt to take out a term life insurance policy because they know that they will no longer have a great need for insurance at the end of the specific term. For many people this kind of policy will end at around the time that they retire so their mortgage will probably be repaid, their families will be grown and they won’t need to make provision for their family to have such a large lump sum or income if they die. So, a term policy can suit them very well indeed, giving them cover during the years when they really need it and finishing when they don’t.
A whole of life policy, on the other hand, will suit those of us who want protection for the rest of our days. This kind of life insurance is designed to last until you die – so you’ll be covered in the short, medium and long term. A lot of people who opt for this kind of life insurance do so because it can be set up to help with issues such as inheritance planning, although many people simply prefer to get cover that is guaranteed to make a payment at some point so that they feel that they are getting some return on their policy payments. There is a guarantee of payment with a whole of life policy that isn’t there with a term policy. Once your term policy is finished that really is it – you are only guaranteed a payment if you do die while the policy is in force.
Many people make their choice here based on their budget. The fact that a term life insurance policy may not ever make a payment (i.e. the fact that you will probably survive your policy) means that insurers can offer lower costs. A whole of life policy – with its guaranteed payment at some point – is consequently more expensive. The choice you make here will be a personal one and may well depend on your financial circumstances. The vital thing to remember is that some form of life insurance cover is vital for most of us – especially if we have a family to consider and we can consequently get great protection from either kind of policy at the end of the day.
About The Author
Micheal Reese has worked in the life insurance http://www.1tracklifeinsurance.co.uk industry and specialises in cheap life insurance policy http://www.cheap-life-insurance-policy.co.uk.
by: Micheal Reese
When it comes to life insurance we have two primary types of policy to choose from – term life insurance or whole of life insurance. Many people find it hard to come to a decision about which type of policy to take out but the decision you have to make really isn’t that complex and both will offer good levels of cover for the majority of people. Let’s take a closer look at your options.
The most popular type of life insurance is, without a doubt, term life insurance. This kind of policy will be set out to last for a specified ‘term’ – i.e. it will last for a set time period. So, you can take out a life insurance term policy for 25 years, as an example. During this 25 year period you will make your policy payments and you’ll have the protection of the policy if you die. So, your next of kin can claim against the policy in the event of your death. But, at the end of the 25 years your policy will be finished and you’ll get no further protection from it.
Many people opt to take out a term life insurance policy because they know that they will no longer have a great need for insurance at the end of the specific term. For many people this kind of policy will end at around the time that they retire so their mortgage will probably be repaid, their families will be grown and they won’t need to make provision for their family to have such a large lump sum or income if they die. So, a term policy can suit them very well indeed, giving them cover during the years when they really need it and finishing when they don’t.
A whole of life policy, on the other hand, will suit those of us who want protection for the rest of our days. This kind of life insurance is designed to last until you die – so you’ll be covered in the short, medium and long term. A lot of people who opt for this kind of life insurance do so because it can be set up to help with issues such as inheritance planning, although many people simply prefer to get cover that is guaranteed to make a payment at some point so that they feel that they are getting some return on their policy payments. There is a guarantee of payment with a whole of life policy that isn’t there with a term policy. Once your term policy is finished that really is it – you are only guaranteed a payment if you do die while the policy is in force.
Many people make their choice here based on their budget. The fact that a term life insurance policy may not ever make a payment (i.e. the fact that you will probably survive your policy) means that insurers can offer lower costs. A whole of life policy – with its guaranteed payment at some point – is consequently more expensive. The choice you make here will be a personal one and may well depend on your financial circumstances. The vital thing to remember is that some form of life insurance cover is vital for most of us – especially if we have a family to consider and we can consequently get great protection from either kind of policy at the end of the day.
About The Author
Micheal Reese has worked in the life insurance http://www.1tracklifeinsurance.co.uk industry and specialises in cheap life insurance policy http://www.cheap-life-insurance-policy.co.uk.
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