Life Insurance, The Universe, And Everything
|
You may have noticed that life insurance is coming back into fashion. It's true that it may not be the financial term on everybody's lips, but sales of life insurance have been going up, according to the Association of British Insurers. Whilst we may not be saving the volume of funds that the financial institutes would like, we are at least flirting with the idea of becoming a little more protective with our finances.
If you have yet to consider taking out any life insurance, don't worry ?there's plenty of information out there including consumer organisations such as which? and moneynet. Start with some simple, easy questions such as:
* Would my dependents need a lump sum, such as to pay off the mortgage?
* Will they need a replacement income?
* Should my partner and I both take out life insurance?
You need to ensure whatever life insurance cover you take out accommodates funeral expenses, an emergency fund to encompass household expenses in the short term, repayment of the mortgage, repayment of any other loans, inheritance tax, bequests in your will to people ? in addition to your dependents, any other possible lump-sum expenses.
Life insurance broadly falls into two categories: term life insurance (protection only) and investment type. Term insurance is the cheapest type of life insurance and provides a pay-out if the person / policy holder dies within a selected period of years. If you survive beyond the given period of years, then no pay-out is given.
Investment insurance advises that you should choose a whole-of-life option which is a form of investment type policy. Whole-of-life insurance provides cover for as long as the policy holder lives. The policy must eventually pay out and therefore builds up an investment value which can be cashed in by surrendering the policy. However, it often takes many years for a surrender value to build up and in general, whole-of-life policies are expensive if your main requirement is protection, the same is true endowment policies. Endowment policies are investment insurance products which pay out upon the death of the policy holder and also if they survive.
If you're considering term life insurance, bear in mind there are multiple variations encompassing increasing term insurance, increasable term insurance, decreasing term insurance, renewable term insurance, convertible term insurance, family income benefit insurance and pension linked term insurance.
Increasing term insurance
Increasing term insurance is just like basic term insurance, except that, as the name suggests, the level of cover increases ? typically alongside the premiums. This policy is suitable for long-term insurance as increasing prices reduce the value of a fixed level of cover over policy period.
Increasable term insurance
Increasable term insurance provides the option of increasing the level of cover either at specific intervals (such as anniversary of policy start date) or specific events (such as marriage or birth of a child). Premiums increase for additional cover, but they are based on your health at the start of the policy, even if it has since deteriorated.
Decreasing term insurance
Decreasing term insurance reduces cover year on year, with the policy holder usually requiring the cover for loan repayments such as a mortgage or to cover a potential inheritance tax bill.
Renewable term insurance
Renewable term insurance gives the policy holder the option to extend the insurance term when it comes to an end; the premium paid is the same at the start of the term, in spite of any deterioration in the policy holder's health.
This may be beneficial to parents whose children stay in full-time education longer than originally intended. Alternatively if someone cannot afford the cover for the period they want, they could take out cover for a short period and extend it later with slightly high premiums.
It might be a financial jungle out there, but it's not impossible to navigate your way through to financial security.
Resources:
http://www.moneynet.co.uk/insurance/life-assurance/index.shtml
http://www.which.co.uk/
About Rachel:
Rachel writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla.
Rachel eats a lot of Green and Black's chocolate, particularly Maya Gold ?it's delicious and fair-trade too.
|
|
|
Sisters Are Insuring Themselves: Finance Is The New Feminism
According to a study by LifeSearch, the number of women in the UK buying life insurance in the UK has doubled over the last six years. As women are increasingly closing the gender related pay gap and even becoming the main breadwinners in a household, they are also becoming more vigilant about their finances and less financially dependent on their partners.Linda Tyson, a policy advisor for LifeSearch stated that the increase was attributed to the "growing awareness of the importance of protecting the financial stability of the family. More and more women are either the main or only breadwinner and are realising the importance of protecting their incomes."An additional advantage for women is upon ap...(related: Insurance)
Term Life Insurance On Your Business Partner
Life insurance is something we often take out to protect our family and our loved ones, but that's only one example of how life insurance can save us in unhappy circumstances. Businesses also need protection and those with partners realize that if a business...(related: Insurance)
Finding California High Risk Truck Insurance
California high risk truck insuranceIf your are in need of California high risk truck insurance there's an easy way for you to find it. Fortunately with the advent of the internet and database development in the auto industry you shouldn't have any difficulty with C...(related: Insurance)
Inside-information Regarding Your Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance Claim
Here's some "Inside-Info" you must know so you won't be taken advantage of on your motor vehicle accident insurance claim and also: SO YOU CAN COLLECT EVERY DOLLAR THAT'S OWED TO YOU !The following 8 are just "The Tip Of The Iceberg":#1. There are situations where you can collect for your "Lost Wages" even if you were paid by your employer and/or collected "Sick Leave" while unable to work.#2. You can collect money and be reimbursed for any and all "Over The Counter" (non-prescription) medication you purchased during your recovery.#3. Under normal circumstances unless a claim ends up in court (several years after impact has taken place and you are fully recovered) you do not have to agree to be examined by the insurance company's doctor.#4. There are many times t...(related: Insurance)
Inexpensive Life Insurance To Protect What You?ve Earned
Adequate life insurance to cover your income producing ability is a product that is really needed today to give peace of mind. Life insurance was originally conceived to protect a man's family when his death left them without income. Over time is has developed into a variety of policy plans. In a "whole life" policy, fixed premiums are paid throughout the insured's lifetime; this accumulated amount, augmented by compound interest, is paid to a beneficiary in a lump sum upon the insured's death; the benefit is paid even if the insured had terminated the policy. Under "universal life," the insured can vary the amount and timing of the premiums; the funds compound to create the death benefit.With "variable life," the fixed premiums are invested in a portfolio (with earning reinvested), and the death bene...(related: Insurance)
Uk House Insurance - The Risk Of Under-insurance
For many years in the UK, motor insurance has been a competitive marketplace. Consumers have been used to shooping around at renewal time with a host of direct companies available. The internet has further fuelled this change allowing more people to access better information when their policy is due for renewal.House insurance has until recently been a much more stable financial product. The relative stability of pricing, compared to a very fluctual motor isnur...(related: Insurance)
Homeowners Insurance At A Glance
At first glance, homeowners insurance may seem perplexing and quite overpowering. Understanding your policy is crucial to know what you are actually purchasing, and also an extremely important part of owning a home. A homeowners insurance policy provides financial security against disasters, as well as insures the home and the possessions kept within.A basic homeowners insurance plan consists of four major types of coverage. These include: Home structure, coverage for personal belongings, liability protection, and living expenses in the event you cannot reside in your home as a result of...(related: Insurance)
Need A Car Insurance Comparison? Dont Have Time?
If you decide not to do a car insurance comparison and simply renew your insurance at the same rate, you could be paying away needless amounts of your hard-earned money. By doing a car insurance comparison, you could get a cheaper rate than what you are presently paying.A car insurance comparison rate is quite easy to do from home on your computer. This way you don't have to spend time during the day contacting the various insurance companies during their business hours. You can sit down at any time of the night and do the car insurance comparison yourself by requesting free quotes from the various online ...(related: Insurance)
Motor Insurance With Pass Plus
Is pass plus really worth it? What motor insurance discounts are available to people who have passed the course? Is it easy?In the UK, pass plus is run by the driving standards agency who administer the course. Pass plus was set up by the DSA in conjunction with isnurance companies who wanted to reward young drivers who took a responsible attitude towards tehir safety on the road.The course consists of six varied one hour lessons. You can only take the course once you have passed your driving test. Your driving instructor has to be recognised to be able to instruct on the course.The process is that you take six lessons. Each lesson is designed to educate newly qualified drivers in ...(related: Insurance)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Insurance | All Rights Reserved. | Insurance