Posts Tagged ‘home business’

How To Choose The Right Type Of Life Insurance For You

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Many times people are convinced by slick insurance sales people to purchase life insurance policies. But these same slick sales people seldom provide all the details of the policies including benefits, exclusions, and other terms and conditions. What most people aren’t aware of is that there are several different types of life insurance policies. Depending on your needs at the time, one type of policy may be more suitable for you than another. Before deciding on a life insurance policy, it is helpful to first understand the types of policies available.

Whole Life Insurance

This is the most conservative type of life insurance policy. It offers the most guarantees and is fairly straightforward to understand and manage. A whole life policy will typically have a set premium at a guaranteed interest rate for the period of your life. Once you die, the proceeds from the policy are paid to your beneficiaries as a cash value or death benefit. Because these policies have the most guarantees, they tend to be the most expensive type of insurance policy.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance is a more affordable form of life insurance that offers a death benefit for a set term. In other words, you take out a policy for 10, 20 or 30 years and for those years you pay a premium. When the term is up, the policy lapses and the death benefit expires. These policies are typically taken by people who are in a stage of their life where they have financial responsibilities and commitments, and they want to ensure that if something happens to them, their family will be financially secure.

Universal Life Insurance

This is a type of term life policy but it has an added benefit of a cash value component. This component allows for greater flexibility of the policy. You can increase or decrease the premium payments over time and even take loans from the policy. You can also benefit from better interest rates and earn a greater return on your policy for your beneficiaries.

Variable Life Insurance

Variable life insurance is similar to universal life insurance with one major difference. This type of policy allows you to invest the cash value portion of the policy in a variety of investments such as mutual funds. The advantage is that if markets are buoyant and you invest wisely, you can increase the cash value of your policy. The disadvantage is that if the market falls, the value of your investment could dramatically decrease and put your policy in jeopardy.

Establishing What Your Life Insurance Needs Are

Life insurance is typically taken out by people who have dependents or financial responsibilities. Examples are parents who want to provide financial security for their children, or a person who wants to provide for their elderly parents. A homeowner who has a 20-year mortgage may take a 20-year term life policy so that if he dies before the end of the 20 years, there are still funds available to settle the mortgage. A business owner may take out life insurance to ensure the continuity of their business in the event of his death. Before deciding on a policy, first establish what your family or financial responsibilities are, as this will help you to select a policy that meets your needs.

Matching a Life Insurance Policy to Your Needs

First look at how much money you have available to pay for premiums each month. Also consider if you may have more or less funds available in the future. Would you want to add to the policy in time? Or do you simply want a secure investment that will provide for your dependents in the event of your death? Will you have more responsibilities for a certain period of your life? In other words, will you have a mortgage or kids’ tuition to pay for? You may consider taking a term insurance policy for periods in your life where you have greater financial responsibility. This could be in addition to a whole life policy or a longer term life insurance policy. A large contributing factor will be how financially secure you are. If you have large debts, you are more at risk and will need life insurance more than if you were debt-free. The amount of life insurance you need will also depend on what other financial assets or investments you have. If you have secure and debt-free assets that can provide an income for your family, you are less likely to need life insurance. Unfortunately, most people do not have that luxury and life insurance is therefore the best way to provide for their dependents in the event of their death.

For consumers looking for insurance online and where to get the best insurance quotes possible, look no further than 2insure4less.com. Whether it is auto insurance, home insurance, health insurance, life insurance, cancer insurance, disability insurance, business insurance quotes or burial insurance, 2insure4less has helped countless consumers find insurance online.

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The Keys To Finding The Cheapest Life Insurance

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Brokers often resort to scare tactics in order to get you to buy a life insurance policy. At some point in your life though, you probably will need to succumb and take out a life insurance policy. It usually becomes relevant when you have dependents such as a spouse or children to consider. Or you may be applying for a mortgage on a house or apartment and the bank or financing agency requires you to have life insurance in order to cover the amount of the loan. When you are looking for life insurance, you want to find the most affordable policy. But at the same time, you also want to make sure that you are properly covered. Here are a few tips on how to go about finding the best value on an insurance policy that meets your needs.

Evaluate Your Lifestyle

One of the first things that any insurance company will do is draw up a risk profile based on your current lifestyle. This takes various factors into consideration such as:

Where you live – Is it in a house in the suburbs or an inner city apartment?

Do you drive or use public transport to travel to work each day?

What is your age, weight and basic health status?

Are you a smoker or have you suffered from any chronic disease?

Do you participate regularly in any sports that may be considered particularly hazardous such as rock climbing or back country skiing?

If you score as a relatively high risk, you can expect to be quoted higher insurance premiums across the board. On the other hand, if you are young, healthy and lead a fairly average lifestyle, you should be able to benefit from more competitive rates. It is also interesting to note that generally, although this is not a hard and fast rule, insurance premiums will be lower if you start the policy at a younger age. If there are aspects of your lifestyle that you know will change in the near future to make your lifestyle more secure, include these details in your profile questionnaire. They could help influence your scores and help you get cheaper premiums.

Consider the Level of Life Insurance You Will Need

While life insurance policies are fairly generic, no two people have the exact same needs. So when shopping around for life insurance, it helps to first know what your requirements are and then look for policies that meet them. For example, you may be a young man in your early 30s; you have a wife and are expecting your first child shortly. You are looking into life insurance because you want to know that if anything were to happen to you, your family will be taken care of financially. At the same time, you may consider disability insurance in case you are injured and cannot draw a salary. Your needs may be that your family would need an immediate payment to help cover funeral and legal expenses. You would also look for a policy that will provide some kind of monthly income to your family. Sometimes, you can combine or take out more than one policy to meet your needs.

Be Aware of the Value of Money in the Future

Due to inflation, the value of money decreases over time. Whatever sum you choose to insure your life for, remember that it will devalue in the future. In 10 or 20 years, the same policy may not be of much value to your family, unless you are updating your policy and increasing your payments over time. Start out with what you can afford now and keep a careful eye on your policy as your lifestyle and needs change.

Shopping Around for Life Insurance

When looking into purchasing life insurance, it is essential to shop around and get comparative quotes. This is the only way that you can be sure that you are getting the very best value. One of the best ways to do this is to go online and conduct a search. Often, there are sites that will provide additional information on certain life insurance products or give reviews on the different types of insurance. There is a lot of information to be found but because you already know what level and type of insurance you require, you can refine your search. Once you have a few types of insurance shortlisted, contact the respective companies and get more details on the policies. Ask about the terms of payout, any limitations or exclusions that the policy may have, and get written quotes on premiums and benefits. In this way, you can find the best possible life insurance policy for your needs.

For consumers looking for insurance online and where to get the best auto insurance quotes possible, look no further than 2insure4less.com. Whether it is auto insurance, home insurance, health insurance, life insurance, cancer insurance, disability insurance, business insurance quotes or burial insurance, 2insure4less has helped countless consumers find insurance online.

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12 Life Insurance Myths

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Life insurance can sometime be more complicated than it should be. Brokers boggle you with terminology so you don’t always know exactly what you are getting. There are several different types of life insurance and it is not always easy to know which one is the best policy for you. Many people will not even consider life insurance because they believe myths that have been circulated in the public domain. While there are sometimes elements of truth to some of the myths, most often it is a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the policy that results in these myths. Here are a few life insurance myths that are commonly believed yet largely untrue.

Suicide Is Not Covered

This is something that is widely believed in the general public. While some life insurance policies may exclude it as a condition, others don’t specifically exclude it. In some states, suicide is only excluded for a period of time after the policy has been taken out. After a specified amount of time, the policy may then come into effect. You do however need to read the terms and conditions of your specific policy very carefully to establish if this is the case.

All Life Insurance Policies Are the Same

There are four definitely different types of life insurance. Each type of insurance has its own benefits and disadavantages. The two major types of life insurance are whole life insurance and term life insurance. There are then also two variations on term life insurance which offer added components to the policies. These are known as variable life insurance and universal life insurance. By definition, whole life insurance covers a person for their entire life. The cash benefit of the life insurance policy is paid out upon death to the beneficiaries listed in the policy. Most times the whole life insurance premium and the death benefit are fixed amounts. This is the more conservative, more expensive and traditional type of life insurance.

Term life insurance is a policy that you purchase for a specific term or period of time. For example, if you have the responsibility of paying for a home mortgage or school tuition fees for your children, you may take out term life insurance to cover that period of time. Premiums are paid into the policy for the duration of the term which is usually a period of 10 or 20 years. At the end of the term, if you are still alive, the policy lapses. Sometimes it can be renewed but usually with penalties. The basic downside is that your beneficiaries do not receive any payout or benefit unless your death occurs while the policy is current. The only purpose of the premiums is to keep the policy active for the duration of the policy term. The two variations on term life insurance are variable life insurance and universal life insurance. In these policies, you can invest a cash portion in different funds or vary the amount of your monthly contributions. Sometimes, you can also withdraw a loan from the policy. The policy you choose will depend on what your life insurance needs are.

You Don’t Need Life Insurance if You Have Other Investments

Often people believe that it is better to invest in property or other similar assets rather than life insurance. The problem with this is until those assets are fully paid for or until your investment reaches a breakeven point, they are actually not assets but merely investments. Most often, term life insurance is used to cover the value of these investments. It means that if you happened to die before the investments become assets, the insurance policy will at least cover their value and your beneficiaries will be left with genuine assets.

Life Insurance Is Only for People with Families

Some people believe that life insurance is only for people that have families or dependents. On the contrary, if you have any assets, debts or forms of investments, you need to find a way of protecting these investments. Single executives may invest in property. They may not have dependents to protect but wouldn’t it make sense to protect your investment? Even if your beneficiaries are your parents, siblings, or a trust fund, you’ll know that whatever money you are putting into your investment will be protected. Life insurance ensures that the value of the investment is covered. Most often, term life insurance is adequate to provide life insurance coverage for the period of your investment.

Real Insurance is a part of the Hollard Group of companies. The Hollard Group has offices in the United States, the UK, South Africa, Australia and throughout South East Asia and provides a wide range of insurance products and services to more than 6 million policyholders worldwide. For more information about Real Life Insurance, visit us online today!

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