Thursday, October 30, 2008

Who needs life insurance cover?

If you are single and have no family or dependents, life insurance cover is something you may probably put to the bottom of your list of financial needs. Conversely, anyone with any dependents and especially someone with a family is likely to have such cover right at the top of essential safeguards for his or her loved ones. Life insurance cover, for example, could help to ensure not only that your children get to finish their education but that other surviving dependents are also financially protected.

Life insurance cover is one of those relative rarities in the world of insurance it is simple, straight forward, and can be keenly priced. Indeed, life insurance must be one of those very few things in this world of constantly escalating prices, where the cost of the premiums has actually reduced in the past decade or so*.

The reasons for the attractive pricing are largely the result of a huge growth in the variety of life insurance policies available and the extremely keen competition in the market place. A common form of life insurance is level term insurance. Under such an agreement, the insurer agrees to pay the same (i.e. level), assured lump sum benefit if the policy holder should die during an agreed period of time (the term).

The length of the term is at the discretion of the policy holder and might be chosen to coincide with retirement age if the insurance is being used to protect a spouse or until the completion of full-time education, for example, if children are involved. Naturally, the shorter the term, the lower the risk assumed by the insurer and, therefore, the cheaper the premiums will be.

In an equally straight forward way, the greater the degree of protection, or the bigger the lump-sum payment, the more expensive will the premiums be. The aim, generally speaking, is to ensure that dependents are not saddled with the debts of the deceased, so life insurance cover is intended to pay off any outstanding debts and to provide surviving family members with a reasonable standard of living.

Of course, certain things will increase the risk of the insured dying within the term of the life insurance cover. If the person seeking insurance is already fairly well advanced in years, have a poor state of health, smoke, and are engaged in a high-risk occupation or indulge in hazardous sports, they could expect to pay a considerably higher premium than the person who falls into none of these categories.

In addition to level term life insurance, there is also decreasing term life insurance, which, as the name suggests, reduces the level of benefits payable with each succeeding year of the term and is therefore a useful way of covering a repayment mortgage, where the amount of mortgage debt outstanding also decreases on a year-by-year basis.

For those wanting to ensure that the benefits payable will also reflect the changing rates of inflation there are also increasing term and index-linked forms of term insurance.

Given the variations in life insurance cover available, there is almost certainly likely to be one to suit anyone’s needs and circumstances.



Confused.com is one of the UK’s biggest and most popular price comparison services. Confused.com helps consumers save money on everything from life insurance to mortgages.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Selling a Life Insurance Policy

People have asked for years "Can I sell my life insurance policy?". Now there is a real market, with real brokers and buyers for people who do not want their life policy anymore or they just want to see what it is worth if sold. These are called Life Settlements and they have added a great service to the insurance market - for both sellers, buyers and the companies who specialize in the selling of these issues.

The financial and insurance markets always seem to find a way to create the right products for the right time. I remember when Universal Life and VUL issues were the new hot thing. The life settlement market was something that was needed. There are billions of dollars worth of policies in the market that either not appropriate or out of date for the owner due to various factors or they were never the right life policy to buy in the first place. The point is, there are options now for these people and the only negative is that most people who own these and could use a cash settlement do not even know a market for selling an insurance policy exists.

Types of policies used

This is a growing list of the types of insurance that can be used for life settlements when looking to sell.

Whole Life - This type is a contract that insures a person for their "whole life" or age 100, whichever happens sooner. It can have cash value. It is a widely held type of insurance that works well for people selling or doing a viatical settlement due to terminal illness.

Term - If the policy is convertible, these can work if the face amount is high enough

Universal Life, VUL, and Adjustable Insurance are also used.

Investors

There are pools of investors who look to purchase these insurance policies and provide the cash settlement to the seller. This market continues to grow which is a benefit to someone looking to sell their contract. With more buyers and more companies growing everyday in the settlement and viatical market everyday, the price is more reliable and the seller can be assured that they are seeing more of the buyer market than ever before.

Reasons to Sell

As mentioned in the introduction, their are many personal reasons why someone would want to look into selling their life policy.

Premiums To High - If the policy has become less needy and the premiums have become a problem, a person would have normally just let the policy expire, which is something that someone should never do now obviously. Testing the life settlement market before letting the policy lapse - even with high premiums is strongly advised.

Quality Of Life (Would like Cash) - A life insurance issue is meant to provide security for your family or significant others in case of your death or to provide income if it serves an an annuity type issue. But if quality of life requires selling or transferring insurance or investing assets for cash, this is something to consider strongly.

Terminal Illness - The worst of the reasons, but at least you and your family have the option with cashing out and having a market where you can sell the life insurance.

Policy is No Longer Needed - Simple as that. Times and circumstances change. Rather than letting the issue expire, there is a cash settlement market to go to.

All transactions through reputable companies are completely legal and formal. The person looking to sell will have full contracts (similar to a closing on real estate), cash payout details and other legal issues disclosed.

Face amount minimums and age can effect the market on these transactions. Many of these settlements are well into the six figures. You can get free quotes to check on what your policy is worth.

Life Insurance Settlement Quote



Nick Hunter is the President of American Investment Training. One of his company services is specializing in assisting insurance holders on how to Sell a Life Insurance Policy through the secondary market. His company works with major insurance companies throughout the world.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Want To Know What Is The Average Price Of Life Insurance

People who are in the market for a life insurance will always ask; what is the average price of life insurance? Or how much does life insurance cost. This is often ask because we all primarily look at the price or cost rather than the benefits and needs of our love ones. It is not a bad idea to ask what is the average price of life insurance but you should be more concern about what suits your needs rather than budget. An online life insurance quotes can be a good start to look for the possible prices and cost.

Determining the average price of getting insured is not really easy because you have to consider many factors. The type of life insurance can also play a role or is a factor in calculating the average price or cost of insuring. The price also depends and varies from person to person. These several factors can be factored in so you can determine what is the average price of getting insured. Life insurance companies have their own set of guidelines and policies in underwriting. This means that the cost or prices given by different insurers may differ by as much as fifty percent or even more.

These insurers will take into consideration your gender, age, occupation, health, the length of coverage, the type of life insurance, your weight and height ratio, etc. for them to come with the amount that they can charge you. Age is very important as this will determine your risk for any possible ailments and diseases. The older you are the higher you’re your premiums are. Putting all these factors and types can be a daunting job to do, but with the availability of online life insurance quotes, it makes everything a lot more easily.

There are so many sites online where you can get quotes and compare these numbers you get from many different insurers. These providers mostly offer them for free and with no obligation so you do not need to commit before inquiring and getting those quotes online that you may need. Once you obtain the figures from several insurers, compare them and analyze. Then you may calculate the average from amongst the many different insurance providers. These services are easy to do and it will save you a lot of time and money. There is no need for appointments and scheduling to see an agent to know how much is the price you are looking at.

Most online life insurance quotes sites provide a free access and use of it so now you can have an idea of what is the average price of life insurance. And can even answer the question of how much does life insurance cost. But always bear in mind that life insurance companies should be considered when planning to buy life insurance.



For All inquiries On What Is The Average Price Of Life Insurance And Your Life Insurance Searches and Inquiries and Life Insurance Companies Search And Info, Go To: www.jgvfinance.com

Advantages of a Whole Life Insurance Policy

To begin with, you need to understand that life insurance falls into two very broad categories: Whole and term. The basic difference between term and whole life insurance is this: A term policy is life coverage only.
In whole life insurance policy, as long as one continues to pay the premiums, the policy does not expire for a lifetime. As the term applies, whole life insurance provides coverage for the whole life or until the person reaches the age of 100. Whole life insurance policies build up a cash value (usually beginning after the first year). With whole life, you pay a fixed premium for life instead of the increasing premiums found on renewable term life insurance policies. In addition, whole life insurance has a cash value feature that is guaranteed. In term and whole-life, the full premium must be paid to keep the insurance.

With level premiums and the accumulation of cash values, whole life insurance is a good choice for long-range goals. Besides permanent lifetime insurance protection, Whole Life Insurance features a savings element that allows you to build cash value on a tax-deferred basis. The policyholder can cancel or surrender the whole life insurance policy at any time and receive the cash value. Some whole life insurance policies may generate cash values greater than the guaranteed amount, depending on interest crediting rates and how the market performs. The cash values of whole life insurance policies may be affected by a life insurance company's future performance. Unlike whole life insurance policies, which have guaranteed cash values, the cash values of variable life insurance policies are not guaranteed. You have the right to borrow against the cash value of your whole life insurance policy on a loan basis. Supporters of whole life insurance say the cash value of a life insurance policy should compete well with other fixed income investments.

Unlike term life policies, whole life insurance provides a minimum guaranteed benefit at a premium that never changes. One of the most valuable benefits of a participating whole life insurance policy is the opportunity to earn dividends. The insurance company based on the overall return on its investments sets earnings on a whole life policy. In addition, while the interest paid on universal life insurance is often adjusted monthly, interest on a whole life policy is adjusted annually. Like many insurance products, whole life insurance has many policy options.

Make sure you can budget for whole life insurance for the long term and do not buy whole life insurance unless you can afford it. You should buy all the coverage you need now while you are younger, and if you cannot afford whole life insurance, at least get Term. That is why whole life insurance policies have the highest premiums it is insurance for your whole life, no matter when you pass on. The level premium and fixed death benefit make whole life insurance very attractive to some. Unlike some other types of permanent insurance, with whole life insurance, you may not decrease your premium payments.