Posts Tagged ‘Life Cover’

Life Insurance Policies And Your Rights

Monday, August 9th, 2010

You have to understand the rights that you have when it comes to your life insurance policy as it may affect your family greatly if you don?t. You should find a policy that will fit the needs of your family after you?ve passed away because it?s easier to find a policy than it is to try to negotiate a change in policy.

Your rights may change depending on what type of life insurance you get. First there is whole life insurance which is the most known type of life insurance. This life insurance provides a monthly rate of money for your beneficiaries after you die. Term life insurance is less expensive but lasts only for a set period of time.

In both cases you will be entitled to what is known as a free look period. This is a law in every state that the companies are required to give you a time period between 10 and 30 days to review the policy. The actual time period will vary from state to state however some states require that a notice of the law is actually given to you with your policy. If you decide that you don?t want to continue the policy after the time period all you will have to do is have a written statement and hand them the statement with the policy. They will refund your payment and the policy will become a voided policy.

This free look period is especially important if you?re a busy person or just don?t understand all of the fine print. While life insurance policies are supposed to be easy to read they may not be and you may have to take your policy to your lawyer to have him decode it for you. You should also note that the free look period changes based on what state you?re in. While some states offer 30 days some only offer 10. Make sure that you mark this number down so that you don?t forget to cancel your policy if you decide not to stick with it.

When you?re debating about what type of life insurance to choose you should remember that it will be harder for you to get life insurance down the road. This means that you will want to consider term life insurance very carefully if you decide to go with it as it will expire in your later years and you may have problems getting another policy. As people become older they become a higher risk for a life insurance company because they are not expected to live as long and therefore not pay the company as much as other people would. For this reason it may be better to have whole life insurance which will never expire. You should also try to set up a payment plan for your life insurance plan that will allow your family to get a lump payment at the start to pay for immediate expenses and then smaller payments after that until the money on the policy is depleted.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For more information on the different types of life insurance visit our website.

Life Insurance VS A Retirement Policy

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

There are too many people who have insufficient retirement packages offered from their jobs and their security for financial well being is compromised for their old age. Some people do not have any type of retirement package and will be forced to live off of their social security payments. Social security alone is not enough for anyone to live the lifestyle they were accustomed to while working. Many people will be forced to sell their homes and their value of living will decrease incredibly.

Many people believe that a life insurance policy is only to be paid out in the event of the policy holders death. The truth is that many people use life insurance policies as a way to protect their financial well being during their old age. The life insurance policy is able to be funded from many resources, such as stocks and bonds, certificates of deposit, mutual funds and even cash reserves from your bank account. This money can then be withdrawn at retirement age tax free.

Having the security of death benefits for your family is very important but having peace of mind about your financial well being after retirement is a huge concern for most people. The life insurance policies can be created to offer payouts over a specified period of time or can be paid for your entire lifetime. The best feature of the policies is that you put in it what you want to invest in your future and the payments will not be considered taxable income.

The benefits packages can be treated different ways. Borrowing cash from the policy or having annual payments made are two of the most common methods and both have their ups and downs.

Any money that is accumulated from a life insurance policy offering retirement benefits will be able to be withdrawn and no taxes or penalties will be assessed. If you have a standard IRA account set up for your retirement you will be able to have payments made to you after retirement as well but they will be counted as taxable income from the government. The fact that the insurance policy offers a tax free way to save and earn your money at retirement is a big advantage over the standard retirement policy.

You have to be careful if you are borrowing cash from a retirement policy such as an IRA to avoid the taxes on the money. If the policy terminates you will have to pay huge capital gains tax on any amount you paid over the premium cost for the life of the policy. For someone who has been paying on a policy for 40 years or more and adding extra income this taxable amount could be astounding. Having the policy terminate at age 80 and finding out you have to pay this money in taxes can put you in the poor house.

Your agent may have shown you a wonderful retirement package that was based on the rate that you received when you purchased the policy. The rates are subject to change and this will affect your retirement policy as well, meaning rates go up you travel the Mediterranean after retirement, they go down you are living in a trailer eating TV dinners every night. But with the security of the standard retirement package comes taxable income and lower payments and the insurance policy offers higher payments and tax free benefits but the risk may be slightly higher on your money.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For tips on how to save on your life insurance visit our website.

Getting Life Insurance If Your Are HIV Positive

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Having a life insurance policy in place can bring peace of mind to individuals who want to ensure the financial security of their loved ones even after their death. If you have been diagnosed as HIV positive and you do not already have a life insurance policy in place it can be extremely difficult to obtain one. While many insurance companies will turn you down immediately, others will offer high premium policies that will cover only the cost of your funeral.

You should look to see if you already have any policies in place that include death benefits and also to determine if they have any rider policies. You may have a life insurance policy through your mortgage on your home or even one that was offered as part of your employment package at your job. If you do have any policies in place keep them current, it is extremely important not to allow them to end as you may not be able to get them back with the HIV status.

Social security offers death benefits to your beneficiaries. Go to your local social security office and find out what the benefits are and make sure you have updated the information for the correct beneficiaries to get it. If any changes need to be made they will assist you on how to do this.

If you need more information on your current death benefits or need help in selecting your beneficiaries an attorney can be helpful. You can have any questions answered that you might be confused about as well as make any changes to your will with their assistance.

Speak with human resources at your current employer and find out if there life insurance programs that you might qualify for as part of your employment package. Many employers will take out automatic life insurance policies for their employees that will pay out a lump sum pr make payments that are a percentage of the employees current wages. The type of group policies require no underwriting or qualifications. If your employer offers this type of benefit you will be able to obtain it and might even be able to include a rider policy with it as well.

If your employer does not offer this type of life insurance policy or any that you qualify for you might consider changing jobs. You could possibly be making less than you do now and might not be in your dream job but if the employer offers a life insurance policy in your employment package it could be worth the change.

An HIV AIDS case worker will be able to help you find programs that you would be qualified for if you express your desire to obtain life insurance. Many insurance companies are beginning to include policies to HIV positive people since the effectiveness of the AIDS medications are far better and create a much longer life for the individuals.

You can find guaranteed life insurance policies from companies that will insure anyone. The premiums will be much higher on this type of policy and you can expect that the pay outs will be much less. Some insurance companies will only offer burial costs at an extremely high premium for terminally ill clients such as someone who is HIV positive.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For more information on the different types of life insurance visit our website.

Assessment Of Risk With Life Insurance

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Many people apply for a life insurance policy, but only few get approved for the same. If you have enough money to pay the premiums would not mean that your chances of approval are higher. Your application for a life insurance police is passed through a rigorous underwriting, before a decision can be taken on the approval or denial of the same. Underwriting means the assessment of risk for granting a policy for an individual, and the monthly or yearly premium amounts for the same.

Underwriters help the insurance companies in analyzing the risk involved in approving a particular application. At the end of the day, insurance companies are looking to make profits, and for this underwriting becomes an important exercise for them. Underwriting includes three steps, performed one after the other. The steps include examining the application, deciding to insure or not, determining the premium.

The first step involves the examination of the application. Here maximum details about the applicant are collected. The application includes a list of fields that the applicant needs to fill up, such as the marital status, sex, type of living area, age, and current health status and so on. All these parameters are taken deep into consideration.

After the details are collected, the decision making phase starts. Here all the parameters are gauged one by one, and the applicant is remarked for each parameter. These parameters are also known as the risk factors. For an applicant to have his application approved, he must score low on these risk factors. Although each of the risk factors has its own weight and importance, it is common belief that most insurance companies emphasize more on the age and health of the applicant. A young age and a good health of the applicant make it easy for the insurance company to approve the application. Similarly, an old aged and ailing applicant may not get a nod fro the insurance company. Living environment is another aspect considered by the companies. A good living environment implies that the applicant would suffer lesser ailments, and hence live long. As against this, a polluted and unhygienic living environment creates doubts in the minds of the insurance company. The gender of the applicant can also play a role at times. Many companies believe that women live healthier and fitter than men, for they do not take depressions. Interestingly, married men are believed to live a healthier life than the married women, indicating that the marital status also plays a role in the approval or denial of the insurance policy application. Lastly, the living habits of the customer also determine the fate of the application. If the applicant is a smoker and/or drinker, the chances of an approval are bleak.

The above risk factors also help in determining the premium amounts for the individual. A high score would get the individual to pay higher premiums. A young and healthy individual normally pays lower premiums as compared to an old ailing individual.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For more information on the different types of life insurance visit our website.

How Did Insurance Begin

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Life insurance or life assurance is an agreement between the plan owner (the insured) and, the insurer (insurance company) where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money fixed in the contract at the time of the insured?s demise. This may also comprise but also promise to include indicants such as an incurable disease. The plan owner agrees to pay a certain sum each month, three months, six months or a year which is affirmed upon by the contract. The policy can also state that the insurer will pay for memorial service and some health expenses independently from the agreed compensation sum.

Insurance has been around since civilization began. The earliest form of insurance was the old protection rackets that organized crime families still use even today. Criminals or rulers of a country would ?guarantee? that a business or home would not be damaged or destroyed by criminal activities for a weekly cut of said profits of the business. This form of blackmail and extortion quickly led to merchants and shopkeepers living in their businesses. So that when the criminals came they would be greeted by sword and spear. These actions, taken by these early businessmen, led to the old saying, ?The greatest protection comes by the sword.?

The first known form of insurance appeared in China as early as 5000 BC. It was a way for traders and merchants to lessen their losses in the event their shipment was stolen or ruined. The first know form of Life Insurance began in ancient Rome. They were called burial clubs and they covered the cost of member?s funeral expense and help the members surviving family out fiscally.

Contemporary life insurance began in the late 17th century England as a replacement for traders insurance. In America the first modern life insurance plans began in the late 1760s. The Presbyterian Church in New York and Philadelphia created the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers in 1759. This was fashioned under the Christian doctrine that it is the responsibility of the Church to help the poor, needy, and widowed. Later the Episcopalian priests created a comparable fund in 1769. From 1787 to’37 over a dozen life insurance companies came into being, but less then half survived that century.

Now in the modern age insurance is now a necessity for a normal life in every nation on Earth. Insurance now covers Life, property, health, and even liability from lawsuits. The insurance commodity is now a multi-billion dollar business. The first known insurance business was started after the Great London Fire in 1666. The fire destroyed-,200 houses. After this tragedy, Nicholas Barbon opened an office to insure buildings. In 1680, he established England’s first fire insurance company, “The Fire Office,” to insure brick and frame homes.

In the 21st century all insurance companies sell some form of life insurance. It is the number one form of insurance purchased globally. Much of it is sold to people after they have children in hopes that in the event of a premature or unexpected death the sum paid to the survivors will be able to use the money to bury their loved ones and support them financially.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.

Whole Life Insurance Explained

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

The whole life insurance plan offers coverage if you die, with compensation fund for your family, however it as has several other advantages benefits as well. This type of plan offers you coverage for your entire life, even though it is costlier than other insurance plans. A part of the money that you pay monthly invested, and you can decide to withdraw that money only when you hit a particular age, or when if there is urgency.

After your death, your family is likely to have several different bills to pay. By getting life insurance you are protecting them from going into financial downfall. Depending on your lifestyle, your family could be facing more bills than you expect. First there are the funeral costs, which are now cost thousands and thousands of dollars. There is also the fact that your family will have to support themselves with one less working member; this is especially difficult for families with young children. You may also want to protect your business or give money to charity once you die.

If you make your monthly payments on time your family can expect a large sum of money. How large this sum is depends on what you have set up in your insurance plan, although it is usually more than five times your yearly income. You can choose to bank out your money early in case of a greater need. This is possible since the insurance company has invested part of your payments. You can set your plan up so you can only access the money at a certain age or in case of an emergency. This is very handy if you need extra retirement money, tuition, or money for buying a home. In this way a whole life insurance plan can work like a loan, but it is not necessarily as cost efficient as a regular loan.

Insurers identify your capability for making payments based on your credit record and health. If you purchase insurance plan when younger and have high-quality credit, you will pay less. If you progress your lifestyle and quit smoking, then you can lower your premium rates. This implies you lose weight, quit smoking, and do a good diet. You can get better your credits by making payments for all outstanding debts and resolving complaints on your credit record, which are not true.

At times, the whole life insurance may give more that what is required for your needs. There are several other kinds of life insurance policies that you search for. Some plans offers temporary cover, but they quite lower pay monthly. Although you feel your family members will require a larger amount of recompense for your death, there are other insurance plans to see. Ensure that you research well on insurance companies and agents in your locality before you pick the one. You can use Net, the phonebook, and friends? data to get details on insurance companies, which might offer lower rates than others.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator at Lifeinsurance-Southafrica.co.za South Arica?s leading Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.

Finding Security For Life

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Life insurance companies have many methods which allow for the supplementation of a family if the breadwinner were to come to an early, unexpected death. We now have the option of choosing a type of life insurance policy that will work for our needs and invest into it accordingly. Unlike others who ignore the necessity of investing into the future or immediate gain, those of us who put the effort towards investments are able to have peace of mind and relax regarding the security of our family?s financial future.

And then, as we all do when we find something wonderful for our own lives, we can spread the good news of investing to our family and friends to guard against possible financial disasters.

With the added security of insurance to cover us when unexpected things happen, we can safely plan out our lives with a foundation of known variables and minimized risks. The insurance industry is sophisticated and has a facet to deal with almost every aspect of your life, and this lets you make better financial plans with better results even if you’re unlucky. Don’t get lulled into a sense of false security just because you have a lot of money!

Often, when our income is higher, we forget the future in the security of the present, sometimes going more into debt based on future income than saving for future threats. This lack of financial planning can have horrendous effects. However, if when our income is higher, we continue to plan ahead, investing for the future, it will allow us to retain the luxuries of the present throughout the rest of our lives. It is easy to get caught up in the everyday which flies ever faster until it is too late, so prepare now while you are still at minimum risk and the payments will be low and the return is high.

A few years back, my aunt unexpectedly lost her husband. However, because my uncle had been investing in the universal life insurance policy for a couple of years, she was getting good returns, allowing her children to complete their education with no added financial hardships.

If you look for the best policy to meet your needs, buy from an honest and trustworthy company, and completely understand all the rules and clauses involved, there’s no way you will regret getting life insurance. Even if you never get thanked for it, it’s something you should do for yourself and your loved ones.

Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for a leading South African Life Insurance provider. For more information visit: http://life.insurance123.co.za/

Financial Security Through Life Insurance.

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

There’s no way to get through life comfortably without a secure financial foundation. If something bad could happen to you, think to yourself, ‘Could I pay for that without any help?’ For most accidents and disasters that’s not the case. Even if you can pay it all off, you end up stressed and uncomfortable from the unexpected expenses. That’s why we have insurance like life insurance to help us when things don’t go our way.

The task of financial security is not easy. We have to be extra careful in this process. We should start by cleaning up our expense schedule. Cut out unwanted expenditure and start investing. We should not let emotional turmoil get in the way. We should be realistic and should work our way to mental peace. We would not have to think about problems once the financial aspect of our life is secured.

I feel that it’s important for people to not have to struggle after their loved ones pass on, and since I and my wife don’t have any kids, one of my reasons for buying life insurance was to help her in case I passed early. So far I’ve needed to call on insurance to help me out with my wife twice. The first time was a surgical procedure, and the second was a less serious accident that nonetheless required half a month’s stay in the hospital.

Naturally, I was worried! But thanks to my insurance policy, all the costs and fees associated with both these horrible events just disappeared. I was busy enough just dealing with my concern for my wife’s well being, so not having to fret over the money was an incredible advantage at the time. Don’t you think it was the right thing to do, getting coverage for both myself and my wife? I didn’t want to think of my wife in pain or hurt, but sometimes these things happen, and I was ready for it with the right insurance.

Few years back, my sister completed her studies and said to me that once she gets a good job and gets settled, she wanted to invest in a life insurance policy. She wanted to have an independent and secure future. Later on, she got settled and took a policy. Once she got insured, she advised me to get a life insurance policy once i get settled. And when i got a job, i went to a consultant and after looking at all my details, she gave me the advise that i should get a universal life insurance policy. If you are looking for financial security, the best way is investing in a life insurance policy. Remember, financial security is everything. Better be safe than sorry.

Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for a leading South African Life Insurance provider. For more information visit: http://life.insurance123.co.za/

Life And Health Insurance ? The Difference

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

You don?t have to be confused with so many terms which are used in insurance industry. Life insurance and health insurance are very dissimilar with each other and provide you cover under different conditions too. It is very vital for you that you do proper research and acquire as much as information you can regarding different insurance plans available in the market before opting one.

Life insurance offers coverage to your family members in case of your death. The compensation offered to your family is according to the plan you receive. Many people opt for six years value of their annual salary or more from their plan. Your insurance plan depends on you making timely monthly payments.

Before providing you any life insurance plan the insurance company wants to decide about the amount of risk they are taking to provide you cover. It is always difficult to get cover for life once you start getting older, or you may be suffering from any serious illness. Insurance companies may consider your credit to decide on your ability of making monthly premiums. Once their research on your living style and your credit history completed they will put forward you a premium, which you will have to pay every month to secure your coverage.

Two major types of life insurance plans are available. One is the term insurance plan which offers you coverage for a specific timeframe, when you are required to make payments. This is ideal if you are looking for a short period deal. Many people opt for term life insurance when they have kids, so that they are protected when they are small and can get free of it when they are financially independent.

Health insurance plan is quite unlike life insurance plan. It only covers your medical expenses and other bills related to heath. Many people opt for this insurance to get pay for frequent doctor visits. There are some who get this insurance to save themselves against sudden medical expenses which was not planed.

One of the most exclusive kinds of insurance is full coverage insurance, which covers all type of medical expenses that comes to you. There is a plan called 80/20 plan, in which you have to pay only 20 % of your medical expenses and rest will be covered by the company, even if the amount is large. There is another plan in which the company will provide you fix amount of money as coverage and the rest you have to add to fix your medical expenses. Getting best plan for you is completely depends on the type of requirement you have.

Several people get their life and health insured by employer. Find out if they might have any arrangement which may let you get a small part of the payments. Your heath plan rates will also be fixed in a similar fashion like the life insurance. If you take part in risky sports like sky diving or rock climbing, then it would be tough to get lower rates. To get your rates lower you can do several things like getting your credit score in line and paying off any outstanding debts. If you are a smoker then you must quite smoking to get your rates reduced. You can get it lowered to half if you remain a non-smoker for a year.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator at Lifeinsurance-Southafrica.co.za South Arica?s leading Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.

Life Family Protection

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Risk coverage is the change of someone dying during a fixed time period. Insurance companies always use medical records and family medical history to check a person?s eligibility for life insurance. Life insurance makes a lump sum payment upon the death of the insured. Life insurance is often used as a savings or an investment, but there are certain options and costs involved.

Term life coverage is a temporary measure of protection. It will help to clear off the debts and serve as an extra security of the insured. Individual?s demand and obligations differs from person to person. At the time of its maturity, it would be helpful to meet out the immediate obligations and necessaries.

If you really want to get the lowest possible costs on your insurance, you should buy it when you’re healthy. If you’re physically fit, don’t drink or smoke, and are young, then you can get great deals on your monthly payments, or premiums. Term life insurance will often let you select how long you want it to last to some extent, so you have a great deal of control over how much it costs you.

Your alternative to term life insurance is whole life insurance. Guess how long that lasts you? That’s right, your whole life (usually)! Whole life policies are a long term solution to life coverage worries, and are almost certain to be there for your loved ones when you pass on. They’re also quite useful as investments, since they can build up substantial interest over time. However, they’re not very useful unless they’ve had all those decades to acquire value, and the premiums you pay for all this are higher than the premiums of a term life policy. Be certain which of the two types of policies is best for you before deciding on one or the other.

Life insurance coverage can go up to the millions, but most of us aren’t quite that wealthy. More people will settle for amounts in the thousands or tens of thousands range. If you have doubts about how much coverage you should get, or how much you should be willing to pay, there’s nothing wrong with getting the advice of professionals in the insurance industry. Better yet, though, you can try comparing quotes from various companies online. This is free, easy to do, and only takes a few minutes. The important thing to keep in mind when getting online quotes is that you have to fill out your forms accurately. Bad forms means your calculated quotes will be inaccurate, and that’s your fault for giving the companies bad info to work with!

Life insurance prices are based on estimates of the premiums you will pay for the term of the insurance policies with specific companies. Finding low priced life insurance is easy and quick if you can use the internet. The top companies offer quotes online for a variety of terms, coverage and rates. For example if you are a 25 year old male you can find a coverage of $500,000 for a monthly premium of only 25 dollars with one company, but your father, probably about 50 years old, would only receive coverage of $100,000 for the $25 premium. A female who wants to pay a $25 premium may get coverage of as much as $600,000 if she were 25 years old and $175,000 if she were 50 years old. This proves it is better to buy life insurance as soon as possible.

You can have consultation with an agent of insurance business and find out one suited to your needs. This in fact reduces your later risks much. Having comparison with similar life insurance companies, choose the best one.

Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for a leading South African Life Insurance provider. For more information visit: http://life.insurance123.co.za/