Posts Tagged ‘people’

Types Of Life Insurance Policies

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

All life insurance policies are either term, whole, or some combination of these two types of policies. However, there are many different forms that life insurance can take, even within these types.

Universal life insurance allows you to adjust the premium and policy amount to what you feel you need.

On the other hand, a person who wants control over the financial and investment aspects of their insurance policy should choose variable life insurance.

Description of a Term Life Insurance Policy

A term life policy provides insurance over a specific period of time, and expires after the coverage period ends. They come in different lengths, including 5, 10, and 20 years. After the policy expires, there is no accumulated cash value, and no benefits to be paid; death benefits are only paid if you die while the policy is active. Term insurance could be described as a policy that’s designed to expire before you do.

Usually the premiums on the term insurance are not that big, but as you grow older you will have to pay more. So considering the profits a term life insurance policy is more economical when bought at a younger age along with a longer term. Even though the short term renewable policies are substantially lower when people are young, it will be highly expensive when purchased after middle age.

In a term life policy that renews annually and carries a $200,000 death benefit, the annual premiums might look like the example below. Remember, these are just examples to show the differences in cost with age:

Age 35: $300/year

$900 / year age 50

$2,500 / year age 65

Description of a Whole Life Insurance Policy

Whole life is the most common type of life insurance. The policy remains in effect until you die or reach age 100, assuming you pay the scheduled premium. Whole life insurance is also known as ‘ordinary life’ or ‘permanent’ insurance. They feature level premiums, level face amounts, guaranteed values, and a high degree of safety. Whole life insurance has a guaranteed cash value, through which a living benefit is built. Because of this, the owner can access the cash for emergencies, or use it as a supplement to retirement income if necessary.

This ability to access the cash accrued by a whole life policy makes it an important savings instrument. Whole life policies are often used for long-term financial planning. Another very positive aspect of whole life insurance is the level premiums: they don’t change, so you’ll always know how much your policy is going to cost. Level premiums provide peace of mind and make budgeting easier.

The risk factor of whole life insurance policies is quite different from that of an auto insurance policy, by definition. With auto insurance, the insurer hopes that the policy holder will drive safely so that they never have to pay out the claim; with whole life insurance, however, the insurance company knows that they will have to pay the claim someday.

In these days it has become very easy and convenient to compare and shop for policies from different companies through the net. You can be sure that you get the best deal out of the market rates, which will meet your needs. It is also very important to check up with the BBB and check how these different companies are rated. You must have a careful eye for the financial standing of the insurance companies you are about to sign up for the policies. When you get thorough of all the information you need, you can compare and select the best whole life insurance policy online.

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

Friday, July 16th, 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 check to see if you have any existing policies in place already. You may have life insurance from your employer or through your home mortgage. Check to see if any existing policies include rider policies. Your employer may have a life insurance policy that is automatically extended to you and will pay out a percentage of your wages to your beneficiaries. If you have any policies that are in effect be sure to keep them active, if they lapse you will most likely not get them back with an HIV diagnosis.

You may have social security benefits available to you and by visiting your local social security office they will be able to explain if you do and give you the amount in which will be paid. You can make any changes that are necessary concerning your beneficiaries at the office during your visit as well.

You can speak to an attorney to have any questions you may have answered about social security benefits, other existing policies and beneficiaries.

Your employers human resource department can be extremely helpful in assisting with finding any available programs or life insurance policies that are part of their employment package. Several employers have a group life insurance policy program that is automatically extended to their employees and will require no pre qualification or underwriting to be accepted. The policies pay out a percentage of your wages to the beneficiaries you name on the policy at the time of your death. If you are not on this policy and it is available the human resource department will assist in getting you started.

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 in your search for death benefits. They can offer you the many programs or life insurance policies that are available to you. Some insurance companies will offer policies to HIV positive clients with the new medications creating an effective way for the individuals to live a longer life than years before.

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 tips on how to save on your life insurance visit our website.

Life Insurance - The Risk Assessment

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Every one wants a life insurance, but not every gets it. Even though you have enough money to pay the premiums, you may still be denied of a life insurance. Your application for a life insurance policy undergoes a strict underwriting before it can be approved. Underwriting is the risk assessment of the candidate?s application and the amount of premiums that he or she needs to pay.

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 all the information about the applicant is handy, the risk assessment triggers. The applicant is remarked against all the above parameters one by one. These parameters are termed as the risk factors. The applicant needs to score low on these risk factors to get through this phase successfully. Each of the risk factors holds its own importance and value. However, most companies give extra significance to the age and health of the applicant. If the applicant is young and healthy, the chances of approval are very strong. As against this, if the applicant is old and ailing, the denial is on the cards. The living environment of the applicant has a huge role to play as well. If the applicant happens to live in a polluted and unhygienic area, the insurance company starts to feel a little edgy about approving the application. At the same time, a good and healthy living environment of the applicant makes it considerably easy for the companies to approve the application. Gender is another point of evaluation for many companies. Women are thought of living a better and healthier life as compared to men. This is because they are known to take lesser depressions in life. On the other hand, married men are believed to life a healthier life as compared to the married women. Another important aspect of consideration is the living habits of the individual. If the applicant smokes and drinks, there are likely to be negligible chances of an approval. The aim behind all these considerations is to ensure that the probability of the individual living longer is more.

The above risk factors not only determine the approval or denial of the insurance policy, but also the monthly premiums. Once the application is approved, the score of the applicant on the risk factors also decides his pr her monthly premium amounts. A young and fit individual would have to pay lower monthly installments, as compared to an old and ailing individual.

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

A Brief History Of Life Insurance

Friday, June 18th, 2010

The word insurance refers to any agreement where a person pays another person or business to indemnify the safety, but to be more precise, pay for the replacement of any such personal property if said possession is lost, destroyed, or damaged in some other way other then the neglect or willful destruction of the property by said owner. There is insurance for just about anything, insurance is generally divided into four areas; vehicle, property, health, and life insurance.

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 a necessity for a normal life in every nation on Earth. Insurance now covers Life, property, wellbeing, and even accountability from lawsuits. The insurance business is now a multi-billion dollar industry. 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.

The first insurance company in the United States was founded in Charleston, South Carolina in 1732. The company insured against fire damage and Benjamin Franklin helped popularize the concept of insurance in the nation at the time. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin founded the Philadelphia Contributorship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Franklin’s company was the first to make contributions toward fire prevention. His company also tried to warn against certain fire hazards, but it refused to insure buildings that were at considerable risk of fire, such as wooden houses or warehouses.

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.

Planning For Happiness With Life Insurance

Sunday, May 30th, 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.

With a little added work in regards to our investments, life insurance can go a long way towards securing our future and creating a worry free life. By sharing the benefits of life insurance with friends and family, we can make smart investments that will save us from all of life’s misfortunes and protect us from hardships.

Life often presents little opportunities that can make a big difference in our lives in years to come. Investing in a life insurance policy is one of those little opportunities, putting away small amounts of money, which can make a big difference, paying out large returns to those left behind. When we begin our investments, then our financial planning for life is well underway.

Many formerly rich people made that mistake,but pride leads to disaster, and if you don’t compensate for the worst then the worst will surely happen. Recent economic troubles have shown us that no amount of money makes someone safe from disaster. Money is worthless without the wisdom to keep it throughout your life. No matter how good things look right now, it’s always smart to have something to fall back on if things take a turn for the worst tomorrow. With maturity, self-discipline, and an eye on the long-term, you easily get insurance that is both affordable and useful. Once that’s done, you can relax in knowing the insurance company’s got your back.

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.

I gladly accepted all the terms and regulations and was able to rest easily once I knew my family was taken care of into the foreseeable future. By investing in life insurance, I made the right decision for myself and for my family. The quality of life improves dramatically knowing that such an important task is done, and I couldn’t be happier about my decision.

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

Life Insurance Is An Investment In Your Future

Wednesday, May 19th, 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.

As a starting point, let’s consider the different kinds of life insurance. The two major types are term life and whole life insurance. Term life, as its name implies, is active throughout a period of time or term of your life. It can be used to cover a particularly risky part of your life, and is generally cheap compared to alternative policies.

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.

Coverage, ranging from 100,000 to million dollars, can be selected, as you desire. Comparison of various companies? plans, their premiums, special benefits attached to it and the more have to be taken up. You can make a wide range of search and offer prices online, by going through the different companies? websites. Not only the low premium should be the factor, but also the advantages and disadvantages persistent, should also be considered.

This is otherwise an investment, since life assurance and term insurance are merged. So the premium paid goes to cover the insurance policy and also for investment. Only a long period, say more than 20 years, insurance coverage would be beneficial, both in insurance point of view and investment point of view. The return would be modest compared to that low term insurance. More over, paying premium for a long period other gives you tax saving benefit also.

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/

Stepping Into The World Of Life Insurance

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

You may be frequently and constantly reminded often about life insurance in many ways, The newspaper advertisements, telecast over television program and radio, web advertisements are the means through which we are reminded about this. Insurance has come about almost more than one field such as life insurance, vehicle insurance, health insurance, property insurance, fire insurance, and as many more.

In life insurance line, there are two categories of policies. One is called term insurance policy and other one is called whole life coverage. Though these have many subsidiary branches, the main are the above two types.

Whole life insurance covers you for your whole life. In the event of your death, your beneficiary will receive a financial compensation set by the terms of your policy. It often comes with a fixed premium, which means that you pay a fixed amount your whole life, as opposed to paying less when you are younger and more when you are older. Whole life insurance policies could be said to blend insurance protection with some features of an investment fund.

Every body may be aware of about term life coverage policies. This is a popular policy and preferred to by many. There not only low premium policies but also lies within our choice of the term. The whole life policy gives coverage till your life but a term policy expires when its term ends. If you go for a life coverage after the expiry of the term policy, at that time, your cost would much high than that one that was available when you took a term coverage policy. Many of the public do not fully know about the different kinds and different options available in life insurance.

Because term life insurance is bought for a relatively short period of time its premiums are able to be smaller. A lot of insurance agents will focus on term life insurance because the immediate cost savings are attractive to a lot of potential clients. Although term life insurance does have short-term savings benefits, whole life insurance has its own advantages. For a lot of people, whole life insurance will be a better policy in the long run because of its fixed premiums. Basically, it is a matter of saving money immediately and paying more later on, or saving it in the long run but paying more immediately.

The investment made for whole life coverage policy is otherwise is an investment and an asset. Your can also avail loan facility over a policy earned a good cash value. At the time of need, the policy can also be surrendered after a certain period and amount collected.

The World Wide Web known as ?www? contains different company?s quotes online. It is a very easy process to get quotes of various life insurance policies only, free of cost. After collection of quotes, compare them, and after consultation with your lawyer or your agent, go for that one at your choice. The main functioning and aim of the life insurance policies are to provide proper and considerable financial assistance after the death of the insured. Your willingness to go for a life policy changes based on your age and responsibility.

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

The Benefits of Life Insurance

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Life insurance has two very nice benefits. First, it protects loved ones against the financial burden of the insured’s death. Secondly, it provides some nice living benefits.

The financial consequences of death can be extremely crushing. When you lose a spouse, parent, child, sibling or grandparent, the emotional trauma itself is overwhelming. Yet, the financial consequences can be even more destructive for survivors. If there is no life insurance, the surviving family members can find themselves facing extreme financial adversity. Not only do they have to deal with a possible the loss of an income, but also the death and burial generate unanticipated expense.

Looking at mortality statistics will show you that a large number of people die every year, before reaching a normal life expectancy. What if the deceased is a breadwinner and they die prematurely? The consequences are tragic in so many ways. Survivors are not only forced to deal with intense heartache, but they must also face some significant financial consequences, as well. They must figure out how to meet daily living expenses, minus one household income.

Aside from the cost of the funeral, other expenses survivors must contend with include executor’s fees and estate administration costs. Outstanding debts, like car loans, mortgages, credit cards, medical expenses, promissory notes and death taxes, will fall on the shoulders of the survivors, and must be paid. There are state and federal taxes to consider, as well.

The future security of your loved ones is another factor in a premature death. Just basic living expenses, the mortgage, and raising and educating children are some of those concerns. Actually, it doesn’t matter what financial obligations are left behind, the only option your survivors have is to pay them, and that takes money. If you want to assure yourself that your family is not forced to deal with the financial devastation a premature death can cause, then a life insurance policy is the perfect answer.

There may well be a time during which the surviving spouse cannot work, and for some, there is the survivor’s blackout period to be concerned with, as it is during this time social security stops paying the surviving spouse, because there are no longer dependent children. You may also want to ensure there are retirement funds available for a surviving spouse. Really, life insurance is a type of estate building, and it can create an immediate estate, at a time when it is needed most.

Living benefits are another advantage of life insurance. Some permanent policies offer a cash benefit in addition to the death settlement. Prior to the insured’s death, this cash value belongs to the policyholder, and can be used by them. Some permanent policies actually permit withdrawals from the cash benefit, and this money is yours to use as you choose. Loans can also be taken out from the insurance company, and the policy’s cash value would then be used as collateral.

Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for a leading South African Insurance Portal that provides consumers with the best Life Insurance Options.

Problems Of Visitors To Canada And Medical Insurance

Friday, March 26th, 2010

When visiting the beautiful country of Canada there are other things to be considered in addition to what roads to travel and what cities to visit. Canada has National Health Insurance for its residents but this does not apply to visitors. For this reason, everyone should be aware of the rules regarding visitors to Canada and medical insurance.

When enjoying the magnificent views and other opportunities offered to the visitors, Canada is especially concerned that everyone travels safely. For this reason, there are a number of traffic laws one should be aware of. By following these laws it will be possible to avoid accidents which might lead to the necessity of medical attention.

With today’s high cost of medical care, it is imperative that a person be covered with medical insurance at all times. When traveling out of one’s home country sudden illness or some sort of an accident can easily occur. If a personal health insurance policy does not have an ‘out of country’ coverage than an investigation should be made for possibly purchasing a short term traveler’s medical insurance.

A person’s health insurance company will be happy to tell their client if they are covered for illness or accident when they need Visitors to Canada Medical Insurance. Some require certain steps to be taken at the time of the illness or accident and will not cover the expense if this is not done. Others do not have any provision in the policy for out of country travel. This information is important to know before ever leaving home.

The doctors, hospital and pharmacies in Canada are considered some of the best in the world. Any visitor becoming ill or having an accident will receive immediate care and attention. However, if the visitor does not have health insurance to cover the cost it can be devastating to the bank account.

It is important to talk to one’s health insurance company and find out what the procedure is in paying an out of country medical provider when care is required. If they expect the patient to pay and then be reimbursed later, this can be a problem. When the bill incurred amounts to a very large sum of money sometimes there are not sufficient funds to cover it which results in a very embarrassing and awkward situation.

To be sure one has adequate coverage while visiting Canada it is a good idea to check with a Canadian Insurance Company to obtain basic information. This information should be compared to that provided by the personal medical insurance policy. By doing this it is possible to be assured that the coverage one has is adequate.

The problems incurred by some of the visitors to Canada and medical insurance can be avoided by adequate preparation before beginning the journey. When one considers the expense that could be incurred if there was an accident with the entire family in the car it is frightening. Ambulances, x-rays, specialists and possibly surgery can amount to a sum that it would be difficult for and individual to pay.

Your travel experience would be greatly enriched if you obtain the Visitors to Canada Health Insurance. Offering the most reliable policies in the industry, you can find affordable rates and useful resources for Travel Insurance Ontario at this agency.

How Do You Get Life Cover

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Anyone who has people who depend on them financially should have proper life insurance coverage Life cover should be at the top of your list of priorities. How will your family survive financially when you are gone? Just because you are here today does not promise a tomorrow. Nobody should be without life cover.

There is not much to learn about a lump sum policy. Deciding on coverage amounts and plans might be tougher.

Before you apply for life insurance there are a few things you should know. Determine how much life cover you really need, be careful not to take out too small of an amount. Do not forget to factor the home loan and other bills. Life insurance calculators can be located online to assist with determining the amount of cover you need. It is imperative to not be under insured. You want to make sure you are not over insured as well.

You have to determine the amount of time they should be in place. Usually the cover remains in effect until all financial responsibility has been paid and children have left the home. Some policy owners will terminate a policy after they retire. The important thing is to make sure the policy stay in effect long enough for your purposes.

Take careful consideration to answer all questions on the application accurately and with honesty. Being dishonest on your application or not answering all the questions asked could lead to a refusal due to non disclosure.

Putting your cover in a trust is a considerate thought. go wrong with setting up your cover in a trust. The trust ensures that the loved ones are paid once you die. Policies that are not written in a trust will be considered part of your estate and may increase the inheritance tax liability. You will find the trust form included with your policy.

Do not pay more for your policy than you can afford to. The higher the risk you are considered to be the higher your policy.

One of the more popular policies is the Level Term Assurance (LTA) this means your policy amount will remain the same throughout the length of the coverage. If you only need cover for payment of a mortgage or other decreasing debt you could look into Decreasing Term Assurance (DTA) for a more competitive rate.

If you have any life changes happen you will need to review your cover and ensure you have adequate coverage. Your policy needs change as your life does so review your coverage if you have any life changes such as a new baby or change of jobs. We many times forget that a cover policy has to afford our life so as life changes so should the policy. Make modifications whenever it is sensible that you may need more coverage.

Even if you already have a life cover policy you can shop around for a more affordable one. Make sure if you cancel your policy that you are not losing any needed benefits. A new policy could be higher is you have had any major health problems or other life changing situations.

Susan Reynolds is the content coordinator for a leading South African Insurance Provider who specialises in Life Insurance Policies.