The Best Thing About Life Insurance
Life insurance is a contract between the policy holder and the insurer , where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money (the “benefits”) upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger payment. In return, the policy holder agrees to pay a stipulated amount (the “premium”) at regular intervals or in lump sums. In some countries, death expenses such as funerals are included in the premium; however, in the United states the predominant form simply specifies a lump sum to be paid on the insured’s demise. Life insurance is a top priority for anyone who has loved ones that depend on them for financial support. When you pass away you want to make sure that your family will be able to survive and life insurance offers you that peace of mind. When you are HIV positive you might have a larger struggle trying to obtain life insurance and many places will turn you down on the spot. There are some places that will offer you a burial life insurance policy that will cover the expense of your funeral and burial fees but it may be harder to find one that offers lump sum payments for death benefits. Life insurance can be quite a complicated subject to navigate through. Middle-aged consumers especially have a tough time deciding between term and whole life. Unfortunately, too many people fail to do a bit of research and shopping around before buying their policies, and end up making the wrong choice. If you are 50 years and above, this article will help you put things into perspective. Life insurance creates money in the form of a death benefit when you die. A couple or reasons to hold an insurance policy during retirement include helping to pay estate taxes and ensuring a specific legacy to your heirs. But estate taxes can take a big chunk of your estate – and that includes any proceeds of your life insurance. Using a life insurance trust can bypass estate taxes and help in other ways. A life insurance policy continues to be active even if the premium is not paid before or on the premium due date. Typically all life insurance products have a ‘grace period’ after the premium due date during which policyholders can pay the premium that is due. The regulatory framework defines ‘grace period’ as the time granted by the insurer for the payment of premium from the due date of the premium without any interest or penalty during which the policy is considered to be in-force. This grace period is 15 days in case the premium payment frequency is monthly and is 30 days in all other cases. Term life insurance is one of the most popular insurance choices today. With affordable premiums and high death benefits, this form of insurance offers coverage for funeral costs, medical bills, pending debts and obligations as well as maintaining the standard of living of dependents such as family, elderly parents or siblings. As with any major purchase, it’s important to know all the facts about life insurance so you can make the best decisions. Whole life insurance. This type of permanent life insurance has a premium that stays the same throughout the life of the policy. Although the premiums may seem higher than the risk of death in the early years, these “overpayments” can accumulate cash value and are invested in the company’s general investment portfolio. You may be able to borrow funds from the cash value or surrender your policy for its face value if necessary. Universal life insurance. Universal life coverage goes one step further. You have the same type of coverage and cash value as you would with whole life, but with greater flexibility. Once money has accumulated in your cash-value account, you may be able to vary the frequency, as well as the amount, of your premiums. In fact, it may be possible to structure the policy so that the invested cash value eventually covers your premium costs completely. Of course, it’s important to remember that altering your premiums may decrease the value of the death benefit. Permanent life insurance is Prime of Life Insurance that remains in force (in-line) until the policy matures (pays out), unless the owner fails to pay the premium when due (the policy expires OR policies lapse). The policy cannot be canceled by the insurer for any reason except fraud in the application, and that cancellation must occur within a period of time defined by law (usually two years). Permanent insurance builds a cash value that reduces the amount at risk to the insurance company and thus the insurance expense over time. This means that a policy with a million dollar face value can be relatively expensive to a 70 year old. The owner can access the money in the cash value by withdrawing money, borrowing the cash value, or surrendering the policy and receiving the surrender value.