Review: LifeInsure.com Provides Instant Insurance Quotes
With the proliferation of internet, it is becoming common for people to getting life insurance quotes online, especially for term life insurance, a product that is so commoditized that it usually only takes applicants a few minutes to answer a bunch of questions before getting the rate quotes from various insurers. It is therefore no surprise that the number of online insurance quote sites are growing every day. However, compared to other online insurance quote site I used or reviewed personally before, LifeInsure.com has done a quite impressive job in providing a streamlined instant quote tool for term life insurance, universal life insurance and return-of-premium insurance. For example, I spent 3 minutes to provide my demographic and health information, and within seconds, LifeInsure.com returns a ... Full Story
How Long Do You Need Life Insurance Coverage?
To me, the moment your asset will ensure a comfortable retirement, the moment you no longer need life insurance any more. Therefore, usually you only need life insurance for no more than 25-30 years.
"Most would say they need the security of life insurance for their entire lives. Life insurance can help pay off a mortgage, fund a college education, take care of final expenses, offset the loss of the insured's income, and allow a family to continue its standard of living. Both term and permanent insurance can provide those benefits, but which one can do it most efficiently over the course of a lifetime? With a permanent product such as whole life, premiums are fixed — they can never be increased by the insurer — and your coverage can never be canceled provided premiums are paid when due. With term policies, your premiums are set for a predetermined period (one year, five years, etc.), then increase in subsequent ..." Full StoryHow To Compare Different Universal Life Insurance Plans?
Great tips on how to be a savvy universal life insurance shopper.
"A general rule is: Don't base your decision only on a good looking printout. When comparing illustrations for various UL policies, the reality of assumptions the illustration is based on should be examined, keeping these points in mind: • Some companies automatically deduct 2 % from every premium, in addition to the 2% premium tax they are obliged to deduct by law. • Some companies do not immediately invest your deposit when they receive it; they wait until a certain amount is collected, reducing by this the time during which your money works for you. • In some cases, the return credited to your investments within a policy will reflect the return of the S&P/TSE Composite Index, the S&P 500, other indices, or selected mutual ..." Full StoryWhat Is Universal Variable Life (UVL) Insurance?
Universal variable life is also called flexible premium variable life. This policy mixes the flexible features of universal life and the investment options of variable life. As with universal life, you can raise or lower your premiums in a single policy. As with variable life, you have the right to choose how your cash value will be invested. The insurance company is not required to make any guarantee on your cash value. With universal variable life, the value of your cash fund is tied to the market value of the assets in the cash value fund. In theory, you could have $15,000 in cash value one day and $10,000 in the next, depending upon market fluctuation. So one of the main problems with universal variable ... Full Story
What Is Variable Universal Life (VUL) Insurance?
Variable universal life is a form of life insurance, specifically it's a type of cash-value insurance policy. (The other types of cash value life insurance are whole, universal, and variable life.) Like any life insurance policy, there is a payout in case of death (also called the death benefit). Like whole-life insurance, the insurance policy has a cash value that enjoys tax-deferred growth over time, and allows you to borrow against it. Unlike either term or traditional whole-life insurance, VUL policies allow the insured to choose how the premiums are invested, usually from a universe of 10-25 funds. This means that the policy's cash value as well as the death benefit can fluctuate with the performance of the investments that the policy holder chose. Full Story
What Is Variable Life Insurance?
Variable life is one kind of permanent insurance that lets you target your premium to one or more separate investment funds. These could be fixed income investments, or stocks, bonds, or a money market fund. Depending on company policy, you can switch your investments two to five times per year. Unlike universal life, with variable life you can control the investment of your cash value. The policy could be risky because the investment could go up or down. The cash value and investment will vary, depending on what your investment fund does. The death benefit cannot fall below the amount of insurance you first bought. As with traditional whole life, you pay fixed premiums and can borrow against the policy at fixed or variable rates ... Full Story
Universal Life Insurance Feature: No Lapse Guarantee Rider
In this series, we will walk you through many common features of a typical universal life insurance policy.
"No Lapse Guarantee Rider The flexibility of a universal life policy — specifically your ability to change payment dates and premium and coverage levels — is a valuable feature, but your life insurance coverage depends on your policy having enough cash surrender value to cover the monthly policy charges. If you're willing to place some limits on your premium paying flexibility, you may want to mitigate this risk by electing the No Lapse Guarantee Rider (NLGR). This rider ensures that if you fund the policy at the premium level required to maintain the guarantee, the policy will not lapse, even if the cash surrender value is not sufficient to cover the policy's monthly charges. This feature can allow your coverage to be continuous through any ..." Full StoryUniversal Life Insurance Feature: Life Insurance Benefit Options
In this series, we will walk you through many common features of a typical universal life insurance policy.
"Life Insurance Benefit Options Universal life insurance policies usually offer a choice of three death benefit options. Because your policy can be purchased for a variety of business or personal uses, it's important to select a life insurance benefit option in line with your intended policy use. The life insurance benefit options are: Option 1 — is the policy's face amount, and is generally a level amount. Option 2 — is the face amount, plus the cash value that has accrued within the policy, usually resulting in a higher death benefit for your beneficiaries. Option 3 — especially valuable in a split dollar business arrangement, equals the policy's face amount plus the adjusted total premiums (total premiums paid, less any partial surrenders). " Full StoryUniversal Life Insurance Feature: Cash Value Accumulation
In this series, we will walk you through many common features of a typical universal life insurance policy.
"Cash Value Accumulation Universal life policy has the potential to earn cash value, which can increase the death benefit your beneficiaries receive. Provided it's sufficient, your cash surrender value can be accessed through policy loans and partial surrenders to buy a home, fund a child's education or supplement retirement income. In addition, if cash value accumulation is a high priority for you, you can increase your regular premium payments or make additional unscheduled payments into your policy. Paying additional premiums provides you with the opportunity for greater cash value accumulation — which can then be used if needed in the future. " Full StoryUniversal Life Insurance Feature: Death Benefit Protection
In this series, we will walk you through many common features of a typical universal life insurance policy.
"Death Benefit Protection Universal life policies provide the traditional life insurance protection you need to protect your loved ones, ensure their continued financial security and help protect your business upon your death. Beneficiaries receive policy death benefit proceeds generally free from income taxes and probate delays. This immediate cash source can help pay final expenses, cover outstanding debts and help ensure business continuation. Therefore, universal life policies also provide an effective way to transfer wealth to your beneficiaries tax-free. " Full StoryUniversal Life Insurance: Single Premium, Fixed Premium And Flexible Premium
Do you know you can pay your universal insurance in three ways: single premium, fixed premium and flexible premium?
"Single Premium Single Premium UL is paid for by a single, substantial, initial payment. The policy remains in force so long as the COI charges have not depleted the account. Fixed Premium Fixed Premium UL is paid for by periodic premium payments. Generally these payments will be for a shorter period of time than the policy is in force; for example payments may be made for 10 years, with the intention that thereafter the policy is paid-up. If the experience of the plan is not as good as predicted, the account value at the end of the premium period may not be adequate to continue the policy as originally written. In this case, the policyholder may have the choice to either: 1. Leave the policy ..." Full StoryUniversal Life Insurance Feature: Permanent Protection And Flexible Payments
In this series, we will walk you through many common features of a typical universal life insurance policy.
"Permanent Protection and Flexible Payments Universal life insurance policies are designed to give you added flexibility while preserving the benefits of a permanent life insurance policy. You have the freedom to choose the amount of coverage that suits you best—and choose a payment amount that works within your budget. You can also increase or decrease the face amount of your coverage4 and vary the frequency and amount of your premium payments to best meet your individual and business goals. " Full StoryThinking Again About Variable Universal Life Insurace
Beware of the potentia pitfals of variable universal life insurance before you buy. If you are not careful, the high fee and potential tax implications can haunt you for the rest of your life.
"So what, possibly, could be wrong with such a sunny scenario? Well, for one thing, these policies are usually larded with fees that can drag down the return you eventually earn. Many charge upfront sales "loads" or commissions that can range from 5% to nearly 10% of what you put into the policy. The investment options in the policy also charge annual management fees. No surprise there; so do mutual funds. But unlike mutual funds the investment portfolios in the policy have another layer of insurance fees that can run almost as high as 1 percent per year in the initial years of the policy. The result is that you could end up paying upwards of 2 percent a year in annual costs (that's on ..." Full StoryBenefits of Universal Life Insurance
Universal Life Insurance (UVL) boasts many benefits, and here is a few of them:
"Flexibility -- You decide how much life insurance you need -- and subject to certain requirements and limitations, you can adjust the death benefit and premium payments to fit your changing needs. Security -- You help protect your loved ones against possible financial hardship in the event of the insured's death. Tax-Free Death Benefit -- Under current tax laws governing individual life insurance, life insurance proceeds are generally income tax free to the beneficiary. Tax-Deferred Account Value Growth -- Your policy's Account Value earns interest at the company's current interest rate -- federal income tax deferred. The current interest rate is guaranteed to be at least 4% a year. " Full StoryWhat is Universal Life Insurance?
Universal Life Insurance is a flexible-premium, adjustable benefit life insurance policy that accumulates account value. The flexibility of this policy allows you to change the amount of insurance as your needs for insurance change. Some changes require underwriting approval. As with all life insurance, the main purpose for buying a Universal Life insurance policy is the death protection provided to your loved ones at your death. Full Story
Sponsors
Contact us to get your web site listed here for as little as $10/month.