Term life insurance > Types of Life Insurance

Types of Life Insurance

by: Mike Bell

If you are considering purchasing life insurance, an overview of the available types should prove helpful. This article will briefly discuss the difference between whole and term life insurance, as well as some variations on whole life insurance.

The easiest way to understand the difference between whole life insurance and term life insurance is to look at what is meant by their names. When you purchase whole life insurance, you are covering your "whole" life - as long as you own the policy, it will pay a benefit when you die. What that benefit is depends on the value of the policy at the time of your death, but you own the policy even if you are no longer making payments on it. Whole life also accumulates a cash value on a tax-deferred basis. In addition, whole life can pay dividends throughout the life of the policy.

Term life insurance, on the other hand, is purchased for a certain term, or period. As long as you die within that period, term life insurance will pay an agreed upon amount to your beneficiaries. It will not pay if you cease to make payments or if you die after the term has expired. In addition, term life insurance has no cash value.

Two other aspects of whole versus term life insurance should be pointed out. The first aspect is that premiums for whole life insurance are higher to begin with, but remain steady over time. On the other hand, premiums for term life insurance are lower near the beginning of the policy, but increase over time. Another aspect is that you can borrow against the cash value of a whole life insurance policy. This is not possible with term life insurance, since it does not have a cash value. There are two variations of whole life insurance that need to be mentioned. The first is a more flexible form of whole life called universal life insurance. With universal life insurance, you can adjust (within certain limits) the premiums as well as the benefit amount over time to suit your financial situation. This is made possible by placing the premiums in a fund that accumulates based on the interest rate. As with normal whole life insurance, this type of policy has a cash value that can be borrowed against.

The second variation on whole life insurance is called variable life insurance. This type is similar to universal life insurance, except that the premiums in the fund are tied to the financial markets rather than to interest rates. While the potential for growth is greater with this type of insurance, the potential for loss is greater as well.

As you can see, there are some choices to be made when considering the purchase of a life insurance policy. Now would be a good time to use some of the other resources at this site to help you decide on the life insurance policy that is right for you and your family.

About The Author

Mike Bell is the webmaster of http://www.InsuranceOptionsGuide.com, a resource for life and health insurance answers.

Life Insurance, The Facts

Life Insurance, The Facts

by: Joseph Kenny

Insurance involves transferring a risk that you bare, onto an insurance company, so that you no longer have to worry about the event occurring. While you pay a fee, or premium for this, what you get in return is peace of mind. So what is the risk that you are transferring with life insurance? Well, quite simply, it is the financial risk of your own death. It should also be remembered that it is in certain circumstances possible to insure the life of another person, such as your husband or wife, or an important employee. The insurance company will then pay out to the named beneficiary once the event occurs, and this is usually a family member or business associate of the insured.

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Life Insurance, The Facts

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Benefits Of Getting Universal Life Insurance Quotes

Benefits Of Getting Universal Life Insurance Quotes

by: Paolo Basauri

What is Universal Life Insurance?

?Universal? is the term used for life insurance that offers built in flexibility to change your premiums and the amount of life insurance you carry throughout the life of the policy. A universal life insurance policy will accumulate value as the premiums are placed in an interest building account. If your situation changes, and you decide you need more (or less) coverage, you can control how the universal life insurance policy operates. Many consumers have found that they appreciate the added control and hassle-free flexibility they receive from owning universal life insurance. As with any life insurance policy, the benefits provide financial security for your loved ones in the untimely event of your death.

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Universal Life Insurance

Universal Life Insurance

by: Gary Tallon

Universal life insurance is just one of several types of life insurance policy available through life companies today. Unlike term life insurance or mortgage (reducing) life insurance, universal life insurance gives your insurance policy a cash-in value, allowing you to withdraw funds accumulated on your universal policy as and when needed.

This flexible approach to life insurance is very popular in the US and offers a real alternative to standard term & mortgage life policies where the policyholder does not normally get to benefit directly from the life insurance funds, unless they are diagnosed as being terminally ill. Universal life insurance also provides policyholders with the ability to accrue interest on their life insurance premiums - something that a standard life insurance policy does not offer.

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Universal Life Insurance

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Buying Life Insurance Online ? Is It A Really Good Idea?

by: Michael Challiner

The advent of the internet has opened up the possibility of cheaper life insurance for all.

In years gone by, if you were considering life insurance you would probably have invited an insurance salesman from your favourite insurance company to meet you or alternatively gone to your local insurance broker. But rarely would you have been courageous enough to get competitive quotations. It just wasn?t done. You trusted the salesman to do the best for you and surely you thought, life insurance is somewhat technical and requires specialised knowledge. All very cosy. All very expensive. How life has changed!

People now realise that life insurance is not that complicated. If on a scale of 1 to 10, buying car insurance online rates 9, life insurance must be a 7 or 8. This has opened up the Internet as a prime arena for cut-price life insurance. That?s not to imply that...

Buying Life Insurance Online ? Is It A Really Good Idea?

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Is Pet Insurance Right for You?

by: Sherry Kirchenbauer

What is Pet Insurance?

Pet insurance is a health plan for your pet to insure against large and small unexpected veterinary bills over the life of your pet.

Potential treatments for your pet now rival human treatments both in sophistication and cost. Pet insurance is designed to alleviate much of the financial risk and insecurity that caring for your pet can bring.

Pet insurance is common in many European countries. However, it remains rare in the U.S. There are about 130 million pet cats and dogs in the United States, but only a handful of pet owners (fewer than 300,000) take advantage of these policies. Pet insurance has been around for about 20 years, but many pet owners don't know that it exists, or they think the insurance costs are too high.

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Business Insurance

Business Insurance

by: Joseph Kenny

There is no denying the fact that success of a business depends on the hard work of the team but one disaster can wipe out your efforts and bring down the profits to dust. So, to avoid such an instance, you need to insure your business, whether it is a small enterprise or a large corporation.

There are insurance companies, which have policies that combine protection for all major property and liability risks in one package. You can also opt for separate coverage. Such a policy is called a business owners? policy (BOP). Larger companies may purchase a commercial package policy.

BOPs include property insurance for buildings and equipments owned by the company. If there is any loss of income due to disruption of operation and business because of accidents like fire, it can be covered under the Business Interruption Insurance.

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Term Life And Whole Life Insurance

Term Life And Whole Life Insurance

by: Ivon T. Hughes

Which type of policy is best for you, term or whole life? The answer depends on several factors, including:

Your Needs. If you need coverage only until your children graduate from college, for example, you might be better off with a term life policy.

Cash-value insurance is better suited for long term needs, such as planning estate taxes and providing lifetime security for your spouse. Some term policies cannot be renewed past age 70 or 80 and can become costly to renew as you approach that age.

The Cost. If term life insurance is more suited to your budget and you want life time coverage, consider a term life policy which can be converted into a whole life policy. Then you can convert the policy whenever your cash flow or needs dictate. You can also purchase a combination of term life and whole life insurance and gradually shift into whole life insurance over time.

Your...

Term Life And Whole Life Insurance

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When it comes to hair growth, we've all been guilty of anxiously peering in the mirror everyday to see if we have made any progress only to become frustrated with the fact that it takes a long time to regrow hair. Added to that is the frustration that comes along with not being able to style your hair during this stage. That is why many refer to hair regrowth as an "awkward stage."

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by: Geoff Gannon

Energizer Holdings (ENR) owns two of the world?s great brands: Energizer and Schick. Currently, about 70% of the company?s sales come from the battery business and 30% come from the razor and blades business. International sales (from both businesses) account for almost exactly half of all sales.

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by: Mark Clarkson

The Toyota Celica?s name is actually a Spanish word that means ?heavenly? or ?celestial?. This vehicle was originally crafted and designed for those people who were young at heart and also for those people who desired and longed for simple transportation. Planning for this vehicle started in 1967. This vehicle lived a ripe age up until 2004. During the time of its planning and design, the Toyota Celica sported a style that...

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by: Martin Smith

For year?s people who had both nearsightedness and farsightedness had to suffer with eyeglasses that had thick lenses with a line across them. Not only were the glasses heavy but the frames for glasses in general were to say the least, unattractive. The other problem with the bifocal lenses was adjusting to them. You either have to look up or look down especially going downstairs. People often experience...

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