It's an unfortunate fact of life, but each of us is going to die
someday. In the back of people's minds is that if they buy life
insurance, it will somehow hasten their demise. Not smart. And
not true.
Remember the Boy Scout's motto "Always be Prepared". With that
in mind, you can calmly surf the internet and look for the life
insurance policy that best suits your needs, and your budget.
There are four types of life insurance you can get. There are
three types of permanent life insurance and a term life
insurance. Of the three permanent life insurance polices, the
one with the most guarantees is traditional whole life
insurance, but most have guaranteed and non-guaranteed portions.
There are different riders that you can include but be sure to
include the waiver of premiums rider in your life insurance
quote. This rider suspends your premium payments and keeps your
policy active should you be unable to work.
Here is a basic overview of the 4 types of Insurance.
Whole Life Insurance Policy
If you're not a risk taker, then whole life insurance is for
you. But what do you ask for when you want a whole life
insurance quote? You should ask if the annual premium is
guaranteed and there is guaranteed minimum cash value and death
benefits. Almost all whole life insurance policies are
"participating". This means they earn dividends and the
dividends can be applied to reduce the premium, increase death
benefits, and can be refunded or to increase the cash value.
Universal Life Insurance
Universal life insurance is the most flexible of all. Premiums
can vary year to year and can even be skipped. It has maximum
guaranteed benefits and minimum cash values and death benefits.
Variable Life Insurance
Variable life insurance has fewer guarantees so it has the
greatest potential for cash value increases. There are required
guaranteed annual premiums and minimum guaranteed death benefit.
There isn't a guaranteed cash value and you have your choice of
investments such as mutual funds.
Term Life Insurance
Term Life insurance is the easiest to understand. Terms can be
5,10 or 20 years. Premiums can increase yearly and even decrease
for a period. If you die, you collect, it's that simple. If you
stop making premium payments, you become uninsured.
Choose the path that makes the most sense for you, your family
and your budget.
About the author:
Bob Buckham is webmaster of
http://www.canadalifeco.com and has
been contributing insurance and mortgage articles to the finance
industry for years.
