Life Insurance

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Life and supplemental plans

There’s a sense of well-being that comes with knowing you’re prepared for the unexpected. With a broad range of life and supplemental plans, Nsure N'save has an option to help protect your family’s finances.

Types of Life Insurance

Term life insurance polices are the simplest, most popular, and the most often purchased, but; in the life insurance menu of options it's not the only choice.  There are actually many different types of insurance policies to choose from. Here's a Life Insurance 101 look at some of the basic types of life insurance policies explained. Today, there is a wide variety of life insurance available, the most basic of which are term and permanent. Within each of these categories, however, there are many different types of life insurance to choose from so that coverage can be more “custom” designed to fit your specific needs.

Term Life Insurance Policies

Term life insurance is considered to be the most basic of life insurance that can be purchased. This is because term life offers just pure death benefit protection only, without any cash value builds up within the policy. Because of this, term life insurance is often very affordable – especially for those applicants who are younger and in good health at the time they apply for the coverage.

With term life insurance, coverage is purchased for a certain length of time, such as for ten years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years – and in some cases, even longer.  Typically, when purchasing a level term life insurance policy, the amount of the premium will remain the same throughout the period that the policy is in force. Provided that the insured survives throughout the time period of the policy, and he or she wishes to remain covered by life insurance, they will need to re-qualify for a new policy at their then-current age and health status. At that time, the premium on a new life insurance policy may be quite a bit higher. In some cases, a term life insurance policy may have an option to convert the coverage over into a permanent life insurance plan.

Increasing and Decreasing Term Life Insurance Coverage

On some types of term life insurance, the death benefit will go down over time. These are known as decreasing term life insurance policies. (The premium, however, will usually remain the same). With a decreasing term policy, the policy ends when the death benefit reaches zero.  An individual may want to purchase a decreasing term life insurance policy to cover the balance of their unpaid mortgage. Each year, as the amount of the mortgage balance decreases, so does the amount of the insurance coverage – until eventually both will end.

Permanent Life Insurance Coverage

Permanent life insurance is different from term insurance because it offers both death benefit protection, as well as a cash value component. It also differs because, as the name suggests, it does not have a time limit like term insurance, but rather is intended to last for the remainder of the insured's lifetime – provided that the premium is paid. There are many different types of permanent life insurance.

Whole Life Insurance Coverage

The simplest type of permanent life insurance coverage is whole life. With this type of coverage, the premium amount is locked in and will remain the same throughout the entire lifetime of the policy. This can be helpful for those who need to stick to a budget. It also means that if a person purchases a whole life policy at a very young age, they will still pay the same amount of premium when they get older – regardless of advancing age, or even an adverse health issue. In some cases, where a person's pre-existing conditions require the individual to buy high risk life insurance, some graded whole life policies are the only option.  The cash that is in the cash value component of a whole life insurance policy is allowed to grow on a tax-deferred basis. This means that the gain on these funds will not be taxed until or unless they are withdrawn – allowing them to compound exponentially over time.  Some whole life insurance policies will even provide dividends to their policyholders. Because these are considered to be a return of premium to the policyholder, they are also not taxed. Dividends can also help the cash value in a policy grow significantly – although they are never guaranteed.

Universal Life Insurance Coverage

Another form of permanent coverage is universal life insurance. This type of life insurance also provides a death benefit and a cash value component where the funds are allowed to grow tax-deferred.  Universal life insurance is more flexible than whole life coverage, though. This is because the policyholder is allowed – within certain guidelines – to choose how much of his or her premium dollars will go towards the policy's death benefit, and how much will go towards the policy's cash value.  Because universal life is a permanent life insurance policy, the policyholder will have access to their cash value account. So, just as with a whole life plan, the cash can be borrowed or withdrawn for any reason – including paying off debt, supplementing retirement income, or even going on a vacation.

Final Expense Life Insurance Coverage

Final expense life insurance coverage is often called burial insurance and is purchased by those who are considered “seniors,” or between the ages of 50 and 85 – although there are some insurance companies who will sell policies to applicants who are older. This type of coverage is typically geared towards those who want to ensure that their loved ones will not be saddled with the high cost of a funeral and other related expenses such as a headstone, burial, flowers, and memorial service.  Today, the average cost of such items nationwide can be in the range of $10,000 – an amount that many families just simply do not have readily available. So, a final expense life insurance policy can help.  Final expense coverage can be either term or permanent – and oftentimes the underwriting requirements are not stringent. Also, the premium cost for this type of coverage is usually not high, even though the applicants are usually older.

No Medical Exam Life Insurance Coverage

As its name implies, no medical exam life insurance coverage will not require that an applicant undergoes a medical examination as a part of the underwriting process. In many cases, when applying for life insurance, individuals must meet with a paramedical professional who will ask them in-depth health questions, and will also take from them a blood and a urine sample.

Because of this, those who have certain types of adverse health conditions may be denied for the life insurance that they need. But, with no medical exam coverage, they could be approved for the coverage that they need – and, because there are no medical underwriting requirements to contend with, these policies are often approved within just a day or two after application.

Understanding the “Cash Value”

When an insurance policy contains a guaranteed cash value for a guaranteed premium, it means that the premium is larger at the beginning of the policy than it would be in a term policy so that the additional premium can be invested in a “separate account” controlled by either the insurer or the policy holder in order to grow the cash value. Whatever gains are earned can be used in a few different ways: to increase the death benefit, to borrow against for some later use or to keep the policy in effect so that you can stop paying monthly premiums. If you have a cash value policy, it’s best to hold it until death or retirement so you can allow for probable gains.

Without life insurance, hard earned assets and savings that were intended for other purposes may have to be used for paying off debt, funding living costs, or paying the high cost of one's final expenses – which today can average more than $10,000 in some areas.

Getting a set of quotes on life insurance is as simple as filling out the form on this page.  Unfortunately getting quotes for all the different types of life insurance available to you is going to take talking to someone.  The quote form here on Nsure N'save is designed to only give out quotes that you  request.  While this works great for most people, if you really want to look at other forms of life policies then wait for the agent to contact  then ask them to do quotes for the different options you desire.  In the past, there were only a few types of life insurance policies to choose from. However, as time has passed, many insurers have added to their array of product options. This has allowed individuals and families to find coverage that is best for them and their budgets.  Ultimately you need to decide which type of life insurance policy is best for your needs.  Understanding how each one works will make sure you make the right decision.

With all of the many types of life insurance and carriers to choose from today, it can help to have an ally on your side who can help you choose the coverage that will fit your needs the best. So, contact us today – we're here to help.