Term Life Insurance

Life insurance is important for a number reasons. Many people buy life insurance to provide financial security for their families if they pass away unexpectedly. Other people buy life insurance to cover the costs of their own funeral and thereby avoid burdening friends and loved ones at such a difficult time. Life insurance is a wise investment for almost anyone.

Term life and whole life are the two main types of life insurance policies. Term life policies are the least expensive, and the amount of the monthly premium does not change throughout the duration of the policy – but read the fine print carefully, just in case. When the policy expires, the individual can purchase a new term policy. Some particular kinds of term life policy do not require a physical exam, and they can be valid for 10-30 years. This usually depends on the prospective policy holder’s health and age.

In contrast, whole life policies pay benefits whenever the policy holder passes away, and do not expire. Whole life policies are more expensive, but they offer the advantage of being valid for the policy holder’s entire life. And, if the policy holder gets a little tight on money, funds can be borrowed against a whole life policy. The interest rate is quite low, and sometimes the funds don’t even need to be repaid. As with term policies, the monthly premium is pre-established and does not change. Some whole life policies are set up to produce dividends for the policy holder, and many people use this as a tax advantage.

All the information you need about these various types of life insurance policies is available online. A quick search in any search engine will yield hundreds of online providers who are willing to provide near-instantaneous quotes. You an also find related pages that help you make direct comparisons among the offers, and that offer information about the various companies’ reputations.

Sometimes policy holders can sell their policies to another person. This procedure is known as a life insurance settlement, and the only hesitation one should have is to make sure that the amount of money received in exchange for the policy is at least as great as the policies “cash surrender value.” Sometimes these settlements are further classified as viatical life settlements and senior life settlements. A viatical life settlement is one where the transfer of the policy for cash occurs before the policyholder’s death. A senior life settlement is one where the policy holder is more than 65 years of age. When performing a senior life settlement, the policy holder will have to complete special forms and complete medical examinations for the life insurance company.