A Quick Overview:

A Universal life insurance policy is a policy that contains two elements; pure life insurance and a savings element. Each month you pay your premium, the pure insurance portion is paid, then administration costs are taken out, and the rest goes into the policy's savings account.

Here are three features that make a universal life policy an attractive financial vehicle:

Flexibility

Universal life insurance policies were made to be flexible. As you pay your premium, most universal policies build cash value over time. Portions of the cash value can be withdrawn or borrowed if needed. If you aren't able to pay your premium, you can skip a premium and the policy will use the cash value to keep the pure insurance in effect. As long as there is enough cash value in the policy to pay the monthly premium, your policy will stay in force.

In addition to skipping payments, you can also pay more than needed each month, adding to the cash value of the policy. You can withdrawal the cash value at a future date, or use it to pay the pure insurance portion of the policy if times get tough.

Longevity

As long as the life portion of the policy is paid up, the policy will pay a death benefit. Unlike term life insurance, which cancels at the end of the pre-defined term, many universal life insurance policies can last for decades (until death), guaranteeing that a death benefit be paid to your beneficiary no matter when you pass.

Ability to Change the Death Benefit

Universal policies allow you to increase or decrease the death benefit/face amount if your needs change. Of course, if you request to increase the face amount, approval is subject to insurability (the increase has to be approved).




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When shopping for life insurance, there are two basic options: term or permanent life insurance. Term insurance will cover you for a certain amount of time. Permanent life insurance covers you for the duration of your life. One of the key selling points to this type of insurance is the "cash value". Let's look at what cash value is and how we can use it.

Along with your lifelong insurance coverage, a portion of your premiums goes towards a cash value account that grows over time. This account also happens to be tax deferred and earns interest.Your cash value will not grow particularly fast early on but after a several years it will begin to accumulate noticeably faster.

When your cash value grows to a point that is useful, you will have a couple options in how you can use best take advantage of it. First off, once you accumulate enough cash value, you can use it to cover your premium payments. This is called, paying up and is a popular use.

You can also access this cash value by taking out a bank loan against it. The advantage to this method is that these loans will have lower interest rates than a traditional bank loan. You are not even really obligated to pay the loan back. Once you pass on, the loan and any interest accrued will be subtracted from your beneficiaries death benefit so it is wise to repay the loan, or your beneficiaries will suffer.

Some people choose to make a partial or full withdrawal of their cash value. Depending on your policy this may reduce your death benefit. In the case of most universal life insurance policies the death benefit will be reduced on a dollar for dollar basis. If you had a $50 000 death benefit with a $10 000 cash value and you withdraw $5 000, then your death benefit would be $45 000.

When deciding on your life insurance, cash value is just one thing to consider. The cash value can be used in a number of flexible ways, that allow you to tap into your life insurance in times of need. When looking for life insurance, make sure you ask your broker about cash value and how it can benefit you.



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Accidents are a very valid concern for everyone. They are the situations that arise at the most unexpected times and inconvenience each individual terribly. The damages that are caused by each accident are varied in their extent ranging from very minor incidents to devastating catastrophes. Accidents are not only of the vehicular kind, being caught in a freak rainstorm without an umbrella is also an accident of sorts. Preparing for every situation life is going to throw at you can be very difficult. There are certain situations that can occur that you never even considered would happen to you. But just because life has thrown you a curve ball does not mean you cannot go on living. In fact, life really waits for no one. That is the reason why we get insurances. These are contingency measures that we take to protect ourselves from serious expenses that may befall us.

There are several different types of insurances that you can get - life, home or building, car or auto, contents, etc. All these policies are designed in different ways to help you prepare for the future, just in case something was to happen to your life or your house or your car. Every individual needs to get a life insurance policy. It is to protect your family from having to deal with the financial loss that will be coupled with the emotional loss if you were to die. This is important especially if you are the breadwinner of the family. Your loss can be a major blow that your family will find emotionally very difficult to deal with. Do you really want them to be in financial problems too?

Getting life insurance is not as expensive as people might think. Yes, there are a number of policies that can be very pricey and have very high monthly or annual premiums but there are those that are cheap enough to be affordable for the average Joe. The way to get the cheapest premium on this sort of policy is to take quotes from all the different companies before you make your choice. In fact, if you hire an agent, he or she will make sure that you get the best policy at the cheapest premium. You can even avail certain discounts and offers that the agent may be able to get for you.

If a full policy is too expensive for you then you can even opt for a Term Policy. This is a policy that has a coverage validity for a specific term that can be anywhere between 1 year to 20 years even. These policies are way cheaper than the full type because they have a set expiry period. If anything happens to your life during this period then your family will be able to make a claim. Also, if you live past the expiry date then you will no longer be covered. Each of the policies has a number of different terms and conditions that you can get from the company or from your agent.



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A successful insurance company used to rely on reputation to attract customers. It built its business on the pillars of reliability, trust, personal service, price, and effective processing of claims - not necessarily in that order.

But that was before the internet changed the way of doing business worldwide. Companies that recognised the need to go online did so to attract a new target audience - the youth, and those forward-thinking individuals who were not intimidated by technology or conducting financial transactions online. Those insurance giants who could not transform that fast are mired in red tape, mounds of paperwork, outdated forms and lengthy decision-making processes.

The insurance company that builds its business online has the advantage of being able to respond quickly to demands for new products, customising solutions to suit a broad range of customers who want quick, effective service at the best price - yesterday!

Buying insurance online is simple. Request a quote for the product that appeals to you, whether it's cover for your life, critical illness, accidental death or work disability. All you need do is type in your answers on an electronic form and submit it. You'll receive a quote in less than 60 seconds, with the assurance of a money-back guarantee if you find the same cover anywhere else for less. What's more, premiums are up to 50 per cent cheaper and you get cash back after 10 years. That money is tax free and you can use it at your discretion.

If you like what you see, the online insurance company makes it possible for you to buy the policy in just a few minutes, without the need for a medical examination.


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Also known as life insurance, life assurance amounts to a contract between the insured (the policy holder) and the insurer (the company providing the insurance). Primarily, it is a form of cover that provides for the payment of a sum of money to a specified beneficiary or beneficiaries upon the death of the insurance policy holder. It can also serve as a monetary safeguard when it comes to debilitating illnesses or perhaps a serious accident that renders the insured unable to earn a living.

In other words, life assurance equates to financial protection against death, critical or terminal illnesses and disability, and typically it involves the payment of monthly premiums in exchange for a policy that guarantees such protection. The policy pay-out is usually in the form of a lump sum cash amount but can also be in the form of payments made at regular intervals as agreed to in the contract.

Usually, life insurance is taken out by the bread winner or bread winners in a family who want to ensure that their dependents will be supported financially in the event of their being unable to continue providing such support themselves in the future. In the case of critical or terminal illnesses, or of work disability resulting from an accident, say, life assurance pay-outs are in part at least to cover or help cover the cost of medication, hospitalisation and the various care givers required by the insured. Whereas in the case of insurance structured to provide cover in the event of one's demise, the benefit has to do with 'peace of mind', giving the policy holder the assurance that should he or she pass away the financial consequences of such a death would be relieved in part or entirely by way of the insurance pay-out and the effect on the deceased's family and/or other dependents would be less dire.


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The best way to save on your insurance policy is to know what you want and to some degree what is available and the difference between policies. There are ways for you to save money on these policies and still get the best coverage for you and your family.

Of course when you are finding a policy, your state of health is going to be big factor in your decision. If you are going into this being a healthy individual then you should probably stay away from those insurance firms that offer policies that don't demand medical checks. These policies are more expensive because they are at risk of losing more. Because of this risk, they have to pass on the cost to you. Clearing a medical checkup for a cheaper policy is the way to go for a healthier person.

Depending on your goals for this life insurance policy, if you have shorter term thoughts you may want to look into having a term policy. The premiums may be higher but you will benefit more from these whole life insurance policies offering terms spanning from five to twenty years and you can access the funds whenever you need to. It may be more to begin with but you will save money in the end.

The third point is to look for those policies that have the least amount of fees tacked on. These are called 'no load' or 'low-load' policies. You may have to look at the fine-print on these, but they can save you a lot of money in the end.



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To discover the type and amount of insurance that is right for you there needs to be some extra logic and planning in your thinking. You really need to think about the purpose for which you are buying life insurance.

Generally life insurance is purchased to replace the income of one of the members of a family just in case something happens, whether an illness or even worse, a death. This insurance will be there to ease up those troubled times and cover expenses that otherwise could not be paid for.

If you are married, buying enough insurance to cover major expenses such as the mortgage may be sufficient because the other person's income if they work might cover the other costs. However, if the other person cannot work, or if you are a single parent, you might want to consider buying more insurance because if other expenses are not covered they will either leave your spouse in poor financial shape, or leave the bills to your children. For those that are single with no children, purchasing enough insurance to cover debts and leftover expenses may be the right option.

Another point of life insurance for those on the wealthier side of the equation is for those who would like to make charitable donations after dying. This is one way to make sure that this donation actually does occur without any hassle.



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