A basic type of permanent life insurance is when the premiums are paid, to cover the policyholder over the course of their entire life.

With reference to your Group Life Insurance, your employer will deduct your premiums with your permission from you pay check.

Insurance Companies will base your life insurance premiums on several factors:

• Age
• Health problems
• Occupation
• Hobbies
• Habits

• Choose a company with a good reputation and past history.
• Choose a company that offers the product and features that meet your needs
• Find out what state the insurance company is licensed. Be sure to know the full name, home office location and affiliation of any company you are considering.
• Choose a company that is likely to be financially sound for many years, by using ratings from independent rating agencies.
• Choose a life insurance company that will communicate with you and who is attentive to your needs.
• Check the national database to see what complaint information it has on the insurance company.The state insurance department will be able to tell you if there has been many consumer complaints about its service relative to the number of policies it sold.
• The premium and cost of your insurance contract is important so you should compare similar insurance plans based on: Your age, the type of policy, the policy features and the amount of insurance you are purchasing

Visit the State Department of Insurance web site to get the information you need about any insurance company.

The beneficiary should get a claim form from the insurance company. The insurance company will need, the name of the insured, a policy number and a certified copy of the death.

The beneficiary will have choice of ways to receive a death benefit. Settlement options could include the following:

• A lump sum payment
• An installment payment usually with interest
• A checking account where the beneficiary receives a check book and can withdraw money when need
• The insurance company could hold the benefits and pay interest

You generally do not have to pay income tax on death benefits.

Get advice from your lawyer or account on this matter.

Some basic questions to ask your agent to guide you through the process are:

• How much will this life insurance policy cost me each year
• How much is the Sales commissions
• How much am I charged for Administrative fees
• What is the future life insurance cash value
• How much will I pay for penalties for an early surrender of this life insurance policy
• When do the penalties stop for early surrender
• What is guaranteed in this life insurance policy
• Are interest rates declared monthly or annually
• How long should I plan to keep this life insurance policy
• Should I keep it for a few years or for decades

Take your time to decide before you sign any forms and talk to one other person in your family or a friend.

Mortgage Life Insurance is sold by insurance companies. It is called mortgage insurance but it is really a decreasing term life insurance that will pay off your mortgage if you die. You buy mortgage life insurance to protect your survivors from having to pay the mortgage.

The premium is structured where the policy begins with a death benefit that is equal to your current mortgage balance. The death benefit decreases at the same rate as your mortgage balance. The premium payments never change but may stop prior to the loan payment. The lender may agree to add the premium payments to your monthly mortgage payment.

The advantages to Universal Life Coverage are the policy has the potential for cash value to earn more than the minimum interest rate. Also the premium amounts and death benefits are flexible. You may be able to change the amount of your payments or your death benefit after you buy the policy. You can also increase your coverage by paying larger premium but you will be required to answer health questions or get a physical to increase the benefits on your policy.

It is possible that the cash value could grow faster than is needed to pay the cost of insurance. In most cases the policy holder can choose how that money is used. Talk to your agent about the options that are available.

Your Universal Life Insurance policy has 2 death benefit options:

1. Level death benefits is equal to the policy’s face value

2. Increasing death benefit is equal to the policy’s face amount plus the policy’s account value. The premiums will be higher for option 2.

Read and understand your policy.

The premiums are guaranteed to be the same for a given period of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years and is based on the cost of each year’s annual renewable term rates, therefore the longer the term, the higher the premium.

Most Level Term Life Insurance programs include a renewal option which allows the insured person to renew for a maximum guaranteed rate if the period needs to be extended. This clause is invoked only if the health of the insured deteriorates during the term.

Critical Illness Insurance covers you in case you become ill and you are diagnosed with the illness listed in this insurance policy. This policy would be very benefical if you become very ill because you can receive a lump sum cash payment . In some cases the policy could be structured to pay out regular income if you undergo a surgical procedure.

This policy may require that you must survivie a minimum number of days from the time when your illness was diagnosed. The survival period is usually 28 to 30 days.

You should read the fine lines in your policy to understand what illnesses your policy covers. The most common conditions would be: blindness, deafness, kidney failure, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, cancer, parkinson’s, major organ transplant, paralysis of limb, terminal illness, etc….

The finances received from this policy during a Critical Illness is usually used to: pay off debt, replace lost income, pay for recuperation aids, pay for costs of the care and treatment.

It would be financially wise to purchase a Critical Illness policy in conjuction with a Life Insurance policy. If you have not purchased a Critical Illness Policy you should consider talking to your insurance company.

This insurance is a non-life insurance policy. A General Insurance includes automobile, homeowner, pet, creditors, public liability workers comp, and other insurance policies

A General Insurance policy provides payments depending on the loss from a particular financial event.

First lets discuss what a critical insurance policy is. This type of policy is a contract, invented by Dr. Barnard, that pays a lump sum cash payment to the policy owner if diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses listed on the policy and survives a min. number of days after discovery. These policies have recently gained popularity in the USA. In the U.K. they are commonly purchased with a whole life insurance policy. I am consider purchasing this type of policy for my aging father, who’s concerned about getting Alzheimer’s disease. So my advice to you is yes, but please contact your insurance agent in your area for the details.

Sylvie Dupree,
Retired Life Insurance Agent