life insurance & mony saving the best way!

More and more people are buying life insurance online and the numbers seem to be doubling every two years.The reasons are clear. Prices are lower on the Internet and life insurance is fundamentally a simple insurance product. 


Despite the underlying simplicity of life insurance, most web sites channel their online customers through a telephone based help and advice service manned by experienced personnel. They represent your safety net so if a little technical knowledge is called for, help is at hand. 

But it's always a good idea to have a few Top Tips in your back pocket when you're shopping online for life insurance.They'll help you ask the right questions and find the best policy. 

1) Always must have your Life Insurance policy "Written in Trust". 

This means that in the event of a claim, the money goes directly and immediately to the person(s) you nominate when you first take the policy out. It also avoids all possibility of your estate having to pay Inheritance Tax on the proceeds of your policy and that could represent a 40% tax saving ! 

All you have to do is tell the online brokerage organising your policy that you want your policy "Written in Trust" and the names of the people who the life insurance company pay in the event of a claim. They will then sort it all out for you. The extra good news is that this service is invariably free of charge. So it's a win win situation and there aren't many of those around these days ! 

2) In the early years a Reviewable Life Insurance Policy will be cheaper but a Guaranteed Policy will work out a better buy in the longer term. 

With a "Guaranteed Policy" the insurance company guarantees never to increase your policy's premium. 

With a "Reviewable Policy" you agree that your insurance company can review the cost of your policy at regular intervals. But don't be kidded - in our experience a "review" is just another word for a price increase.After all, who's ever heard of an insurance company passing up a chance to charge you more! The review intervals are usually between 2 to 5 years but this does vary between insurance companies.You will find the details of the review intervals on the documents sent to you before you accept the insurance - these are called The Key Features Documents. 

So, comparing otherwise like for like policies, in the early years the premiums for a "Reviewable Policy" will undoubtedly be lower than the premiums for a "Guaranteed Policy". Thereafter, the premiums for a Reviewable Policy increase eventually catching up with and overtaking, the premium for a "Guaranteed Policy". 

In our experience, you can expect the monthly premiums for a Reviewable Policy to exceed those of a Guaranteed policy in about seven to ten years and then within the following 10 years, more than double again. If your budget is currently tight then by all means choose a Reviewable Policy - after all your salary may increase in coming years and ease the strain. On the other hand, if the premiums for a Guaranteed Policy are affordable, we think they represent your best buy. 

A footnote. Many insurance companies have stopped offering "Guaranteed" rates for standalone critical illness insurance policies. This because they have experienced much higher claim rates than they initially expected. However, you may still find a Guaranteed life insurance policy that also provides critical illness cover. As we have explained, "Guaranteed" rates are especially good value and if you can get a quote for a Guaranteed life policy that includes critical illness cover, you may have a real bargain. 

3) Thinking about a Joint Life Insurance Policy? 

A Joint Life Insurance policy is usually written on a first death basis.This means that the policy will pay out on the death of the first policyholder, subject to the policy being in force at the time. This leaves the second person uninsured and older. Older people can struggle to get life insurance at an affordable premium, so rather than a Joint Policy consider taking out separate policies now. Overall it will work out a little dearer - but you get twice the cover and double the peace of mind.

4) Taking out a Life Insurance Policy? Now would be an ideal time to include Critical Illness cover. 

Are you likely to need Critical illness Insurance in the future? Yes?Then consider adding it now to the life insurance policy you're arranging. Why? There are three reasons. 

Firstly, a Life Insurance policy combined with Critical Illness cover will work out significantly cheaper than buying two separate policies. Secondly, as we have already explained in the footnote to 2nd Tip , you may be able to buy a combined Life and Critical Illness policy with a guaranteed premium. That could be a real bargain. Finally, premiums for critical illness cover increase rapidly as you get older - so the sooner you take it out, the cheaper it will be. 

5) Don't confuse Terminal Illness cover with Critical Illness cover. 

There's world of difference between Terminal Illness and Critical Illness cover so it's important to understand the difference. 
Terminal Illness cover pays out the insured lump sum if a Medical Doctor diagnoses you with an illness from which the Doctor expects you to die within 12 months. Most good life policies automatically include Terminal Illness cover at no extra cost. It's basically an early, and welcome policy payout. 
A Critical Illness policy pays out the insured lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of a wide range chronic illness and there is no life expectancy criteria. Indeed, with many of the insured illnesses you could expect to survive for many years. For example: certain cancers, heart disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, loss of speech, sight or hearing, onset of Parkinsons or Alzheimers disease, third degree burns etc. Say you were an engineer aged 40 and you lost your sight. A Critical Illness policy would pay out immediately and that money could well be vital in helping you and your family through many difficult financial years ahead. If you just had Terminal Illness cover there'd be no chance of a payout. 
So as you can see, Critical Illness cover is far more comprehensive than simple Terminal Illness cover and for that reason critical illness cover always costs you extra.

Life insurance & life assurance are not same!

The average man in the street assumes that Life Insurance and Life Assurance are names for the same form of insurance.How wrong they are! But don't hang your head in shame, many financial commentators get it wrong too! Life Insurance and Life Assurance perform different financial roles and are poles apart in cost  so it helps to surf for the rite product.

Life Insurance provides you with insurance cover for a specific period of time (known as the policy's "term"). Then, if you were to die whilst the policy is in force, the insurance company pays out a tax-free sum. If you survive to the end of the term, the policy is finished and has no residual value whatsoever.It only has a value if there is a claim - in that context it's just like your car insurance!

Life Assurance is different. It is a hybrid mix of investment and insurance. A Life Assurance policy pays out a sum equal to the higher of either a guaranteed minimum underwritten by the policy's insurance provisions or it's investment valuation. The value of the investment element is then a reliant on the Insurance Company's investment performance and length of time you have been paying the premiums.

Each year the insurance company adds an annual bonus to the guaranteed value of your life assurance policy and there is normally an extra "terminal bonus" at the end. Therefore, as the years go by your life assurance policy increases in value as the investment bonuses accumulate.The value of these bonuses are then determined by the insurance company's investment performance. Once investment value has been assigned to the policy, you can cash it in with the insurance company. However, most people get a far better price for their life assurance policy by selling it to a specialist investment broker rather than cashing it in with the insurance company.

If you were to die during a Life Assurance policy's term, the policy pays out the higher of either the guaranteed minimum sum or the accumulated value of the annual investment bonuses. However, if you are still living when the policy terminates, you usually get a bigger payout.This is because with most insurance companies, an additional terminal bonus is awarded.

There is a also a specialised form of life assurance called "Whole of Life". These policies remain in force for as long as you live and as such, have no preset term.

There is also a practical difference for the internet user. Whereas you can buy life insurance online, the Financial Services Authority view life assurance as fundamentally an investment product. As such they believe it is best suited to being sold by a Financial Adviser with advice based on the Advisors full understanding of your personal details. Therefore, you will be unable to buy life assurance online. However, you can use the internet to find a suitable financial adviser with whom you can meet and discuss your requirements.

What are Life Insurance polices and Life Assurance policies used for?

Life Insurance is usually a focal point of the family's financial protection.It is ideally suited to ensure that known debts such as a mortgage, are repaid in full in the event of the policyholders death.

When it comes to providing a lump sum for general use in the event that the policyholder were to die whilst the policy was in force, either life insurance or life assurance can be used. The differences are that with life insurance the size of payout would be preset whereas with life assurance it would depend on the guaranteed minimum and the insurance company's investment performance. But remember, at the end of the policy's term life insurance is worthless, whereas life assurance should payout a sizeable investment sum. In this context Life Assurance seems far more worthwhile but in practice more people elect for life insurance. Why? It's a matter of cost. Life Insurance is considerably cheaper than Life Assurance. Furthermore, in recent years, investment returns on Life Assurance policies have fallen significantly and many insurance companies have placed penalties for cashing in policies early.This has adversely affected the resale value of Life Assurance policies.

Finally, if you want a product to provide a lump sum on your death whenever that is with a minimum payout guaranteed, you'll probably elect for Whole of Life insurance. It's really a form of lifetime investment with the benefit of a guaranteed minimum.They're particularly useful for Inheritance Tax Planning.

Best life insurance quote

Your life insurance quote is primarily dependant on a number of personal factors, namely your health,family history, lifestyle and age.It's not possible to physically change any of these factors and you definitely shouldn't lie about any of them when applying for a life insurance quote. However, there are ways you can ensure that you get the best deal out of your life insurance quote. It is important to remember, though, that we aren't talking about the cheapest life insurance quote.This is because the easiest way to get the cheapest life insurance quote is to exclude a number of factors from your policy. This may not give you the coverage you need so you should be aiming to combine the best price with the best coverage for you.

What coverage do I need?
This is a very important question and that you shouldn't answer on the spare of the moment or without careful consideration for your circumstances. By taking out a cheap life insurance policy that offers you very little in the way of coverage you are putting your family and their livelihoods at risk. Of course, nobody can answer the question properly except you. You know, or can work out, how much money your family will need to bury you and to replace your lost income. You know how much money your family needs to live on and how much the mortgage and bills cost. You should carefully consider all of these before deciding how much coverage you really need     life insurance quote.

By this point you should have all the information you need regarding the level of coverage and other factors. This information is what your life insurance quote will be based on so you need to double check everything to make sure you are going to get exactly what you need and exactly what your family need. If you aren't the money earner,or one of the money earners in your house and you don't have young children then you only really need to cover the cost of being buried whereas being the carer of young children of being the principle wage earner will necessitate a much larger level of coverage and, therefore, a more substantial payout.

When you have the answer to all of these questions you should shop around as much as possible. Clearly express exactly what you want from your policy and make sure that this is what is being offered. If it isn't then the life insurance quote you are getting is not for the life insurance policy you need. Always compare your quotes on a like for like basis or you are unlikely to be getting the best deal you can

Feature of term life insurance

There are two main types of life insurance that are available to everyone; there is whole life insurance and term life insurance. Many people are unaware even of the existence of term life insurance, which is a shame because term life insurance is usually much cheaper than the whole life insurance equivalent.If you are a shrewd investor then term life insurance could be just the option you are looking for. It can work out thousands of dollars cheaper every year giving you that extra money to invest yourself. Insurance companies are normally very conservative when investing your money;some people like this while others prefer a more risky but greater return investment opportunity.

Cost
The obvious advantage of taking a term life insurance policy over a whole life insurance policy is the cost.Often a term life insurance policy will cost you hundreds of dollars a year but a similar whole life insurance policy can cost as much as thousands.In fact, there are some term life insurance policies that will cover you to the value of $100,000 over a ten year term that cost less than ten dollars a month. Obviously, similar factors are taking into consideration when applying for term life insurance as they are when applying for whole life insurance; factors such as health, family history, lifestyle and age.

Flexibility
Term life insurance offers you a greater level of flexibility over it's whole life insurance counterpart.For less money you are able to take out short 10,20 or 30 year plans and you are able to determine the exact level of cover that this offers. You may have a four year-old son and a partner who has opted to stay at home and look after him. Right now he is dependant on your earning money to feed, clothe and care for him but in twenty years he will have finished school, finished college and hopefully got himself a job.This means he is no longer your dependant and you may not need to make financial allowances for him in your life insurance. Alternatively, your mortgage may expire in 10 years. You won't need to pay to cover your mortgage once it has been fully paid up.

Investment
A term life insurance policy costs you hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a year less than a whole life insurance policy.This means that you can invest your money yourself instead of relying on the insurance company to do so. Insurers are typically very conservative when investing your money, so by taking a term life insurance policy you are able to be a little less strict over the type of investment you choose affording you a greater potential to make more money.

Long term reliable insurance

Most young people ignore the reality that they will grow old 1 day. It is the wise ones who not only think about it but also provide for their future. Statistics show us that almost one out of two Americans require long term care when they grow old. Due to immobility and illness people become dependant on families and institutions to carry out normal daily activities such as dressing and bathing.

Long-term care refers to a system where this can be taken care of in your own home, a hospital, a home center or an assisted living facility. It could be a fact to many who have led a strong and active life earlier. This is why its importance is growing each day. Most Medicare programs and State Medicaid programs do not provide the necessary facilities for payment. Some only cater to those who fall below the poverty line. Therefore, it is prudent to consider applying for a Long Term Care Insurance policy early in life.

If you have worked all your life and have made a substantial saving, then perhaps you can fund your own long-term care. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky and therefore long-term care insurance is very vital to secure a safe future especially for those who have a history of health problem in the family.

Like for any other policy, it is best that you know all the details prior to buying one. Often times, people forget that premiums for life insurance policies increase over time. This makes it difficult to pay especially when there is no enhancement of the financial situation.Thus, policies are cancelled when they are needed most because policyholders cannot continue to pay high premiums. It is easy to get drawn into buying a policy because market savvy sales executives make it sound so easy. But, it is up to the individual and insurance advisors to properly instruct prospective customers.

One sure way of protecting yourself is to be sure of all the terms and conditions given in the long term care insurance policy document.If the insurance sector is not your cup of tea; you could hire an agent or a broker who will act on your behalf. They will be experts on quotes, claims, processes and other issues. You need to also be careful on selecting the right broker at the right cost. Long-term care insurance not only provides security for you, but for the entire family.So you can take their advice before buying a policy. Remember, to choose an insurance company that is reputable and trustworthy. You can take it for granted that sales people will only state the benefits of a policy. They will not tell you the flip side of the story. Do not rely on brochures and other sales oriented literature to make your decision.

To summarize, a long-term care insurance policy can be used for different types of long term care such as skilled nursing, intermediate nursing and custodial care. The kind of care you choose largely depends on your physical health and situation. This kind of insurance is definitely worthwhile and affordable when you think of life beyond sixty five years of age

Auto takaful (auto insurance)

Before signing an auto insurance contract, we are involved in understanding some basic terms related to the auto insurance policy.The phrase "your covered auto" also applies to several other particular circumstances. 

Mostly, physical damage coverage will apply to newly acquired vehicles (whether additional or replacement vehicles) only if you request the coverage within 30 days of the acquisition. However, liability coverage for a replacement vehicle is automatically provided until the end of the policy time.

The liberalization clause states that if the insurance company makes a change to its criteria form which provides broader coverage without a premium charge (for example, if it drops a policy exclusion), that change will automatically apply to your policy on the date the change goes into effect in the insured's state. This simply eliminates the need of the insurance company to endorse all existing policies when coverage is expanded without a change in premium.

Cancellation is an important issue. In most states, the reasons for which an insurance company is permitted to cancel a policy are limited-if the policy has been in effect for at least 60 days or is a renewal policy.

The general agreement is a very brief statement. It means simply that all of the remaining provisions of the contract (the policy terms) apply. The reason that the general agreement is so brief is that each coverage section contains a much more detailed insuring agreement.

Exclusions involve some of the most heated-and most often litigated-disputes over insurance language.Some exclusions exist simply to remove coverage for above-average risk factors which are not anticipated in average rates and premiums, and that the coverage is often available for an additional charge.

This is the case with respect to audio, visual and data equipment and the tapes, records, and other media used with such equipment. The basic policy form excludes coverage because these are items of value which have an above-average exposure to theft losses (they are easily removed and are often targets for thieves).

On the other hand, some people want specific drivers excluded from coverage. These special exclusions have become increasingly common in recent years. 

Liability is probably the most important kind of automobile insurance. It covers moneys owed when one automobile driver causes bodily injury to another person or damage to another person's property.

Injury or damage suffered by a driver who causes an accident is not a matter of legal liability. Being liable means being legally responsible for damages suffered by a third party (someone other than the driver or owner of the vehicle).

If a driver who causes injury or damage suffered by another person can be shown to be at fault, that driver may be held liable for the accident.

In other words, if one driver is liable for an accident, then the other party may be entitled to compensation for injuries or damage or both. Compensation may be in the form of money paid to the injured party for tangible damages (such as a medical bill or the cost to repair a damaged vehicle) and/or money paid for intangible damages.

life adjustment

The life adjustment industry was propelled into popularity by the viatical adjustment industry. History has shown us that the early adopters of life adjustment were those who were suffering from AIDS and who had only a couple of years to live. They sold their insurance policies assuming they would get immediate cash in return from the person who bought it. When medical breakthroughs found their way to fight the AIDS virus, these senior citizens lost out because they had to pay premiums for a long time.Some fraudulent companies also resorted to marketing this concept in order to make a fast buck by giving senior citizens the hope of further investment.

Life settlement occurs when the holder of a policy willingly sells the same for a price to the buyer, who then becomes the sole owner of the policy. The new buyer has to pay for the premiums from the date of purchase. It is common for senior citizens above the age of sixty-five to opt for life settlement, especially if there has been a negative (-ve) change in their health situation. The immediate cash option is attractive because the seller is then able to fund his medical bills and take care of other responsibilities.

If you are planning a life adjustment then it is best to take advise from experts who know the market. Accountants, Charitable Trust Officers, Financial Planners and Attorneys are just some of the people you can contact. Since they know the regulations and formalities involved, you will be able to make a more informed decision. The idea behind life settlement is to get a high bid for your policy. This could take a lot of work if you are working alone. A broker is sometimes arranged to find the right seller who can offer a fair market value. The benefit of hiring a broker is that you can get bids from different sellers. Thus you can choose the most favourable bid among the offerings. It sometimes becomes necessary to provide your medical history in order to secure a good bid.

Once the life settlement bid is accepted by the buyer, he then returns any confidentail papers that he might have taken for verficaiton. Change of ownership forms are then exchanged and the final deal is closed.

Some authorized life settlement agents are Action Advisors Inc, Advanced Settlements Inc, Allsettled Group Inc, Berkshire adjustments Inc, Brown & Brown Associates PC, Darrell L Tate, Don Karns Insurance Agency Inc, Fairmarket Life Settlements Corp, etc. To find an agent in your area there are several listings on the Internet. Brokers will also give you a free consultation so you can freely and confidentially discuss your financial situation.

To summarize, a life adjustment is done when a person wants to sell his or her policy in return for cash. The reasons behind this could be high premiums, medical problems, employment changes, bankruptcy, etc. It is wise to be well informed about the process and even more important to find a broker or a financial advisior who can make your life settlement worth your while.