Best Life Insurance Quote - How to Recognize It

Rates cannot determine all

The bottom line when it comes to insurance is not the rate. Most rates are incredibly competitive when all of the factors are included. Anyway, what good is a low rate if the company that you are paying a low rate to does not pay when you file a claim? This would make those lower rates look really expensive. To make sure that you get paid when a claim is filed here are some quick tips that will help you select the best company along with the best rate.

Check the company history of complaints

Once a quote is received you may have more than one company to choose from. With the database access capabilities of the internet we can now search complaint records for just about any company in the world. This is especially true with insurance companies since there is a scare of fraud on the part of the insured and the insurer. Search for complaints on a national claims database to see if any of your potential companies has an excessive amount.

Keep in mind that all companies have had complaints at one time or another. Make sure that when you are doing these background checks that you take into account the number of policies that the companies have issued. For example if a company has 100 complaints but has issued over a million policies then it will be quite a bit more reputable than a company that has 25 complaints but that has only issued 13,000 policies. A great reference for checking these complaint ratios is your state insurance department.

If the company has a low amount of complaints it is because it is very likely to pay on any filed claims.

We hope these resources can help you get started and feel much more comfortable in analyzing your quote.

Save money by applying with our recommended insurance company.

Risks and Benefits of Variable Life Insurance

One of the most popular forms of life insurance is the variable life insurance policy. With variable life, one gets permanent insurance (like whole) along with the opportunity to isolate specific investment opportunities at which premiums are directed.

One can invest in any number of opportunities with a variable life insurance plan. In essence, the insured is able to control the investment of the policy’s cash value instead of relying upon the pre-established rate of return provided in a whole life solution. This makes variable life insurance very attractive to those who believe the rates of return offered by more traditional insurance policies can be easily outstripped with superior investment strategies.

However, variable life insurance policies carry with them a level of risk directly proportional to the skill of the investor and the quality of his or her decisions. Although variable policies create an opportunity for tremendous growth, they also allow a market decline to decimate the cash value of the policy. Fortunately, there is some safety net, as variable life policies will retain a death benefit that will not fall below the amount of insurance initially purchased. As such, even an errant investor cannot decimate the true insurance value of the policy, even though he or she may do tremendous harm to its cash value.

Absent consideration of the investment component, variable life policies are quite similar to whole life policies. In both cases, death benefits remain fixed, regular premiums are fixed and the insured can borrow against the cash value of the policy. Also, in both policy types the cash value accumulated by the policy is tax-deferred. The investment component inherent in variable life insurance policies requires they be considered a security by the federal government and a prospectus is issued for all variable life insurance policies. This “security” labeling does not significantly alter the behavior of the plan when compared to other insurance plans, however.

Variable policies provide an opportunity to retain appropriate levels of death benefits while having the simultaneous opportunity to invest premiums on one’s own in hopes of generating a higher cash value for the policy. This creates a tremendous potential upside for variable life insurance policies, but also opens the door for potential losses in cash value depending on investment performance. Although one will not see a change in death benefits if investments fail to adequately perform, they will see a decline in cash value that can significantly reduce the policy’s utility as a source of supplemental retirement income or as a means of handling financial emergency.

Alternatively, a savvy investor can use a variable life policy to create a sizeable retirement nest egg while deferring taxes until dispersal. Successful investment can produce a cash value for the policy that could conceivably dwarf the value of whole life policies. The flexibility of variable life insurance plans and the possibility of generating significant cash value gains makes them a very popular life insurance for those with the skills or insight to invest wisely.

Evan C. Davis works in Medicare customer service and is the webmaster and owner of Easy Insurance Finder. Find out about variable life insurance and online life insurance quotes at http://www.easy-insurance-finder.com.

Life Insurance Basics Getting Started

Let’s be honest. The topic of life insurance isn’t exciting or glamorous, but it is important. In fact, many experts consider life insurance to be the cornerstone of good financial planning.

But how do you know if you need life insurance? How much is enough? What kind of life insurance policy is best for you?

Answering these basic questions about life insurance will help to simplify the shopping process and ultimately allow you to select the best policy to secure your family’s future for years to come.

Establishing Your Needs

To clear up any misconceptions, life insurance is designed to protect your loved ones from financial loss in the event of your death. Knowing this, it’s important to establish whether you need life insurance and how much you should purchase.

According to MetLife you generally need life insurance if:

You have a spouse
You have dependent children
Relatives or elderly parents depend on your income
Your retirement funds are not enough to provide for your spouse’s future
You own a business
You have a large estate

The beneficiaries of your life insurance policy can use the proceeds from your life insurance to:

Pay for last expenses and funeral costs
Cover estate taxes (if applicable)
Pay off existing debts (mortgage, car loan, credit card debt)
Pay for everyday expenses (food, clothing, childcare)
Put towards your spouse’s retirement fund
Donate to charity

If you don’t have dependents, you may still wish to purchase a life insurance policy to avoid becoming a financial burden to your loved ones in the untimely event of your death. Young singles also benefit from purchasing life insurance while they’re young and healthy, allowing them to secure a low premium for years to come.

Choosing a Dollar Amount

Figuring out how much life insurance your loved ones would need to maintain their quality of living can be tough. Generally speaking, experts recommend purchasing between 5 and 10 times your annual salary. But, as MetLife points out, your exact need for life insurance will depend on your personal and financial circumstances.

You can get a ballpark estimate of your life insurance needs by first totaling the funds your family would need for the abovementioned items (funeral costs, daily living, etc.). You can find helpful worksheets online that will help you organize and come up with this list of expenses.

After you’ve totaled your expenses, take stock of the funds you have in cash, savings, retirement accounts, bonds, property, pension and Social Security. Subtracting your financial resources from your expenses will give you a rough idea of how much life insurance you should purchase.

When it comes to choosing how much life insurance to purchase, it’s a good idea to get an idea of your needs before buying a policybut your licensed life insurance professional will undoubtedly help you choose a dollar amount that accurately reflects the needs of your beneficiaries.

Selecting a Policy

Generally speaking, there are two types of life insurance: term life insurance and permanent life insurance. The type of policy you select will depend largely on your life insurance needs and what resources you have to pay life insurance premiums.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance, as the name suggests, will cover you for a specified amount of time, which means the insurer will only pay out a death benefit if you die during the term of your policy.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), most people purchase a 20-year term policy, although smaller terms are available. Of course, you can renew your term life policy after it expires, although your premiums may increase as you age. But all in all, because of the “temporary” nature of term life insurance, policies are generally much cheaper and are therefore an attractive option for young people and families with a limited income.

Permanent Life Insurance

On the other hand, permanent life insurance, as you might have guessed, is permanent. A permanent life policy will pay out a death benefit whether you die tomorrow or in 60 years.

Permanent life insurance is also an appealing option for many because of the added benefit of the policy growing on a tax-deferred basis, which can grow to be fairly large over time. As a policyholder, you may be able to borrow against this cash value while alive, which has been of great help to some. Of course, most loans need to be paid back otherwise they will be subtracted from the death benefit, and your beneficiaries may have to liquidate assets to pay back the loan.

Nonetheless, permanent life insurance offers a wide variety of saving and investment options. Because of this, policies are generally more expensive than term policies, which may be hard for young adults to handle.

Your life insurance professional will help you decide which type of policy is best for your life insurance needsand your budget. But researching these policy types beforehand can help you narrow down which policies appeal to you.

Knowledge is Power

No, learning about life insurance and planning for the unexpected isn’t glamorous, but it is important. So take advantage of consumer resources and talk to a life insurance professional about purchasing affordable life insurance. You’ll rest easier at night knowing your loved ones are taken care of for years to come!

About InsureMe

Megan L. Mahan is a copywriter and insurance information expert with InsureMe in Englewood, Colorado. InsureMe links agents nationwide with consumers shopping for insurance. Specializing in auto, home, health, long-term care and life insurance quotes, the InsureMe network provides thousands of agents with insurance leads every year. For more information, visit InsureMe.com.