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Life InsuranceAlthough most people are familiar with life insurance before they graduate from high school, many do not understand the complexity the life insurance industry or the various types of coverage they can purchase. It's important to understand the differences before you can make an informed decision concerning the purchase of a life insurance policy.The most common type of policy, and the one that most people think of when you mention life insurance, is the full life, or whole life policy. With this type policy, the insured pays on the policy until he or she dies. This is the most expensive policy because it has dividends attached to it as well as a loan or cash surrender value. It's a good investment if you are looking for a combination life insurance policy and savings account, but you have to hold the policy at least five years for the loan or cash surrender value to become worthwhile. Term life insurance, unlike whole life insurance, has a set number of years after which the policy is paid in full. At that time, you either convert the policy to a whole life policy or cash it in for the face value. The advantage to this type of insurance is that it is much less expensive than whole life, and for those who are looking for life insurance without the frills and extra expense of dividends, this is a good alternative. The disadvantage of this type of policy is that if you take a twenty-year policy at age 25 and want to convert it at maturity when you are forty-five, you will likely find yourself paying a higher premium than you would have if you took out a whole life policy at age twenty-five. You have to look at the big picture before you make the decision and determine how much you will pay for each policy over its term. It's possible that taking the term policy will still afford you enough of a savings that when you convert it, the extra premium amounts won't be that much of a set back. A third type of policy is for accidental death. Although these are usually policies one purchases through an employer, they are still available. They are limited, however, and their purchase is just as stated. These policies pay the beneficiary in case the insured dies as the result of some type of accident. Whatever kind of life insurance you choose, it's important to consider the needs of your family before you do so. Look at your financial situation and determine how much insurance is needed, which tends to be usually two to three times the annual salary. In other words, if you earn $30,000 annually, you should have at least $60,000 - $90,000 in life insurance. You also want to determine if you want to pay extra for whole life insurance or put that savings into an interest-bearing savings account. This may be a good time to utilize the services of a financial advisor in order to determine which option is best to guarantee a future for your family if something happens to you. |
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