Life
Insurance: Is It Worth It?
If
you have people depending on you, you must have had
fears of what would become of them if something were
to happen to you. You may have even come across insurance
agents trying to sell you some form of life insurance.
If you go online, especially on video content sites
like YouTube, you will be bombarded with all sorts
of information on the pros and cons of life insurance.
So, is life insurance worth it? The answer to this
question is not just a simple yes or no, mainly because
different types of insurance have and continue to
be subjects of debate for years. The question you
should ask yourself first is "do you know the
different types of life insurance?"
Well,
there are two main types namely temporary, commonly
referred to as 'term' and permanent life insurance.
To figure out what will work best for you, you need
to consider factors like your age, current employment
or financial status and your earning potential in
years to come. And by the way, your earning potential
or expenditure should also factor in your real
money casino gaming average wins and losses. Let
us consider the types of life insurance and what this
may mean for you:
Term
Life Insurance
This
is a temporary life insurance plan that is in force
for a specified number of years - usually, a term
of 10 to 30 years, and may lapse if the policyholder
is still alive at the end of the term. Now, do not
freak out yet: depending on the terms in the contract,
you may be able to convert your term to permanent
life insurance and continue making premium payments.
More on that later. There are different sub-categories
of term policies based on the payment plan to evaluate
if you're considering one.
*
Level premium: here, you pay a standard premium
every year for the entirety of the policy period.
*
One-year renewable term: this covers you for a
year at a time, and the payment amount just keeps
growing for every year that you renew. This means
that over time, the total amount paid may be much
higher than a level premium.
*
Return of premium: a unique term policy that rather
than an all-or-nothing deal as with the others pays
you back some amount if you outlive the term period.
The premiums are obviously high here and, depending
on the company, if your financial status changes and
the policy lapses, you may get only a tiny bit if
any from your accrued premiums.
*
Guaranteed issue: requires really high premiums
since there is an assumption that you are a high-risk
case with preexisting health conditions. In other
words, you have a higher mortality rate.
Permanent
Life Insurance
Unlike
term life insurance, permanent life insurance does
not expire and is in force until the day you die as
long as your premium payments are up to date at the
time of your demise. You can borrow against your premium
savings but not as soon as you purchase the policy.
Insurance companies are usually very cautious when
it comes to being defrauded in the form of unpaid
interests on the loan, and they will not hesitate
to terminate
your policy and all coverage if they smell anything
fishy. There are two main types namely:
*
Whole life insurance: the most popular type of
life insurance with a cash value that increases over
time. If you like to be sure of the future, this is
the policy for you. You can take advantage of your
most active working years and choose to pay huge premiums
for a short period to avoid future problems when you
are older with less earning potential.
*
Universal life insurance: offered primarily in
the US and contains an investment element and flexible
premiums. It's ideal for investors or business savvy
individuals looking to protect their liabilities and
businesses or plan their estates if anything were
to suddenly happen to them. Just remember that while
you can change your premiums and payment terms at
any time, so can the insurer, and so it is vital to
go through the contract and create an ironclad document
that will not hurt you in the future, causing your
policy to lapse.
Final
Thoughts
Whatever
your needs at this moment, take time to go through
different scenarios before settling on a life insurance
policy. It can be quite rewarding if you make the
right choice for yourself from the word go.
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