Life Insurance
6 Reasons to Buy Whole Life Insurance or Term Life Insurance
quality term or whole life insurance coverage is important, especially if there are people in your life whose financial stability depends on your income. Many financial experts even consider life insurance to be the foundation of sound financial planning. Find out six reasons why you should purchase whole life insurance or term life insurance to protect your family and loved ones.
1. Income for Dependents
If people in your life depend on your income for financial support, having a whole life insurance or term life insurance policy in place will protect them in the event of your death. Life insurance can replace your income for your dependents so they aren’t left bearing the financial burden of an income lost through death. This applies most often to parents with young children, but is also applicable to couples if the death of one partner would leave the survivor financially stricken. If your parents, adult children, or siblings are your dependents, life insurance can also provide replacement income to benefit them. And, if your surviving spouse or domestic partner’s government or employer-sponsored benefits will see a reduction after your death, having life insurance to replace your income can definitely be useful.
2. Coverage for Final Expenses
Funeral and burial costs can be expensive, but your life insurance can cover the costs. Carefully planned life insurance will also provide funds to cover mortgages and other expenses. Debts and medical expenses not covered by health insurance can also be covered by your life insurance. Life insurance offers protection to the dependents you leave behind, since it can sometimes be utilized as a cash resource.
3. Create Inheritance
Life insurance can allow you to create an inheritance for your immediate relatives or heirs. Even if you don’t have any other significant assets to pass onto your surviving family or loved ones, you can create an inheritance by naming your heirs as beneficiaries in your life insurance policy.
4. Pay Estate Taxes
Rather than leaving your surviving family to take a smaller inheritance or do away with some assets, have a quality life insurance policy in place so the benefits can pay estate taxes. Some life insurance plans provide tax free cash that can be used to pay estate taxes and death duties.
5. Create Source of Savings
Your life insurance can become a sort of savings plan since some types of insurance can create a cash value that is available for withdrawal upon the owner’s request. Another benefit of this “forced” savings plan is that the interest credited is tax deferred, and if the money is paid as a death claim, the interest can be tax exempt (www.iii.org).
6. Make Charitable Contribution
By naming a charity as a beneficiary of your life insurance, you can make a larger contribution than if you donated the cash equivalent of your policy’s premiums. Donating a term life insurance policy allows you to deduct the cost of the premiums from your taxes. And, if you donate a whole life policy, you can deduct the cash value of the policy and the cost of the whole life insurance premiums. In both cases, after you die, the charity you select gets the insurance policy proceeds.
Plan ahead and ensure that you have a quality life insurance plan in place to protect your family.
Different Types of Life Insurance: Which One is Right For You?
Life insurance is a great way to protect your family financially should anything ever happen to you. You may want to consider getting a life insurance policy if you are married, have children, or other people depend on your income for support.
There are a number of different types of life insurance policies available, and finding which one is the best for you and your family can be a challenge. Here are some of the different types of life insurance policies out there.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is perhaps the simplest and cheapest type of life insurance available. This type of life insurance is considered temporary and provides protection for a certain period of time, usually 1-30 years. If the insured dies before the end of the term, his beneficiary receives the face value of the policy. If he does not die by the end of the term, he does not receive anything. At the end of the term life insurance period, you can choose to extend your policy or convert it in to a permanent life insurance policy. If you choose to renew, your life insurance premium will most likely go up. Most people argue that term life insurance gives you the most value for your money. You can compare free term life insurance quotes at ELifeInsuranceSaver.com
Whole Life Insurance
Whole life insurance, also called permanent life insurance, is basically term life insurance with an investment component that allows your policy to build cash value that you can borrow against. The investment could be in stocks, bonds, money markets, etc. Whole life insurance is very expensive because of the investment commissions and fees you are charged, and there is no guarantee that your investment will even make any money. As with term life insurance, your premium will be the same over the life of the policy. Three common types of whole life insurance policies are universal life, variable life, and traditional.
Universal Life Insurance
Universal life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance policy that combines a term life insurance policy with a tax deferred interest accumulating savings account. People that feel they need life insurance into their 70s and 80s would benefit from this policy because it allows adequate time for substantial savings growth. It takes a while for this type of policy to build considerable value, and you might not be able to save much in a shorter amount of time. If you feel that you do not need life insurance for that long, you should consider getting a term life insurance policy and finding another way to save for retirement and the future.
There are lots of different life insurance options out there. This is a very important decision for you and your family, so take your time. You can compare free life insurance quotes from various companies for different types of policies to see which one is best for you. The more research you do, the more knowledgeable you will be, and the better chance you will have at finding the perfect life insurance policy.
Options in Selecting the Right Life Insurance
The city supplies applicable companies numerous types of life insurance policies for employees receiving an income, not limited to accidental death or dismemberment coverage, basic life insurance, and commuter and motorist life insurance. These programs are entirely funded by the City of Mesa, Arizona. Supplemental life insurance is also offered at a premium cost that the employee is responsible for funding.
Basic Life Insurance
Basic life insurance is provided by standard life insurance to full-time employees at no cost. The benefit is equivalent to the employee’s yearly salary rounded up to the next $1,000. When hired, the employee is asked to designate a beneficiary for the policy. It is highly recommended to verify the beneficiary every few years, particularly if a major life event occurs, such as marriage, divorce, or the birth or death of family members.
Accidental Death or Dismemberment
Similar to the basic life insurance policy, this kind of coverage is granted through standard life insurance to full-time employees. It is entirely funded by the city. The benefit is also equivalent to the employee’s yearly salary rounded up to the next $1,000. The beneficiary for this policy is the same individual that that is designated for the Basic Life Insurance described above.
Commuter Life Insurance
Provided through CIGNA Life Insurance, this type of policy provides a $200,000 death benefit to a beneficiary if the holder of the policy is killed as a result of an accident that happens during the commute to or from work using the normal route. This kind of policy does not cover travel by aircraft, however. If an employee travels by air on a regular basis for work, they may want to look into specialized life insurance that covers travel by air. The beneficiary for this policy is the same individual that is designated for the Basic Life Insurance described above.
Supplemental Life Insurance
Supplemental, also knows as voluntary, Life Insurance offers the opportunity to enroll in added life insurance coverage for the policy holder, their spouse, and/or any dependent children. Coverage for the policy holder and their spouse is available in $10,000 increments up to the total sum of the amount of life insurance that the City supplies in addition to what the employee obtains for supplemental life, but cannot exceed a total of $300,000. As an example, if an employee makes $30,000 annually, the City will provide a $30,000 policy at zero cost to the employee. If the employee chooses to then purchase $100,000 in supplemental or voluntary life insurance, the employee’s spouse can procure up to $130,000 ($30,000 granted by the City in addition to the $100,000 supplemental/voluntary purchased by the employee). Premiums for this type of coverage are the policy holder’s responsibility and will be withheld by payroll. The City does not monetarily contribute to this coverage.
To add or increase coverage and for more company life insurance basics the employee will need to complete an application form, which can be found at http://www.mesachip.org (click on “Benefit Forms”). If the employee does not wish to make any changes at this time, they do not need to re-enroll.
If previous enrollment in Supplemental Life Insurance has not already been completed, or if an employee wishes to increase coverage for them self or their spouse, they are forewarned that their application will be subject to underwriting and authorization by the carrier administering the plan.
This coverage may be transferable should the employee terminate employment with and/or retire from the City of Mesa. However, the coverage must be active at the time employment ends. If the employee does not meet the eligibility requirements to transfer coverage, the employee may choose to convert their policy instead. Please refer to the Life Insurance Certificate of Coverage.