A term life insurance plan provides life insurance - plain and simple. A whole life insurance plan provides life insurance but also accrues value, which you can cash out or borrow against. It generally takes about three years to see any value and then it's not a lot of money. Term life insurance, in comparison to whole life, is considerably less costly for this reason. Some will refer to term life insurance as renting insurance rather than buying it. The reason for that attitude is that, much like auto insurance, you pay the premium each month or quarter or year to hedge against the bet that you might have an accident (in the case of term life insurance the accident is death). If you don't have that accident, in the case of auto insurance, or if you don't die in the case of life insurance, you don't get the money.
We all die, of course, so it might seem that term life insurance is a good bet and the best bet in comparison to whole life. You would, you surmise, always get your money back. The catch here is that term life insurance will end at a certain point - and that point may well be before you are deceased. Term life insurance plans are only good until a certain predetermined age - many are 70 years of age, others up to 80. For those of us who really need this coverage until the day we die these aren't good plans in comparison to whole life which will be in force until the day we die.
Term life insurance is a good buy in comparison to whole life, however, if all you are trying to do is set money aside to prevent your young family from becoming destitute in the event of your unexpected death. Once you reach the age of 70, the likelihood is that your children will be comfortably on their own and not dependent on your money or income to survive. Of course, if this is your only life insurance and it goes away before you die then your family or someone else must bear the cost of burying you. That is where whole life insurance is a favorable comparison to term life. Whole life will stay in place as long as you do, and will be there when it comes time to pay for your burial.
It may be, then, that in doing a comparison between term life insurance and whole life insurance, the results indicate a need for both. Many professionals suggest that you buy an amount of term life insurance that would keep your family bills paid for a predetermined time in the event of your untimely death, choosing a term that covers them only until they are old enough to take care of their bills on their own. These same professionals suggest as well that you also buy a whole life insurance policy for an amount of $7000-$12,000, merely to assure that your family will have money to bury you.
In other words, if you are 40 and your children are 6, 8 and 10, you're going to need about 15 years of term life insurance - until your youngest is through four years of college. You might decide, with three children and a spouse that you'll need several hundred thousand dollars of coverage. A Whole life policy of $10,000, however, would be plenty to provide a decent funeral and burial.
Even with all of this information available right at your fingertips you still need to use some common sense and have a little bit of knowledge to find the best solution for your unique situations. The information below should help prepare you for finding the insurance policy that best fits your needs.
The very first decision you will need to make is to decide if which type of insurance will best fit your needs. The two most common types of insurance available today are whole life insurance and term life insurance.
Whole life insurance, just as the name implies will remain in affect for your entire life. Provided that you continue to pay your premiums or that the policy has enough cash value to sustain itself. Whole life insurance will almost always cost more for the same amount of coverage than term life insurance. There is a cash value aspect associated with whole life policies. The cost of the monthly payment in excess of the actual amount required to cover the actual cost of the monthly premium is invested.
Since whole life premiums will have a cash value under certain circumstance it can be possible to take a loan out against the value of the policy. You need to keep in mind though that if you take a loan out not only will you be losing any potential interest that you could be gaining with that money you could also incur tax liabilities. You might also have to pay taxes if the value of the policy is higher than the premium.
Term life insurance is only in affect for a set period of time, this time period is known as the contract period. You will find that the premiums for term life insurance will be significantly cheaper than the premiums on a whole life policy for the same amount of coverage.
A term policy will never have any cash value, it is worth the amount of the coverage if the insured person dies during the contract period. If the contract expires with out the policy being exercised then there is no value and no benefit is paid out.
Term life insurance is often used by people with families to cover the expenses of raising children if one of the parents were to die unexpectedly. It is purchased to cover the time period when the children are still dependent on their parents for financial support. For many people after their children are grown and independent they find that the level of coverage they need to carry is reduced.
Once you have determined which type of insurance is most suitable for your situation the next question is to determine how much coverage to purchase. Coverage amount will be discussed in the next issue of this series.
Both Arthor Pens & Steve Welker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Arthor Pens has sinced written about articles on various topics from Affiliate Programs, Pets and Pets. CompassQuote Insurance Services provides quotes in all 50 U.S. States. You can also view permanent. Arthor Pens's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
Steve Welker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Forex Guide, Family Concerns and Acne Treatment. Get your free at .. Steve Welker's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.