Life insurance needs should be re-assessed at regular intervals to ensure the policy or policies taken out are still adequate for their purpose. Policies taken out 10 -15 years ago may have outlived their use, lapsed, or premiums may have gone up due to underperformance in a volatile market place. Examples of underperformers include many of the ‘permanent’ life policies available over recent years –‘whole life’, ‘universal’ and ‘variable’ life policies which are linked to interest rates, which can go up as well as down.

No ‘One size fits all’ Life Insurance Policy

There is no ‘one size fits all’ insurance policy out there and it may be a case of combining different types of life coverage in order to ensure future financial needs will be met. Many people decide to re-assess their requirements for life insurance after experiencing a big life change which affects their finances – such as having a baby, or taking out a mortgage. The implication of leaving behind dependents or partners who may be left with big financial commitments motivates many to plan a financial future which includes life cover.

As well as meeting the needs of their beneficiaries in their ongoing lives, another common reason to take out coverage could be simply to cover short term funeral costs (costs which are rising every year).

How to calculate life insurance requirements

An appraisal is needed as to how any current policies are performing, and an honest calculation of their projected value going forward is needed. You may find that there are better products out there in the marketplace to suit you. Restructuring may seem like a hassle, but lower administrative fees and the fact that insurance companies have re-designed their cost structures mean that changing policies is not the financial headache it used to be.

Alternatively – you may discover through the process of re-evaluation that your life coverage is just fine, thank you – but taking stock of finances in an uncertain economic climate has to be a good thing.

Source: Stephen Smith, Delmarvanow.com

 photo credit: SMJJP

Limited Pay Policies Up By 152%

As Michael Ferik, Senior VP for independent life cover at Guardian Life, speaking at Guardian Whole Life International Forum on October 5 stated “This finding underscores a pronounced desire among Millenials and Gen Xers for financial security at an early age.” This research seems to be corroborated by the fact that sales of ‘limited pay’ life policies at Guardian life – policies which can be paid off over a shorter term, were up by a massive 152% year on year to June this year.

Young Life Policy Buyers Plan their Financial Futures

According to the Guardian survey, 74% of those aged 40 and under stated that they wanted to be more financially stable sooner rather than later, with 76% or respondents saying it was very important for them to be debt free in the near future. In contrast, those aged 40 or older attached less importance to having financial stability or leaving debts behind at 69% and 68% respectively. Mr Ferik believes this could be down to the heavy burden of student debt which younger people have had to deal with which has been reflected in a “desire to be debt free” rather than the more typical baby boomers who have more of a “live for today” attitude.

Protecting Families Number One Reason for Buying Life Insurance

The main reason given by the under 40′s for purchasing life insurance was to protect their families (72%) Those aged over 40 also gave this reason with 79% giving it as the driving motivation. Both age groups also counted the cash payout as the second biggest reason for taking out life coverage.

The results seem to indicate that younger buyers see whole life insurance as less of an ‘insurance product’ but rather as one of a number of assets which can be used to build a stable financial future. According to Ferik “They see whole life’s benefits for meeting unanticipated financial needs that arrive while still alive as better than borrowing from a 401K plan or – for now at least – betting on the stock market.”

Source: Insurancenewsnet.com

photo credit: faungg

Whole Life Policies Show Biggest Increase in Sales

Whole life policies, offering death benefits with additional savings features showed the sharpest gain with sales rising by 23%. Life insurance products which have just guaranteed death benefits went up by 5%.

Half of Insurers Saw Double Digit Growth

Ashley Durham, a senior analyst at Limra stated “Things appear to be looking up” and added that “nearly half of all companies experienced double-digit growth during the first half of the year.” New York based Met Life, the largest life insurance company in the USA, saw increased earnings as did Prudential who reported a sevenfold increase in profits on investments compared with the previous year.

According to Limra Term Life Insurance was the only product which saw a decline in sales in the second quarter with premiums dropping by 11%.

Source

• Inyoung Hwang –25  August, Bloomberg Businessweek

photo credit: kevinzhengli

Investors, who once upon a time thought paying higher prices for whole life insurance was frivolous, are now thankful that they listened to their investment counsel. While the cost of whole life insurance policies hasn’t come down, the stability that they offer has only increased in value.

Though whole life insurance may not give as high a return on investment over the short term – like technology stocks – whole life insurance is proving to be the golden nugget in many investors’ portfolios. Designed to be more of a cash reserve that builds up over time against the death benefit, a whole life policy allows for policy owners to borrow against the accumulated cash value for things like medical expenses or college tuition. The policies are tax-deferred and upon maturity of the contract, the cash value usually equals whatever the death benefit would have been.

Whole Life Provides Stability – But at a Price

Another plus is that the cash value as well as the death benefit of the whole life insurance policy is fully exempt from the demands of creditors, bankruptcy proceedings and other legal garnishment schemes.

Variable insurance policies are linked to the stock market and when stocks take a hit (as they did recently) so do the values of these insurance products. Though these variable policies looked good on paper when they were bought back in the early 90s, owners are finding that they’re taking quite a hit now and even having to come up with additional premiums just to keep them active.

Converting between variable and universal or whole policies is possible at a later date but the older the policyholder, the higher the cost of converting that policy over to whole life insurance. In many cases, the cost of converting the policy is three to four times the cost of the variable policy. Insurance companies are customizing many of their policy plans to have some form of product that will help to pay for nursing home care. Some policies even have aspects of both term and whole life insurance in one plan.

In tough times when stocks and some bonds have negative returns, a whole life insurance policy is actually starting to look like a good, stable and lucrative option for those who are willing to pay more in premiums.

photo credit: ArtemFinland

There’s no getting around the fact that the current economic conditions are getting on peoples’ nerves. The stress factors that many people have to deal with are rising rapidly as life insurance and other financial matters grind away at the thoughts and worries of everyone. There’s a definite link between financial pressures and personal stress and for many people that means not being able to deal properly with the everyday matters of life such as friends and family. Unfortunately, having a good life insurance plan usually doesn’t mean it’ll help you live a better life while you’re here. That’s why it’s important to keep your quality of life in the upper reaches by dealing properly with stress levels.

The simple truth is that 44% of all employees in America are living from one paycheck to the next with 60% of all employees – even the more successful ones – worried about their financial future and whether or not they’ll continue to be able to make ends meet. It’s very important that you don’t allow financial worries to begin to take a toll on your personal health. Stress has a very subtle way of grinding away at a person a little more every day until only the raw nerve ends are showing. Increased stress levels can also mean increased health costs to people who have a hard time dealing with the stress brought on by uncertain financial times.

Tips for Reducing Financial Stress in Your Life

If you find yourself grinding your teeth and hyperventilating you don’t have to be a genius to realize that you’re probably under stress. Here are a few tips to help you recover your bearings.

• Get up and walk around and let new surroundings help to clear your head.
• Don’t try and be a stress superhero; take a five-minute rest from stress to recompose yourself.
• Recognize when you’re body is being put under stress and get relief by turning your thoughts to a positive trajectory.
• Be proactive in the early stages of stress before it becomes overwhelming and harder to manage.

Job pressures, family obligations and other personal commitments will all contribute to your levels of stress so be ready to defuse potential stressors when you can. Something as simple as walking around the office can help you deal with the stress brought on by factors such as your current financial portfolio.

Life Insurance as a Financial De-Stressor

Life insurance helps quell financial stress, particularly if you’re worried about your family should something unfortunate occur. If you choose a whole life insurance plan, you can be sure that your coverage will last for the entirety of your life. If you choose a term life insurance option, you’ll at least have the comfort of a set period of time for coverage – and many term life insurance policies give you the option to renew your policy at expiration.

Whatever steps you take to take away the financial stress, a few minutes of relaxation and introspection can help turn even the most doomsday of thoughts towards optimism and hope. The world financial situation may be stressful now, but wait around a few years and things will turn around.

photo credit: gingerpig2000