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Term Life Insurance 101

 
What is Life Insurance?

Life insurance provides compensation to the beneficiary in the event of the insured’s death. If the insured dies, the life insurance company will provide cash payment to the beneficiary. For example, if you select your child as your beneficiary, your child will receive compensation from the life insurance company in the event of your death.

What is Term Life Insurance?

Term life insurance protects the beneficiary for a specified period of time. If the insured dies while the life insurance policy is still in force, the beneficiary will receive a death benefit. The most popular coverage periods for life insurance are 10, 20 and 30 years.

LowRateLife offers level premium term life insurance as a cost effective way to purchase life insurance. With level premium term life insurance policy, your premiums, or how much you pay, remain the same during the coverage period. So if you purchase a 30-year level term life insurance, your premiums will remain the same for 30 years.

Benefits of Term Life Insurance

It’s hard to think about what would happen to your loved ones if you weren’t around. It’s best to start planning now before it’s too late. Life insurance can help your loved ones with their finances in the event of your death.

Some common uses of life insurance proceeds are:

  • Mortgage – Life insurance can pay off the mortgage balance or provide a stream of income to pay mortgage.
  • Education – The proceeds of life insurance can be used for educational costs.
  • Taxes – Life insurance can be used to pre-fund federal estate and state inheritance taxes.
  • Debt – Life insurance can pay off debt, such as student loans, personal loans, personal bills and credit card debt.
  • Funeral – Life insurance can be used to pay for funeral and burial expenses.
  • Income replacement – Life insurance can provide a stream of supplemental income to the beneficiary so the beneficiary can maintain the same standard of living.
Term life insurance can also be used for business uses, such as when the insured is a key person in the company. Examples of business uses of life insurance proceeds are to pay off business debts and to protect a business from the loss of income because of the death of a key person.

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Return of Premium Term Life Insurance (ROP)

Return of premium term life insurance policy refunds all the premiums paid at the end of the term (coverage period). Upon the cancellation or expiration of the return of premium term life insurance policy, premiums are returned to the policy owner. If the life insurance policy is cancelled during the policy term length, a designated percentage of premiums paid up to that point will be returned to the policy owner. If the life insurance policy is held for the entire coverage period, 100% of the premiums paid will be returned to the policy owner at the policy expiration. So if you purchase a 30-year return of premium term life insurance and you pay your premiums for all 30 years, you will receive 100% of your premiums back.

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

Most financial advisors recommend that you get 10 to 15 times of your annual income for life insurance. Expenses that you may want to consider in calculating your life insurance needs include:

  • Income replacement for your family
  • Educational funds for your children
  • Mortgage payments
  • Personal loans and debt
  • Funeral expenses
  • Estate administration expenses

Your age can also be a factor in determining your life insurance needs. The younger you are, the more potential you have to earn income and the more reliant your family is on your ability to earn future income. When you get older, you may have more savings, so you may not need as much life insurance.

You may also use the table below as a guideline for your life insurance needs.

Age Income Multiple Sample Income Sample Need for Insurance
18 - 30 15 X income $50,000 $750,000
31 - 40 12 X income $50,000 $600,000
41 - 50 10 X income $50,000 $500,000
51 - 65 8 X income $50,000 $400,000
65+ 5 X income $50,000 $250,000

 

How Long Should My Life Insurance Coverage Period Be?

The most popular term lengths or coverage periods for term life insurance are 10, 20 and 30 years. The coverage period for your term life insurance should be based on the needs of your family, or those who depend on you financially. For example, how long until your children become financially independent? Can your family maintain the same standard of living without your income?

How is the Life Insurance Benefit Paid?

The life insurance policy owner may designate a specific settlement option to be paid upon his or her death. If the policy owner does not choose a specific option, the beneficiary will be given a number of choices. These usually include:

Lump Sum Payment: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the beneficiary in one lump sum payment.

Fixed Period Payments: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the beneficiary(s) for a fixed period.

Life Income with Installments Certain: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the beneficiary in installment payments through a certain period. After the certain period, payments will continue to be made throughout the beneficiary's lifetime but the payment may vary from the payments during the certain period.

Interest Payments: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy remain with the insurance company and the company pays the beneficiary interest payments.

Fixed Installments: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the beneficiary(s) in fixed installments until the proceeds and interest on the unpaid balance of the proceeds are exhausted.

Single Premium Annuity: The proceeds of a life insurance policy are used to purchase a single premium annuity from the insurance company.

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Life Insurance Info

Term Life Insurance 101 : Basic life insurance information, such as benefits of life insurance and a guide to how much life insurance you need.

Life Insurance Glossary : Definitions of commonly used terms for life insurance.
FAQ’s : Frequently asked questions about shopping for term life insurance with LowRateLife.
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