All life insurance policies can be categorized as “term”, “whole life”, or a combination of the two. This means there are many different variations in policies.
For example, universal life insurance which is a type of permanent life insurance, allows you to adjust the premium and the coverage to the amounts you need. This type of insurance accrues cash value which earns interest.
For someone who wants to have control over the financial and investing aspect of their insurance, the variable life insurance policy will be the best option.
So what’s a term life insurance policy?
The term life insurance policy provides insurance protection for a particular period of time. The term may be extended to 5, 10, or 20 years. When the term ends the policy also expires without any benefits and without any saved or accumulated cash value. But if you die during this term then the death benefit will be paid. The term insurance policy can be said as insurance that is actually designed to expire before you do.?
Usually the premiums on the term insurance are not that big, but as you grow older you will have to pay more. So considering the profits a term life insurance policy is more economical when bought at a younger age along with a longer term. Even though the short term renewable policies are substantially lower when people are young, it will be highly expensive when purchased after middle age.
In a term life policy that renews annually and carries a $200,000 death benefit, the annual premiums might look like the example below. Remember, these are just examples to show the differences in cost with age:
$300 / year age 35
Age 50: $900/year
Age 65: $2,500/year
Now we shall see what is a Whole Life Insurance Policy.
Whole life is the most common type of life insurance. The policy remains in effect until you die or reach age 100, assuming you pay the scheduled premium. Whole life insurance is also known as ‘ordinary life’ or ‘permanent’ insurance. They feature level premiums, level face amounts, guaranteed values, and a high degree of safety. Whole life insurance has a guaranteed cash value, through which a living benefit is built. Because of this, the owner can access the cash for emergencies, or use it as a supplement to retirement income if necessary.
This ability to access the cash accrued by a whole life policy makes it an important savings instrument. Whole life policies are often used for long-term financial planning. Another very positive aspect of whole life insurance is the level premiums: they don’t change, so you’ll always know how much your policy is going to cost. Level premiums provide peace of mind and make budgeting easier.
The risk factor of whole life insurance policies is quite different from that of an auto insurance policy, by definition. With auto insurance, the insurer hopes that the policy holder will drive safely so that they never have to pay out the claim; with whole life insurance, however, the insurance company knows that they will have to pay the claim someday.
In these days it has become very easy and convenient to compare and shop for policies from different companies through the net. You can be sure that you get the best deal out of the market rates, which will meet your needs. It is also very important to check up with the BBB and check how these different companies are rated. You must have a careful eye for the financial standing of the insurance companies you are about to sign up for the policies. When you get thorough of all the information you need, you can compare and select the best whole life insurance policy online.
Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover website.

September 3rd, 2010
Graham McKenzie
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