Term Life Insurance vs Whole of Life Insurance
When buying life insurance its vital you get the right policy for your needs. With a plethora of web sites offering discount life insurance, it’s often easy to end up with a policy that is not suited to your unique needs and circumstances.
There are a variety of life insurance policies available, so it’s important to understand the differences.
Term Life Insurance & it’s Benefits:
Term life policies cover you a predefined term.
This means that term life insurance only offers protection for the duration of the mortgage, and is usually of little value once your mortgage is fully paid off.
Term insurance is also cheap, and can even become cheaper over time. There are also a number of different types of term life insurance to choose from as follows:
* The first type is known as level term insurance, and it is a very popular policy. Here, the premium costs are locked in for the entire term of the policy. This means you pay the same amount every month/year for the term of the policy.
* The second type is known as escalating term cover. This type of policy can be become expensive in later years, as you generally pay an increasing amount as the policy ages. However, there is an advantage, in that the payout at death also increases. This type of life policy is normally more suited to younger people.
* Next, we have decreasing term insurance, and in this type of policy monthly payments stay the same, although the amount of cover reduces each year.
* The forth type of term life cover is increasing term insurance, where the pay out on death increases. However, to make up for this increase it will be necessary to increase the premiums from time to time, in line with changing circumstances.
* The fifth and final type is known as convertible term insurance. It is a type of term life insurance that you can convert at a later stage into an investment vehicle. The value of the investment is normally based on your health when you originally took out the policy.
Whole of Life Insurance:
Whole of life cover covers you right up until your death. Provided, of course, that you keep paying your premiums! It can pay out a substantial benefit to your loved ones when you die, and it can also accumulate a cash value over time.
Whole of life policies can be more expensive and more complicated than term life insurance. Also, the investment you make can earn some interest each year. Therefore, since your investment generally grows each year, your premiums can actually reduce over time. You may also reach a time where the interest gained covers all the future premiums, which means you may have no more premiums to pay.
However, understand that it is possible that the final value of a whole of life insurance policy may not be the same as the amount of money invested in it over the years.
Summary:
Buying a term life policy, or whole of life insurance is an important decision and one that needs to be made carefully. Before you take the plunge, you need to examine your needs, and exactly what you wish to achieve.
The simplest form is a level term policy with a renewable option. This will allow you to get life insurance for as long as you may need it.
On the other hand, a whole of life policy might suit you better if you need a policy that grows in value over the years.
Both types of policy have advantages and disadvantages, and that’s why it’s always a good idea to get advice from a competent insurance adviser.
Michael Pettigrew writes for numerous insurance sites including Best Insurance Quotes, a provider of quality low cost life insurance. Visit Best Insurance Quotes for a better life insurance quote
categories: life insurance,insurance,finance,mortgage,investments,general
