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Whole Life Insurance - Things You Need To Know By Donald Lusan

It is unfortunate that when you get a whole life insurance quote online much of the important details are omitted. The average person knows little or nothing about this policy. If people had more information they could make a more informed decision on what they are about to purchase. I am one of those who tout whole life insurance with no apology, as this policy has it’s place in the insurance portfolio of many people. This policy fits some needs that term life insurance simply cannot fulfill.

Permanent Life Insurance

Whole life insurance can be described as permanent life insurance. This suggests that you can keep this policy for as long as you choose, even if it is to age 100. A term life policy simply cannot guarantee that.

Cash Values

Whole life insurance have what is called “guaranteed cash values”. Some people like this idea because they may choose to use these values as a sort of saving to assist with the college costs or even for a supplemental retirement fund.

Whole Life Insurance Dividends

All whole life policies are not the same. Some life insurance companies have a great history of paying dividends to their policy owners on a very regular basis. This does not say that they always will be in a position to pay a dividend. Dividends are not guaranteed. There are some life insurance companies that do not perform very well.

If a life insurance company is generally successful with their investments and do a good job at keeping expenses down they usually can pay a dividend.

There are several options that you can choose from but most people have a tendency to apply their dividends to the purchase of “paid up additions”. These are little single premium whole life insurance policies.

The other available dividend options areas follows. You can leave your dividends to accumulate interest or you can use them to reduce premiums. You can also take them in cash each year.

Why Cash Values And Dividends Are Important

If at some time in the future you should need to put your hands on some emergency cash and that money is available through your cash values plus dividends you may take a percentage of this in the form of a policy loan. Even though you decide how you repay this loan you need to keep in mind that there is interest charged on this loan. In addition the death benefit of your policy is reduced by the amount owed and any unpaid accumulated interest. Another thing to note is that if you have an outstanding loan on your whole life insurance policy the amount of dividend paid will also be affected.

Nonforfeiture Values

Another important consideration when buying whole life insurance policies are nonforfeiture values. These options allow you to protect yourself from loss in the event you are unable to continue premium payments.

Automatic Premium Loans

With most whole life insurance policies if a premium payment is missed the automatic premium loan is timely activated to prevent the policy from going into a state of lapse. In other words, you do not lose your insurance as long as there is sufficient cash value to keep it in force. Interest is charged on this amount just like any other premium loan.

Extended Term Insurance

Instead of using an automatic premium loan to keep your whole life insurance policy in force you may choose to use what is called Extended Term Insurance to keep the policy in force. This is a Term Life Insurance policy for as many years as the cash value of the policy will purchase. If you should die during this period the full face amount of the policy will be paid to your chosen beneficiary. The only disadvantage is that with this option your cash values plus any dividend earned will dissipate over time.

Reduced Paid Up Policy

Another option you have if you are unable to pay the premiums for your policy is to elect to keep a reduced amount of life insurance in force rather than the full amount you initially purchased. This policy, though for a reduced amount, will be fully paid up and you will never pay a premium again. The reduced death benefit will be paid upon the death of the insured.

Cash Surrender Value

You may also surrender your policy for its cash value plus any dividends as another option. If there is any outstanding indebtedness on the policy it will be deducted from the amount you receive.

Waiver Of Premium Rider

When purchasing your whole life insurance policy you have the option of adding the “waiver of premium rider” an a very minimal cost. You may find it beneficial as if you should become disabled the life insurance company will waive your premiums for as long as you are disabled even if it is for the rest of your life. You must, however, be disabled for a minimal period of time, usually six months. Whenever you are able to return to your job you continue payments of your policy. Nothing is owed for the period you didn’t pay.

Accidental Death Benefit

Another valuable rider you can add to your whole life insurance policy is the “accidental death benefit rider”. If you should die in an accident the life insurance company will pay twice the face amount to your beneficiaries. Some life insurance companies allow you to purchase an additional unit of the accidental death benefit rider. In other words, your family would receive three times the face amount of your whole life insurance policy if you died in an accident.

Whole life insurance premiums are higher than term life insurance premiums. If you feel the abovementioned benefits are worth the additional cost this type of life insurance may be for you.

The cheapest online life insurance quotes can be found with a specialist   by David Thomson

Taking out life insurance can bring relief to you due to knowing that if you should die then at least your loved ones wouldn’t have to worry about their immediate financial situation. However life insurance can be an expensive addition to an already over stretched budget but it is something which should be given some serious consideration. The good news is that you can get the cover much cheaper than you think by getting online life insurance quotes from an expert in life insurance - the specialist life insurance quote broker.

When considering life insurance you first have to decide what type of cover you are going to get your quotes for and how much protection you will need to take to give your loved ones and yourself peace of mind. When it comes to deciding how much cover to take then there are several factors in your life that can help you make the decision. The first is your dependant children and here you have to take into account college and education fees or the need for child care. Secondly, your mortgage and essential outgoings. The easiest way to get a rough figure with which to work from is to take your annual income and multiply this by 10, you then have a base on which to work. Do remember to take inflation into consideration.

When it comes to choosing which type of life insurance then you have term life insurance, whole life insurance and decreasing term insurance which are three of the most popular choices to choose from when getting online quotes. There are many more types of life cover available too.

Decreasing term life assurance will usually run alongside a mortgage and decrease in value as does the mortgage. Whole life insurance will pay out a guaranteed sum of money for as long as you pay the insurance premiums. And the cheapest is term life insurance for which you decide how much you wish to be covered for and the length of time you wish to take the insurance. With the latter, if you should die within this time then your family get a lump sum payout. However if you are still alive when the policy ends, then there is no payout.

Online life insurance quotes are the cheapest way of securing life insurance without it costing the earth and is valuable when it comes to giving you peace of mind for your family and the cheapest quotes can be found by letting a specialist shop around for the best deals on your behalf.