Insurance Information

Everything You Need to Know About Life Insurance





Life insurance is a type of protection that can be bought and insures the buyer in the event of death. The risk that is assumed by the insurer is the risk of death of the insured. Life insurance is a very good purchase in order to protect a family, especially if you are the sole breadwinner. Additionally, life insurance can help pay for funeral costs and therefore ensure that your death will not be a financial burden for your family.

It is important to understand the process of life insurance in order to truly grasp its value. A life insurance transaction has three parties: the insured, the insurer, and the owner of the policy (the insured and owner of the policy are often the same person). One of the most important parties involved with life insurance is the beneficiary. The beneficiary receives the policy proceeds upon the death of the insured. Only the owner of the policy can change the beneficiary. If the beneficiary is an irrevocable beneficiary, then any changes in beneficiary must be agreed to by the irrevocable beneficiary.

In order to solidify a life insurance plan with an insurer, the insurer must evaluate the insured's lifestyle. The insurer evaluates the risk of insuring the customer. Some insurance companies will not grant insurance to people with serious health issues, or extreme lifestyles. Insurance companies charge differing amounts for life insurance based on the risk evaluation. Part of the risk evaluation is a health evaluation. There are for categories for people seeking life insurance: Preferred Best, Preferred, Standard, and Tobacco. Having no family history of illness or early cancer, and being extremely healthy and active can result in a Preferred Best rating. Depending on lifestyles, and family histories, a person is slowly moved down the ladder. It is easy to move down the categories but almost impossible to move up a category.

Life insurance is a legal contract that has terms and conditions. In the event of the suicide of the insured, most insurance companies will declare the policy null and void. Misrepresentation by the owner or insured on the life insurance application is also a plausible reason for the policy to be nullified. Insurance companies are entitled to know the circumstances of the insured's death and can decide whether or not the policy should be nullified if there is suspicion of suicide. A death certificate must be shown to the insurer to prove the death of the insured.

As with any insurance policy, life insurance takes a substantial amount of time to mature. Once matured, the "face value" of the policy is given. A policy matures upon the death of the insured, or when the insured reaches a certain age. Depending on the policy, the insured can make differing amounts of payments over time. As with all insurances, failed payments result in the termination of the insurance.

Life insurance is a very good thing to have because it protects your family's financial well-being. In the event that you were the sole worker, life insurance can pay your family your salary for many years (depending on the policy). Life insurance can also cover the costs of funerals and therefore your death won't be a burden on your family.

Peter Wise is interested in financial matters and writes for Life Insurance Lowdown (http://www.lifeinsurancelowdown.com).


MORE RESOURCES:

Reuters

Obama Gets Tough on Health Care Fraud
New York Times
Mr. Obama sent his secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, to take on insurance companies Wednesday. Speaking in Washington at the annual ...
HHS Sec. Sebelius slams Insurance IndustryFOXNews (blog)
How Health Care Reform Could Impact the Insurance IndustryNightly Business Report
HHS Secretary Asks Executives to Justify Insurance Rate HikesDOTmed.com (press release)
USA Today -The Washington Independent -InjuryBoard.com (blog)
all 2,897 news articles »


Washington Post

Va. assembly approves bill to bar health-insurance mandate
Washington Post
Proponents of the measure said the federal government should not force private citizens to enter into private contracts for insurance. ...
Virginia Assembly Gives Green Signal to Bill to Evade Government's ...TopNews United States

all 660 news articles »


Northland's NewsCenter

How health insurance is killing Canada
Telegraph-Journal
The biggest dysfunction in our approach to health care on both sides of the border is a monomaniacal obsession with the "insurance" model as primary payment ...
Katz: Reign in insurance companies for health care reformUniversity Daily Kansan
O's 'fraud' rip at health industryNew York Post
Health Care again - what needs to be doneGather.com
OpEdNews -Burnt Orange Report (blog) -Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
all 63 news articles »


The Hindu

Chile earthquake cost insurers up to $7 bn
Sify
/EFE) Last month's magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Chile cost insurance companies between 2.92 billion euros ($4 billion) and 5.15 billion euros ($7 billion), ...
Swiss Re puts Chile quake insurance cost at $4-7BNThe Associated Press
Swiss Re Sees $4-$7 Billion Insurance Losses From QuakeABC News
Insurers Brace For Disaster Hit To 2010 EarningsWall Street Journal
CITY A.M. -MarketWatch -The FINANCIAL
all 220 news articles »


A.M. Best Places Ratings of Tenet Insurance Company Ltd Under Review With ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The rating actions follow the recent announcement of the acquisition of Tenet by Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. (Sompo Japan). On March 8, 2010, ...
A.M. Best Places Ratings of Max Capital Group Ltd. and Its Subsidiaries Under ...Insurance News Net (press release)

all 60 news articles »


MiamiHerald.com

Fed Shoulders AIG Loan Losses to Ease Sale of Unit to MetLife
BusinessWeek
... assetā€ by MetLife, which is also indemnified from losses on one of the UK businesses it will acquire in the purchase of American Life Insurance Co. ...
AIG Continues To RallyFinancial Advisory
Alico seeks permission for ownership transferRepublica
Consultant: AIA-Prudential Deal Could Prompt Japan Life MergersInsurance News Net (press release)
The Associated Press -Economist -FT Adviser
all 1,730 news articles »


Central Florida News 13

Insurance Companies Might Require Proof Of Repairs
CBS 4
A home in Gulfport, Miss., damaged by Hurricane Katrina is shown with a sign indicating the owner is a State Farm insurance policy holder in this Sept. ...
Senate panel approves property insurance measureMiamiHerald.com
Want Break On Insurance Bill? House Will Have To PoseCentral Florida News 13
State insurance regulators under fireSun-Sentinel
BusinessWeek -Tallahassee Democrat -BloggingStocks (blog)
all 71 news articles »


Medicare terminates prescription drug contract with Fox Insurance Company
McKnight's Long Term Care News
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday ended its contract with Fox Insurance Company after an on-site review revealed serious policy ...
Medicare Cancels Part D Contract with Fox InsuranceTucson Citizen
Arkansas offers extra help for prescriptionsBaxter Bulletin
Medicare regulators halt insurer's Part D businessBusinessWeek
Bizjournals.com
all 28 news articles »


HispanicBusiness.com

FDIC Issues $1.38 Billion of Bonds Backed by Assets
BusinessWeek
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sold $1.38 billion of guaranteed notes backed by construction loans and seized ...
Bair Calls For Big Banks To Pay For FailureEmii.com
FDIC's Bair Outlines Priorities For Financial OverhaulWall Street Journal (blog)

all 121 news articles »


TopNews United States

In need of reasonably priced medical care
Ventura County Star
I warned you about the seemingly arbitrary raising of insurance rates years ago, but most of you didn't care because it didn't affect you. ...
Settlements over dropped insurance lanquishSan Francisco Chronicle
ABC, CBS, NBC Join Obama's Attack on Insurance CompaniesBusiness Media Institute
Few customers collecting from health-care settlementCapitol Weekly
BusinessWeek -PR Newswire (press release) -eMaxHealth
all 99 news articles »

Google News

Home | Site Map |
© 2007