Why do you need life insurance? At RiskQuoter, we help you get the best life insurance policy to meet your goals once you answer this question.
Our goal is to show you the insurance options available, and tell you why the policy we recommend is the best kind to meet your goals.
Types of life insurance
As you consider your life insurance options, the following will help you choose the right type of life insurance policy to meet your needs.
- Term Life Insurance
- Return of Premium Term Life
- Universal Life Insurance
- Index Universal Life Insurance
- Whole Life Insurance
Term Life Insurance – Term life is the most popular type of life insurance available, and is the best for many people’s insurance needs.
You’ll find that many companies have comparable pricing, the best life insurance companies offer better product features.
Return of Premium Term Life Insurance
A return of premium (ROP) is a term life policy that refunds all or part of your premiums paid at the end of the term.
While the ROP option is more expensive than a traditional term life policy, it may appeal to someone who likes the idea of getting money back.
Pricing for ROP term life is typically 4-5 times more expensive than a traditional term life policy.
Something to be aware of regarding ROP term is that not all company’s products work the same way. ROP term may work well for people receiving the best rate classes, but not as well when you have a high-risk health issue.
The reason why are some companies only refund the base premium to you at the end of the term. If you have a table rating due to health issues, your refund will only be a portion of what you paid.
Universal Life Insurance
Universal life insurance is a flexible premium, adjustable death benefit life insurance policy that offers the possibility of lifetime death benefits and cash value accumulation.
Index Universal Life Insurance
Index universal life insurance may be right for you if you are looking for a cash value life insurance policy, but want the potential for your cash value to grow faster than a traditional whole life or universal life insurance policy.
What is Index Universal Life Insurance?
Index universal life insurance is a cash value life insurance policy where the cash value growth is tied to the performance of an index such as the S&P stock index.
Should You Consider Index Universal Life Insurance?
If you decide that you would like a cash value type of life insurance policy, an index universal life insurance policy may be worth considering.
The most important aspect of your life insurance planning is to make sure you have enough life insurance to meet your needs.
Index Universal Life Insurance Advantages
When compared to a traditional universal life insurance policy, a potential advantage of index universal life insurance is the potential to grow your cash values above and beyond a universal life insurance policy.
Index Universal Life Insurance Disadvantages
A potential disadvantage of index universal life insurance is that if the stock index used to determine performance does poorly, you may end up with a zero return with your index universal life insurance, compared to a traditional universal life insurance policy that has a guaranteed minimum interest rate.
If the index performs poorly, you may have to pay additional premiums in order to keep your index universal life insurance policy in-force.
Complicated to Understand – Index universal life insurance is complicated to understand. There are many moving parts to an index universal life insurance policy.
Specifically, index universal life policies are tied to the performance of stock indexes such as the S&P 500, DJIA, Nasdaq 100, Euro Stoxx 50, Hang Seng, Russell 2000, U.S. Bond Index, and more.
Illustrations for index universal life insurance policies may be 15-30 pages long.
Should You buy Index Universal Life Insurance?
We are big believers in “buy term insurance and invest the difference.” With that being said, there are times when an index universal life insurance policy is a good option.
Before you buy an index universal life insurance policy, look at your other options available such as funding your 401k and other retirement options at higher levels…you may find that a 401k, especially if you have an employer match is a better option for your money than a life insurance policy.
Some business owners and other high-income earners who have reached contribution limits with their other retirement vehicles, find an index universal life policy to be an attractive option for them.
Whole Life Insurance
Imagine a life insurance policy that provides a death benefit for your beneficiaries, builds cash value, generates policy dividends, defers taxes, and provides potential tax-free cash distributions via policy loans.
It’s called whole life insurance and maybe it’s right for you.
Buy term and invest the difference
If you have ever considered life insurance, no doubt you have heard someone say “buy term and invest the difference”
But did you really invest the difference?
If you did, great…..but how are those investments doing? What if you didn’t invest the difference?
Does whole life insurance really offer all of the above benefits?
Let’s take a look and find out.
What is whole life insurance?
Whole life insurance is a permanent life insurance policy that provides a death benefit, builds cash value on a tax-deferred basis, allows you to borrow from the life insurance policy, and some whole life insurance policies may pay dividends from time to time.
Whole Life Insurance Death Benefit
The death benefit on a whole life insurance policy tends to be a level death benefit policy. With some whole life insurance policies that pay dividends, you may be able to select an option that will use your dividends to buy additional life insurance for you. This is called Paid-Up Additions.
Are There Different Types of Whole Life Insurance Policies?
Yes there are many types of whole life insurance policies such as:
- Participating Whole Life Insurance – pays dividends
- Non-Participating Whole Life Insurance – does not pay dividends
- Limited Pay Whole Life Insurance
- Single Premium Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance Cash Values
Over the course of time, a whole life insurance policy will build cash values. If your whole life insurance policy builds enough cash value, you may be able to borrow cash from the policy via policy loans.
It is important to note that your beneficiaries DO NOT receive the death benefit and the cash value from your life insurance policy. If you die, your beneficiaries would only receive the death benefit, not the cash value.
Typically the death benefit on a whole life insurance policy is reduced by the amount of any outstanding policy loans you have.
Cash values grow tax-deferred within a whole life insurance policy and you may be able to access cash values at a later time via policy loans.
If you surrender your life insurance policy, you would receive the cash surrender value of the life insurance policy if there is one.
What is a Whole Life Insurance Dividend?
A whole life insurance dividend is a return of your premium…basically, you paid too much and the life insurance company is returning your excess premium to you in the form of a dividend. Since a dividend is typically considered to be a return of your money, it does not create a taxable event…in most cases.
Life insurance dividends can be paid back to you in cash, dividends can be used to reduce your life insurance premiums, or dividends can be used to buy Paid Up Additions on your whole life insurance policy.
Dividend Tip – When considering participating whole life insurance with dividends, look at the history of that life insurance company’s dividend performance…are the illustrated dividends in line with past performance?
Whole Life Insurance – Things to Consider
Whole life insurance premiums tend to be expensive. It is important to get the right amount of life insurance for your situation.
Can you afford a whole life insurance premium year after year?
If the answer is yes, whole life insurance may be a great option for you.
If the answer is no, maybe you need to look at other options such as term life insurance or universal life insurance.
Whole Life Insurance Tip – If whole life insurance appeals to you, it may make sense to buy some whole life and some term life insurance to get the right amount of life insurance at a reasonable price.
If you consider this option, look for term life insurance with a good conversion option. This will allow you to convert your term life insurance into whole life insurance at a later time if you like.
There are many types of life insurance products, and over 100 life insurance companies available in the United States….We have selected about 40 of the most competitive life insurance companies in the U.S. to make sure that you receive quotes from the life insurance companies that will best fit your needs, circumstances, budget and more.
Which Type of Life Insurance is Right For You?
According to the life insurance research firm LIMRA, 50 million families in the U.S. recognize that they need more life insurance, but don’t know what types of life insurance or how much life insurance they should buy.
Once we know your goals, we’ll help you get the right life insurance policy.
Our service is a no pressure, no obligation service. We’ll provide you with the information you need in order to make an informed decision about your life insurance.
Would You Rather Discuss Your Life Insurance Needs?
Call us today at (800) 909-2040