Finance Tips

A term life insurance covers a person for a substantial period of life, such as ten, twenty or thirty years. A person has to pay premiums, or insurance rates, on the term life policy during this period. Supposing the person dies within the life of the policy, then the value of the policy is provided to the beneficiary.

- Term Insurance

Term life insurance policies have a serious disadvantage. If the person remains alive when the policy tenure comes to an end, there can be no claim. There will be no monetary benefits at the end of the term. This implies the money paid as premiums is wasted.

- Term Insurance

A term life insurance policy can be made for a period of one to hundred years.

If it is a one-year policy, then the cost of coverage is greater. If the policy is extended, then the cost of coverage rises. In general cases, a term life insurance policy can be taken until a person reaches 75 years of age. For policies going beyond that period, the term insurance rates or premiums are considerably higher, and it makes better sense to select a whole life insurance policy.

There are many kinds of term life insurance policies based on the coverage they provide. Of these, the five popular types are flat rate cover, decreasing cover, family income benefit, increasing term assurance and convertible term assurance.

The flat rate cover is the most popular, as it has a fixed value of term insurance policy rates that are determined from the beginning.

There is a provision to convert a term life insurance policy into a whole life insurance policy later on. This depends on the state of your health. If one upgrades, then the whole life insurance rates are much higher than the term life insurance rates.

http://www.terminsurance.pannipa.com/2009/10/term-life-insurance-rates/

Planning your wedding is a whirlwind time in your life which is capped off by the thrill of the wedding itself and then the excitement of a honeymoon. After all the fun dies down, though, you will realize that there are some practical things that must be addressed. Here is a to-do list that all newlyweds should read.

Thank You Notes. If you haven’t done them already, you really need to get on top of your thank you notes immediately after returning from your honeymoon. This is one of those tasks that only gets harder as time goes on, so do not procrastinate. Get some pretty stationery (perhaps personalized with your new monogram), a good black pen, a book of stamps, and start writing. The notes do not have to be long nor particularly original, as long as they are gracious and heartfelt. If you really have a big pile of notes to write, get your husband to sit down with you and write some too.

It is a really small thing to do for all those well-wishers who spent the time and money to buy you gifts.

Update Insurance. Does your current homeowner’s policy have enough coverage for all those aforementioned gifts? Is your new spouse the beneficiary on your life insurance policy? (Do you even have a life insurance policy?) Have you asked your agent to add your wedding rings and bridal jewelry to your policy? Many insurance companies require separate riders to cover your valuable articles, like fine bridal jewelry or original artwork. It may also be worthwhile to transfer all of your policies to one insurance company, if you and your new spouse previously had them in different places, because you can take advantage of large multi-policy discounts that are often available.

Change Your Name. If you have decided to take your husband’s name, you will need to go through a few steps to get this done.

Check with your local agencies to be sure of their requirements before beginning the process. In general, the place to start is by getting a new Social Security card with your married name. Be sure to bring along all of your I.d. and documents in your maiden name, as well as your marriage license. Once you have your new Social Security card, you can work on changing your name on your driver’s license, at the bank, on your credit cards, utilities, and so forth.

Clean and Store Your Wedding Gown. Don’t leave your wedding gown hanging in the plastic bag from the bridal shop for an extended length of time. Within a few weeks of your return from the honeymoon, you should have it professionally dry cleaned by a company that specializes in wedding gowns (most do not). Even if you do not see any stains or marks, it is wise to have the gown cleaned, because invisible spots from perspiration or Champagne will oxidize and turn brown or yellow over time, causing irreversible damage to the gown. After it has been thoroughly cleaned, your bridal gown should be loosely stored in an archival quality acid free box and tissue, never sealed in plastic in one of those boxes that some dry cleaners still offer.

Establish a Date Night. Once the wedding is past, it can be so easy to slip into a routine. Don’t let the romance in your relationship die! Make a plan to have a set date night with your new spouse on a regular basis. Most couples will either do it once a week or once a month. A few hours spent together watching a movie or sharing a nice dinner is a great way to maintain the connection that brought you together in the first place.

With these five tips in mind, you will be on your way towards being a happy and organized new husband or wife.

Life insurance benefits are not paid automatically. If you are the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, you must file a claim in order to receive any money. Often, this is as simple as contacting your insurance agent and the deceased’s employer and filling out some paperwork. You will need to provide each insurance company with a certified copy of the death certificate.

However, if this is the only step you take, you may be missing out on other life insurance benefits to which you are entitled if you fail to locate all of the life insurance benefits that the deceased was entitled to. If you spend time uncovering these hidden policies, you may end up with a great deal more money from life insurance than you expected.

Finding individually owned life insurance policies

Your spouse or family member may have owned one or more permanent or term life insurance policies.

Individually owned term or permanent policies are what most people think of as life insurance. These policies are purchased by one person and pay benefits when the insured person dies. If your spouse or family member owned one of these policies, he or she probably kept it with his or her important papers in a file or in a safe-deposit box.

However, if you know that your spouse or family member owned an individual policy and you can’t find it, call his or her insurance agent or company to check. It may be wise to review canceled checks to see if you can locate any premium payments to insurance companies. If you know that there was a policy but you can’t find it, check the Internet or call your state insurance department for the names of companies that may, for a fee, help you locate a policy.

Finding group life insurance policies

Group life insurance policies provide coverage to many people under one policy.

Group insurance policies may be issued through an employer, bank, credit agency, or other professional or social organizations, and they often pay benefits in specialized circumstances. Because the group holds the actual policy, the insured person receives a certificate of insurance as proof that he or she is insured. Look for these certificates in your spouse’s or family member’s personal papers, files, and safe-deposit box. If you can’t find any certificates, this doesn’t mean that your spouse wasn’t insured. You should still check with your spouse’s or family member’s employer, bank, or credit agency, or study loan paperwork or purchase contracts. Read the following sections for information about types of group policies that your spouse or family member may have owned.

Employer-based group life insurance

If your spouse or family member was employed at the time of his or her death, you may be the beneficiary of a life insurance policy issued through his or her employer. Because some employers offer their employees a certain amount of life insurance at no cost, you may not even be aware that your spouse or family member was insured by a group policy because he or she did not pay his or her own premiums. What’s more, your spouse or family member may have had the option of purchasing additional group life insurance through his or her employer, paying the extra premiums himself or herself. So, before assuming that your spouse or family member did not have group life insurance, you should check his or her pay stubs and call his or her employer.

Accidental death and dismemberment policy

Your spouse or family member may have been offered an accidental death and dismemberment policy through an employer, credit card, or bank. These policies pay benefits if an insured individual dies accidentally. This is another type of life insurance you may be unaware that your spouse or family member had because, occasionally, these policies are offered as part of a loan package or even issued as a free benefit by banks or as a rider to an employer-issued insurance policy. If your spouse or family member died accidentally, look for such a policy in his or her files, or contact his or her employer, bank, credit card issuer, or insurance company.

Travel accident insurance

If your spouse or family member was killed while traveling by air, boat, or train, you may be eligible to receive the proceeds from a travel accident insurance policy that he or she may have purchased when buying tickets. In addition, if your spouse or family member used a credit card to purchase travel tickets, you may be automatically entitled to a life insurance benefit payable if he or she dies as a result of an accident when using those tickets. Some travel agencies and road and travel clubs also routinely issue travel accident insurance policies, and employers sometimes pay death benefits to employees who are killed while traveling on company business.

Mortgage life insurance

If your spouse or family member owned a house, he or she may have purchased mortgage life insurance. A mortgage life insurance policy pays off the balance of the policyholder’s mortgage upon his or her death. If you’re not sure whether your spouse or family member purchased such a policy, check with the mortgage lender.

Credit life insurance

Banks and finance companies routinely offer credit life insurance when someone takes out a loan or is issued a line of credit. This insurance will pay off the outstanding balance of a loan or account if the insured individual dies. A few extra dollars are added to the monthly loan payments to pay the premiums. Because this type of policy is so profitable for the bank or finance company, most institutions try to sell it when someone finances a purchase or signs up for a line of credit, and occasionally they add it to a contract before the individual signs the contract. So, it’s likely that you won’t find out that your spouse or family member owned such a policy unless you check with credit card companies, banks, or any lenders to whom your spouse or family member owed money at the time of his or her death.

How do you file a life insurance benefit claim?

Notify the insurance company that the policyholder has died: You should contact the insurance company as soon as possible. Call the policyholder services department directly. Or, if the life insurance policy was issued through an agent or an employer, ask them to notify the company for you to begin the claims process.
File a claim form: You’ll begin the claims process by filling out and signing a claimant’s statement, and then attaching to it an original or certified copy of the policyholder’s death certificate. If you are too distraught to fill out the form yourself, your insurance agent may fill it out for you, although you’ll still have to sign it. If another beneficiary is named on the policy, that person must also fill out a claim form. You may also have to fill out IRS Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification), which will enable the insurance company to notify the IRS of any interest it has paid to you on the value of the policy. To expedite your claim, follow the insurance company’s instructions carefully.
Wait for the company to process the claim: Life insurance claims are usually paid quickly, often within a few days. First, however, the insurance company will ensure that you are the beneficiary of the policy, that the policy is current and in force, and that all conditions of the policy have been met. This is usually a simple matter and does not delay the claims process. Claims are more often delayed because the insurance company has not received a valid death certificate. The insurance company also has a right to contest (and perhaps deny) a claim if the insured died within two years following the purchase of the policy and the insurance company believes that there was fraud or a material misstatement made on the application.

How should you receive the life insurance proceeds?

Life insurance proceeds are often paid as lump-sum cash payments. Most people elect this form of payment because it enables them to control how the insurance money is invested or spent. In addition, if you elect to receive a lump-sum payment, you will not owe income tax on the life insurance proceeds.

Another way of receiving the proceeds of a life insurance policy is through a settlement option. Many types of settlement options are available for a beneficiary who is unable or unwilling to manage a lump sum of cash. Either the policyowner chooses the settlement option at the time he or she purchases the policy, or the beneficiary chooses the option at the time the benefit becomes payable (unless the policyowner had chosen an irrevocable option). You will find the available settlement options in the insurance policy.

Note: Some settlement option choices, such as payment as a life annuity, are irreversible. It may be best to take a lump-sum cash payment, put the money in the bank, and contact a qualified financial advisor.

These days, people seem to be living for much longer periods. Even though the survival rates tend to be on the increase in recent years for several health conditions, it is likely that the debilitating sickness and the expenses connected with loss of earnings could result in medical bankruptcy.

Despite having state-of-the-art remedies and health insurance coverage working for you, whenever you are clinically determined to have a life-threatening condition, there is always the likelihood that you might be unable to pay for the treatments needed and recommended. A critical illness life insurance policy can help in this regard.

This insurance coverage offers a settlement if you encounter a critical sickness which is included in the policy agreement. You do not have to become handicapped in order to collect. As opposed to disability coverage, you will not have to be working to obtain the benefits. The payment for this insurance is generally made in lump sum amounts and could be spent in any way you want. For instance, it is possible to use this money for medical bills, mortgage obligations, remodeling your home, home care, wheelchair equipment or a vacation. Health conditions which meet the criteria generally include severe injuries, major surgeries and diseases.

Critical illness life insurance policies can be bought in a number of ways, which include:

As a workplace benefit, through payroll deduction or employer paid benefits, where payments can be deducted from salary
As an independent coverage
As a life insurance supplement
As an augment to a health insurance coverage

There are two forms of policies accessible through a job program: worksite and true group. The true group policy, which is regarded as a master policy will be issued to the company and workers who join up obtain certificates below that master plan. The worksite policies are generally individual types offered to workers at the workplace.

According to reports from the representatives at the National Association for Critical Illness Insurance and other organizations, it is estimated that about 90 % of the critical illness life insurance policies tend to be bought for workplace benefits.
A number of insurance providers combine critical illness coverage into groups, and you are able to make claims in several categories. As an illustration, one group might cover cancer-related ailments, an additional group might include heart-related illnesses and a third group might include organ transplants, renal system failure or critical burns. You can purchase a policy which covers one group of ailments or a plan which covers the 3 condition categories.

The insurance company will normally terminate policies if premiums are not paid, when the maximum payout is done, in the event you die or if you ask for termination.

A person wont get their cash back or a refund if they cancel or never become ill, unless they purchase a critical illness policy having a “premium return” feature. For example, should you pass away during the policy’s waiting period and possess a return of premium rider upon death, any payment you made is going to be given to the beneficiary noted on your policy or your estate.

Marketing! Any kind of Network Online or Offline Marketing, but most of all a proven system to begin creating income immediately…

Network Online Marketing is not something we have done all our lives. Furthermore, doing so on a regular basis to create an income flow requires time and money. Are you aware of the missing link they don’t tell us about?

Have you had troubles in a Network or Multi Level Marketing company? Tell me if these experiences sound familiar to you…

Network Marketing Trial #1

In the early ’90′s I was introduced to A.L. Williams (Primerica), I was introduced to a man who wanted to come to my house to read my life insurance policy. Now I thought either this guy was the smartest home burglar or he knew something I really needed to know. And since he certainly looked bright enough I invited him in. He read my policy and highlighted all the flaws in my policy that clearly showed me that I was getting a program that was not going to perform for me! Yup, when I die they kept my savings! which offset the face value of my policy so I was slowly self-insuring myself! Get it? I did. If I lived I would get a whopping 2% interest on my money. Holy smokes was I mad! I asked him if all the policies worked like this and he said “yup”, they may have different names but they all worked pretty much the same.

Wow! Not only did I want to buy more face value term insurance but stash the difference I saved where ever I wanted! And to my amazement I could go out and show others this same no brainer and make money! Again Wow! Who would say no to that! I’m in!

Well after many presentations later I found that this wasn’t so easy. People really wanted to stay in that bad product because their pastor, brother or best friend sold it to them, and of course “they wouldn’t lie!” Would they? Funny, we even went to the extent to invite the pastor, brother or brother to the presentation and IF they showed up they didn’t even know that it worked in that fashion either. And guess what? They all would just stay in the policy and say “can’t be true”.

So we would run out of the house so we wouldn’t catch what they had. Funny now but this form of marketing didn’t pay the bills. Within many months I made a few hundred dollars selling term insurance policies but, spent all I my income doing meetings at the local business center. Awesome idea! Totally truthful! I must just be the worst sales person in the world! So I’ll just keep my J-O-B.

Network Marketing Trial #2

Here I am years later and my J-O-B. not producing me a million dollars and behold another gentleman showed me how I could lose my 30 pound gut in 30 days guaranteed! Gullible me, prove it I said! And it worked! Doing nothing more than the plan, take the shakes and supplements, Herbalife helped me lose 29 pounds in thirty days! Close enough to 30 pounds for me, lots of people MUST be taking advantage of this magic stuff right? Oh yes, he says, just talk to anyone that fogs a mirror and needs to lose 30 pounds and it sells itself AND people want to join. I’m in!

And the same song started to play again. I must not be a good salesman! AGAIN here I am again sick and tired of being sick and tired. I work my fingers to the bone only to hit the glass ceiling in wages, have an owner that only wants to do it his way and now I’m going nowhere. Of course silly! It’s his business; he can do anything he wants to do! If you want to do what you want then get your own!

Now I’m looking for an opportunity so I can be a business owner.

Network Marketing Trial #3

So guess what? The network marketing opportunity knocks again only this one’s different! Yes! They got tons of products, nothing I have to put in my garage, use some of it myself and others use mine too and a website to sell it all with! This is it I going to the top this time! Fortune-High-Marketing has the greatest idea ever, your life with a paycheck!

All I have to do is get some friends and family that believe in me…this begins to work but the warm market starts to shrink and I reach out to my upline once again.”Hey upline! What do I do if my market is cold?” Answer: “Get a mirror, use the phonebook, if they are within 3 feet grab ‘em and get them in front of my presentation and I’ll close them for you!

Yup you guessed it. I must really, really be bad at selling anything. I must be destined to stay in the mechanic shop.

But is it really me? I follow directions and work the market as they teach me, isn’t that enough? Aren’t there more folks making money in network online marketing than any other industry? Sure there is. So why not me? I’m a hard worker, what the difference?

Huge warm market, tons of luck or a great system! Well my huge warm market never has been huge. I’m not the luckiest guy in the world. So, what does all those great products have in common? No marketing system for the common person with tons of desire. You see the product company makes it big in volume. If I fail the companies still make money and the 2% that can make it longterm builds it.

So what is the answer? A real business needs a marketing plan, do you have one for yours?