Unlike whole life insurance, term life insurance is purchased to cover a limited term period. Term life pays the insured sum only when the insured dies within the time span of the policy. Term life policies do not accrue any cash value. So if you live past the length of the policy, you won’t receive any money. It is also important to understand that premiums for term life policies may not be fixed, and may increase from time to time. To avoid this, be sure to look for a guaranteed level premium term life insurance policy. These policies guarantee a level premium throughout the term period.

Advantages of a Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance covers the maximum insurance for your money. It can be beneficial for those families that have more financial obligations than current assets. Here are some of the advantages of a term insurance:

Affordable
Term life insurance offers the most affordable premiums against high death benefits.

Simple
Term life insurance is the most simple life insurance product available in the market.

Competitive Pricing
Since term life policies are simple in nature, they can be easily compared on the basis of price and features. This makes term life insurance an appealing commodity in a very competitive market.

Flexibility
Term Life policies may include “renew-ability” and “convert-ability” options. The renew-ability feature enables you to renew your term policy at the end of the term, without having to undergo a medical exam. A convertible feature allows you to convert your term life policy into an equivalent whole life policy, which accrues cash value, should you feel the need to switch to a permanent policy.

Waiver of premium
There is an additional optional feature called “waiver of premium”, which means that in the event of your inability to pay premiums due to circumstances stipulated in the term life insurance contract, the insurance company will waive payments for a stipulated time. However, this feature comes with an extra charge.

Short Term Coverage to Suit Your Needs
Term life is suitable for short term coverage. If your mortgage can be paid up in ten years you may want to choose a term policy for ten years. Most people do not envisage requiring life insurance in their senior years, so a term life policy makes sense for short term financial planning.

Deciding If a Term Life Insurance Policy is Right for You
Deciding the right life insurance policy is a very important step in securing your family’s future. If you are looking for a low cost, budget friendly life insurance plan, choosing a term life insurance policy would be your best option. Moreover, term life insurance is a good choice for people on fixed incomes and with a growing family. If you have a mortgage, educational loans, estate taxes or other liabilities, your sudden death would place an overwhelming financial burden on your family. Term life insurance provides high death benefits at the most affordable rates. This is why term life policies are the most popular life insurance policy. You should determine the amount of life insurance coverage that enables your family to clear all debts and provide a tidy some for their future. You may want to include college funds for your children in your coverage.

Here is a quick check-list that can help you to decide if a low cost term life insurance policy is right for you:

If you’re on a budget and cannot afford a very high premium. If you are young, and in good health. You can take advantage of low premium rates. If you are looking for a simple, straight-forward, low cost life insurance plan to protect your beneficiaries.

Most people need life insurance and term life is suitable for all stages of life. Term life policies offer a cheap option to suit your needs. Term life is also easy to purchase. Many online life insurance providers have access to hundreds of reliable life insurance companies. By feeding in your personal information, you can receive numerous quotes for comparison within minutes. Remember to be completely honest in answering questionnaires. Use sites that are absolutely safe and are certified by the Better Business Bureau to safeguard your interests. Many online sites, provide cheap initial quotes to attract customers. They may end up being a disappointment.

Many people think they may not be eligible for a term life policy or they will have to pay high premiums because they suffer from certain health conditions. But there are online life insurance providers who can help you find life insurance companies that may look more favorably on certain medical conditions than the regular life insurance companies. This is where shopping around for term life policies will come into play. If your health is poor, you may want to check out these Insurance FAQs for help in how to find companies that may be able to offer you more favorable quotes even if you do suffer from certain medical conditions.

Conclusion

Choosing the right life insurance that suits your needs is simple once you’ve studied your options thoroughly. Utilize the Internet’s resources to educate yourself about life insurance basics. Factor in your personal situation, present debts and future liabilities and you will be able to gauge how much life coverage your family would need. Many online insurance quote providers can help you with your queries and offer professional advice on choosing the right policy for your particular situation. And once you factored in all the scenarios, and have numerous term life policies to evaluate, choosing a life insurance not only becomes easy, but beneficial too.

When trying to “cash out” of this policy I discovered that there is a $5,000 surrender fee, which would leave me with nothing.

Does anyone know of a way around this, or at least a way to contest it?

I have tried to do some research on my own, but I still can’t seem to fully understand this matter. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

The American Cancer Society estimates doctors will diagnose over 1.4 million new cases of cancer in the U.S. in 2007, with more than 559,650 cancer-related deaths. If you are among the majority of cancer patients and survive for at least five years following your diagnosis, you may face another fight: buying life insurance.

Buying life insurance for cancer patients is challenging, but not necessarily impossible. Your chances for securing a policy depend greatly on the type, stage and grade of the cancer, and even on the treatment plan. There is a relationship between the rate you’ll receive and the curability of your cancer. Certain types of skin cancer, for example, are considered very low risk by life insurance companies and a skin cancer history may not even impact premiums.

Applicants with common and treatable forms of breast and prostate cancer may be able to get a “standard” rating under ideal circumstances. But patients with a history of leukemia or colon cancer may fall into a “substandard” or “high substandard” rating at best, or receive declines. Anyone with cancer that has metastasized likely won’t be able to obtain a policy.

Dr. Charles Levy, senior vice president and chief medical director of AIG American General Domestic Life Insurance Cos., says, “We’re better and better able to differentiate the risks of individual cancers.” Life insurers like AIG American General have sophisticated tables to determine premiums, where they can factor in cancer types and treatments. The end result is better premiums because applicants aren’t lumped together as an “average.”

Most insurers will not offer a policy to someone who is still undergoing treatment for cancer. Depending on your type of cancer, the life insurer may also want to add a surcharge, also called a temporary flat extra. For example, AIG American General sometimes charges temporary flat extras for two to five years, depending on the applicant’s cancer and treatment. The good news is that although these extra premiums can be expensive, they will automatically disappear after a set period of time.

Cancer insurance risk specialists

While a dedicated life insurance agent will search cancer insurance companies to find insurers that will sell you a life insurance policy, in some cases you may be better off seeking out a broker who specializes in finding life insurance for people who have a history of cancer.

These brokers will know the specific questions underwriters will want answered when considering your application. Many brokers have developed relationships with several insurers, so they know which companies offer the best-priced life insurance policies for cancer survivors. Some brokers have experts who specialize in gathering your medical records and organizing them.

By directing your application to life insurers that will view your application most favorably, these brokers will help you find the most accurate price quotes and the lowest premiums for life insurance. Always check the financial strength of the insurer before you buy any policy and be sure that the agent or broker you choose is licensed in your state.

Life insurance strategies for cancer survivors

If you are a healthy cancer survivor, life insurance is even more feasible. There are things you can do to ensure you’re getting the best premium offers possible for your situation.

1. Gather all possible medical records before you apply, from the first pathology report to medical records to treatment records. That ensures medical underwriters have the most complete picture of you, your health, and your cancer history. Having all those records before you apply for cancer insurance will reduce delays in your application process, because your life insurer is going to request them and will wait for them. The information you provide can garner you better premiums in the end: The less life insurer underwriters knows about you, the more likely they are to have to assume you are the highest risk and offer you high premiums accordingly. According to Levy, “If it’s fuzzy, we’re more likely to err on the side of conservatism.”

2. Make sure you have complied with your doctor’s treatment plans. For example, says Levy, if your doctor asked to see you back in one year and you haven’t been back in four years, get to your doctor for your check-up before you apply for life insurance. Your life insurer is not going to offer you a policy without before seeing the results of that check-up. Similarly, if you’ve had breast cancer and you’re due for a mammogram in December and you apply for cancer insurance in October, your life insurer will likely wait for the results of your next mammogram.

3. Get prices from several companies. Policy costs can vary a great deal among companies.

4. See if you can get group life insurance through a professional, fraternal, membership, or political organization to which you belong.

5. Consider a “graded” policy (one with limited benefits) if you cannot get full death benefits. In the first few years of a graded policy, the company pays only the premiums and part of the face value if the insured person dies of a condition, such as cancer, that existed before the policy took effect. If the insured person dies after the specified grading-in period, the company will pay the full face amount of the policy.

If your cancer has been successfully treated, and you are otherwise in good health, you can likely obtain a cancer life insurance policy. If you can show that you are healthy and your treatments have gone well, several insurers may compete for your business.

So, lets say the father in a family has a whole life insurance policy for like $2 million. What will his family receive if he dies prematurely? What would they receive if he died of natural causes when the children have grown up?

Thank you!