Life Insurance

Term Life Insurance Guide
Life Insurance Basics Term Life Insurance Permanent Life Insurance Included Features vs. Available Options (Riders) Substandard Ratings
Life Insurance Basics
One simple definition of life insurance states it is coverage placed on the life of an individual whereas an insurance company issues a policy and pays a stated death benefit in the event of the insured's death. Life insurance is intended to provide financial stability and support to the dependents and beneficiaries of the insured.
While the general concept of life insurance seems simple enough, there is nothing simple about the overwhelming number of policy options available in the marketplace today. Our discussion will focus on the two basic types of life insurance: term life insurance and permanent life insurance. We will also briefly describe the most common variations of each type of life insurance.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance provides pure life insurance in its most inexpensive form. Term life insurance provides coverage for a set period of time (the policy term) and generally pays a death benefit only if the insured dies during the policy term. The policy term typically ranges from 1 to 30 years, with 20 years being the most common term.
One of the biggest advantages of term life insurance is its lower initial cost in comparison to permanent life insurance. Term life insurance policies have no cash value accounts, policy loan provisions or other features typically found in permanent life insurance policies. With term life policies, you're generally just paying for the death benefit, which is the lump sum payment your beneficiaries will receive if you die during the term of the policy. With most permanent life policies, your premiums help fund the death benefit and can accumulate cash value.
Term life insurance is often a good choice for people in their family-formation years, especially if they're on a tight budget. It allows an individual to buy high levels of coverage when the need for protection is often greatest. Term life insurance is also a good option for covering needs that will disappear in time. For instance, if paying for a child's education is an applicant's major financial goal, it would be wise for the applicant to purchase a term life insurance policy that will cover the period of time necessary to reach that goal.
Level Premium Term Life Insurance:
Level premium term life insurance offers fully-guaranteed premium rates, which means the premiums on the policy are guaranteed to remain the same for the entire term period. Level premium term life insurance is a fully-underwritten product and is available in amounts as low as $50,000 up to $20 million or more, depending on the insurance company. It is the most common form of term life insurance.
Return of Premium (ROP) Term Life Insurance:
Return of Premium (ROP) term life insurance is a relatively new product that combines the advantages of traditional term life insurance such as affordable, guaranteed level premium periods (10, 20 or 30 years), with a return of premium feature. At the end of the level premium period, 100% of the premiums paid will be returned to the policy owner (excluding substandard fees and any extra charges).
Of course, there is a price to be paid for this added benefit. The premiums for ROP policies are higher than premiums for standard term life policies. The insurance company will generally invest these additional premium dollars during the term of the policy, which allows them to return your premiums to you at the end of the term period.
One factor to consider is term life insurance rates have dropped considerably over the past decade, mostly because people are living longer. If you own a standard term life policy, there's really no harm done in dropping that policy in favor of a newer and cheaper term life policy. But if you own a ROP policy, dropping the policy before the full term has expired means that you will have paid a high price for your life insurance coverage and the premiums you've paid may only be partially refunded.
Instant Issue Term Life Insurance:
This revolutionary product combines the advantages of traditional term life insurance such as affordable, guaranteed level-premium periods, with the speed and simplicity of the Internet. Policies are generally issued in as little as 15 minutes with no medical exams and no lengthy underwriting.
Qualified applicants can currently select coverage amounts from as low as $25,000 to $150,000 and coverage periods of 10, 15, or 20 years. A convenient online application allows the applicant to sign digitally through e-signature. There are no forms to fill out or mail. Once approved, the applicant is asked to set up an online account for payment processing and a policy is issued electronically.
Permanent Life Insurance:
Permanent life insurance provides lifelong protection. As long as the premiums are paid, the policy will stay in force until a death benefit is paid. These policies are designed and priced to keep over a long period of time. They are generally recommended for people who believe they will have a lifelong need for life insurance coverage or for coverage that extends beyond the maximum allowed by term life insurance (currently 30 years).
Another characteristic of permanent life insurance is a feature known as cash value or cash-surrender value. In fact, permanent life insurance is often referred to as cash value life insurance because these types of policies can build cash value over time, as well as provide a death benefit to the beneficiaries.
Cash values, which accumulate on a tax-deferred basis just like assets in most retirement plans, can be used in the future for any nearly any purpose. Policy owners can borrow cash value for a down payment on a home, to help pay for their children's education or to provide income for retirement. When money is borrowed from a permanent life insurance policy, the policy's cash value is used as collateral and the borrowing rates tend to be relatively low. And unlike loans from most financial institutions, the loan is not dependent on credit checks or other restrictions. The loan must ultimately be paid back with interest or the beneficiaries will receive a reduced death benefit and cash surrender value.
If the policy owner needs or wants to stop paying premiums, the cash value can be used to continue the current life insurance protection for a specified time, or to provide a lesser amount of protection for the remainder of the policy. If the policy owner decides to stop paying premiums and surrenders the policy, the guaranteed policy values will be paid to him/her.
There are several types of permanent life insurance policies available including whole life, universal life and variable life. Each offers its own set of options and features including fixed or variable premiums, fixed or variable death benefits and policy loan provisions among others.
Whole Life Insurance:
Whole life insurance is also referred to as ordinary life. This the most common type of permanent life insurance. It provides the certainty of a guaranteed amount of death benefit and a guaranteed rate of return on cash values. The premium is also level and guaranteed to never increase. Some types of whole life insurance policies allow policy owners to participate in the financial prosperity of the insurance company by receiving dividends. Dividends can by used to grow the death benefit and/or the cash value of the policy.
Universal Life Insurance:
Universal life insurance is also referred to as adjustable life insurance. It allows policy owners to pay premiums at any time, in virtually any amount, subject to certain minimums and maximums. Policy owners can also reduce or increase the death benefit of a universal life insurance policy more easily than with other types of permanent life insurance policies. Universal life insurance policies provide the certainty of a guaranteed minimum amount of death benefit, as long as premiums are sufficient to sustain that death benefit. Most universal life insurance policies will also provide a guaranteed rate of return on the policy's cash value. However, it is possible a policy will not accumulate cash value if the insurance company's administrative expenses increase, mortality assumptions are changed, investment portfolio does not perform as expected, or the policy premium payments are insufficient.
Variable Life Insurance:
Variable life insurance provides death benefits and cash values that vary with the performance of a portfolio of underlying investment options. Policy owners can allocate a portion of premiums among a variety of investment options such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Fixed accounts with guaranteed interest rates are also an option. Variable life insurance may be a good option for people who are willing to assume investment risk in an effort to achieve greater returns. With variable life insurance, much of the investment risk is shifted from the insurance company to the policy owner. Good investment performance would provide the potential for higher cash values and death benefits. If the specified investments perform poorly, cash values and death benefits would drop accordingly.
Variable Universal Life Insurance:
Variable universal life insurance is similar to universal life insurance. It is a flexible premium, permanent life insurance policy that allows policy owners to have premium dollars allocated to a variety of investment options, including a fixed account. The policy allows for changes to the death benefit and policy premium. Variable universal life insurance may be a good option for people who want to combine life insurance with a higher potential for investment return at a higher risk.
Included Features vs. Available Options (Riders)
Many term life insurance policies include specific features with the policy that do not require additional premium. QuickQuote refers to these throughout the Web site as 'Included Features'.
An example of a common Included Feature is the Accelerated Death Benefit provision. This provision typically allows for the one-time acceleration or advance of up to 50% of the death benefit proceeds payable under the base insurance policy, not to exceed $250,000. An insured may become eligible for this benefit if diagnosed by a qualified physician as having 12 months or fewer to live. Specific requirements and limits vary by company.
Nearly all term life insurance policies in the marketplace offer optional benefits the policy owner can add to the policy for additional premium. These benefits are commonly called optional riders. QuickQuote refers to these throughout the Web site as 'Available Options'.
Examples of common Available Options are:
Accidental Death Benefit Rider: This benefit is optional with many policies today. It provides an additional death benefit when the insured's death is caused by an accident.