What is Life Insurance?

Life Insurance is insurance for you and your family's peace of mind. Life insurance is a policy that people buy from a life insurance company, which can be the basis of protection and financial stability after one's death. Its function is to help beneficiaries financially after the owner of the policy dies. It can also be a form of savings in the long run if you purchase a plan, which offers the option of contributing regularly. Additionally, a little known function of life insurance is that it can be tied in with a person's pension plan. A person can make contributions to a pension that is funded by a life insurance company. These are considered private pension arrangements.In addition, you should also make a list of what you feel needs to be protected in your family's way of life. With a life insurance policy in place, you can:

provide security for your family

protect your home mortgage

take care of your estate planning needs

look at other retirement savings/income vehicles

Life insurance is protection against financial loss resulting from death. It is an insurance company's promise to pay your beneficiary a specific amount of money when you die in exchange for timely payment of premiums.

Why do I need life insurance?

Although you may not think about it, your ability to earn income is a significant asset and life insurance helps replace lost income in the event of your premature death. Here are some reasons people buy life insurance.

The death benefit may be used:

To replace income the family would need to maintain their standard of living after the death of a wage earner.

To pay off a mortgage loan and other personal and business debts or to create a rent fund.

To create a fund for children's education.

To pay final expenses, such as funeral costs and taxes.

To create a family emergency fund or a fund for a family member with special needs.

Main Types Of Life Insurance

Term insurance -- The simplest form of insurance. You purchase coverage for a specific price for a specified period. If you die during that time, your beneficiary receives the value of the policy. There is no investment component.

Whole life -- Similar to term, but you purchase the policy to cover your "whole life" not just a set period. Premiums remain level throughout the life of the policy, and the company invests at least a portion of your premiums. Some firms share investment proceeds with policyholders in the form of a dividend. Many companies will offer "a relatively low guaranteed rate of return," but in reality pay at a rate in excess of the guarantee.

Universal life -- You decide how much you want to put in over and above a minimum premium. The company chooses the investment vehicle, which is generally restricted to bonds and mortgages. The investment and the returns go into a cash-value account, which you can use against premiums or allow to build. With some policies, sometimes called Type I or Type A, the cash account goes toward the face value of the policy on the death of the policyholder. With a second variety, sometimes called Type II or Type B, the beneficiary receives the face value of the policy plus all or most of the cash account. While Type II is meant to provide a partial hedge against inflation, it demands higher premiums as you get older than Type I.
A variation of a universal policy, often called universal variable life, allows policyholders to choose investment vehicles.

Variable life -- With a variable policy, there is usually a wider selection of investment products, including stock funds. As with a universal policy, returns on investments can offset the cost of premiums or build in the account. And depending on the type of policy, the beneficiaries will either receive the face value of the policy or the face value plus all or part of the cash account.