Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance can be viewed as a marriage between life insurance and investments. You decide how much death benefit you want, or need, and the frequency of your premium payments. You also decide how much should be applied to your investment account. The amount of monthly outlay can vary as long as there is a sufficient amount to take care of the death benefit plus administrative costs.

In other words you say to the insurance company, for example, “I have $200.00 per month that I want to put in this policy, I want $250,000 of life insurance and the rest of my monthly payment should go into investment. The insurance company will come back with a quote for your scrutiny and approval.

You can look at it this way, you get all the benefits of a whole life insurance policy for a lower premium. If the investments of the life insurance company perform well you will be ahead of the game.

A universal life insurance policy offers ample guarantees. The policy incorporates a guaranteed minimum interest rate as well as guaranteed charges. There is usually a minimum guaranteed interest rate of about 4%. The policy is also guaranteed not to lapse as long as the premiums are paid.

This is a great policy to use as the foundation of your life insurance portfolio, especially for young people. Anyone who desires to have some sort of life insurance and also needs to invest some money will also find this type of policy helpful.

In some instances the insurance company may not perform as anticipated. If this should happen an increased premium may be required by the life insurance company to maintain the death benefit.

Federal income tax is deferred on your universal life insurance policy interest.

For additional information go to Universal Life Insurance

For more than 40 years Donald has been known for his extensive knowledge of the life insurance business. He has studied the work of all of the greats from Ben Feldman and Frank Bettger to Joe Gandolfo. He has represented some of the largest and best life insurance companies in the United States as well as Canada. His advice is invaluable.

Donald website is life insurance hub

[tags]universal life insurance, investments, life insurance, term life insurance[/tags]

Becoming an Insurance Agent

The Insurance sector has seen a major growth in the recent times, opportunities in this field seem endless with the increasing population. If you are looking to become an agent then, You need to be a good salesperson with an outgoing personality. By keeping yourself updated on any changes in the insurance industry you can refine and define your sales pitch.
For starters we live in an age of when mother earth is fighting back humans through endless hurricanes, rain at unexpected places, drought in traditionally evergreen areas. It has never been a better time to help people ensure their financial well being by responsibly insuring their life and property. By becoming an Insurance agent you are not only entering a lucrative profession but you are helping the under priviledged and less informed folks out there who are in need of some heavy selling of the benefits of insurance.

You can either enter this as a part time or become dedicated to this profession. You can obtain highly respected designation of Chartered Property or Casualty Underwriter after having considerable experience as an agent by taking intensive courses and examinations. It is a very prestigious title, which involves reading applications that are submitted by the agents to determine whether the agency should accept the risk presented by the client. Since this is a starter’s edition we just dive back to the basics.

Who is an Insurance agent? - An insurance agent is a representative of an insurance company who sells insurance policies to third parties. They sell different types of insurance policies, for a single insurance company, in return for a commission. Depending on the type of work they perform they are paid a salary, a salary plus commission, or only commission. He is also called an insurance broker in some instances and may work with different companies depending on their area of expertise and coverage.

Some of the basic Job Responsibilities of an insurance agent

His / her job his is to find local doable customers to determine their needs and help them in getting insured.
Delivering the insurance policy to the respective customers upon approval and collect the premium amount; in return for which they get a certain amount of commission by the insurance company.
He may sell individual policies for home, life, car and medical insurance.
Negotiate the new terms with the insurance company.
Help the insured customers to get their insurance claim in case of any natural disaster occurs.

For more useful information about insurance and to discuss with others please goto the insurance repository at info about insurance. A good english is always a definite plus for an insurance agent keep yourself updated on some interesting words in the word blog.
For more insurance resources visit the website at infoaboutinsurance.com

[tags]Becoming an Insurance Agent, Insurance, Info About insurance, Insurance Agent, job search[/tags]

Level Term Life Insurance

Buying level term life insurance is a simple matter if we know exactly what type we want before hand. There are several types to choose from; each serving a different need and each bought for a different purpose. Let us take some time to examine some of the most popular level term life insurance policies. We will start with the least expensive.

Increasing Premium Term Insurance

The increasing premium term policy, or yearly renewable term, at the outset is one of the most inexpensive that you can buy. The premium is so low that one would not think twice about such a purchase. Don’t let that fool you. This premium increases every year and if you keep the policy for a long period of time it will turn out to be quite expensive insurance. The face amount remains level for the duration. If you have a need to own insurance for a short period of time then this may be what you are looking for.

5 Year Term Insurance

5 year level term life insurance is also a short term policy designed to fulfill a short term need. It contains a level death benefit. The premiums for this type of insurance also remains level. They never increase. This is truly cheap life insurance. This can be used to cover outstanding loan balances or to guarantee that a plea is completed even if the insured dies. Let us suppose you plan to pay for a college education for a child or grandchild who will begin their further studies within a year or two. You want to know that even if you died your wish will become reality. A 5 year level term policy may be what you are looking for.

10 Year Term Insurance

You have to lay out a little more in premiums if you choose the 10 year level term life insurance policy. This policy also has a level premium which you can keep paying for 10 years. The death benefit is also level throughout the life of the policy. This policy is fairly inexpensive and can be used to cover outstanding loan balances, to fund buy-sell agreements in the early years of a business or even in family situations. Like most term policies this policy can be converted to permanent insurance at any time during the life of the policy.

20 Year Term Insurance

One of the best loved policies is the 20 year level term life insurance policy. As the name implies you can keep it for 20 years and the face amount remains level for the entire period. The premium is a little more than the 10 year policy but it is also level. This policy can also be converted to a permanent type policy at any time. Business people use this a lot as a floating debt policy. In case of death the bank will get back their money. If they have a valuable key employee they buy a policy on his or her life so that adjustment will be easier in the event of this persons death. This policy is also used a lot in family situations to guarantee the spouse and children sufficient income if the breadwinner should die prematurely.

30 Year Term Insurance

Used for similar reasons as the 20 year term is the 30 year level term life insurance policy. The death benefit also remains level for the duration and so does the premium. This policy can be kept for 30 years and also has a built in conversion privelege.

These are the best known and most bought level term life insurance policies. The last three are the most bought by people who have a preference for term insurance.

For more than 40 years Donald has been known for his extensive knowledge of the life insurance business. He has represented some of the largest and best life insurance companies in the United States as well as Canada. His advice is invaluable. For more details on how term life insurance works see Term Life Insurance For additional information on whole life insurance see Whole Life Insurance

[tags]level term life insurance, 20 year term life insurance, 30 year term life insurance, 10 year term[/tags]

Term Life Insurance The Differences Between Term and Whole Life Policies

Life Insurance quite generally is a policy whereby you pay a company a premium so that if you die while covered your descendents receive financial benefits. Within the larger Life Insurance window there exist two broad categories of policies, Term and Whole life (Whole Life is also known by the equivalent term Universal Life Insurance). Term Life is exactly what its name implies, valid only for a certain period of time, whereas Whole life lasts the duration of one’s life.

Price Differences

Because Term Life has a structured beginning and end, typically from 1 to 30 years, it is normally quite a bit cheaper than Whole Life. That is because under Whole Life it is assured that the insurer will eventually pay out (as we all eventually die). Under Term Life, however, there is a very good chance that you will live through the period of the policy and thus the insurance company can simply take your premiums without ever having to pay out anything.

Benefits Differences

Another important distinction between Term and Whole Life is the fact that at the end of the Term Policy, the policyholder is left with nothing but his own health. On the other hand, with a Whole Life Policy the insurer often takes a portion of the premium and places it into a savings account for the policyholder. In case of emergency later in life, the Whole Life Policy Holder can access that money to meet some needs while still living. As you can imagine, the Insurance Company raises the price they charge for access to all of this.

Deciding Between the Two

So, how does one decide between Term and Whole Life Insurance? To best answer that question it is important to ask why you need the insurance in the first place. Is it because you have young children and a spouse who does not have the earning potential to get your children through college? Or is it because you work in a dangerous industry and will regularly face the prospect of death over the next few years? These are both excellent candidates for Term Life Insurance. In the first case, it is important that the provider ensure enough financial support for approximately 10 years and then the need drops off, while the second example may require a shorter 3 - 5 year Term Life Policy.

On the other hand, let’s imagine that you have a mentally handicapped person you will support indefinitely, or a spouse that has never worked at all. These may be better candidates for Whole Life as the financial need they feel responsible for extends not only to some definite period in the future, but as long as the other person is alive. Under these circumstances, paying the premium for Whole Life might be worthwhile.

Term and Whole Life Insurance fill an important void in many lives by providing some assurance that in case of an accident, loved ones will not be left stranded. It is important to remember, however, that the policies are not panaceas. The savings rate on Whole Life Policies is usually dismal compared to open market rates, and with Term, you are making payments on a product you may never use. Ultimately, the decision to purchase either of these products should involve weighing your personal risk and health, your current and expected financial situation, and alternative uses for funds you have earmarked for a policy.

Dan Johnson enjoys writing about term life insurance.

[tags]Term Life Insurance,insurance,life insurance[/tags]

Benefits From Using An Independent Review Organization (IRO) For Hospital Peer Review Services

Hospitals that have come to us for the first time for medical peer review services often have cases that have been either in litigation or subject to potential litigation for months if not years. We have been able to quickly help litigation teams and hospital quality managers gain clarity about these situations so they can more easily decide what their next course of action should be. In cases of litigation, if a hospital knows that their physician provider was at fault in a particular situation that leads to a bad outcome or a sentinel event, it makes more sense to settle those cases quickly, rather than incur more legal expenses by continuing to defend themselves.

When hospitals first experience successful case resolution through an outsourced peer review, they begin to believe that outsourcing to an independent review organization can have lasting benefits and should be done on a more systematic basis. Applying “best practices” and “quality management” to the process means that an organization is trying to reduce negative patient outcomes and sentinel events and, as a result, it will send a certain percentage its peer review committee cases out to an independent review organization to be looked at. Oftentimes, our clients send us cases in groups where we’re asked not to look just at “bad outcomes”.

The “bad outcome” cases might be interspersed in a larger sampling of cases where nothing went wrong at all, assuring that our peer specialists are getting a representative sampling of cases allowing for a high degree of objectivity in the review. So many hospitals have gone from an initial experience outsourcing a sensitive case to an IRO to using an IRO as a part of an ongoing quality management process. A systematic, proactive approach to sending out sensitive cases has been done for oncology groups, radiology groups and other specialty groups inside hospitals. We also review samplings for other specialty areas including general surgery, orthopedics and neurosurgery– all with great results. Today outsourced peer review for hospitals and medical groups is rapidly being adopted as a “best practice.”

About AllMed Healthcare Management
Founded in 1995, AllMed is a URAC-accredited Independent Review Organization (IRO) serving insurance payers, providers, TPAs and claims managers nationwide. Reviews are conducted by board-certified physicians in active practice. AllMed’s growing customer base for its independent medical review and hospital peer review services includes premier organizations, such as Educator’s Mutual Life, IMS Managed Care, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, HealthGuard, several Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Allianz and many other leading healthcare payers. Read the AllMed Medical News Blog and the Independent Review Organization Blog.

[tags]medical, medicine, healthcare, insurance, hospital, health[/tags]

Viatical Settlement Providers

A viatical settlement involves the selling of a life insurance policy by a terminally ill person to unrelated investors who can be private funding companies or brokers. These companies or brokers buy the policy at a reduced rate based on the face value of the policy. They pay a lump sum amount of cash to the seller and on the person’ demise, they collect the death benefits. Grim as this may sound, if the transactions take place in a fair manner, the viatical settlements can provide relief to the terminally ill person in terms of easing the financial strains, which may other wise compound the physical and emotional trauma the person is undergoing.

Viatical settlement providers are the investors who buy the settlement policies. The New York State law makes it mandatory for these providers to be licensed. So if you are looking for a potential buyer of the life insurance policy, you must make sure to check the license of the company or the broker. It also makes more sense to sell the policy to a funding directly rather than through a broker, because the broker may or may not keep your best interests in mind while finalizing the deal. This is because the brokers usually get a percentage of the death benefits from the viatical purchaser companies. Also, before settling on any company, do contact a few others to get the best competitive rates.

In addition, you must keep in mind that you get the full cash payment at the time of sale. Don’t ever agree to partial payments and payment on installments. Your viatical settlement payment should exceed the cash value of your policy. Otherwise the better option would be to surrender your policy for its cash value.

You must check with your insurer if the policy contains provisions for accelerated death benefits. Before selling out, you can also consider options such as reverse mortgages. Most of all, do not give in to pressure tactics. Try to bargain for the best possible rates.

Viatical Settlements provides detailed information about viatical settlements, viatical life insurance settlements, viatical life settlement associations, and more. Viatical Settlements is affiliated with Sell Structured Settlement Payment.

[tags]viatical settlements, viatical life insurance settlements, viatical life settlement associations[/tags]

Critical Illness Insurance - Critical or Ridicule

Critical illness cover (CIC) is a type of insurance which provides a significant one-off payment if you are diagnosed with a specified life-threatening condition - specified being the important term, because if your illness isn’t in the terms and conditions - you won’t get the payment. Over recent years, critical illness cover has gained in popularity due to lower costs and apparent simplicity.

Critical illness insurance can be sold as part of a mortgage package or additionally as a stand-alone policy. Critical illness cover can also be commonly associated with life insurance, with certain CIC policies paying out either on the diagnosis of a particular illness or on death, but not both, whilst other CIC policies pay out in both events.

When you first purchase the critical illness insurance policy, there might be an option for buy-back insurance, this would permit you to buy additional critical illness cover or life insurance, typically at a minimal cost, after you have made a claim on your existing CIC policy. It is often worth considering such an option, as the survival rates from a critical illness are usually very good and it can be extremely difficult to obtain new cover following a critical illness. Buy-back critical illness cover usually protects against the three major critical illnesses: heart attack, stroke and cancer from which you are most likely to recover, but also risk an attack later in life.

Bear in mind that when you take out life critical illness insurance, there is a standard waiting period between diagnosis and possible payout, from six months to a year for certain conditions, such as total permanent disability. However, if the diagnosis is very transparent, it is possible that the insurer would consider waiving the waiting period. The maximum payout varies from policy to policy thought it’s not unusual to see capped payouts of

Make a Move an Adventure

A move causes conflicting emotions. A part of you experiences the thrill of the move and you look forward to a new home and life. Another part of you is sad, it is always heart breaking to leave the familiar behind and say goodbyes.

Moving does not have to be hard or tiresome. If you decide I am not going to get bogged down by doubts, regrets, or fear you can move with no heartache. Make moving an adventure for yourself and the whole family.

If you put some though into it moving can be fun:

Clear your mind and heart of the “old” set a day just to say your good byes. Visit friends, neighbors, familiar places and relive the nostalgia. Have lunch with friends or colleagues at your favorite caf

The Whole Life Insurance Policy Explained

While most of us tend to put off thinking about life insurance it is important that you make sure loved ones will be left financially secure in the event of your death - and the solution could be a whole life insurance policy.

However, with so many different types of life assurance and life insurance, it is no wonder that people get confused as to what life insurance is and what the different types mean. Simply speaking, life insurance pays out a lump sum upon your death which will help your family continue to pay the bills and have a roof over their head.

And if you are still not convinced about life insurance, digest the following - if you have a mortgage or rent to pay, a spouse or a partner and/ or dependants, then how would they cope if they suddenly did not have your salary to pay your bills? Would they be able to afford to keep a roof over their heads or carry on living the same lifestyle without your wage? And, most importantly, would you want them to have financial difficulty added to their grief?

A life insurance - or life assurance - policy is the solution to this and can offer peace of mind that your financial affairs are in order in the event of your death.

A Whole Life Insurance Policy is exactly what it says - you are insured for the whole of your life with the total sum assured being payable upon your death. There are various versions of Whole Life Policies - for example, some offer a ‘With Profits’ option where your dependants get the guaranteed sum insured upon your death plus bonuses.

With a term life insurance policy you are insured for a set period of and if you die during the policy term, the insurer will pay out a lump sum. However, should you survive the policy term, the policy has no value whatsoever - it cannot be cashed in, nor can a claim cant be made after the end of the policy term.

It is always a good idea to investigate the different types of life insurance available to ensure you get the level of cover you need.

Jason Hulott is Business Development Director of Protection Insurance. Protection Insurance is an internet based insurance business dedicated to getting consumers the very best insurance rates and the best products. We have a range of free insurance guides Download them here

[tags]insurance, whole of life, policy[/tags]

How to Protect Your Assets

For most of us, asset protection consists of the insurance policies we buy to protect our home and its contents and our autos. These policies have the added benefit of providing you a defense as well as source of funds to pay damages if you cause an accident.

The law also provides various means of asset protection, ranging from “homestead exceptions”, protection of ERISA retirement funds from creditors, joint property ownership, bankruptcy and more.

There are other types of asset protection that are used by wealthy individuals to shield their assets from creditors or the tax man.

They are popular with professional, who can lose everything through a simple error of judgment.

Business and property owners may use them as a tax shelter and/or estate planning measure, as well as a way to avoid creditors.

The problem with most asset protection schemes is that they are expensive to implement and maintain, almost always forcing you to give up all or part of your ownership in the asset you are trying to protect and, in many cases, are illegal to boot.

Trusts, different corporate and partnership entities and off-shore accounts are popular in this field.

If you are one of those who feel they need this kind of protection, consult a very well qualified lawyer - a CPA by himself won’t do. And apply common sense. A lot of so-called professionals in this field have wound up getting their clients indicted or into serious tax problems because of miscalculations they have made.

There is also an abundance of fraud, especially with off-shore accounts. The money you deposit into an off-shore trust might simply disappear.

Don’t forget the IRS has been subpoenaing the names of people who just bought books about off-shore investing from the so-called gurus of this field and are now delving into their finances.

Finally don’t trust that the lawyer-client relationship will protect you, especially if you’re moving money off-shore. I’ve witnessed several instances of lawyers turning their clients in when the IRS or District Attorney pays them a visit.

Asset Protection for the Rest of Us

Most of us just have to worry about the simple mistakes we can make that cause personal injuries to another. A car accident or a slip and fall on your property can result in a lawsuit and a huge claim for damages.

This is where our homeowner’s or auto insurance companies step in. They will provide lawyers to defend the claim, hire experts if necessary and pay damages up to your policy limits.

In spite of the rash of lawsuits plaguing the US, most people with adequate insurance have little to worry about.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, personal injury lawyers, in spite of their reputation as sharks, really don’t want to throw defendants out of their houses, even if they could. They rather go for the low hanging fruit - in this case the proceeds of your liability insurance policy.

They know that unless you were drunk or grossly negligent, any liability award can be discharged in bankruptcy. They also know that many states have “homestead laws” that prevent the seizure of your home and that the money in your retirement plans are protected by varying degrees, depending on the state you live in.

In most cases, they will settle for the insurance policy limits, even if they are lower than what the case might be worth.

However, especially in cases with severe injuries, the lawyer might have no choice but to pursue your personal assets if your insurance coverage is not adequate and you do have other assets to attach - don’t forget your wages are an asset and can be garnished.

For this reason, anyone with a good income and the usual collection of assets, for example a home, car, IRA’s, other savings and investments, some original art, silverware, jewelry, etc should carry at least $1 million in liability coverage, maybe more if you live in high verdict states like California and New York. Your insurance agent should be able to advise you on a prudent liability limit.

This can be done by buying single limit liability coverage of $100,000 on your auto insurance and homeowner’s insurance policies. You then buy an umbrella policy with a $100,000 deductible. If you do this all through one agent, he can tie everything together so that your coverage to a million or more is seamless.

Property Transfers

If you have already had an accident or have been sued for some reason, it is too late to try to transfer property to another. It will likely be ruled fraudulent, as will transfers made shortly before a bankruptcy filing.

If you suspect you might be sued (or might have to go bankrupt), especially for something you have no insurance for, for example, a business deal gone bad, consult a lawyer. You might still have time to transfer assets to either a relative, a trust or to another corporation.

Do not do this on your own. If done incorrectly, you might face tax consequences and/or criminal charges and still face the loss of your property.

And remember if you transfer your property to a relative, it can then be attacked by that relative’s creditors.

This article does not purport to offer legal advice. Always seek the advice of a well qualified attorney before taking any steps to shield your assets.

By Chris Cooper: For more personal finance articles, visit http://www.credit-yourself.com/financial-planning.html

[tags]asset protection. financial planning, personal finance, insurance[/tags]