Life assurance, as its known in the UK, should be given careful consideration especially if you have dependents. Term life assurance is the most popular type however there are other types you should be aware of that you find better suit your circumstances or wishes.

Whole-of-life policies are offered by most insurance companies. As you have probably guessed they pay the sum that has been assured on the death of the person insured, regardless of when it happens.

Normally you will pay premiums until you reach a certain age, probably around 75 years, however your cover will continue until death. They are however more expensive than term insurance because the life assurance company will have to eventually pay out on the policy.

This life assurance policy will normally be offered in different cover options from minimum to maximum cover. What you choose will depend on how much is invested in the investment fund by the assurance company. With maximum cover the deduction will be much larger and premiums will likely rise to ensure cover is maintained for the policy.

With-profits policies

Final option is with-profits policies which will guarantee a minimum amount payout of cover if you do die but each year the sum will increase by the addition of annual bonuses. There are further bonuses usually added when the insured person dies which will increase the final payment further for the recipient.

There are also universal policies available which will work in the same way as the unit linked whole of life assurance policy. Every month the units are uncashed which will pay for the life assurance cover. However there are a wide range of benefits that come with these policies which include disability benefit. This will mean should the person become permanently disabled they will receive the sum that has been assured. Other benefits include fatal accident benefit, critical illness cover as well as the option to waiver the premium which will ensure that your payments are made should you find yourself unable to work. The latter will be of particular use in our current economic climate.

Life Insurance, sometimes called Life Assurance is a contract between two parties. This contract is usually between the policy holder and the insurer. In return for the policy holder paying a monthly or annual premium the insurer guarantees a specified monetary payout upon the death of the policy holder.

Each policy has its own terms and these can vary widely from insurer to insurer. A standard among all policies is that the insured cannot commit suicide or the policy will not payout. Also most policies will not accept new members if they have a terminal illness.

Costs involved with Colorado Life Insurance vary from provider to provider. These costs are based on things like age, sex and whether the person has ever smoked or has a history of family illness. Most all insurance companies put policy holders in one of four categories. These categories include Preferred Best, Preferred, Standard and Tobacco.

There are many types of life insurance. These types include but are not limited to Temporary or (Term), Whole Life Coverage, Universal Life Coverage, Permanent, Limited-Pay, Accidental Death and Endowments. Each insurance type has it benefits and drawbacks. Be sure to consult a qualified Colorado Insurance Specialist before signing any paperwork for coverage.

Life insurance policies are for the most part are not taxable income. So any payout made to the beneficiary should not be taxed by state or federal government. This may however not be the case if the policy is somehow tied to an estate.

Insurance companies are not required to provide health of life insurance and can deny anyone for any reason they want.

Remember always consult a certified Colorado Insurance Specialist for any questions you have.

If you work for the financial security of yourself, spouse or children, what would happen if you were unable to work – or worse still – to your family if you died? Insurance for life, critical illness or permanent illness is readily available and easily understood. 

We’d rather not think about it, but the fact is that around a third of us will suffer some form of cancer before we reach retirement age. That’s why it’s really important to do what you can to find some way of being financially secure should illness strike. 

The insurance that immediately springs to mind is life cover. This is where you insure yourself for a certain amount, which will be paid out to your dependents if you die. The set amount would be paid whether you suffer a premature death or live to a ripe old age – as more and more people are doing. With some policies premiums cease once you get to 70 or so, but the cover is still the same. As this insurance pays out after your death, it’s not essential if you haven’t anyone dependant on you. Recent research shows that one if five people have no life insurance in place. 

Even if you have no dependants, could you cope financially if you had no income? Not many people could, which makes it really important that you have some form of income protection. And doubly so if you have people who rely on you financially. This is where critical illness and permanent health insurance come in. 

If you have critical illness cover and are diagnosed with a condition which could potentially become terminal, you will be paid a tax free lump sum. This will be an amount agreed when the policy is taken out and is often between 250,000 and 300,000 pounds and it can be used for any purpose whatsoever. It can be used to ensure that financial matters run smoothly, to employ help with housework, gardening or child care or for adaptations to your home if mobility is a problem. It’s up to you. You would be eligible for statutory sick pay and your employer may have some form of insurance built in to your contract, but serious illnesses can have massive financial implications. 

When working out the premium, the insurer will ask you for information regarding your current health and lifestyle. If there’s a family history of certain diseases or you’re a smoker or heavy drinker, you will pay a higher premium. Be totally accurate when filling in these details, as undisclosed conditions or false statements can result in the claim being denied. 

With permanent health insurance cover, a tax-free income which is calculated as a percentage of your salary is paid for non-critical conditions. These would be those preventing you from working, but no classed as life-threatening. 

Medical advances mean that a lot of people are living longer and recovering from illness that would have been dreaded at one time. Because of this, the average cost of life insurance has dropped over 40 per cent over the past few years. This is a good time to assess your insurance needs and make sure that the correct cover is in place. Sickness can strike at any time and the lifestyle that you and your family are enjoying now could be severely affected so please give it some thought.

We all know that vegetarians tend to have a healthier lifestyle and a diet to match. But in comparison to a meat eater; what are the differences and benefits of becoming a “veggie” or simply introducing healthier food into your diet?

Some recent studies into the area of dietary requirement have prompted those involved to suggest that up to 80% of our daily diet should consist of fruit and vegetables.
Currently 3.5 million Britons do not eat meat or plan to quit eating meat in the next 12 months according to a survey carried out by Animal friends insurance. This figure also includes those who eat fish as an alternative to traditional meats such as chicken, beef, pork and lamb.

It has long been suggested that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables will help prevent certain types of cancer and reduce the general risk of many diseases. Indeed the vegetables thought to be particularly adept at this all belong to the cruciferous family. This includes vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. These contain nutrients with anti cancer properties such as; diindolylmethane, sulforaphane and selenium. As vegetarians are more likely to achieve the 5 portions of fruit and vegetable a day recommended by the government and health authorities, this obviously impacts upon their health.

As life insurance is carried out on a risk factor basis, a person with a healthy lifestyle and good intake of fruit and vegetables would be much less of a risk than someone who ate a more meat centered diet and took in much less fruit and vegetables.

According to research, the risk of vegetarians suffering from certain cancers is reduced by up to 40% and the risk of heart disease can be reduced by up to 30%. This obviously affects the premium price for a vegetarian as they will be considered generally less risky.
As yet this is only a newly introduced idea and only a couple of insurance companies have adopted the idea. However, it shouldn’t be long before other insurance companies follow suit as the facts all point to vegetarians being generally healthier and much less risky to insure.

Life assurance is there to support you financially in the event of illness or death. What bigger life assurance can you have than a healthy lifestyle? Knowing you are doing the most to help protect your body will make you feel much better in both body and mind.
Regardless of whether you are a vegetarian, meat eater or eat mainly fish, ensuring you eat guideline amounts of fruit and vegetables will help you to have a healthier lifestyle and reward you in the long term.

Of course certain conditions can be hereditary and if worried you should always consult your doctor for advice on your health and dietary requirements, especially when planning a sudden change in lifestyle.

All types of Life Insurance fall into one of the four groups explained below, which type you use depends on the type of risk you wish to protect and the funds you have available.

Term Assurance

Cash lump sum paid out in the event of death

Straight term assurance is still a very cost-effective way of providing financial protection for the family or business. A lump sum is normally provided when a claim is made which is paid into the estate of the policyholder.

In order to avoid complications with delays in probate or inheritance tax, an appropriate trust can be used so that any payment is made direct to the beneficiaries.

It is also possible to have the cover indexed according to inflation, so that the level of cover remains the same in real terms. Since there is no element of saving, the plans do not acquire a surrender value. If you wish to include this option, you could opt for convertible term assurance.

Family Income Benefit

A regular income paid following death during the term of the plan

This type of plan provides for a regular income to be paid out in the event of the death of the life assured during the term of the policy. With each month that passes, the liability which the insurance companies is taking on decreases by a set amount. This enables the costs to be kept down to a minimum and is often the least expensive plan available.

The benefits can be written in trust to avoid legal delays and any possible
liability to inheritance tax.

Mortgage Protection.

This type of plan is also a term policy which covers the declining balance of a repayment mortgage. This enables the cost to be kept to a minimum but make sure that the interest rate figure is high enough for any possible increases in the mortgage rate.

Whole of Life Cover

Provides cover for the rest of your life

The main disadvantage of term cover is that at the end of the term, cover ceases and any new policy has to be underwritten according to the age and health of the policyholder at that time. When a whole of life policy is taken out, the policyholder has guaranteed insurability for the rest of their lives, regardless of any change in their health.

This means that initial premiums are likely to be higher than term assurance cover, but the plan has far more flexibility. It therefore depends on your personal circumstances as to which plan is likely to best suit your requirements.

Critical Illness Cover

Cash lump sum for those who die or have a critical illness

In recent years, the need for protection for those who actually survive serious illness or accident has become more apparent. It has been described as ‘life cover for the living’.

Most plans cover the common conditions such as heart attack, stroke and most forms of cancer, but there is variation on more rare conditions. In addition to specific illnesses, it is quite common to have permanent disability cover. If you become permanently disabled and unable to return to work, the plan pays out. There is however, a wide variation in the definition of ‘return to work. Some plans would only cover you if you were totally unable to work. Others have an own occupation? clause so that if you were unable to return to your normal occupation, a claim could be made. This is an extremely important fact to bear in mind when selecting your insurer.

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company’s officers were particularly careful in the selection of their agents, and inquired in detail as to their abilities, character, and previous experience. They knew how important it was to look into every application for insurance, and they urged their agents to exercise extreme care in the selection of clients.

In spite of the sharp struggle for business, the company emphasized and maintained high standards of ethics. It cautioned agents not to offer improper inducements or make unauthorized promises. It instructed them to stick to the printed text in representing the plans, features, and record of the company. Agents overstepping the bounds were reprimanded or dismissed. The officers condemned the common recourse of running rival companies down in the wild scramble for business. This malpractice, they realized, was injurious to the entire institution of life insurance. They were not building for the day; they were building for the future.

It is obvious that they were also keen businessmen and knew that generous and fair treatment of policyholders would win public recognition. Claims were paid promptly. Policies were “registered,” i.e., countersigned by the Insurance Department, indicating that a special fund was deposited by the company and held by the State as security for the payment of policies when they became due.

In order to gain official confirmation of its sound financial status, the company requested an examination by the New York State Insurance Department. In 1871, after such an examination, the Superintendent of Insurance, George W. Miller, stated that the life insurance company was managed with “integrity, energy, and ability, and concluded with the following words: “From the thorough personal examination made, 1 am satisfied that the condition of the company is such as to entitle it to the confidence of the policyholders and the public.”

Similarly, The Baltimore Underwriter, in referring to the business of 1872, wrote:

“In its issue of 8,642 policies last year, the steady augmenting of its receipts, the economy of expenditure, the character of its assets, its watchful management, its large membership, the rigid scrutiny of its risks, the public appreciation of its distinctive plans of insurance, etc.–in all these, we say, is the assurance that whatever solid life assurance contemplates the Metropolitan is abundantly able to supply.”

Intelligent management and energetic prosecution of the business by the new administration bore results. By the end of 1871, after less than four years of existence, the company had on its books more than 11,000 life insurance policies totaling almost $15,000,000 of life insurance, a considerable sum for that time. Only two years later the figures increased to 18,600 policies in force, and to more than $26,300,000 of business.

The official returns for 1873 revealed that, in the number of policies written, the company held third place among the 56 companies transacting business in New York State. By this time, the company had already entered 17 States and the Dominion of Canada. Its business extended to all the States in the New England, the Middle Atlantic, the East North Central areas, as well as to Iowa and Missouri.

This sound growth is all the more remarkable in that it occurred during a period of economic and financial excesses. Speculation and “frenzied finance” were rampant. The post Civil War demand for commodities was gradually letting up and prices declined as a result. Excessive railway building and the too rapid development of the trans-Mississippi West had brought about a glut of foodstuffs and thrown older areas out of cultivation.

A sudden crisis developed which broke into the lavish prosperity of the country and was immediately felt by all insurance firms. Partly owing to deficiencies of management, accentuated by the general economic crisis, no less than 22 life insurance companies in New York State had ceased business in the six years ending with 1873.

It must not be assumed, moreover, that the Metropolitan’s early success was achieved without many difficulties or that it continued indefinitely. The task of building a functioning organization and a Field Force was an arduous and expensive one. Competent agents were difficult to find. Many of the men engaged produced insufficient business, and a considerable number of the applications submitted were on questionable risks.

In spite of every effort, the lapse of life insurance rates was high, reflecting the adverse business conditions which were gripping the country. As the depression deepened, insurance company after insurance company went to the wall. Of the more than 15 life insurance companies incorporated in the State of New York in the three year period of 1866 to 1868, the Metropolitan alone survived.