Term Life Insurance Texas: 4 Steps to buying life insurance wisely  The last step in buying life insurance is to shop rates and get quotes. We can offer you quotes from several major insurance companies with a simple phone call or by using our online quote application.

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Four easy steps to buying Life Insurance Wisely:

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Step One: Determine If You Need It.

The purpose of life insurance is to protect the economic well being of your dependents if you die. If you don’t have anyone who depends on you for financial support, you don’t need it. If you have lots of assets that could be tapped to protect the income and lifestyles of your dependents, you also may not need it.

But if you have few assets, lots of debt and dependents, you may need a lot. Life insurance is designed to fill the gap between what your dependents would have and what they’d need if you were to die unexpectedly.

Step Two: Pick a Type

There are two types of life insurance–term life and whole life.

Term Life is the easiest to understand. It covers you for a set period, usually a year. If you die during that time, your heirs are paid the face value of the policy.

Because there is only a slight chance that you will die in any given year, particularly when you are young and healthy, term insurance is cheap when you’re young but gets progressively more expensive as you age. By the time you’re in your 80s, it can be prohibitively costly. On the bright side, most people don’t need insurance when they’re in their 80s because they’ve built up enough other savings to protect their heirs–or their heirs have become older, more independent and no longer need economic support.

Whole life insurance is written with the assumption that you’re going to keep the policy for the rest of your life. Insurers deal with the higher chance that you’ll die while insured by charging more for coverage in the early years. That additional money builds up a savings account to help pay the death benefits when you die.

Because whole life is so costly in the early years–often four or five times as much as term insurance–its hard to buy enough to adequately insure a young family. In addition, it’s a relatively rare family that needs insurance for their entire life.

Whole life is generally good for people who have an unusual situation–a family business; a disabled child; or some other unique situation that demands economic support for heirs forever. Everyone else should buy term. Give us a call today for a Texas Term Life Insurance quote : 512-996-8194

Step Three: Figure the Right Amount

Pull out a pencil and pad and start jotting down your assets and debts. Then go through your annual budget and determine how much of your annual expenses are handled by each spouse’s income. If one spouse takes care of the kids, consider how much it would cost each year to replace that spouse’s work with paid help.

Now think about how either of you would fare economically if the other spouse were to die. Would there be a gap between the survivor’s income and obligations? Would the survivor be saddled with a ton of debts?

If you have a gap between the annual income the survivor would have and what would be needed, determine approximately how many years that gap would persist. Multiply the gap by the years to come up with a rough estimate of how much insurance you’ll need; then add in any big debts–maybe your mortgage or the estimated amount that you think the kids would need for college. Finally, round up to the nearest quarter-million. In other words, if you think you need $350,000 in coverage, round up to $500,000. If you’re buying term coverage, it’s cheap and better to have too much than too little.

Step Four: Shop / Get Quotes

An independent agent  is likely to get you quotes from several companies.

Give us a call and we’ll give you a NO obligation quote! 512-996-8194

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In today’s changing financial environment, it’s important to have life insurance giving a foundation for financial security for you and your loved ones. If you’d like a FREE “no obligation” quote for Texas term life insurance or if you have questions about life insurance, give us a call today! 512-996-8194 Or use our easy online quote application!

Term Life Insurance for “Final Expenses” 

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 Term life insurance is a great way to address the needs commonly know as “final expenses”. This is inherently different from commonly thought-of uses for life insurance such as income replacement or larger debt payment (such as mortgages). Final Expenses are those associated more or less directly with a person’s death. Term life, in addition to addressing other life insurance needs, is an inexpensive way to deal issues that most people aren’t even aware of. Let’s look a little closer at final expenses and their final solution…term life insurance.

Unless you have been intimately involved in the funeral or passing of a loved one, you may not even know what the term final expenses means. There are many expenses that arise from a person passing away.

Some are obvious while others are not. First, let’s at the fact that the last thing you want to deal with during such a tumultuous period are financial issues that arrive. It’s hard enough to just handle the loss without the day to day paying of things. As a benefit for your loved ones, final expense insures that the stress of addressing these financial matters do not overly burden them down.

The obvious and sometimes most expensive final expense is that of the funeral. Regardless of whether it’s a burial, cremation ,or some other service, the cost these days can quickly run 10’s of thousands of dollars. You may have specific requirements (ashes over Golden Gate Bridge). A great way to insure your wishes are respected without putting hardship on your loved ones is to provide for the payment of these expenses with term life insurance. Term life insurance allows them to pay for these expenses without the taxation or risk or creditors that money might attract when it’s not a life insurance benefit.

There can be other bills that are outstanding or small personal debts which term life insurance can pay for in an in-expensive manner. This can be the people that keep your house, yard up to gifts for caregivers that provided care to you.

It is often very expensive for family members and friends to fly or travel last minute to a funeral. How nice would it be to leave an amount through a term life benefit to pay for the travel arrangements of those close to you. Some loved ones may need to take time off from work to help organize and arrange the funeral and all that follows. Part of the term life benefit could be used in this way as well.

Final expenses are unique to each person as they are based on what’s important to you but is important to consider these expenses as a part of your total term life insurance strategy. It’s same to assume $20-50K of coverage just for these expenses. Luckily, term life insurance rates are very inexpensive on the market so the cost of final expenses as part of the total mix of life insurance protection can be dollars per month.

Don’t wait any longer!  Give us a call today!  Texas Term Life Insurance  512-996-8194

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Are Health/Life Insurers Ignoring Generation X, Y?

http://seekingalpha.com/article/153139-health-insurers-ignoring-generation-x-y

Health and life insurance providers are much more likely to market to Baby Boomers than to younger consumers who fall into Generation X and Generation Y age groups, according to research from Mintel Comperemedia.In the 12 months ending June 2009, a study found that Gen Xers (those born in the mid 1960s to the early 1980s) received 15% fewer health insurance marketing direct mail pieces than Boomers. Gen Y (those born in the mid 1980s to late 1990s) saw even fewer offers: 25% less than their parents’ generation.

For life insurance, the younger generations are equally ignored: Gen X and Gen Y got 18% and 23% fewer mailings, respectively, than Baby Boomers in the past year, Mintel said.

Despite this lack of attention from insurers, consumer data from Mintel shows Generation X is very interested in health and life insurance. Gen Xers are less likely than average to say they own non-employer based life or health insurance, but they’re more likely to say they’ll purchase these products in the near future (17% more likely for health insurance, 23% for life insurance).

Moreover, 63% of Gen-X adults in a recent Mintel survey said it is “very important to be well-insured when it comes to life insurance,” vs. just 58% of the general population agreeing with that same statement.

“Generation X is under-served and over-interested in life and health insurance, making them the perfect target market,” said Daniel Hayes, VP of insurance services at Mintel Comperemedia. Hayes added that this generation’s concern about providing for both young children and aging parents will make insurance even more important in the future.

Mintel said Gen Xers are 72% more likely than the average American to say they’re currently saving for a child’s education. But at the same time, they’re preparing to support their parents: 53% of Gen Xers say they expect to be the primary caregiver for a parent or other relative.

“Health and life insurers seem to favor marketing to older adults, but in doing so they’re missing vast market opportunities,” added Hayes. “All generations can benefit from health and life insurance coverage, so age shouldn’t dictate insurers’ direct marketing strategy.”

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Protecting Your Life Insurance Policy

http://www.cnbc.com/id/32172353/site/14081545

The high-profile deaths of actors Heath Ledger and David Carradine — both of which initially were thought to be suicides — have brought attention to a serious financial question: Can certain factors (such as suicide) invalidate a life insurance policy?

In some cases, the answer is yes. The trouble starts with a few words known as “an exclusion” that may be found in a life insurance contract. An exclusion is a circumstance — such as a particular cause of death or an allegation of fraud — that invalidates a claim.

How likely is it your heirs will end up in court fighting for the benefit you’re paying for now? People who work in the industry insist it’s relatively rare for life insurance companies to fight death claims. “If the applicant does what’s right, then the insurance company will do it. It’s not a bait and switch; it’s not something they’re trying to avoid,” says Rich Fuller.

However, others are not so sure. For example, Joseph Belth, professor emeritus of insurance at Indiana University in Bloomington, says some insurance companies routinely resist paying claims that take place within the first two years after a policy is written.

“Many of (the claims they resist) are small policies and the people are not in the position to mount a real battle,” says Belth, who also edits The Insurance Forum. “There’s really not enough money involved to interest a lawyer in getting into it, so (the beneficiaries) aren’t really in a position to fight it.”

Exclusions:
Exclusions are not as prevalent as they used to be. In the past, many life insurance contracts contained exclusions for deaths due to acts of war, commissions of felony or even participation in riots.

Nowadays, some of these more oddball exclusions may still survive in group insurance, especially accidental death and dismemberment, or AD&D, insurance. However, the vast majority of life insurance policies include only two exclusions:

• Death by suicide. This one is pretty straightforward and is intended to prevent suicidal people from taking out a big life insurance policy to ensure their heirs will get a million-dollar payday.
• Material misrepresentation on your insurance application. This includes any intentional falsehoods or omitting key information that an insurance company would use to decide whether and at what cost to cover you.

In most states, these exclusions only apply for a limited time because of what’s known as an “incontestability clause,” says R. Marshall Jones, a life insurance consultant based in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“In general, the contract will say that the death claim cannot be denied because of a misstatement of fact after the contract has been in force for more than two years,” Jones says. The only way an insurance company can contest the claim after that is if the company can prove intentional fraud, Jones says.

Unfortunately for Ledger’s family, the actor’s death occurred less than two years after his policy went into effect, and this exclusion and another related to his suspected suicide played a major role in the legal battle over a $10 million life insurance claim.

The insurance company in question, ReliaStar Life Insurance Co., alleged the star’s death from a drug overdose was in fact a suicide and that Ledger had misled the company about his history of drug use during the underwriting process. Despite their allegations, ReliaStar eventually settled the case for an undisclosed amount in January 2009.

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Premiums on the Rise

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124614721578265053.html

After nearly two decades of falling prices, term life-insurance premiums are heading up.

Many insurers started raising prices on term policies by 5% to 15% earlier this year, particularly for specific terms and policy amounts. They cite higher capital and reinsurance costs linked to tighter credit markets, which are making it costlier to maintain needed cash reserves, combined with lower investment returns.

Life expectancy isn’t a factor. But for the last several years, because of tougher reinsurance requirements, insurers also have taken a harder stance on medical underwriting guidelines, experts say. In the past, applicants might have been forgiven a little extra weight, for instance, and given a lower premium. But that’s no longer the case.

Agents are urging consumers who need new policies to rush in applications since not all insurers have imposed new pricing yet. It generally takes about 45 days to process an application.

What Matters…

Insurers usually require applicants for individual policies to fill out a medical questionnaire with questions about their health history and lifestyle — skydivers generally pay more, for example — and submit to a medical exam. (Some smaller policies, for $50,000 or less, don’t require medical underwriting.)

For those considering applying for a policy, here are some tips about the basic medical underwriting process to help you get the best results:

Insurers are mainly seeking clues about your risk of dying during the policy period. How much evidence they seek is generally based on age and the amount of the policy. Medical-exam results help to decide your rating classification, which helps set your premiums.

A basic medical exam usually consists of a blood sample, a urine specimen and body measurements. An attending physician’s statement also may be required. If you are older, have a history of health problems or are applying for a large amount of insurance, say, $1 million or more, the exam may be more elaborate — including chest X-rays, electrocardiograms and treadmill stress tests — says Teague Wright, executive vice president of Crump Life Insurance Services.

The lab tests screen for diabetes, hepatitis and HIV, as well as risk factors for heart disease and certain cancers. In addition, most insurers screen for illegal drugs, especially in the 35-to-45 age group, and evidence of nicotine use. Most insurers require people to be nicotine-free for at least 12 months to be eligible for cheaper, nonsmoker rates — and longer to qualify for better rates.

Test results are sent to MIB Group, formerly the Medical Information Bureau, a database where they will be held for seven years. (Get a copy of a report at  http://www.mib.com/ )

…And What Doesn’t

In the past, taking prescription drugs for depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, cholesterol or asthma often resulted in an applicant having to pay higher premiums. But these days people on these medications commonly qualify for standard rates because insurers have found that taking these drugs generally presents no higher mortality risk, experts say.

To ensure accurate results, Ms. Wright suggests getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water and fasting before the medical exam. Avoid excessive intake of salt, high-cholesterol food, caffeine and alcoholic beverages for at least 24 hours before the exam. Also avoid strenuous exercise the day of the exam.

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Life Insurance: 101 / Explanation of different types of coverage

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If you’ve ever shopped for life insurance, then you know how confusing it can be to choose among the different types of coverage available. If you have a family or other loved ones who depend on you then it’s worth the trouble to seek out the best policy for your needs.

 Here is a brief description of the types of life insurance coverage. It only scratches the surface so if you’re in the market for insurance, be sure to do more research and contact an insurance agent. Give us a call today!  512-996-8194

Term: You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Buy Term and invest the difference.” What they refer to is the fact that term insurance is the least expense type of life insurance coverage leaving your other money available to invest. It is pure coverage for a specific period (term) of time. Let’s say you buy a term policy for $50,000 of coverage. If you die next month, your beneficiary (the person you named to collect the insurance if you die) will receive $50,000 in proceeds. The term for such policies can be anywhere from one year to thirty years or even more. At the end of your term, you can renew if you want to regardless of your health status but your premium will be recalculated based on your age. As you get older your premiums will increase in any case. At some point you may choose to switch your coverage from term to a permanent coverage.

Whole Life: One of the permanent insurance types whole life accumulates a cash value in addition to its death coverage. Unlike term insurance, whole life provides coverage for your entire life. Your premiums are higher than those for term life because part of each payment goes to your cash value. Your premiums will not change as you grow older.

Universal: A type of permanent insurance with both a death benefit and a cash value. You have choices regarding the amounts and timing of premium payments. Each choice has a direct impact on your coverage and cash value accumulation. If you decide to increase your coverage you will have to undergo the insurability process and perhaps a medical exam.

Variable: This form of permanent insurance allows you to choose how the cash account will be invested. Variable life policies require a fixed annual premium for the life of the policy. They may provide for a minimum guaranteed death benefit.

Variable universal: Combine the options of universal life with the flexibility of variable life and you get variable universal life. You choose how much and how often your premium payments will be (within guidelines). Payments in excess of costs (administrative and insurance) are invested in accounts of your choice.

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Grab low prices before life insurance rates increase

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/sns-yourmoney-0628spending,0,1769941.story

The window might be quickly closing on consumers’ opportunity to refinance at great rates–not their home mortgages, but their term life insurance, experts say. For the first time in a long time, premiums are on the rise.

“Every week, it’s like, `Who’s going to call us this week telling us they’re raising rates?’ ” said Byron Udell, founder and president of insurance-comparison Web site AccuQuote.com. “It’s unbelievable how it’s happening. Almost everybody is raising rates.”

Over the past several years, prices on simple term life insurance have been plummeting. Premiums in recent years could be less than half of what they were in the early 1990s. For example, the same policy that had an annual premium of $1,400 back then might have cost $350 last year.

The price drop represented easy savings for consumers, who could simply buy a new, lower-priced policy–even with the same insurer–and then cancel their old one. They could choose to buy more coverage for the same money or buy the same amount of coverage and pocket the savings.

Unlike refinancing a home mortgage, which involves expensive closing costs, swapping term-life policies is free to consumers. The insurer pays the “refinancing” costs, such as a medical exam and the administrative expenses of setting up a new policy.

For smart spenders, replacing an old policy with a new one was a no-brainer. That’s changing. Here’s what you need to know about term life insurance:

Since the start of the year, life insurance companies have started raising premiums for new policies–most often by 5 percent to 15 percent, although a few raised rates by much more, Udell said. While a typical policy might be about $20 per year more expensive, these likely represent just the first wave of premium increases, he said. And even at $20 more, that’s a price increase of $400 over the life of a 20-year policy.

Insurers are raising prices for several reasons. First, they invest your premiums so they can pay life insurance claims. But in today’s investment climate, they’re struggling to obtain the same returns as in previous years. Second, part of an insurer’s reserves–the amount regulators require them to have on hand to pay claims–is funded by the credit markets. The cost of that credit, in such vehicles as letters of credit, has skyrocketed with the credit crunch.

“Their cost of doing business is going up and returns on their invested capital has gone down, and it definitely is putting pressure” on profit margins, Udell said.

Rising rates do not affect most term policies already in place because premiums are level, meaning they stay the same for the duration of the policy. But if you were thinking of buying a policy, re-shopping your old one or buying additional coverage, now is the time.

“If you’re thinking about it, if you’re in the market, it makes sense to grab it at these low prices versus waiting until rates go up,” Udell said. “The good news is, rates are still at almost-historic lows.”

Of course, you have the usual reasons to buy now rather than later. For one, those who are healthy now might not be in a few years. And the older you are when you apply for the policy, the higher your premiums. “Waiting is not going to help anybody. Time is your enemy right now,” Udell said.

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A Whole Life Policy Is Not Designed To Be Surrendered

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When you take out life cover, you should be committed for the long haul because a life policy is not designed to be surrendered.  Always seek advice before you even consider cancelling a life policy.

This is advice from Robyn Farrell, managing director of 1st for Women Insurance Brokers and spokesperson for 1st for Women life insurance.
 
“Life insurance is not an investment and is not designed to be cashed in when you need extra cash. When you buy life cover you are buying long term risk protection. Cancelling your policy early leaves you without that invaluable risk protection and you don’t actually stand to gain anything financially unless there is a savings component linked to the life insurance product you have bought. 

“In fact, even if there is a savings component to your life policy, there’s still a risk you’ll get little out if you surrender early,” she cautions.
 
Farrell explains that life insurance companies must cover all the initial costs associated with issuing a policy. These costs include administrative costs and the like, and they need to be covered whether the policy is kept for the full term or not. In order to recoup its money, an insurer will deduct these costs from the amount due to a policyholder who surrenders early. Because the admin costs to the life insurer are typically higher in the first few years, policyholders surrendering early should expect a greater deduction for costs. 
 
“What this means is that you will get back very little or a lot less than the value of the premiums you have already paid. Very often, you will get nothing if you surrender the policy in the first year or two. It is also important to note that surrender values are not always guaranteed,” she warns. Farrell reiterates that an early surrender puts the policyholder at risk.
 
“The whole point of life insurance is to provide risk cover. Without that cover, you are wide open to the range of financial risks against which your life insurance policy was meant to protect you – and your loved ones.

Protect yourself and your loved ones! Get your life insurance policy today! Call us: 512-996-8194

Give us a call today!  512-996-8194  Or use our easy FREE quote application!

Term Life vs. Cash Value

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If you’re single or have no dependents, you probably need little or no life insurance. With a little planning, you can establish a low-risk savings fund to cover funeral costs, and then invest the money you would have paid in insurance premiums.

But if anyone depends on your income stream, you need life insurance to protect it. Aim to replace it, but don’t think you need to pay a lot for a policy that will give your family a lottery-like payout if you die.

There are two main types of life insurance: “term” and “cash value.”

With term insurance, your premium payments are applied entirely to the cost of the insurance, and coverage can easily be dropped when you no longer have dependents. It’s a very simple and effective option.

Cash value insurance, meanwhile, encompasses a wide variety of financial products, such as whole life, universal life and variable life. These combine term life insurance with a long-term, tax-sheltered savings plan. The most important thing to understand about these policies is that they’re designed to be held for life. There are usually significant up-front charges associated with setting up the savings plan, investing the money and paying the agent’s commission. Even with these charges, tax-sheltered savings can still catch up to taxed investments and begin delivering a real advantage — but that can take 10 to 20 years.

So never opt for cash value insurance without doing a lot of homework. Don’t let an aggressive agent sway you with confusing presentations and emotional arguments. Remember that term life can last as long as you want, via guaranteed renewable policies. If you’re attracted to the investment portion of cash value insurance, know that you can always buy less-expensive term insurance and invest the difference on your own. You stand a good chance of outperforming the insurance company, too.

Don’t make the common mistakes of buying more insurance than you need, or the wrong kind of insurance.  Give us a call today and we’ll answer your life insurance questions!  512-996-8194

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