Personal Finance Tips

Insurance is one of the most unpleasant purchases that we have to make – it takes its place amongst those few things we buy that we hope we will never actually have to use. Many people, in fact, use this hope to argue against purchasing insurance in the first place – and while the chances are that we might never need it, this is one of those times in life when it is better to be safe than sorry.

As the expense of daily life continually mount, it can be easier to see the non-immediate need for insurance as illusory. I’m not sick now, am I? My house is fine – it doesn’t look like tornado weather out there today. That will never happen to me – I’m not wasting all my hard earned money protecting against something that might never happen! Those insurance companies don’t need any more money.

Unfortunately, this confidence is misplaced, as even the most intellectual of scholars cannot predict which one of us will fall victim to cancer, or which one of us will lose our home or job. The ‘it-won’t-happen-to-me’ philosophy does work for many people, but common chance takes care of that. Do you want to be the one with mud on your face when that diagnosis comes and you without the money to save your own life? It is important to understand this – that choosing insurance is a choice between life or death.

There is no doubt that the money we pay into our insurance each month could bring us pleasure in far more immediate ways, but in all honesty, is the amount we pay monthly all that much? Spend it today on something fleeting, and you will never remember where it went, but choose to place your hard earned money in an insurance plan and it will be one small ray of life if tragedy strikes. Because really, if diagnosed with cancer today, which would you rather have? Somehow that night on the town pales into insignificance. Don’t take a chance – choose insurance.

The selection of insurance products and offers you can choose from on the market is overwhelming. And choosing a policy to insure your life with can be tricky, requiring you to both evaluate your insurance needs and spend some time on comparing the offers you get from different providers. It’s not just a possibility you can think of while buying insurance, it’s a firm requirement that the product you want to buy meets your exact personal needs and can be adjusted to your budget, not the other way.

In contrast with continuous policies term insurance policies are designed to provide coverage only for a certain period of time, specified in the policy. A term policy will provide the benefits specified in it only if the insured person dies within the specified period. Besides, term policies do not have cash value accumulation potentials. So in case you are alive and well and your policy term expires, you won’t receive any money. Another important aspect of term policies is that the premiums can’t be fixed and it is likely that they will increase with the time passing. In order to make sure your rates are constant, choose a guaranteed level premium term policy that guarantees a fixed premium over the entire duration of the policy.

Advantages of term policies

Term policies are known to have the highest value for money you pay and the lowest price among other types of life insurance. That is why they are most beneficial for those families that have limited budget they have to fall into. These are some advantages you get with term policies:

Affordability

Term policies have the lowest premiums for the largest death benefits obtainable.

Simplicity

Term policies are the least complex insurance product for insuring your life on the market.

Competitiveness

Due to the simplicity of this product, there is a fierce competition between numerous providers offer term policies, which in turn allows effective comparison shopping when looking for a policy.

Flexibility

Term policies have the possibilities of “renewal” and “conversion”. Renewal means that when the policy term expires you can prolong its duration, without buying a new policy. Conversion means that when the term of the policy expires you can convert your term policy into a permanent one, without buying a separate policy.

Waiver of premium

With term policies you also get an additional feature referred to as “waiver of premium”. It allows you to halt premium payments for a stipulated period of time in case you are unable due to circumstances listed in the policy. Still, it is an optional feature that has its price.

Different time options

Term policies being a cheap life insurance options provide coverage for a period of time you feel appropriate. You can insure your life for a term of anything between one to thirty years, gaining death benefits if something happens to you during this term. It’s a good way to plan your finances well ahead, making sure that such crucial things as mortgage or business loan will be paid out no matter what.

Different rates

There are many companies out there on the market that offer term insurance policies. Get life insurance quotes from them and you will probably get very attractive rates by shopping around.

In the good old days, the world was a simple place. You went into a store to buy goods, or to an agent or broker to buy services. The price was quoted and you paid it out of the cash in your bank account. If your account was poorly stocked with dollar notes, you had to wait until you had saved enough. In this primitive way, people lived within their means, only buying goods and services when they could afford them. Those who had regular income and some collateral, were graciously allowed to borrow money from their banks. But pity those who defaulted. Their collateral would rapidly disappear into the hands of their bankers. It was a tough world for borrowers. Then there was a revolution. Suddenly, there was cheap credit available and we could all have what we wanted right now. Just one down-payment and the rest in easy instalments. Then the revolution became a financial tsunami as the newly launched credit cards suddenly put real buying-power in our hands with generous credit limits. Add in the housing equity release plans and all the other wonderful financial gizmos dreamt up by the folk who live on Wall Street, and you have the modern age just before the worst recession in decades and the credit crunch that took everyone by surprise.

Buying insurance policies has always been potentially expensive. When you see the premium rate expressed as an annual sum, it can look a little daunting. Yet, when you are old enough to put wheels on the road, there’s mandatory liability cover in all but three US states. This is where dreams would fade were it not for the willingness of insurance companies to be flexible on the payments. First they dropped to 6 monthly payments. Some went for quarterly. And then the final act of liberation – the monthly instalment plan. Now you could buy your policy on the same basis as your home, the furniture and white goods in it, and the car you wanted to drive. Everything had come down to the total amount you could afford to pay every month and still have something left over to buy food. This has some major benefits. You can buy insurance with no down payment. Just use the internet search engines to find cheap auto insurance quotes offering the lowest premium rates, pay the first instalment in advance and you are legal on the road.

But there is more to it than that. Ignoring the supposed advantage of easier money management, it also frees you to change your auto insurance policy whenever you find a better deal. If you have paid six or twelve months in advance, this locks you into the policy. Yes, companies do allow you to change, but usually subject to cancellation charges – sometimes eye-poppingly high. The freedom to change insurers can be important if you change the make and model you drive. The existing insurer may be less competitive on the rates for the new vehicle, but the charges may take up the saving available by switching to a competitor. However, because insurers prefer stability, they offer discounts on 6 or 12 monthly payments to give them your cash in their hands. Paying on a monthly basis is always more expensive. As always, it’s your choice.