Types of life insurance
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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.
Level Term
A fixed amount of coverage with premiums that are fixed over a certain period of time, usually in 10-year increments.
Renewable/Convertible Term
Renewable Term - includes a renewal provision that gives the policyowner the right to renew the insurance coverage at the end of the specified term without submitting evidence of insurability.
Convertible Term - Gives the policyholder the right to convert the term policy to a permanent policy.
1 Year Renewable/Convertible Term
Level death benefit, designed to meet short term needs. The cost of this coverage increases in guaranteed one year increments until eventually expiring, usually at age 75. It is usually convertible to any permanent coverage offered by the issuing insurance company without having to prove good health at time of conversion. The best use of this kind of insurance is for one to three years of need but not generally more than three years because the increasing cost becomes prohibitive. If you suspect that you will need the coverage for more than three years, consider the other possibilities:
5 Year Renewable/Convertible Term
Level death benefit, designed to meet short term needs. The cost of this coverage increases in guaranteed five year increments until eventually expiring, usually at age 75. This plan is usually convertible to any permanent coverage offered by the issuing insurance company without having to prove good health
10 Year Renewable/Convertible Term
Level death benefit, designed to meet short term needs. The cost of this coverage increases in guaranteed ten year increments until eventually expiring, usually at age 75. This plan is usually convertible to any permanent coverage offered by the issuing insurance company without having to prove good health.
15 Year Renewable/Convertible Term
Level death benefit, designed to meet short term needs. The cost of this coverage increases in guaranteed fifteen year increments until eventually expiring, usually at age 75. This plan is usually convertible to any permanent coverage offered by the issuing insurance company without having to prove good health.
20 Renewable/Convertible Term
Level death benefit, designed to meet short to medium term needs. The cost of this coverage increases in guaranteed twenty year increments until eventually expiring, usually at age 75. This plan is usually convertible to any permanent coverage offered by the issuing insurance company without having to prove good health. For an extra charge, some companies offer a partial return of premium or partial paid up insurance at the end of a twenty year term.
30 Year Term
Level cost and death benefit for thirty years, designed to meet short term needs.
Term to Age 65
Level death benefit, designed to meet medium term needs. Since most people today live well beyond age 65, it would be a false sense of security to buy this kind of insurance thinking that it would fulfill a permanent need.
Term to Age 70
Level death benefit, designed to meet medium term needs. Again, since most people today live well beyond age 70, this would not be the kind of insurance to buy for permanent needs.
Term To Age 75
Level death benefit with level premiums to age 75. The cost of this coverage is guaranteed to remain level until one's age 75 when it expires. It is usually not convertible to any other permanent coverage offered by the issuing company. Note that while this appears to be lifetime coverage, many people are living well beyond age 75 these days so for some people this kind of coverage should be considered designed to meet short term needs. It is suggested that you examine coverage that is more permanent in nature if you truly want to be covered until you die. One of our insurance companies offers a refund of the difference in premiums in year 10 between their 10 year term and their Term to age 75 should you decide that you no longer want the coverage.
Term To Age 100
Level death benefit. The cost of this coverage is guaranteed to remain level until one's age 100 at which time it becomes paid up. This type of coverage has no cash values. Term to age 100 that does have cash value is considered to fall into the type of coverage called whole life. Often our rate surveys reveal that a Whole Life policy (sometimes called Term 100 With Values) is less expensive than is a non-cash in value Term 100 policy. Needles to say, the insurance companies have a good reason for pricing their policies this way. It's sufficient to say that sometimes it can actually cost less to buy a policy with cash values. Note: Some Term to Age 100 policies have an option to endow at age 100 which means that if you are still alive, you could recieve the face value of the policy in cash, although it would be taxable.
Permanent life insurance
There are three major types of whole life or permanent life insurance—traditional whole life, universal life, and variable universal life, and there are variations within each type.
Whole Life
Usually a level death benefit but sometimes, if you wish, an increasing death benefit. Terms like Par and Non-par are used with this kind of coverage. Par whole life coverage generates dividends. Dividends , in life insurance, are a partial return of premium you have paid for your coverage plus investment growth, if any. Dividends are not guaranteed and will fluctuate up or down from year to year. If you received a dividendprojection some years ago on this kind of life insurance policy, it would be a good idea to ask your life insurance company for a current dividend projection. You may find that things have changed considerably. Non-par whole life policies, on the other hand, have no dividends and future cash values are not projected, they are guaranteed.
Non-par whole life policies are the only type of whole life policies which can be compared for you by our rate surveys because of their fully guaranteed values. Non-par whole life policies can have a level cost over a long term, usually to age 100 at which time they are paid up. They can have graduated premiums over the first several years of the policy which then level out for the remainder to the premium paying period. They can also have a level cost for a specific period of time, such as to your age 65, or 25 years, or 20 years, or 15 years, or 10 years and even less. The shorter the period of time that you wish to pay, the higher will be the cost for that period of time. The guaranteed cash surrender value of whole life policies varies by the amount of coverage, time paid and company issuing coverage.An adjusted cost analysis should be done of this kind of policy to make certain that all aspects of the policy are being considered [guaranteed paid up values and guaranteed cash surrender values differ from policy to policy].
Whole Life - Quick Pay
This is a guaranteed level premium policy with premiums payable for a very short period of time [as little as 5 years depending on the Life Insurance Company] until it is completely paid up. Death benefit is level and is paid up at the same time that premiums cease. An adjusted cost analysis should be done of this kind of policy to make certain that all aspects of the policy are being considered [guaranteed paid up values and guaranteed cash surrender values differ from policy to policy].
Whole Life - Pay For 15 Years
This is a guaranteed level premium policy with premiums payable for 15 years. Death benefit is level and is completely paid up in fifteen years. An adjusted cost analysis should be done of this kind of policy to make certain that all aspects of the policy are being considered [guaranteed paid up values and guaranteed cash surrender values differ from policy to policy].
Whole Life - Pay For 20 Years
This is a guaranteed level premium policy with premiums payable for 20 years. Death benefit is level and is completely paid up in twenty years. An adjusted cost analysis should be done of this kind of policy to make certain that all aspects of the policy are being considered [guaranteed paid up values and guaranteed cash surrender values differ from policy to policy].
Whole Life - Pay To Age 65
This is guaranteed level premium policy with premiums payable until the life insured's age 65. Death benefit is level and is completely paid up at the insured's age 65. An adjusted cost analysis should be done of this kind of policy to make certain that all aspects of the policy are being considered [guaranteed paid up values and guaranteed cash surrender values differ from policy to policy].
Universal life insurance
Along with the ability to pay insurance costs with pre-tax dollars, Universal Life Insurance holds the secret to tax sheltered investment growth outside an RRSP. This kind of coverage is a mystery to most people, including many brokers who sell it. The profile of an individual who considers universal life should encompass the following; [1] should have a need for life insurance; [2] should be in a high marginal tax bracket; [3] should want to create additional future income; [4] should have already maximized RRSP and pension contributions; [5] may be paying too much tax on investment income; [6] should have an investment horizon of at least 10 years.
Mortgage Reducing Term
Life insurance with a death benefit reducing to zero over a specific period of time. For example, you may purchase $200,000 coverage which reduces to $0 coverage over 20 years. When you purchase this coverage from a life insurance company, the death benefit is paid upon the death of the life insured to a named beneficiary, usually the spouse, tax free.
If you purchase this coverage through the lending institution where you have your mortgage, the lending institution is the beneficiary and is the only one to receive the death benefit in order to eliminate the outstanding mortgage. Mortgage insurance purchased through the lending institution is not portable and is not guaranteed. If you sell your home and buy another, you will have to qualify for new mortgage insurance. Maybe you won't be able to qualify. In any event, we recommend not using reducing mortgage insurance to protect your mortgage because most people today are not living in the same house for the rest of their lives. You might end up buying two or three or more homes in your lifetime. If you buy level death benefit term coverage, you will never be sorry.
Critical Illness Living Benefit
This kind of benefit is now marketed by several Life Insurance Companies in Canada. Generally it pays a lump sum tax free in the event of heart attack, stroke, life-threatening cancer, major organ transplant, coronary artery surgery, multiple sclerosis, renal failure, paralysis, blindness and deafness. Should death occur before a claim is made, often all premiums paid will be refunded. In order to successfully obtain this kind of coverage, not only the applicant has to be healthy but the applicant's immediate family has to have a history of good health.
Accidental Death And Dismemberment
This kind of coverage provides a benefit for death by accident, loss of a limb or limbs, or loss of use of a limb or limbs resulting from accidental means only.
Term life insurance: Level term life insurance • Group term life insurance • Decreasing term life insurance • Renewable term life insurance • Convertible term life insurance • Annual renewable term life insurance • Veterans group life insurance • Servicemembers group life insurance • Return of premium life insurance • Jumping juvenile insurance
Permanent life insurance: Whole life insurance • Universal life insurance • Variable life insurance • Variable universal life insurance • Mortgage life insurance, Burial insurance • Group life insurance • Survivor life insurance • Limited-pay life insurance • Endowment life insurance • Corporate-owned life insurance • Life insurance trust
by region: India • United States
See also: Health insurance • Property insurance • Liability insurance • Auto insurance • Business insurance • Travel insurance • Types of insurance
