Universal Life Insurance Current Rates, News & Information

Universal Life Insurance: High Payout?

Posted in Life Insurance , Universal Life Insurance

September 24th, 2009
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After weighing all the options for life insurance, you want to opt into a permanent life insurance policy now as you can use the policy to plan for your financial future and also provide your loved ones with a guaranteed death benefit after you pass. If you believe in the power of the masses, you may opt into a universal life insurance policy as 40% of those purchasing life insurance opt for this type (per research conducted by LIMRA, an insurance market research organization in 2006).

Universal Life Basics

Universal life insurance is the most flexible type of permanent life insurance. Policyholders first have to make their initial payments, but they can make premium payments at any time, in almost any amount within a predetermined range of minimums and maximums. As long as you can prove you are in good health, you can increase the universal life insurance death benefit to have a higher payout.

Universal life insurance amounts can have a high payout as not only will there be a guaranteed death benefit to the survivors, policyholders can use the policy as a type of investment. The higher the cash value of the account the higher the payout from the universal life life insurance policy can be.

Universal Life Options

The universal life insurance payout amount is determined by choosing one of two options for setting up the policy. They include:

• Death benefit where the cash value of your policy is used by the insurance company to mitigate the risks they are taking on (in conjunction with mortality tables), allowing the company to lower the mortality expenses of your policy and reduce your premium payments
• The cash value will be added to the death benefit of your policy, which can make your death benefit rise and fall with your cash value (as that is influenced by market trends)

Depending on mortality tables, the cash value you invest in the policy and the amount of death benefit your insurance company will grant you, a universal life insurance policy can have a very high payout amount.

FAQ: Why Choose Universal Life Insurance?

Posted in Life Insurance , Universal Life Insurance

September 24th, 2009
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Although you are a planner, you realize that over the course of your life your needs and wants are going to change. You want to have a permanent life insurance plan that can stand up to whatever happens. A universal life insurance plan is the most flexible of all the whole life insurance policies out there, and that may be why 40% of all consumers with permanent life insurance opt into choosing a universal life insurance policy.

A universal life insurance policy will provide you with a flexible plan that can be customized on several levels. You should choose a universal life insurance plan if you are interested in the following:

• Customizing the amount of financial protection the policy offers – you can choose to either raise or lower your death benefit (certain conditions and fees may apply)
• Adjusting your premium payment amount at any time (in a predetermined amount and frequency range), meaning that if your financial situation temporarily changes you can pay the lowest amount due to maintain your account
• Designing your own policy with riders that fits your lifestyle

Choosing a long term life insurance strategy can be especially confusing if you are young and feel like you are choosing something that will not be used for decades. However, by choosing a universal life insurance policy, you can get the benefits of a permanent life insurance policy with the extra flexibility that will be needed in the future.

FAQ: Is There a Term Limit for Universal Life Insurance?

Posted in Life Insurance , Permanent Insurance , Universal Life Insurance

September 16th, 2009
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Universal life insurance is a type of life insurance policy that you put your money into that builds up a cash value that you can withdraw should you need to, as long as there is money left in the account to pay for your universal life insurance needs. Universal life insurance is a kind of permanent life insurance, as opposed to term insurance. Term insurance has time limits – one year, two years, five years, etc. – that you can pick and choose depending on your needs. With universal life insurance, you are committing to an open-ended life insurance policy that will last for the rest of your life. The money you accrue in your universal life insurance plan is sensitive to market rates.

Life Insurance Necessary

It may not be the most exciting thing in the world, but nevertheless, you have to have insurance. The risk you take by going without certain types of coverage are just too great. If, for example, you get into a car accident while not covered, you could easily be in for high bills that could cause bankruptcy. The same goes for health insurance, only more so. If you are uninsured and are involved a bad accident, you’re going to have to pay out of your own pocket for a night in a hospital room that can cost thousands of dollars. The bottom line is, if you experience an emergency and don’t have insurance, life could become even more complicated for you. In that spirit, you want to have life insurance for the people you love, especially if they include a spouse or partner and children.

To learn more about universal life insurance rates, term insurance, permanent insurance, and other kinds of life insurance, be sure to consult with a life insurance specialist. He or she can advise you as to whether universal life insurance is the right kind of policy for your needs.

How am I Billed for Universal Life Insurance?

Posted in Life Insurance , Universal Life Insurance

September 16th, 2009
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If you buy a universal life insurance plan, you are buying what is known as permanent insurance. That means what you think it means: it’s a life-long, open-ended commitment that only comes into play when you die. Like just about all insurance policy payment plans, you’ll pay your universal life insurance on a monthly basis. That’s what’s called your monthly premium. However, you can also pay for your universal life insurance by paying a single lump sum, which is termed a single premium. Or, you can pay for your universal life insurance with a fixed-premium payment plan. These payments will be smaller than a single premium payment but will pay out the universal life insurance total over a fixed period of years – ten, for example.

Before you buy universal life insurance, be sure to consult with a financial adviser as well as a life insurance or universal life insurance specialist. You need to determine which life insurance policy is best for you and your needs, and with professional advice you will be less likely to make costly mistakes.

Life Insurance is Worth It

You may be thinking that when it comes to life insurance, you just have to bite the bullet and spend the money you need in order to protect your loved ones in case you die. The idea of your loved ones without any cash is too unpleasant to think about. So life insurance is lumped in there with other must-have expenses that don’t generate any wealth for us, like heating bills and car payments. You may think that, of course, but you’d be wrong. With universal life insurance, for example, the money you put into it accrues in value, and can be accessed if you need it.

Universal Life Insurance is Permanent

Posted in Life Insurance , Permanent Insurance , Universal Life Insurance

September 8th, 2009
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With life insurance, you will be protecting your family should you die, because your life insurance policy will give them a sum of cash in order to get by without you. While it’s never very much fun to contemplate your guaranteed mortality, it’s even more unpleasant to imagine your loved ones without your income to support them. But which type of policy to get? One kind of life insurance that many people take advantage of is universal life insurance. Universal life insurance takes your monthly premium and pays interest on it.

How Universal Life Insurance Works

Universal life insurance is a kind of permanent or whole life insurance. That distinguishes it from term life insurance. With universal life insurance, you keep paying into it until you die, and the people you list as beneficiaries get the benefit. With term life insurance, you only insure yourself for a finite number of years, and you don’t get any of that money back. Term life insurance is like car insurance, in that it is risk-only. Once you’re done with car insurance, you walk away and the auto insurer owes you nothing.

Withdrawing from Your Policy

With universal life insurance, you can use the money accrued under your policy before you die. Whatever you withdraw subtracts from the total death benefit received by your heirs. Universal life insurance costs about as much as other kinds of permanent life insurance, which is always much more expensive than term life insurance.

To learn more about universal life insurance, be sure to consult with a life insurance expert.

Who Benefits from Universal Life Insurance?

Posted in Life Insurance , Universal Life Insurance

August 11th, 2009
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Are you thinking about getting universal life insurance? You are not alone. Many people find this kind of life insurance to be especially advantageous for their needs. By buying a universal life insurance policy, you’re investing in the care and safety of your loved ones and other beneficiaries to your policy after you die. The money you spend doesn’t just go towards paying your premium, it builds up in value and earns interest. It can also be invested in various financial funds, like the stock market.

In a way, all participants in the process benefit from your universal life insurance policy. You, the policy holder, benefit by seeing the money you put into your universal life insurance policy grow as it earns interest. You also benefit from it by being able to access it if yo need to. And of course, you benefit from it by having peace of mind that your loved ones and beneficiaries will have money left to them when you die.

Of course, beneficiaries are probably those who benefit the most from your universal life insurance policy. When you die, those named on your policy will receive all the money involved, disbursed according to your wishes as spelled out in your policy. Upon your death, they will receive the cash total value of the benefits in your account, and can then live and plan their lives with that much more security.

Insurance agents and brokers who sell universal life insurance policies also benefit. That’s because the commissions they receive are very large, and can sometimes be 100% of a year’s premiums. This windfall-like commission is actually reason for prospective life insurance buyers to take heed – since their commission is so large, insurance brokers may try to sell you universal life insurance even if it’s not the best plan for your needs.

To learn more about universal life insurance and who benefits from it, be sure to speak with a financial advisor. You need to go over the policy’s pros and cons before you commit to it.

Can I Withdraw Cash from a Universal Life Insurance Policy?

Posted in Life Insurance , Universal Life Insurance

July 31st, 2009
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With universal life insurance, you’re putting money aside through premium payments to the issuer of your universal life insurance policy. Every time you pay your premium, part of that payment goes to the insurance, another part goes to processing fees, and the remainder goes into an account that earns interest. That interest rate is determined by the issuer of your universal insurance policy. Very often, it will be linked to a major interest rate index, and will rise or fall along with market circumstances. So, this money in your universal life insurance policy account is working for you. Many insurance companies will also take the money from this part of your universal life insurance policy and invest it in the stock market or other financial market. Depending on the rules and regulations of your universal life insurance policy, you can access the money in it whenever you need to. If you leave the money alone it will all be given out as a benefit when you die. If you take out half of it, the remaining half will go to the benefit.

If you’re like most Americans you’re in a state of worry about the economy. Everyday it seems like we’re waking up to worse and worse economic news. Millions of people have lost their jobs in the past year alone, and no one can say with any true certainty that their position will be immune to the economic crisis. This means that everyone is looking for ways to make sure that they don’t have to experience their own personal worst-case scenario. One way that people are protecting themselves is by buying universal life insurance. With universal life insurance, you are not only protecting your loved ones financially should you die, but you’re creating a financial account that you can draw on should you have to. If you lose your job in this economic chaos, withdrawing cash from your universal life insurance policy could really help you weather the storm.

Before you withdraw cash from your universal life insurance policy, or even get it in the first place, be sure to consult with a financial advisor. Universal life insurance is the right idea for some people and not for others.

Advantages / Disadvantages of Universal Life Insurance

Posted in Life Insurance , Universal Life Insurance

July 24th, 2009
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One kind of life insurance that’s popular today is universal life insurance. Universal life insurance may not be the right kind of life insurance for you, however, so read on to learn more about its advantages and disadvantages.

Universal life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance. When you buy universal life insurance, you are paying a portion of your monthly premium to be put into an account that then accrues interest. It’s like opening up a savings account, because you can, contingent upon the terms of your specific universal life insurance policy, access that money if you need it. The drawback to accessing that money is that it will result in a lower payout benefit to the beneficiary (the friend or family member who is listed on your universal life insurance policy as the recipient).

Another problem that many people have with a universal life insurance policy is that very often, the commission that insurance brokers charge for it is substantial, sometimes equaling a year’s worth of premiums. This means that insurance agents and brokers want to sell people universal life insurance when another, cheaper kind of insurance would be the right policy for them to have.

Before you purchase universal life insurance, be sure to discuss its advantages and disadvantages with a financial advisor. Universal life insurance is definitely not right for everyone, so make sure to do your research first.

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Compare Life Insurance: Universal vs. Variable

Posted in Compare Life Insurance , Life Insurance , Life Insurance Quotes , Permanent Insurance , Universal Life Insurance , Variable Life Insurance

April 29th, 2009
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Is choosing between universal life insurance and variable life insurance on your mind? Before you stress out over which type you should purchase, it’s good to take a closer look at their features.

What is Universal Life Insurance?

Universal life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance, which means that it not only offers the death benefit, which is payable to your beneficiary upon your death, but it also comes with an investment component that allows you to grow funds in a separate account at a fixed rate of growth.

What’s unique about this type of coverage is that as your savings/investment amount grows, it becomes a cash value that you can take out. Even better, you can make an arrangement to have your savings applied to your premium so that you no longer have to make out-of-pocket payments anymore. However, because it comes with this added investment feature, it is often more expensive that other policy types.

What is Variable Life Insurance?

Variable life insurance is very similar to universal in that it is a form of permanent life insurance, offers the death benefit at the predetermined premium, and offers an investment component. However, whereas universal’s investment component only allows you to invest in one account, variable allows you to take part in various investment funds. By taking this route, you can choose among both risky and safe options, allowing you to make decisions that can grow your account at a faster rate.

There are benefits to purchasing both variable life insurance and universal life insurance. The key to choosing which is best for you rests primarily in your investment preferences. So if you know how you’d like to invest while paying your premiums, then deciding between the two should be that much easier.

If you’re having trouble finding life insurance quotes online, fill out our life insurance form and within minutes you’ll receive rate quotes from leading insurers. The process is absolutely free and secure.

Compare Life Insurance: Whole vs. Variable

Posted in Compare Life Insurance , Life Insurance , Life Insurance Quotes , Permanent Insurance , Universal Life Insurance , Variable Life Insurance , Whole Life Insurance

April 27th, 2009
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When comparing life insurance policies, you may find yourself having to choose between whole life and variable life. If this is the case, it’s good to know as much about the two types as possible so that when the time comes to choose, you’ll be well-informed.

Permanent Life Insurance

In case you were unaware, both whole life and variable life, like universal life, are forms of permanent insurance. With this type of policy, in addition to receiving a benefit that will be paid to your beneficiary upon your death, your policy also comes with a savings component that allows you to make investments. So instead of simply paying your premium every month to accumulate enough to pay out to your loved ones, you are also investing in a money market security, mutual fund, bond, or other form of investment.

Both are permanent life insurance policies, making them similar. Now, let’s take a look at what makes them different.

Whole Life Insurance

When taking out a whole life policy, it comes with some unique features. Let’s take a look at what they are:

• Fixed premium. With this type of policy, you pay a fixed premium that is guaranteed for the life of the contract. For some, this doesn’t work, because you can’t increase or decrease it at any point. You instead have to purchase a new policy.
• Minimum death benefit. You are guaranteed a minimum face amount, no matter how long you live as long as the premiums are paid.
• Investments. Your premiums are invested in the company’s general account. Some don’t care, however, for the lack of flexibility in investment opportunities.
• Cash value guaranteed. The minimum cash value for your premium investments is guaranteed.

Variable Life Insurance

When comparing insurance policies, it’s good to see the differences in variable life:

• Investment flexibility. Unlike with the whole life policy, your investments are flexible, allowing you to invest in multiple portfolios.
• Cash value. When purchasing this policy, it’s good to know that your cash value is not guaranteed.

Other elements of these two policies are very similar. So if you know that investments are important to you, then it’ll be up to you to decide whether the whole life or variable life is right for you.

Having trouble finding the right life insurance quotes? Fill out our life insurance form and you’ll receive rate quotes from leading insurers within minutes. Best of all, it’s secure, free and easy!