Life Insurance

Life Insurance is available for individuals and groups.  There are optional benefits offered including:

• Waiver of premium (pays the premium if the insured is disabled)
• Spouse and Child riders
• Accidental Death or Accidental Death and Dismemberment benefits (pays an additional multiple of the face amount if death occurs as a result of an accident, and may pay a fraction of the face amount for loss of a limb, fingers, toes, eye or sight and sometimes speech and hearing).

Term Life is the most cost effective means of providing security to cover a mortgage, business loan, children’s education, etc.  Premiums are guaranteed for 1 year, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 years and many policies offer an option to covert to a permanent form of life insurance.  There may be a re-entry provision offering a new contract with lower rates at a specified time (with underwriting).  If you are healthy, this is a way to keep costs low;  if not, the policy may end or rates may increase dramatically.  Most group Life Insurance is term life. To explore rates from the top carriers on this website, please use our quoting software.

Whole Life insurance is the most secure type of coverage.  Level rates, guaranteed death benefit, and a cash value accumulation make this attractive for some people.  Rates are much higher than term, but are guaranteed not to increase for as long as you live.  Much has been written about Whole Life being a bad investment;  it should not be used as one.  If the situation indicates that you want a “forever” policy to remain in place, even after your mortgage is paid, the kids are through college, the loans have been retired, then Whole Life can offer that security.  A cash value grows each year which can be accessed to pay your premium if you have a bad financial turn, and may amount to a significant asset in later years.

Universal Life became popular as computers have become common.  There are so many options we need a computer to “run the numbers” and explore the various possibilities.  You may purchase a level or increasing death benefit, fund at a minimum level, fund at a “target” level, or put in a much higher contribution (within legal limits).  There are guaranteed rates of interest, “projected” or “current” interest assumptions, and Mortality charges that may fluctuate.  Some policies link their returns to various investment vehicles (Variable Life).  If you select a Universal Life policy and contribute only the minimum amount illustrated, your “cash value” will increase for several years and may drop to zero if a market downturn is experienced, causing your policy to terminate.  You may be asked to increase contributions if this occurs, or you might wish to fund the policy at the maximum levels in early years to avoid this possibility.   Careful analysis of the assumptions made in the illustrations is essential to see that your contract will perform as expected.

Before running a quote, you’ll want to decide what amount of life insurance is appropriate for your situation.  For help with this analysis, please call the office or click below:

Life Insurance Calculator

For an explanation of common terms, please click below:

Definitions

We’d love to talk with you personally regarding the various insurance companies, plans and rates.  Please contact the office for a detailed proposal so we can help you!