The benefits of life insurance
There’s life insurance, and then there’s living insurance.
At its most basic level, life insurance is a contract between you and the insurance company through which, in exchange for monthly premium payments, the company promises that when you die, it will pay your family an agreed-upon amount of tax-free money to help ease the financial burden created by your passing.
However, there are a number of different life insurance products you can choose from—depending on your budget, your goals in life, and your goals for the wealth transfer at the end of this life—that provide even more benefits.
Benefits at death
Life insurance is an asset.
As long as the policy is active at the insured’s death, a benefit is paid to the beneficiaries, an organization or people you care deeply for.
This transfer of money generally occurs free of federal and state income taxes.
Benefits during your lifetime
Life insurance can provide you with more than just a death benefit.
Many life insurance products offer optional riders
you can purchase for additional protection during your lifetime. For example, you can add a rider that allows you to continue your coverage at no cost if you experience a disability.
Note: Optional riders are available at an additional cost. The long-term advantage of an optional benefit varies with the terms of the benefit option.
As a result, in some circumstances, the cost of an option may exceed the actual benefit paid under the option.
What are your plans or goals for the future?
Whole life insurance may help you achieve them.
Over the long term, whole life insurance policies can serve as a cash accumulation vehicle. Cash accumulates slowly at first as the insurance company amortizes the cost of insurance, insurance that will be in place for life as long as the premium is paid! The cash is guaranteed to grow every year and will never decline or lose money due to negative conditions or volatility in the stock or bond markets. The cash may be available to help with a variety of expenses including church service or a wedding and even college.
What life insurance offers you
Each form of life insurance—term, whole life, and universal—offers features that help you protect your and your family’s financial future. Whether you are interested in getting the most protection at the lowest cost, building cash value you can use for any reason, or taking advantage of adjustable coverage options, one of them—or maybe more—can address your goals.
Each life insurance product offers ways to help you protect yourself and your family’s financial future. Which one’s right for you?
Term life
• Guaranteed payments that don’t go up or down for the initial time period (10, 15, 20, or 30 years), after which they increase based on such factors as your age and physical condition
• Low initial cost when compared to other types of life insurance
• Pure financial protection with no cash value accumulation
• A privilege that may allow you to move all or part of your term insurance to permanent coverage. You can convert to permanent insurance that accumulates cash value — for you to use as you want. A change in your health since you first purchased your policy cannot prevent
you from obtaining permanent insurance.
Whole life
• Premiums that stay the same for the life of the policy
• Tax-deferred cash value accumulation
• Protection you can’t outlive as long as the premiums are current
• The ability to withdraw funds or borrow against the cash value of the policy
Universal life
• Your policy may earn a guaranteed interest rate
• Flexible payments so you can make
higher payments when you can or lower
payments when you’re on a tight budget
• Adjustable coverage options so you can increase or decrease your life insurance protection—or switch to a different option—as your situation changes
Which type of policy is best for you?
It depends on several factors. The best way to find out is to sit down and talk to us.
Call us or fill out this form to set up an appointment with one of our trained financial advisors.
Talk to us today: 208-898-7696
[panel style=”default” text_align=”left”]Life insurance should be purchased by individuals that have a need to provide a death benefit to protect others with insurable interests in their lives against financial loss. Life insurance is not a retirement plan, investment, or savings account. Life insurance policies’ cash values are not considered liquid. If a life insurance policy lapses with loans outstanding, the loan amount becomes subject to federal income tax to the extent there is a gain in the contract. In addition, outstanding loans at death will reduce the death benefit of the policy. Cash value policy loans are taxable if the policy is surrendered or terminates before the insured’s death and the cash value exceeds the policy’s cost basis. Accessing cash values through borrowing or partial surrenders will reduce the policy’s cash value and death benefit, increase the chance the policy will lapse, and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before the death of the insured.[/panel]