compare life insurance - term life vs. whole life

by hummingbird » Wed Jan 16, 2008 02:52 pm

Can anyone explain what term life is and whole life. I wanna compare life insurance policies and know how to choose the best out of them. What is your opinion of either of them.Thanks

Total Comments: 29

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 04:45 pm Post Subject:

I believe that term life is exactly that for a term (of time) and whole life is for your whole life. I am sure that someone with a more in depth answer will come a long soon and elaborate more to help you compare life insurance. Hope this helps.

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 05:26 am Post Subject:

As their names suggest ……….'term life' insurance offers coverage for a specific period of time and the coverage lasts life long of the inured for the 'whole life plan'. The premium and coverage level may or may not remain same for the entire tenure of a whole life plan. But the whole life plan also accumulates a cash value, which the policy holder or the beneficiary can receive at the expiration of the policy. This is the most important thing that you should remember when you're out to compare life insurance.

For a term life plan, the tenure of the policy is fixed, 15 yrs, 20 yrs or 30 yrs….. and one can choose a term that will suit his/her needs. During this tenure the premium and the coverage level remain unaltered. If the insured dies within the set term, the policy the benefits/ death benefits will get disbursed towards the named beneficiary. Often people with shorter needs opt for the term life plans. And as the insurer promises to cover for a specific time period, the benefits terminates with the term.

Hope that clarifies…..

Regards,
Juanita

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 06:10 am Post Subject:

IMO when you'd compare life insurance a lot of it depends upon your age and financial needs. People are known to take out a term policy that matches with their mortgage loan. This keeps them covered for the entire period of their loan. The idea behind is if the mortgagee dies within this time period the term policy will take care of the unpaid amount of the loan.

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 01:35 pm Post Subject: Answer

Term life is superior to whole, universal or variable because its strictly life insurance. It covers you for a specific amount of time or term. The other types cover you till you die. However they are riddled with ridiculous fees. Go with Term and also look into term with return of premium. Which like the name implies is a full refund of all the premiums you pay if you make it to the end of the policy term. That's exactly what I get whenever I compare life insurance.

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 02:17 pm Post Subject:

quote (But the whole life plan also accumulates a cash value, which the policy holder or the beneficiary can receive at the expiration of the policy. )
If I bought a whole life policy ,how would I collect a cash value at the expiration of that policy?Would not I be dead? Would it not expire only if I were dead? I thought you said a term policy was for a term of time but whole life is for ,whole life). I'm confused here.

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 02:22 pm Post Subject:

That is a real good idea about taking out the insurance in the amount of your mortgage.I wonder if it is cheaper than taking out mortgage insurance. I should look into that.
What prefered said above ,do you mean if I took out term ,that at the end of that term if I were still living ,I would get all I paid in returned to me?Or what else would be an option at this point to keep some life coverage.

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 04:27 pm Post Subject: TERM AND PERM

Hi,

When you'd compare life insurance you'd certainly need to remember the following-

Term Is for a Time
Term insurance is the most basic type of insurance. You can buy protection for a certain amount of time (or term) such as 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 years.* If you die before the term is over, your beneficiary gets the death benefit stated in your policy. If you live beyond the term, your beneficiaries get no payment. This type of insurance is usually the least expensive to buy.

PERM LIFE Is for Life
One main difference between term and permanent life insurance is that permanent doesn't expire. As long as premiums are being paid, it stays with you permanently.

Cash Value
The other big difference is that with permanent life insurance, your premiums are invested to produce returns. This gives your policy a cash value, which usually accumulates at a guaranteed minimum interest and is available to help fund retirement, emergencies and more.

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 04:29 pm Post Subject: WHOLE LIFE WWW.ALLSTATE247.COM HAS ALOT OF INFO ON INSURANCE

Whole Life
Also known as straight life, whole life is the simplest form of permanent life insurance. You'll pay the same amount of premium for the rest of your life. (Start young and the less expensive the premiums will be.) Your cash value will accumulate based on a guaranteed rate. As long as your policy is current, you can borrow against the cash value at the current policy loan interest rate.

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 04:37 pm Post Subject:

Straight life?Whole life? term life?How many types of life insurance are there? No wonder i'd be confused if I try to compare life insurance like that. And to think i once was interested in getting life insurance we just thought we grabbed a life insurance policy .We never knew they were so complicated.

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 04:42 pm Post Subject: LIFE INS

THERE IS MANY POLICIES OUT THERE AND THE BEST THING TO DO IS SEAT DOWN WITH A LIFE AGENT THAT HAS BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME AND THEY WILL DO A NEEDS RECORD FOR YOU, COMPARE LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES AND POINT OUT THE RIGHT TYPE OF POLICY.
I LIKE GETTING TERM AND THEN INVESTING THE REST INTO AN IRA OR 401K PLAN

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