Life Insurance - The Basics

Provided By InsWeb
by Michelle Martin, InsWeb

Most people buy life insurance to replace income that would be lost if a wage earner passed away. Life insurance proceeds are tax-free, so it can also play a role in estate planning, cash accumulation, retirement funding, and the transfer of wealth to beneficiaries.

There are quite a few types of life insurance on the market today. The cost of a policy and the features it offers can vary tremendously depending on the type of insurance you choose. Here's a rundown of the major types of life insurance. (There are also differences between insurance companies. For example, not all companies will charge the same price for the same type of policy. So it's good to shop around.)

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance covers you for a period of time you select (for example, 10 or 20 years) and pays benefits only if you die during the time you're covered. Term life is often referred to as temporary insurance. These policies do not accumulate cash value, which means if you do not die within the time you're covered, your estate does not collect any money from the policy when it ends. However, most companies offer conversion privileges to permanent policies, which means you can turn your term life policy into a "permanent" one under some circumstances. With permanent policies, a portion of your premium goes to building cash value with interest.

Benefits of term life policies:

• They cost less than permanent insurance.
  Proceeds are not taxable to your beneficiaries.
• They supplement employer-sponsored life plans, or older policies that may be inadequate due to inflation.
• While in effect, you typically can convert to a permanent policy without evidence of insurability (that's an official statement proving you're an insurable risk).
• You can buy a large amount of term insurance to complement your permanent policy.