Monday, September 14, 2009

Update August 14, 2009 All About Life Insurance and Financial Planning By Insurance Experts

Financial planning is the long-term process of wisely managing your finances so you can achieve your goals and dreams, while at the same time negotiating the financial barriers that inevitably arise in every stage of life by Creating a Sound Financial Plan
Step 1 Establish Goals
Step 2 Gather Data
Step 3 Analyze & Evaluate Your Financial Status
Step 4 Develop a Plan
Step 5 Implement the Plan
Step 6 Monitor the Plan & Make Necessary Adjustments

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Is Your Child Financially Protected?
By Steven Symth Platinum Quality Author

This isn't exactly a great subject but this is basically what it comes down to! Many parents do not think very often about life insurance. Especially those couples who are still young. Life and death is apart of living, but have you really put some thought into the financial security of your family. What if something unexpected was to happen to you?

Lets take a look at two important reasons why you should protect your family:

Reason One:

The death of a loved one is extremely difficult to deal with in the general sense. But what if your family had to deal not only with your death but also with the financial burden and strain of the expenses involved? Funeral arrangements are costly to the best of my knowledge. If you take the right precautions now, your family won't have to suffer these circumstances. You can even go as far as to complete your funeral arrangements through your life insurance provider.

Reason Two:

By getting life insurance you also have the opportunity to choose the best care giver of your children and or pets. This is another area that is heavily neglected by young parents. This is obviously not your fault as death is not something we want to face whilst we are healthy and living. There would be nothing worse than your children having to live with a family member whom you did not approve of. We all want the best for our families, you can make that decision today for your children.


Life Insurance Basics: Getting Started
By Megan Mahan Platinum Quality Author

Let’s be honest. The topic of life insurance isn’t exciting or glamorous, but it is important. In fact, many experts consider life insurance to be the cornerstone of good financial planning.

But how do you know if you need life insurance? How much is enough? What kind of life insurance policy is best for you?

Answering these basic questions about life insurance will help to simplify the shopping process and ultimately allow you to select the best policy to secure your family’s future for years to come.

Establishing Your Needs

To clear up any misconceptions, life insurance is designed to protect your loved ones from financial loss in the event of your death. Knowing this, it’s important to establish whether you need life insurance and how much you should purchase.

According to MetLife you generally need life insurance if:

  • You have a spouse
  • You have dependent children
  • Relatives or elderly parents depend on your income
  • Your retirement funds are not enough to provide for your spouse’s future
  • You own a business
  • You have a large estate

The beneficiaries of your life insurance policy can use the proceeds from your life insurance to:
  • Pay for last expenses and funeral costs
  • Cover estate taxes (if applicable)
  • Pay off existing debts (mortgage, car loan, credit card debt)
  • Pay for everyday expenses (food, clothing, childcare)
  • Put towards your spouse’s retirement fund
  • Donate to charity

If you don’t have dependents, you may still wish to purchase a life insurance policy to avoid becoming a financial burden to your loved ones in the untimely event of your death. Young singles also benefit from purchasing life insurance while they’re young and healthy, allowing them to secure a low premium for years to come.

Choosing a Dollar Amount

Figuring out how much life insurance your loved ones would need to maintain their quality of living can be tough. Generally speaking, experts recommend purchasing between 5 and 10 times your annual salary. But, as MetLife points out, your exact need for life insurance will depend on your personal and financial circumstances.

You can get a ballpark estimate of your life insurance needs by first totaling the funds your family would need for the abovementioned items (funeral costs, daily living, etc.). You can find helpful worksheets online that will help you organize and come up with this list of expenses.

After you’ve totaled your expenses, take stock of the funds you have in cash, savings, retirement accounts, bonds, property, pension and Social Security. Subtracting your financial resources from your expenses will give you a rough idea of how much life insurance you should purchase.

When it comes to choosing how much life insurance to purchase, it’s a good idea to get an idea of your needs before buying a policy—but your licensed life insurance professional will undoubtedly help you choose a dollar amount that accurately reflects the needs of your beneficiaries.

Selecting a Policy

Generally speaking, there are two types of life insurance: term life insurance and permanent life insurance. The type of policy you select will depend largely on your life insurance needs and what resources you have to pay life insurance premiums.

Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance, as the name suggests, will cover you for a specified amount of time, which means the insurer will only pay out a death benefit if you die during the term of your policy.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), most people purchase a 20-year term policy, although smaller terms are available. Of course, you can renew your term life policy after it expires, although your premiums may increase as you age. But all in all, because of the “temporary” nature of term life insurance, policies are generally much cheaper and are therefore an attractive option for young people and families with a limited income.

Permanent Life Insurance
On the other hand, permanent life insurance, as you might have guessed, is permanent. A permanent life policy will pay out a death benefit whether you die tomorrow or in 60 years.

Permanent life insurance is also an appealing option for many because of the added benefit of the policy growing on a tax-deferred basis, which can grow to be fairly large over time. As a policyholder, you may be able to borrow against this cash value while alive, which has been of great help to some. Of course, most loans need to be paid back otherwise they will be subtracted from the death benefit, and your beneficiaries may have to liquidate assets to pay back the loan.

Nonetheless, permanent life insurance offers a wide variety of saving and investment options. Because of this, policies are generally more expensive than term policies, which may be hard for young adults to handle.

Your life insurance professional will help you decide which type of policy is best for your life insurance needs—and your budget. But researching these policy types beforehand can help you narrow down which policies appeal to you.

Knowledge is Power

No, learning about life insurance and planning for the unexpected isn’t glamorous, but it is important. So take advantage of consumer resources and talk to a life insurance professional about purchasing affordable life insurance. You’ll rest easier at night knowing your loved ones are taken care of for years to come!

About InsureMe

Megan L. Mahan is a copywriter and insurance information expert with InsureMe in Englewood, Colorado. InsureMe links agents nationwide with consumers shopping for insurance. Specializing in auto, home, health, long-term care and life insurance quotes, the InsureMe network provides thousands of agents with insurance leads every year. For more information, visit InsureMe.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Megan_Mahan

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The Importance of Family Life Insurance
By Lana Leicester

Everybody strives to get the maximum happiness to their families whatever be the circumstances. The very thought of catastrophic events that might befall us leading to lot of mental agony in providing the maximum security of life for your family. Family life insurance thus comes into picture at this juncture, playing a vital role in the family life of the deceased. There are several long-term life insurance products, which are designed aimed at ensuring the fulfillment of the dreams of family of the deceased. It does not leave you worried anymore, due to the financial burden creeping up with the loss of the earning family member.

Key Benefits:

Terms assurance is available for a period 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years. Term Assurance for 5,10,15,20,25 years., In the event of any calamity in the family, financial protection will be provided at a very nominal and affordable cost, Comprehensive overall protection with the assistance of riders, and the most important benefit being the Tax benefit under section 80C and 10 (10D) of Income Tax Act.

Why You Need Family Life Insurance

It is quite natural for anybody to think that there would be no need to have a life insurance policy, but it is indispensable, in the event of a calamity in the family. Remember, there will be nobody to protect the family in the event of the breadwinner's death save a life insurance policy that is easy to obtain.

The mortgage payments on the home of the deceased cannot be cleared by anybody else. It is also difficult for the family of the deceased to make both ends meet. Since there will be no income resources in situations like this, either they will have to be employed irrespective of the age or should get some financial help on a regular basis for which, a family life insurance policy is the only panacea to come out of the predicament.