Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment
It’s one of the life insurance industry’s best-kept secrets – a great number of life insurance policies in the U.S. tend to lapse, meaning the coverage runs out and is not available if you die. Some studies claim as many as 80 percent of policies will lapse before a payout is due. However, the reasons behind this phenomenon are far more complicated and avoidable than you may realize. Typically, life insurance policies have a 30-day grace period for paying your premium. If you forget to pay your premium within that time, your policy will be canceled. That can be disastrous for an older person who has health problems that he didn’t have when he initially bought the policy. Another major reason for lapsing policies is that people buy more coverage than they…
If you’re the beneficiary of a life insurance policy and you’re counting on receiving that money, you’re at the mercy of the policy’s owner. If that person stops making payments, the policy will lapse and could become void. You might not even know the policy has lapsed – until you try to make a claim after the insured dies. Is it possible to recover any money from a lapsed life insurance policy? Hope there was cash value If a permanent life insurance policy lapses, there may be enough cash value built up to keep it in force for a while. Often an insurance company will tap into a policy’s cash value to cover premium payments if it stops receiving payments and doesn’t hear from the policy owner. Michael Hartmann, a life…
Life insurance is a fundamental part of one’s financial safety net. But having life insurance and having enough of it are two different issues. In fact, the Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) estimates that only about a third of life insurance shoppers believe they have enough coverage.1 “It’s smart to periodically review whether your existing coverage is adequate, and open enrollment period is a good time to do it,” said Lee McGowan, managing director at Monument Group Wealth Advisors, in Concord, Massachusetts, in an interview. (How much do you need? Life insurance calculator) Employer-provided life insurance If offered without cost, you should always take part in your employer’s group plan. “Take it, no questions asked,” said Sean Flynn, a financial advisor at Essex Financial Services in Southport, Connecticut, in…
If you are single, with no children, and just starting out in your career, do you really need a life insurance policy? Maybe so, if: You have parents or other relatives who may need you when they’re older.You have a significant amount of debt.You want to leave a legacy, or at least not impose on others, after you’re gone. Of course, there are other financial priorities early in adulthood, not the least of which are building a budget, setting up an emergency fund, and establishing a retirement plan. And many young adults are focused on growing wealth as quickly as possible as well. Life insurance could be considered of lesser importance in comparison. And for some, that may be true. But for others, maybe not. To be sure, a close look at…
Want to void the protection and security you gained when purchasing a life insurance policy? Let it lapse. Simply put, a lapse occurs when premium payments on a life insurance policy are missed and, depending on the type of insurance, the cash value is exhausted. “Lapse” is shorthand for a “lapse in coverage,” which means the policy will no longer pay a death benefit for the insured person. At the other end of the spectrum is a paid-up policy, where all the premium obligations have been met and the policy remains in force for the rest of the insured’s life. We have a 76-year-old example below. Lapse procedures A lapse doesn’t necessarily mean immediate termination of a policy. Life insurance policies often have a grace period after a missed payment…
Smoking is a habit and stopping it may not be that easy. Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to die of respiratory diseases, stroke and cardiovascular complications. This is according to research carried out by the medical community in the United States. The medical research team found out that cigarette smoking is linked to health complications that occur in nearly all body organs. This, therefore, means that smoking plays a significant role in deteriorating your overall body health. But if have already hit 50 or 60 years and you haven’t quit smoking, should this get you worried about getting affordable life insurance? Why Do Smokers Get Higher Life Insurance Rates? If you are a chain or regular smoker, obtaining the right life insurance policy can help create an atmosphere of…
Like most insurance, life insurance is cheaper to buy the younger you are when you buy it. This is great news if you’re in your 20s or 30s, but what if you’re a little older and in the market for a new life insurance policy? How old is too old?The answer depends on the type of life insurance you’re shopping for, but one thing’s for certain — no matter what your age today, it’s better to buy a life insurance policy now rather than waiting a year. The price goes up as you get older Premiums for term life increase by about 8% per year in your late 40s, and that rate of increase continues to climb to 9-12% per years after age 50.To illustrate this, we used Policy Genius Life insurance…
Q: Yeah, yeah, yeah… smoking might give me lung cancer when I’m like 80. So why should I worry about it now when I can just quit when I’m old? A: Sure, lung cancer is one of the main reasons to quit, but we know you college (and graduate) students are invincible and don’t really care about little things like mortality, so here are a few other good reasons to quit smoking that might hit a little closer to home: Tooth Loss It is well known among dentists that smoking dramatically increases your chances of “edentulism” (i.e having no teeth). Smoking causes gum disease and plaque build-up which lead to tooth decay and loss. One study showed that the risk of tooth loss in smokers is more than 4 times…
The sedative effects of nicotine, paired with the ritualistic activity of sparking upmakes for a temporary and dangerous escape from the pressures of the moment. For smokers, cigarettes are frequently used as a form of stress relief. But there are other sources of stress relief available, many of which can positively impact your overall health. Moderate physical activity, especially aerobic exercises, can make an immediate difference on your mental wellbeing. The psychological benefits of aerobic exercises — walking, jogging, biking, swimming — are grounded in your neurochemistry research shows exercise has the power to reduce levels of the body’s stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, while stimulating the production of feel-good chemicals called endorphins. When your friend mentions how they get a “runner’s high” after jogging a few miles — that’s the…
New federal law that was announced in April states that in the New Year, hospitals must publish price lists online of all the services they offer. This should also make it easier for patients to access their medical records. Hospitals must publish public price lists under the Affordable Care Act, but with this new law hospitals are now supposed to make these lists available online. Every year these numbers must be updated so patients get the most accurate price. Rehabilitation centers, psychiatric hospitals, and critical access hospitals are also expected to put price lists online under this new law. Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, commented when the program was confirmed: “We are just beginning on price transparency. “We know that hospitals have this information…