San Diego’s Main Types of Life Insurance

Life insurance in San Diego can generally be classified as either “term life,” “cash value life,” or a combination of the two. Term life coverage is typically less expensive and less complex. These policies pay only once – with a specified death benefit when the insured dies – and only if the person dies during the specified term that the coverage is in force. Cash value life policies typically provide a variety of features and benefits in addition to the death benefit, and they typically cost more. The key feature of all cash value life insurance is a savings component that accumulates over time and may be withdrawn, invested, or borrowed against during the policyholder’s lifetime, depending on the policy terms.

In addition to a basic life insurance policy form, your agent or company will likely offer a choice of “riders” that can be added to a policy to extend, limit, or modify the coverage. Riders that increase coverage typically increase the premium.

San Diego term life policies take their name because coverage only lasts for a specific period of time – such as one, five, 15, or 20 years – or until the insured reaches a certain age. The cost of term life in San Diego generally increases as you get older. For people under age 40, term life generally provides the largest death benefit per premium dollar of any type of life insurance.

Term life policies typically don’t include a savings component. If you die during the term, the insurance company pays the amount of the death benefit specified by the policy. If you don’t die during the term, the policy lapses, no benefit is paid, and you must either renew or purchase another type of coverage if you wish to keep life insurance.

Term life can be a good choice for young families with children in San Diego. You may only need coverage until the children are old enough and financially able to provide for themselves.

Get free life insurance quotes from the top-rated companies in San Diego with just one click from: www.CheaperGroupInsurance.com.

Posted on May 18th, 2008  | 

Instant Online Life Insurance Rate Comparison Tool

Like other companies who purchase leads, life insurance companies are taking full advantage of the Internet so that customers can go the company website and receive free quotes. Life Insurance is an insurance policy that provides an agreed amount of cover over an agreed term, so that should you die during the policy term, a lump sum is paid out. Obtaining a whole life insurance policy is like providing security for the next generation of your family.

If you have preexisting medical conditions or are in bad health, you can still get a life insurance quote and take the first step in providing for the future of your family. Getting a quote on life insurance may the first step in protecting your loved ones from financial hardship. Obviously, the first step is to fill out an application for your life insurance quote online.

While online life insurance request forms are a great way to quickly to request a life insurance quote, they are not the only way. You can easily find a number of different online life insurance quote forms by visiting the websites of local or national life insurance companies. There are a number of different types of whole life insurance policies available in San Diego, and consumers can select the one that best fits their needs and their budget.

There are various types of life insurance available to San Diegoians and here we cover the types of term policies on offer. There are four different types of term life insurance policies one of which is renewable term insurance. If you purchase a term life insurance policy, look for guaranteed and renewable policies.

If you already have a life insurance policy, say from your employer, you still may want to add to add to your coverage by increasing the coverage or taking out an additional policy.

Find the cheapest life insurance rates in San Diego at: San DiegoLifeInsurance.info

Posted on May 17th, 2008  | 

Who Needs Life Insurance in San Diego?

When purchasing life insurance in San Diego, be sure to consider your individual circumstances and the standard of living you want to leave for your dependents. If you don’t have anyone depending on you for financial support, you may not need life insurance, or you may need only enough to cover funeral expenses or other financial obligations. The following guidelines can help you decide if life insurance is right for you.

Families in San Diego, including single-parent households, generally need life insurance because children depend on their parents’ incomes. Typically, the younger a child, the greater the family’s need for life insurance. It’s a good idea to consider insuring both parents, even if only one is a primary wage earner. This can help ensure that the surviving parent can pay for any increases in the cost of child care if the parent primarily responsible for child care dies.

Single adults typically don’t need life insurance, unless they are single parents or support someone such as an elderly parent.

San Diego’s working couples without children or dependent parents typically don’t need life insurance, particularly if the survivor would earn enough to meet expenses and pay debts without exhausting savings. However, life insurance may be a good idea if only one spouse is employed because the nonworking spouse could maintain his or her standard of living should the working spouse die. Young couples who plan to start a family may want to consider purchasing life insurance since life insurance can cost significantly less when purchased at a younger age.

Older people whose children are grown and independent are less likely to need life insurance.

A well-planned savings program can decrease a family’s need for life insurance as wage earners near retirement age. Although life insurance is sometimes used to pay for prepaid funeral arrangements, it is often not the best funding source. Make sure you fully review your needs and all of your options to pay for funeral expenses.

You may purchase a San Diego life insurance policy on your own life or on the life of anyone who gives their consent for you to do so and agrees to undergo the insurer’s underwriting process. The person who purchases the policy is known as the “policyholder” and is the person responsible for making the premium payments to keep the coverage in force.

Most often, life insurance is purchased by policyholders to insure their own lives and provide a death benefit to a spouse, dependent child, or other family member. However, in some cases you may wish to buy a life insurance policy on someone else and name yourself as the beneficiary. For instance, if you are divorced and your former spouse provides child-support payments, you might want to purchase a life insurance policy on your ex-spouse to guarantee continued support payments if he or she dies.

You may name any individual, organization, or trust as the beneficiary of the policy’s death benefit, or you may choose to name multiple individuals as “shared beneficiaries” and stipulate how the benefit will be divided among them. You may also choose to name “secondary beneficiaries” who will only receive the benefit if the primary beneficiary is no longer living.

In some cases, a creditor may have an interest in the life of a loan recipient. The creditor may purchase a life insurance policy to cover the balance of the loan in case the recipient dies before repayment. Businesses also sometimes purchase policies on the lives of certain key employees who are vital to company operations.

Get free life insurance quotes from the top-rated companies in San Diego with just one click from: www.CheaperGroupInsurance.com.

Posted on May 15th, 2008  | 

Life Insurance Settlements: Cash for Life Your San Diego Insurance Policy

A San Diego Life Insurance Settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy to a third party in exchange for a cash settlement in excess of the policy’s cash surrender value—even if none exists! This is also called as Life Insurance settlement, Insurance settlement or Senior settlement.

This innovative wealth and estate planning tool removes the burden of expensive insurance premium payments in San Diego in addition to providing the lump sum cash settlement. To get the highest life settlements is to improve the quality of life during your retirement years.
Hitherto, the elderly in San Diego with life insurance policies they do not need or cannot afford to keep up have had little option. They will let the policies lapse or sell them back to their insurers. Now lots of them are glad to have an alternative buyer. Clients may now be able to sell their policy for far more than the cash surrender value the insurance carrier would offer.

San Diego clients will often ask if there are any restrictions on what the cash payment can be used for. The answer is that there are no restrictions whatsoever on what the cash payment can be used for. They can use the money to purchase new insurance, travel the world, start a business, buy a property or fulfill their dreams. The money is theirs to simply enjoy and use it for any reason they can think of. In fact, seniors can use the cash settlement for medical expenses, living expenses, or anything they desire—with no restrictions.

How much money will the clients get when they go for Life insurance settlement?
The value of a San Diego life insurance policy is determined by a number of factors. Typically, a Life settlement is about three to five times the cash surrender value of the policy.

What Life Insurance Policies Qualify for Insurance settlement?

  1. Must be at least 65 years of age
  2. The face value of the policy is at least $50,000
  3. The insured has experienced deterioration in health since the insurance policy was issued; life expectancy is under 15 years
  4. The insurance policy is in effect beyond the two year contestable period

What types of polices are purchased?
Any policy owner, including individuals, corporations, charities or trusts, may sell any life insurance policy, including group and term policies.The life insurance settlement value could be potentially much higher than the cash settlement of your life insurance policy. Don’t continue to pay expensive premiums for coverage you no longer need, and don’t surrender the policy or let it lapse.

The Life insurance settlement or Senior settlement solution is typically the Win-Win scenario that you have been looking for.

If you or some body you know, would like to start the process to secure the Life Insurance Settlement than please visit http://www.Financial-Ease.comAbout The AuthorPaul Sherman is a Cash Flow Consultant. He offers free, professional and independent advice to Individuals, Business owners and Seniors. To secure a Life Insurance Settlement or Structured Settlement funding please visit http://www.Financial-ease.com.  

Posted on May 14th, 2008  | 

Is San Diego Term Life Insurance Right for Me?

“Is it right for me?” This is a very important question if you are considering taking a life insurance policy in San Diego, and you will get these questions answered here. While many of us understand the basic functions of our life insurance policies, it’s not uncommon for questions to arise long after you purchased the policy. So many times, people don’t understand the need for medical coverage on their auto insurance policy.

In San Diego, whether or not a life insurance company requires a medical exam from people who are applying for insurance really depends on the company’s underwriting requirements and the type of policy you are purchasing. The cost of each different policy offered by a life insurance company varies widely, and depends on a number of factors: the type of policy, the length of the policy term, the size of the death benefit, the flexibility of the policy, number of people covered by the policy and so on. Whole life insurance policies accumulate tax deferred cash value, and the amount of cash value that is accumulated depends on the type and size of your whole life insurance policy, as well as the length of time you have had the policy.

If you take out a new pension policy after April 6th 2006 and within the same premium pay for life insurance cover, then you can use your pension contribution tax allowance to reduce the cost of your life insurance. However, if that is not your intention and you are concerned mainly about expenses in the unfortunate event that something happens to your child and you are put in the painful position of having to pay the cost of funeral and burial expenses, you might elect to purchase a child insurance rider under your own life insurance policy.

When it comes to choosing life insurance one of the most important things is to look for a policy with benefits and premiums that match your present and future needs and ability to pay.

Get free life insurance quotes from San Diego companies with just one click from: www.GetLifeInsuranceNow.com.

Posted on May 13th, 2008  | 

Long-Term Care Insurance in San Diego

Long-term care refers to the type of personal care services you may need if you become unable to care for yourself because of a loss of functional capacity or cognitive impairment. Long-term care is different from traditional medical care. Traditional medical care treats physical problems directly in an attempt to permanently cure or control them. Looking for life insurance in San Diego can be tricky.

Long-term care services help you maintain your ability to perform normal daily activities. These services could include personal assistance or custodial care and skilled care provided in your home, an adult day care center, a nursing home, or an assisted living facility. The cost of a nursing home stay could be $70,000 or more per year. Depending on the services you need and the costs in your area, average rates might be $200 a day or more.

The cost of home care is harder to estimate because of the wide range of skilled and personal assistance services it includes. Skilled services such as nursing or physical therapy generally cost more than homemaker or personal care services. Home care services, including skilled services, are normally less expensive than services provided in a nursing facility at San Diego.

Medicaid pays most long-term care expenses. Medicaid is a state and federal assistance program for eligible individuals with low incomes.

To qualify for Medicaid, you must meet state and federal guidelines for income and assets. Many people pay for long-term care out of their own pockets until they become eligible for Medicaid. To learn more about Medicaid eligibility in the San Diego area, call your local Area Agency on Aging or Texas Health and Human Services Commission office.

Medicare may pay some long-term care costs. Medicare is a federal program that pays for health care for people over age 65 and for people under age 65 with disabilities. It covers the cost of some skilled care in approved nursing homes or in your home in certain situations. Medicare also might cover some custodial care in your home, in San Diego, if you are receiving skilled care.

If you don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare, you’ll either have to pay your long-term care expenses out of pocket, with a long-term care insurance policy, or by some alternative means. San Diego life insurance rates have been dropping.

Get free life insurance quotes from the top-rated companies in San Diego with just one click from: www.CheaperGroupInsurance.com.

Posted on May 12th, 2008  | 

Cash Value Life Insurance: San Diego

Cash value life policies in San Diego provide both a death benefit and a way to accumulate funds over time. However, the primary purpose of cash value coverage is to provide permanent life insurance protection, not to serve as a retirement or savings plan.

Initial premiums for cash value insurance in San Diego are typically higher than for term life insurance because you’re also purchasing the savings feature. However, cash value premiums generally increase at a slower rate. If you buy a cash value policy at a young age and continue the policy into middle age, your premium will likely be lower than they would for a term life policy with a comparable death benefit.

A portion of each San Diego cash value premium is placed into an account that accumulates over time. This is the policy’s “cash value.” The amount may grow at a fixed interest rate, be tied to indexed interest rates, or increase according to the performance of stocks, bonds, or other securities in which the account is invested, depending on the policy type.

A policy may allow you to withdraw from the cash value, use it as collateral for a loan, or use it to make future premium payments, depending on the terms. Withdrawing all of the cash value cancels the policy and ends coverage, however.

When you die, beneficiaries may receive only the policy’s stated death benefit or the benefit plus any remaining cash value, depending on the policy terms. Premiums will be higher for the second option.

It typically takes at least three to five years for a policy to build significant cash value. Moreover, if you withdraw some or all of the money before a specified time period, you will likely incur a substantial “surrender charge,” which can be as high as 10 percent or more. You may also be liable for income taxes on the money. If you purchase a cash value policy, try to keep it for at least 15 to 20 years. About half of the people who purchase these policies cash them in within five years, which is often a financial mistake.

Get free life insurance quotes from the top-rated companies in San Diego with just one click from: www.CheaperGroupInsurance.com.

Posted on May 10th, 2008  | 

Term Life Insurance in San Diego

Term life insurance can be a good choice for young families with children in San Diego. You may only need coverage until the children are old enough and financially able to provide for themselves. There are several aspects to term life insurance and some common features of most term life policies include the following.

Convertibility.
You can exchange the policy for permanent life insurance of equal value without taking a medical exam or any further underwriting. For example, you could transfer a $100,000 convertible term policy into a $100,000 cash value policy without having to answer questions about your health or medical history. However, your premium will probably increase because cash value coverage typically costs more than term life. Convertibility can be an important feature if your health declines and you become unable to qualify for a permanent policy through a separate application. Converting to a cash value policy can also allow you to begin using your policy to build savings. Insurers typically only allow policyholders to convert term life policies before age 65.

Renewability.
You can extend the policy for additional terms, regardless of your health and without having to pass a medical exam. This can be another advantage of term life coverage as you age or if you become ill. Even if you no longer meet an insurer’s underwriting criteria, the company still must renew. Terms can renew at 20, 10, or five years, or even annually. Premiums generally increase at each renewal term. Annually renewable premiums can be extremely high for policyholders past middle age. If you’re paying high annually renewable premiums, you may want to convert to some other type of coverage.

San Diego’s term life insurance typically comes in one of three common policy variations:

Level term coverage pays a death benefit that remains constant over the term. For example, a 20-year level term policy with a $100,000 death benefit will always pay that amount, whether the insured dies in the fifth or 15th year. Depending on the policy, your premium for level term coverage in San Diego will either remain constant or increase at a scheduled rate.

Decreasing term coverage pays a death benefit that decreases over the term at a scheduled rate. For example, in San Diego, a 20-year decreasing term policy may begin with a $100,000 death benefit that decreases by $5,000 per year. If you die in the 11th year, the policy pays $50,000. Decreasing term coverage can be a good option to provide for children in the event of a parent’s early death since the need for coverage typically decreases as they near adulthood. A disadvantage of decreasing term coverage is that its convertibility value also decreases each year. Premiums typically remain constant over the term.

Increasing term coverage pays a death benefit that increases over the term at a scheduled rate, which is often pegged to inflation. For example, a 20-year increasing term policy in San Diego may begin with a $100,000 death benefit that increases by 5 percent of the face value per year. If you die in the 12th year, the policy would pay about $155,000. Premiums typically increase each year for increasing term policies relative to the benefit increase.

Get free life insurance quotes from the top-rated companies in San Diego with just one click from: www.CheaperGroupInsurance.com.

Posted on May 9th, 2008  | 

Who in San Diego Needs Life Insurance on Their Children?

Many people in San Diego have asked me lately about life insurance for their children or grandchildren.

Let me PREFACE this message by stating that kids DON’T NEED life insurance SINCE nobody is depending upon their income to make ends meet, unless perhaps they are a child TV or movie star. And this is certainly not a subject to dwell on…

But here are a couple of reasons why many parents like to have life insurance on their children that may be worth considering.

I’ll also give you some general QUOTES HERE on various children’s policies and different ideas to consider.

One reason some parents are interested in insuring the lives of their children is to protect against the HIGH cost of final expenses. Many couples, especially those just starting out, could not afford to pay these costs from savings.

But more importantly, most parents couldn’t afford to take the weeks off from work for a natural grieving period. Insurance could allow time for this from a financial perspective. As a parent myself, I couldn’t imagine going right back to work, but without life insurance proceeds, one may have to.

Another reason many parents and especially grandparents insure children, is to guarantee at least some future insurability if there is ever an adverse change of health.

Since life insurance on children isn’t exactly necessary, you have to admit it is PRICED right. Here are a few painless ways to handle it.

One plan is available for children ages 1 month through 20 years old. It is a fixed $20,000 death benefit (no more or less).

The cost for a policy like this might be just $72 per year per child (or $6/month) and covers them through no older than age 25.

IF DESIRED, the policy can be continued for the rest of the child’s life at a cost of $232/year ($21/month) and the policy will begin to accumulate cash value.

Another idea: there are some term insurance policies that a parent can buy on themselves ALONG with a RIDER which can insure ALL children in the household (15 days to age 19).

A “rider” is just an optional add-on to a policy. Most life insurance policies have at least one or more riders that are available that make the life insurance policy better in some way.

Once bought, the kid’s rider (coverage) will terminate at age 25 or date of marriage — whichever occurs first. So the children would be covered through that time.

The price of this rider for ALL kids COMBINED (again as part of a parents policy) costs about $6 per year for each $1,000 of coverage. For example, if you wanted $10,000 on each of your kids and you had two children, the total cost would be $60 per year (10 times $6). It would cost exactly the same if you had six children.

The parent must buy a policy on themselves covering as little as $5,000 with a whole life policy, or $100,000 on a term policy, in order to get the kid’s rider. Each insurance company may have a similar option — or may not.

The children’s rider cost (above) is simply added to the parent’s policy.

A third alternative is just buying a permanent (cash value) life policy on the child. Policies can be issued from age 1 month through 25 for as little as $5,000 coverage up to $100,000.

For example, a $50,000 policy on 10 year old might cost $279/ year to guarantee that death benefit to age 100 and build an equal cash value at that time.

However, one could also “turbo-charge” that idea.

When properly set up, a cash value insurance policy could act as a “bank” for the child as they grow up.

When structured to build cash value, instead of providing a death benefit, a properly designed life insurance policy can be a great place for tax-free savings.

The growing cash inside of the policy could be “borrowed” to pay for college, provide a down payment for a first home. In effect the child would be “borrowing” from themselves.

Or the right policy design could even give the child a source of tax-free retirement income. That’s right. Think of it as a ROTH IRA on steroids.

But that is a topic for another article.

By the way, all of the quotes above are from A+ carriers (rated by AM Best where A++ is the only higher rating attainable) and are only included to serve as a guideline. Life insurance quotes are based on many factors, so help from a professional independent agent is important.

So in summation, I hope that the idea of insuring a child’s life is no longer repulsive. There ARE valid reasons to do so. Although it would hardly be a financial planning priority.

About The Author
Since 1997, Mark J. Orr, a Certified Financial Planner, has helped hundreds plan for more financial success through powerful strategies and advice. To get 101 FREE Financial Planning Tips and to Register for his complementary e-newsletter, simply go to: http://www.SmartFinancialTips.com

Posted on May 8th, 2008  | 

Your San Diego Life Insurance May Be Worth More Than You Think

Many seniors in San Diego own life insurance policies that they no longer need or want, or that they can no longer afford. Often, they allow their policies to lapse or cash them into the insurance company for the surrender value. What many seniors don’t realize is that their unwanted life insurance may be worth much more if sold to an San Diego investor in a life settlement. A Life Settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy by the policyowner, before the policy matures. Such a sale, at a price discounted from the face amount of the policy, but in excess of the cash surrender value, provides the seller an immediate cash settlement.

Life Settlement History

Life Settlement industry evolved out of Viatical Settlements.

In the mid-80’s AIDS became an epidemic, A number of AIDS patients were told that they only had a limited time to live. Many of these patients in San Diego owned life insurance policies. They knew that when they died, their family would receive the death benefit but they needed money today to pay medical bills or enjoy the rest of their lives. In stepped Viatical Settlement companies. These companies purchased policies on terminal patients and sold them as retail investments to individual investors. The AIDS patients got money they needed today and the investors got the promise that when the patient died they would get the death benefit.

The Life Settlement Market

In the 90’s the Life Settlement market was born as companies and investors turned towards buying unwanted life insurance policies from seniors. According to Sanford Bernstein, the industry grew from $0 in the mid 1990’s to approximately $13 billion in 2005. Bernstein estimates the life settlement market will reach $160 billion over the next several years. The penetration rate in San Diego is expected to exceed 20% as awareness and the size of the market is increased over the next 20 years.

Life Settlement Case Studies

Below are some real life case studies that illustrate ways that others have used life settlements to increase their net worth:

Case 1:

Settlement Frees up $966,000 in Cash for Annuity purchase

 This case involved an 82 year old female who owned several policies totaling $4.6 million. She no longer wanted to pay premiums for the insurance and was going to accept the cash surrender value of $236,548. Her intent was to use the policies’ cash value to help fund the cost of an assisted living facility.

 Her advisor recommended a life settlement for each policy, and she agreed. Ultimately she received a settlement of $966,000 – more than 400% greater than the cash surrender value – and used those funds to purchase an annuity. The annuity payments now help cover the costs of the assisted living facility.

Case 2:

Settlement Proceeds Stabilizes Trust

 This case involved an 81 year old female, owner of a $5 million life insurance policy with a surrender value of $196,866. Since the insured had lost interest in maintaining the policy and no longer wished to make gifts to the trust for premium payments, the cash surrender value was rapidly depleting as premiums were being deducted from the cash value. Working with her financial advisor they conducted a review to determine whether the policy should be surrendered or whether a Life Settlement would be more advantageous. The advisor provided an offer of $556,000 – over three times the cash surrender value.

Case 3:

Settlement Allows Policyowner To Purchase Paid-Up Policy

 A 78 year old male decided to allow his $1,250,000 policy to lapse. He had significant medical expenses and could no longer justify the $39,536 annual premium. After reviewing the available options with his advisor they decided to pursue a Life Settlement. He was able to secure an offer of $490,000. The policyowner and advisor decided to use some of the proceeds to purchase a paid-up $500,000 policy and the remainder helped to ease the burden of the policyowner’s medical costs.

Case 4:

Policyowner Makes $797,000

• A 74 year old in good health purchased a $10mm Life Insurance Policy. He paid-$536k for two years of premiums. After the policy is two years old, he sold the policy for $1,333,333 in the secondary market representing a $797,000 profit on his investment.

If you are 70 and over, and have an insurance policy that you were going to get rid of anyway, you owe it to yourself to explore whether a life settlement might be a better option.

About The Author
Matthew Tuttle, CFP®, MBA, is President of Tuttle Wealth Management, LLC, in Stamford Connecticut. He is also the author of “Financial Secrets of my Wealthy Grandparents”. For more information, or to sign up for his free newsletter please visit http://www.matthewtuttle.com.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™ and federally registered CFP (with flame logo) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Posted on May 4th, 2008  |