What is Term Life Insurance?

Don’t want to read? Watch our term life insurance video

Term is simple. You pay a premium for a period of time (the term) from one to thirty years and if you die during that time the insurance is paid to the person or persons you designate to receive it - called the beneficiary(ies).
Term life insurance usually has the lowest premium in the early years, making it the most affordable life insurance - initially. Term does not build cash value.
It covers you for a specified period of time (usually from 5 to 30 years, you choose). If you purchase a $1,000,000 term life insurance policy for 20-year period and you die in any of those 20 years, your beneficiary receives the million dollars.

If you are still living at the end of the term, your insurance policy is over unless you can renew the policy. When you renew (assuming your policy has that feature) it will renew at a higher price reflecting your now older age. Term insurance has no buildup of cash as with whole life insurance. Some term life insurance policies do offer a return of premium. See section on Return of Premium
We are committed to making it as easy and convenient as possible for you to purchase quality, low-cost term life insurance for you and your family and to helping you make intelligent choices regarding your insurance choices.

You can instantly compare hundreds of term insurance quotes from top rated insurance companies. Our online search engine will provide you competitive insurance rates from the highly rated insurance companies for comparison.

It’s easy. You can get your term life insurance quotes right on this site, anonymously. You’ll see the prices instantly and can then choose the insurance company that fits your needs. Then you click the “apply now” button and we’ll help you set it up.
To start the process click the button on the right side of this page for the type of insurance policy that you want to quote.

Return of Premium Life Insurance (ROP Term)

Return of premium life insurance is a newly introduced term life insurance policy that provides both death benefit protection and a return of premium insurance feature. Return of premium life Insurance is aimed right at one of the greatest objections to term life: “I am probably not going to die, and my money will have been wasted."

Here’s how it works: If you keep your policy for the term period, at the end of that time whether 15, 20 or 30 years, the life insurance company that issued the insurance with the return of premium policy, returns the entire premium that you paid for the insurance.

There also is some partial return of premium for policies canceled before the end of the term (depending on the year it’s canceled – the longer it’s kept, the higher the amount of the return.)When you buy insurance with a return of premium option, you do not have to waste your money.
Unlike regular term policies, Return of Premium term life insurance rewards you for keeping the policy by giving a guaranteed return of your total cumulative premium paid on the policy during the level term period, not including substandard (extra charges for health) and rider charges (extra benefits such as disability coverage), if any, which will be paid to the policy owner at the end of the level term period if the policy is then in force.

Here’s an example: Male, age 35 with the best rate of preferred plus, $500,000 of 30-year return of premium term life insurance:Annual premium = $810; Return of Premium after 30 years = $24,300($810 x 30yr = $24,300)

The life insurance return of premium is considered income tax free, because you aren’t receiving back more than you put into the return of premium life policy. The return of premium term life insurance policies feature fully guaranteed level premiums for the first 15, 20 or 30 years.

Your Source for Online Life Insurance Quotes

Obtaining an instant life insurance quote was nearly impossible in the past, but with today's technology and lifeinsure.com's exclusive online search engine, obtaining life insurance quotes is a snap. Our life insurance quoting engine searches through hundreds of insurance providers to get you the best possible rates with the exact coverage you need-all in a matter of seconds. You'll find the lowest premiums available from dozens of companies. Protect your family with the financial safety net that will protect their future in the event of death. To get quotes for the policy of your choice click the one of the buttons on the right.

Life Insurance Quotes Nationwide
Residents of all 50 states are eligible to use our system to get an instant quote and coverage. No matter where you reside, our smart search system will find the perfect policy and coverage appropriate for you. Save time and money by putting the power of our database to work for you. You'll also be able to obtain company financial ratings and choose among companies with solid reputations for keeping their promises.


Easy to Use Online Quote System
By answering just a few quick questions, you can obtain instant universal life insurance quotes, instant term life insurance quotes, and return of premium life insurance quotes. Just click the button on the right to quote the type of coverage you'd like to see.

As soon as you choose the type of insurance that fits you best and fill out a quote request we will work quickly to get you insured. Instant life insurance for smokers is as easy to obtain as it is for non-smokers when utilizing our online system .

Whole Life Insurance

What it is. How it works.
Whole life is a type of permanent life insurance. It’s called permanent because a whole life policy provides life-long protection and is guaranteed to do so by the insurance company. With whole life, you pay a fixed premium for life, instead of the increasing premiums found on renewable term life insurance policies.



Since the word “term” in term life insurance means a period of time, one could say that the term for whole life insurance is the term of all of your life. It is not technically called lifetime term insurance, but in a way it could be described that way.

How long does it last and should you get this kind of insurance?
With whole life insurance policies, as long as you pay the premiums, the death benefit will be paid. These policies are designed and priced for you to keep over a long period of time.
It’s important to remember that if you’re not sure that you’re going to keep this kind of insurance policy then it’s probably the wrong type of insurance for you. In that case, you should look at term life insurance.

The biggest difference between whole life insurance policy and the different types of term policies is that whole life insures something that will unfortunately happen for certain - one’s death. Term insures the possibility of you dying during the term period, whether that is 1 year or up to 30 years depending on the type of term insurance you get.
Whole life also has a cash component. This cash value can grow and interest is credited to the cash value. Interest growth in these policies is tax-deferred. You don’t pay taxes on the growth. If you die, your beneficiary also does not pay income taxes on the benefit received. If you cash in the policy and you receive back more than you put in, you pay income taxes only on the amount above what you put in.

There are differences among these policies. Some of these policies are from mutual life insurance companies, which means that the insurance company is owned by the policyholders. Mutual company policies can pay dividends to the policyholders that can both enhance cash values and increase the insurance amount. Your lifeinsure.com representative can show you comparative quotes from different highly rated insurance companies.

Another type of whole life is Survivorship life insurance, which is a type that covers two people and pays the insurance amount when both people have died. This is used often in estate planning to create cash to pay the estate taxes.

Universal Life Insurance Policies and Quotes

A Universal life insurance policy is designed to provide lifetime insurance protection.



This type of insurance policy is one type of permanent life insurance. With a permanent policy, the insurance is designed to last as long as you pay the premiums. Whole life insurance guarantees this lifetime protection. Universal life does not have these guarantees but there are now universal life policies where you can add a feature that guarantees that the insurance will last the rest of your life. We can tell you more about that and give you quotes for this by using the navigation for quotes on the left.

Permanent insurance policies are designed and priced for you to keep over a long period of time. If you don’t intend to keep the policy for the rest of your life, this may be the wrong type of insurance for you. If so, it may be better to consider term life insurance or return of premium insurance.
The two main types of permanent life insurance are whole life and universal life. These have a feature known as cash value or cash surrender value. Term insurance policies do not have cash values.
Universal life (or whole life) covers an event that’s certain to happen; one’s death, while term covers you for the possibility of you dying during the term period.
A term life policy is sometimes renewable (you can keep it but at a price that reflects your older age). At some point, as you get older term goes up in price and may become too expensive for you to keep.

The Difference between Whole Life Insurance and Universal Life Insurance
Here’s the difference in a nutshell:
Whole life guarantees the death benefit for life, guarantees the cash value and guarantees the premium - period.
Universal life insurance assumes an interest rate and the cost of insurance and comes up with a projected premium. If the insurance companies' projections on their universal life policy do not come through, then you may have to come up with higher premiums later, have lower than expected cash values or even lose the policy – but…..

A recent development on universal life

A recent development about is that you can now get universal life insurance and guarantee that the policy will last for a lifetime. It may lose its cash value but the insurance amount can be guaranteed for life. To learn more about these guaranteed death benefit universal life insurance policies click here.
The experts at lifeinsure.com can go over this with you and simplify it for you. There are differences in cost and benefits among companies. We’ll go over those questions with you and get you straight answers.

All You Need to Know About Health Insurance

August 24, 2004


Let's face it--in today's world, health insurance is a necessity. With medical expenses soaring higher than a hang glider, paying for them could have you digging deep into the pockets of your jeans.

What types of health insurance are available?
Health insurance plans generally fall into one of two categories: indemnity plans (also known as reimbursement plans) and managed care plans such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), and point of service (POS) plans.

• An indemnity plan allows you to choose your own doctors and pays for your medical expenses--totally, in part, or up to a specified amount per day for a specified number of days.
• Managed care plans generally provide broader coverage, but they all involve an arrangement between the insurer and a selected network of health-care providers (doctors, hospitals, etc.). For example, an HMO will require that a primary care physician in the network coordinate all of your care and refer you to specialists in the network.

No matter which type of health insurance you buy, you'll need to make sure it offers the right kinds of coverage.

What should be covered?

A good health insurance policy contains several types of coverage.

Hospital expense insurance pays your room, board, and incidental services costs if you're hospitalized.

Surgical expense insurance covers surgeons' fees and related costs associated with surgery.

Physicians' expense insurance pays for visits to a doctor's office or for a doctor's hospital visits.

Major medical insurance offers extremely broad coverage with a very high maximum benefit that's designed to protect you against losses from catastrophic illness or injury.

What might be covered?

When comparing health insurance plans, check to see if they provide additional benefits that you may need, including:

• Prescription drugs
• Preventive care
• Mental health benefits
• Maternity care
• Vision care

What will it cost? In addition to the monthly premium expense, you may have other out-of-pocket costs. These costs can really add up, especially if you have children or other family members who visit the doctor frequently. Check to see if the health insurance plan you're considering requires you to pay any or all of the following:

• Co-payment: The amount you'll have to pay each time you visit a health insurance provider (generally required by HMOs).
  
• Deductible: The amount you'll have to pay toward your medical expenses (usually annually) before the insurance company begins to pay claims (generally required by indemnity plans).
  
• Coinsurance: The percentage of your medical costs you'll have to pay after you reach any deductibles that apply.
  

Where can I get health insurance?

You may get health insurance through a group plan at work or through another group affiliation (a school, a club, etc.) or by purchasing an individual plan on your own. By purchasing an individual plan on your own, you may even be able to customize the health plan.

A good way to compare rates, plans, and options for your individual needs is to shop online. Complete online health insurance quote comparisons help to insure you get your best rate.

How do I decide which plan is best?

The best health insurance plan for you is the one that gives you the greatest flexibility and the most benefits for the lowest cost. Unfortunately, there's no such thing as a standard health insurance plan. As you would when making any major purchase, you'll need to shop around and get several quotes before choosing a plan. Here are a few points to consider:

• What co-pays, deductibles, and coinsurance requirements apply?
• How much freedom do you have to choose your own health-care providers?
• Does the plan cover the health services that you need?
• Does the plan cover the health-care providers you're currently using?
• Does the plan offer family, as well as individual, coverage?
• Does the plan cover pre-existing conditions? If so, is there a waiting period? (The average waiting period is three months to one year.)
• Does the insurance company have a good reputation in the industry and a positive rating from a major ratings organization? (Contact your state's department of insurance for more information.)