Posts Tagged: Life Insurance Company

According to one of the largest UK life insurance companies, just 1% of life policies are written in trust. That is disgraceful and reflects poorly on the financial industry.

Let’s explain.

If your life insurance policy is Written in Trust then, in the event of a claim, the insurance company pays out directly to the beneficiaries you name on the policy. The significance of this is easily missed.

It means that if the policy is Written in Trust, the proceeds from the policy never form part of your legal estate and are not subject to Inheritance Tax. The importance of this is illustrated by the following figures:

Take Mr A. He’s a widower and wants to leave everything equally to his two sons. He owns his home which is currently worth 245,000 with a 10,000 outstanding mortgage. His investments are valued at 52,000 and his car and other chattels are worth 18,000. He also owns a life insurance policy for 100,000 which is not written in trust. We assume that the costs of administering his estate and obtaining probate would be 5,000.

If Mr A were to die now, his estate would be worth 400,000 less Inheritance Tax. Inheritance Tax is currently levied at 40% on the value of his estate over and above 275,000 that means that the taxman will walk off with 50,000 and his sons would each receive 175,000.

Now lets assume exactly the same figures except that in this case the life insurance policy is Written in Trust with Mr A’s sons as equal beneficiaries. Because the life insurance company pays out directly to his sons, they each receive 50,000 straight away and non of the money is included in Mr A’s estate. This means that his estate is now worth 300,000 and the taxman can only walk away with 10,000. Each of his sons receives 20,000 more and tax-free!

So simply by signing a few forms, Mr A saves 40,000 tax!

Is there a catch? No all the documentation is standard and is provided totally free of charge by the life insurance company. Your broker through whom you buy the policy, should complete the documentation for you, again free of charge. All you have to do is give the details of the beneficiaries to the broker and sign the form. Solicitors are not required. In the event of a claim, the life insurance company then has to pay out directly to the beneficiaries. Job done! Poor Mr Taxman!

Even if your policy is designed to repay a mortgage, it should be Written in Trust for your partner. Then, rather than your estate receiving the money and using it pay off the mortgage, the money can be paid directly to your partner. This saves legal delays, solicitor’s and probate fees and loads of hassle. Your partner can then use the money to personally pay off the mortgage. Whether this also saves you Inheritance tax will depend on the value of your estate and how you have structured your Will.

So we believe that a life insurance policy Written I Trust is a win win situation. And there aren’t many of those around these days! We can’t see any drawbacks.

Bye the way, no matter what you decide to do, always ensure that you have an up-to-date Will.

As you moved past your twenties, and into the rest of your life, you probably started realizing that you were not invincible. Although few want to admit it, there will come a time when you die. When you have a family, you need to ensure they will be taken care of financially when this occurs. Life insurance companies can help you make arrangements while you are alive for what happens after your life. The truth is that no one likes to think about life insurance, but it is a very necessary part of life. Being responsible means making sure your affairs are in order at all times, which is basically what life insurance helps you do. When choosing a life insurance company, be sure to think about these qualities you want in a great company.

Reputation

One of the most important things you need to consider when choosing between life insurance companies is reputation. You should only work with companies that have outstanding reputations. There are far too many scams in the world to fall for, so be sure to stick with companies that look and feel legitimate. This does not mean you should always go with the largest company out there, just be sure that the insurance company you choose to work with is professional and will be around when you need them to be.

Competitive Prices

Just like auto insurance, you need to shop around for life insurance rates. Depending on your age, different companies will be able to offer you different prices. You may pay more on one policy, but get better benefits. Look at three to five quotes from life insurance companies before you make a commitment. Once you sign up with one company, you probably will never want to change because you may lose some benefits you have earned. So, making the right decision the first time is important. Remember to use your instinct and only work with those who are professional and legitimate.

At last you can buy life insurance and get tax relief. The breakthrough results from changes in the Gordon Browns’ latest Budget speech but the tax relief is only available on a new special sort of life insurance policy. You can’t get tax relief on your existing life insurance policies.

These new policies exploit a loophole in the new Finance Bill and should result in savings of between 5% and 15% for standard taxpayers and around 30% for higher taxpayers.

But there are strings attached! You can’t add extras on to your life policy such as critical illness cover and the insured sum must be a fixed sum. Neither can you have a joint policy. Basically, it has to be a bog standard, level term, single beneficiary, life insurance policy.

Then there are more restrictions, but quite honestly, these are unlikely to pose a problem to anyone unless they’re very wealthy! You can’t have one of these special life policies if the annual contributions you pay into your pension plus the life insurance premiums, exceed 215,000 per year. Furthermore, if the value of your pension fund plus the payout on your life policy exceeds 1,500,000, the current limit set by the Chancellor, then the excess will be taxed at 55%. Conventional life insurance policies are excluded from this calculation.

Tax relief on the premiums is automatically collected by the life insurance company so you pay a premium which is already reduced by standard rate tax relief. If you’re a higher rate taxpayer, you’ll have to claim the extra tax through your self-assessment tax return. However, once you’ve told your taxman about your premiums, they should automatically continue to give you the tax relief through your tax code.

So why are the savings less than the value of the tax relief? Well, the reason is that the life companies have to administer the tax relief and there are certain operational restrictions imposed by the Inland Revenue on the insurance company. This means that the basic cost of these policies is a little more than conventional life insurance but after the tax relief you should save.

As with all these loopholes, you must be aware that the Chancellor could remove the tax relief. Having said that, it is rare for a future tax change to be applied retrospectively so you are likely to be safe. Your income could also change and move you into a lower tax bracket. This would reduce your savings.

This new type of life policy is now available from most of the big UK insurers and specialist life insurance brokers. However, you won’t be able to get an online quotation you’ll have to speak on the phone to a Life Insurance Adviser.

And just to confuse matters these policies are known under a range of names: Pension Term Insurance, Life Insurance with Tax Relief, Life Protection with Tax Relief but they all mean the same thing.

Oh yes, let me confirm one miss-understanding. No, you don’t have to buy a pension at the same time!

Term insurance provides coverage for a pre-specified period. For example, term insurance is designed to protect a mortgage or provide income for your family in case of your death. You pay the term insurance premium each month and as long as you pay the premium your policy will stay in force. Once the contract reaches maturity (usually in 10 years) you need to renew your policy at a higher price. If you die while you’re paying the premium your estate gets a large sum of money.

In contrast, permanent or whole life insurance remains in force until you die. You pay the premium on a monthly basis for a pre-specified term, which can range between 10 to 20 years. A portion of your monthly payment pays the insurance and the life insurance company that provided the insurance invests the remainder. Eventually you don’t pay any premiums but your estate still receives a large payment upon death.

Whole life polices have been criticized because their investment returns are low. Thus you were often advised to buy life insurance protection with a term policy and invest the difference between term and whole life payments in a separate investment vehicle, such as mutual funds, stocks, or bonds. Once you have built up a large pool of assets you don’t need the insurance because the assets will provide security and stability in the event of an unexpected death.

However, there is a new, more flexible product called universal life insurance. While the life insurance company controls the savings in a whole life policy, the savings in a universal life plan are owned and controlled by the policyholder. Insurance companies offer a large variety of investment options for this savings component, including mutual funds. Thus, you have the ability to meet your life insurance needs and increase your return on investment.

The major advantage of a universal life policy is tax-advantaged growth. When you pay the policy premium, a portion of the premium pays for the insurance and a portion is invested. However, when you are ready to withdraw the money from your investment, your cost basis ( the portion not subject to tax) is higher with a universal life policy. The cost base for a universal policy is equal to the sum of all your premiums – the amount of money you have invested plus the money you have used to buy life insurance. This is very useful because increasing your cost base will ensure you pay less tax once you sell your investments within the universal life policy.

Universal life insurance provides a powerful combination of life insurance and tax-advantaged investment opportunities. Investors should realize that universal life insurance premiums work twice as hard as other premiums. They should also know that choosing the right product is an important element in the overall success of this strategy. Finally, the benefits of this strategy are magnified if you are in a higher tax bracket.

More and more people are buying life insurance online and the numbers seem to be doubling every two years. The reasons are clear. Prices are lower on the Internet and life insurance is fundamentally a simple insurance product.

Despite the underlying simplicity of life insurance, most web sites channel their online clients through a telephone based help and advice service manned by experienced personnel. They represent your safety net so if a little technical knowledge is called for, help is at hand.

But its always a good idea to have a few Top Tips in your back pocket when youre shopping online for life insurance. Theyll help you ask the right questions and find the best policy.

1.Always have your Life Insurance policy Written in Trust.

This means that in the event of a claim, the money goes directly and immediately to the person(s) you nominate when you first take the policy out. It also avoids all possibility of your estate having to pay Inheritance Tax on the proceeds of your policy and that could represent a 40% tax saving !

All you have to do is tell the online brokerage organising your policy that you want your policy Written in Trust and the names of the people who the life insurance company pay in the event of a claim. They will then sort it all out for you. The extra good news is that this service is invariably free of charge. So its a win win situation and there arent many of those around these days !

2.In the early years a Reviewable Life Insurance Policy will be cheaper but a Guaranteed Policy will work out a better buy in the longer term.

With a Guaranteed Policy the insurance company guarantees never to increase your policys premium.

With a Reviewable Policy you agree that your insurance company can review the cost of your policy at regular intervals. But dont be kidded in our experience a review is just another word for a price increase. After all, whos ever heard of an insurance company passing up a chance to charge you more! The review intervals are usually between 2 to 5 years but this does vary between insurance companies. You will find the details of the review intervals on the documents sent to you before you accept the insurance these are called The Key Features Documents.

So, comparing otherwise like for like policies, in the early years the premiums for a Reviewable Policy will undoubtedly be lower than the premiums for a Guaranteed Policy. Thereafter, the premiums for a Reviewable Policy increase eventually catching up with and overtaking, the premium for a Guaranteed Policy.

In our experience, you can expect the monthly premiums for a Reviewable Policy to exceed those of a Guaranteed policy in about 7 to 10 years and then within the following 10 years, more than double again. If your budget is currently tight then by all means choose a Reviewable Policy – after all your salary may increase in coming years and ease the strain. On the other hand, if the premiums for a Guaranteed Policy are affordable, we think they represent your best buy.

A footnote. Many insurance companies have stopped offering Guaranteed rates for standalone critical illness insurance policies. This because they have experienced much higher claim rates than they initially expected. However, you may still find a Guaranteed life insurance policy that also provides critical illness cover. As we have explained, Guaranteed rates are especially good value and if you can get a quote for a Guaranteed life policy that includes critical illness cover, you may have a real bargain.

3.Thinking about a Joint Life Insurance Policy?

A Joint Life Insurance policy is usually written on a first death basis. This means that the policy will pay out on the death of the first policyholder, subject to the policy being in force at the time. This leaves the second person uninsured and older. Older people can struggle to get life insurance at an affordable premium, so rather than a Joint Policy consider taking out separate policies now. Overall it will work out a little dearer – but you get twice the cover and double the peace of mind.

4.Taking out a Life Insurance Policy? Now would be an ideal time to include Critical Illness cover.

Are you likely to need Critical Illness Insurance in the future? Yes? Then consider adding it now to the life insurance policy youre arranging. Why? There are three reasons.

Firstly, a Life Insurance policy combined with Critical Illness cover will work out significantly cheaper than buying two separate policies. Secondly, as we have already explained in the footnote to Tip 2, you may be able to buy a combined Life and Critical Illness policy with a guaranteed premium. That could be a real bargain. Finally, premiums for critical illness cover increase rapidly as you get older so the sooner you take it out, the cheaper it will be.

5.it isnt confuse Terminal Illness cover with Critical Illness cover.

Theres world of difference between Terminal Illness and Critical Illness cover so its important to understand the difference.

Terminal Illness cover pays out the insured lump sum if a Medical Doctor diagnoses you with an illness from which the Doctor expects you to die within 12 months. Most good life policies automatically include Terminal Illness cover at no extra cost. Its basically an early, and welcome policy payout.

A Critical Illness policy pays out the insured lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of a wide range chronic illness and there is no life expectancy criteria. Indeed, with many of the insured illnesses you could expect to survive for many years. For example: certain cancers, heart disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, loss of speech, sight or hearing, onset of Parkinsons or Alzheimers disease, third degree burns etc. Say you were an engineer aged 40 and you lost your sight. A Critical Illness policy would pay out immediately and that money could well be vital in helping you and your family through many difficult financial years ahead. If you just had Terminal Illness cover thered be no chance of a payout.

So as you can see, Critical Illness cover is far more comprehensive than simple Terminal Illness cover and for that reason critical illness cover always costs you extra.

Insurance News UK Ex-Smokers Reportedly Paying Too Much For Life Insurance.

According to recent life assurance research by Sainsburys Bank, many ex-smokers may be paying too much for their life insurance. They assert that during the past 5 years approximately 6.78 million people have given up smoking, however only a quarter of these people have informed their life insurance company.

Time requirements differ between insurers; however, many companies consider a person to no longer be classed as a smoker after one year following quitting. By contacting their insurance provider former-smokers can get themselves re-classed as a ‘non-smoker’ and potentially saving thousands of pounds over the term of their policy.

According to their estimates, this means that there are up to 2.2 million ex-smokers who could be wasting at least 126.72 million simply by not reviewing their life insurance requirements to show their healthier status and reflect that they are no longer a smoker.

David Picket, the life insurance manager of Sainsburys Bank said, “The health benefits of giving up are well known, and with a packet of cigarettes now costing over 5, the financial savings can also be substantial. However, once youve successfully quit, you could also make a saving in your annual life insurance premiums if you review your requirements.”

Most policies require ex-smokers to have given up permanently and it is possible that even a couple of cigarettes in the pub on a Saturday night can consequently invalidate cover; however there can be big savings available (over 30%) for those who have completely quit. But despite the potential savings that are available, most people do not think to update their life insurance policies and so lose out.

Over the last few years, increases in the level of competition, has lead to large reductions for potential policy holders, with basic term life insurance policies now costing as little as 5 per month for a young and healthy non-smoker.

Life insurance comparison site Moneynet has good news for existing policy holders too, If you have existing Life Insurance Policies which were taken out some time ago it could be worth considering a change. Most Life Companies have considerably reduced their premiums over the last few years to take account of longer life expectancy and the advances in medicine.

The costs of life insurance can vary significantly depending upon age, lifestyle and occupation, as well as between different life insurance providers, as not all providers evaluate the levels of risk to be insured in the same way. The ease with which it is possible to check the difference in insurance premiums between providers through the financial information site The Motley Fool, Moneynet, or countless others which have sprung up in recent years, has also lead to increases in public knowledge and competition within the industry further driving down the costs.

While the news seems to be good all round for consumers it must be noted that as with all financial decisions, changing insurance cover can be complex as the number of providers and different products increases and the costs of making the wrong decision could prove serious. It should be noted that levels of cover can vary widely and therefore a professional independent financial advisor should be sought if in any doubt regarding a products suitability.

Disclaimer:

All information contained in this article, is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as advice under the Financial Services Act 1986.

You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

Useful resources:

Life insurance comparisons – Moneynet ( http:www.moneynet.co.ukinsuranceindex.shtml )
Financial information – The Motley Fool ( http:www.fool.co.ukinsuranceinsurance.htm )

The online life insurance companies offer a free service where you can request a free quote for your life insurance needs. This enables you to compare life insurance quotes to see where you can save money with one over the other. To compare life insurance quotes, all you have to do is request a quote from as many companies as you wish and them compare the terms, the premiums, death benefit and clauses contained in each one.

There are also internet sites where you can compare life insurance quotes from up to five different companies at one time. This saves you the time of having to wait for each quote to come in and then print each one off to compare the best rates. The reason for comparing the quotes on life insurance is to make sure you do get the best rates on life insurance. This lets you get the best possible death benefits at the lowest possible premiums.

There is no problem with entering your information on the online life insurance company websites. These companies are looking for your business and are therefore secure sites. Your personal information will not become part of the public domain when you want to compare life insurance quotes. The company does have your best interests at heart and does want to have you as a customer.

To get the best rates on life insurance you need to look at the companies themselves. Choose life insurance companies with a proven track record. This way you know that when you compare the life insurance quote, an agent has checked it and that you wont run the danger of the company going out of business. Just remember that you do have to look at the length of the term to get an overall picture of the best rates on life insurance. A longer term with low monthly premiums means you wont have to start your search for the best rates again in the near future.

The best rates are ones that you can afford. You should start out with an amount that you can afford each month and then compare life insurance quotes that come close to that amount. You may have to revise the amount of the life insurance and the length of the term to get the best rates that fit your budget. You can always upgrade to a longer term, a higher payout or even whole life insurance when you can afford it.

To get the best life insurance rates you need to get a few quotes and then compare the life insurance quotes that you have. But its not just about price. Theres more to compare than just price.

Purchasing life insurance is a big decision, and we all want the best coverage for the least cost. However, money is not the only factor that goes into choosing a life insurance company. Below are five factors that separate best life insurance companies from the average ones. You will want to consider when choosing the best life insurance company, and policy, for you.

First, after you have shopped around a bit, thrown out the definite no ways and decided on a couple of maybe candidates, you will want to make sure that the one you choose in the end is both well-established and financially stable. You can find this information from the insurance companies themselves, but you might want to consider asking around, as well. Talk with someone who has used or is still using the companys services. Research the life of the company, too.

Second, you will want to choose a company that does not discriminate against age or existing health issues. These kinds of discriminations make it almost impossible for people to get life insurance.

Third, choose a life insurance company whose policies will not change and premiums will not increase as you get older.

Fourth, it is important for the life insurance company you choose to have a staff of well-trained and objective insurance agents. You want an agent who is unbiased and will help you find the best policy for you, and not what will make the most money for them.

Fifth, and last, make sure the life insurance company you choose has a policy just for you. Your policy needs to fit both your coverage needs and your budget.

Once you have taken these factors into consideration, you will find the best life insurance company for you. It will take time, so be patient during your search. It will be worth it because you will reap the rewards of safety and security in the end.

Discount Life Insurance Will Give You The Best Protection You Need

There is always a chance that there is a better deal somewhere else, no matter what you are buying. That is why you should research and find discount life insurance. Did you know that life insurance rates can vary as much as 50% between carriers? That’s why you should have a licensed professional help you make a good choice in discount life insurance.

Most life insurance professionals work with some of the nation’s leading experts in discount life insurance who want to compete for your business. Just the very nature of the name tells you that you will be getting the lowest rates in life insurance. You can get online life insurance quotes at a discount as well as business life insurance for you and your partners.

Most people looking for life insurance look at the bottom line for the total price. If this is lower than other online life insurance quotes, they feel they are getting discount life insurance. The fact is that you have to compare the details of the policy to see whether or not the policy is really a discount.

There are factors involved in determining whether or not you qualify for discount life insurance. If you fit into the preferred rate class, which involves:
No health problems
Young age
Ordinary occupation
then you wont have any difficulty getting online life insurance quotes at a discount price.

Every life insurance company that provides discount life insurance has different criteria. This is why it is important to shop for online life insurance quotes to make sure that you fit the criteria for the lowest rates in life insurance. Read through the company policies to see whether a medical exam is necessary and then you can request the free online quote.

The premium for the life insurance is the amount you pay for the policy. You have to carefully read the policy to make sure that the discount life insurance stays in place for the term of your policy. There are some life insurance companies that give you a discount on the first year of the policy or the first six months. After that the premiums go up to the regular rate. Reading the fine print is just as important in getting online life insurance quotes as it is in anything else.

Life insurance rates vary, you can find discount life insurance.