Posts Tagged: Money

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.

Most individuals have some form of insurance, whether it is for their vehicle, home or health. But it is important, however, not to overlook the benefits of life insurance, which pays money to beneficiaries when the insured dies.

HOW LIFE INSURANCE WORKS

Typically, the insured person makes payments into the plan – called premiums – in exchange for a “death benefit,” the money that is paid at the time of death. If you are considering purchasing life insurance there are a few potential problems you need to be aware of.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

There are numerous types of policies you can choose, but life insurance policies generally fall into three categories – protection, long-term savings and estate conservation.

Many people purchase life insurance for the purpose of providing for their dependents in the event of their death, thus protecting your existing stream of income. If you are in the protection category you may want to consider term life insurance, which offers only a death benefit for a specified period of time such as until you retire.

If long term savings is your reason for purchasing insurance, you may consider a cash value policy. With this type of life insurance, your beneficiaries receive a payment upon your death based on the full amount of coverage , not the cash value of the plan. The value of these plans is usually tied to an underlying investment portfolio and that is how funds accumulate.

Another added benefit is that these policies usually allow a holder to borrow from the accumulated funds in the plan without taxes or penalties. Depending on the policy, you can typically withdraw a portion of cash value and not pay it back, or even cancel the policy and receive the money that has been accumulated over the years.

USE LIFE INSURANCE FOR ESTATE PLANNING

Life insurance can also be used as an estate planning tool, especially if your goal is to preserve wealth for future generations. This type of policy covers one or two lives; the cash generated by these plans typically helps your heirs pay estate taxes and provide otherwise.

Now you have to decide how much coverage you need to provide the amount of income your family will need in the event of your death. After all, your goal in purchasing life insurance most likely is to ensure that income continues for those who are now dependent upon your income.

WHO NEEDS LIFE INSURANCE?

It also is important not to ignore the need for life insurance protection in a single or dual income family. The death of either spouse could create a financial strain on your family.

There comes a time in our life when we think about our self do we need any protection for future like life insurance or not. It is not a big decision for all of us. No one likes to be reminded of their own mortality, after all! , its a decision that comes to our life all at certain times especially if we have kids to give them good future.

Honestly it is worth, while we consider of taking out life insurance at any stage of your life especially as we reach middle of age and start to amass mortgages and other financial commitments. The basic fact is that it does not matter if we have family to consider for or not but, if we have some kind of financial commitments then we need to consider about what will happen if we die out of the blue. We have to remember that it does not matter how healthy we think of our self but we may die in a car accident or get run over by a train tomorrow while crossing the railway line!

We must consider few things, what would happen to our financial commitments if we die unexpectedly. Many people do not know that the money they owe on some kind of loans and mortgages does not necessarily pay for itself after their death There must be somebody who will have to take care of its repayment. Finally, in the simplest of form we have to consider about who would pay for our funeral at the end of the day.

Life insurance may be worth thinking about at this stage it is very important, but, if you have a family to add to the equation. If you have a partner andor kids then consider about how they would meet financially if we did die and our salary died with us. This isnt just about managing things like the mortgage, loans its also all about working out how they will pay for lifes necessities never mind lifes luxuries after us. If we protect them with a strong life insurance policy then they could at least meet financially during what will be a very difficult time for them.

The important thing to remember in mind with life insurance is, that it doesnt have to cost the land. Life insurance policies these days are available at small cost we really could be paying just a small amount pound a month to get the right levels of protection with satisfaction. To make things easier and clear many industry experts recommend that we shop around for the best life insurance quote as the sector is extremely competitive these days and off course this is easily done there are lot of web sites that can help us swiftly through competitive quotes so we can find the cheapest policies in just a matter of minutes. This is a great way of getting the life insurance cover we need without spending much time or money in the process.

When it comes to buying life insurance the most important comparison is between term insurance and whole life. Here is an explanation of each.

A term life insurance plan provides life insurance – plain and simple. A whole life insurance plan provides life insurance but also accrues value, which you can cash out or borrow against. It generally takes about three years to see any value and then it’s not a lot of money. Term life insurance, in comparison to whole life, is considerably less costly for this reason. Some will refer to term life insurance as renting insurance rather than buying it. The reason for that attitude is that, much like auto insurance, you pay the premium each month or quarter or year to hedge against the bet that you might have an accident (in the case of term life insurance the accident is death). If you don’t have that accident, in the case of auto insurance, or if you don’t die in the case of life insurance, you don’t get the money.

We all die, of course, so it might seem that term life insurance is a good bet and the best bet in comparison to whole life. You would, you surmise, always get your money back. The catch here is that term life insurance will end at a certain point – and that point may well be before you are deceased. Term life insurance plans are only good until a certain predetermined age – many are 70 years of age, others up to 80. For those of us who really need this coverage until the day we die these aren’t good plans in comparison to whole life which will be in force until the day we die.

Term life insurance is a good buy in comparison to whole life, however, if all you are trying to do is set money aside to prevent your young family from becoming destitute in the event of your unexpected death. Once you reach the age of 70, the likelihood is that your children will be comfortably on their own and not dependent on your money or income to survive. Of course, if this is your only life insurance and it goes away before you die then your family or someone else must bear the cost of burying you. That is where whole life insurance is a favorable comparison to term life. Whole life will stay in place as long as you do, and will be there when it comes time to pay for your burial.

It may be, then, that in doing a comparison between term life insurance and whole life insurance, the results indicate a need for both. Many professionals suggest that you buy an amount of term life insurance that would keep your family bills paid for a predetermined time in the event of your untimely death, choosing a term that covers them only until they are old enough to take care of their bills on their own. These same professionals suggest as well that you also buy a whole life insurance policy for an amount of 7000-12,000, merely to assure that your family will have money to bury you.

In other words, if you are 40 and your children are 6, 8 and 10, you’re going to need about 15 years of term life insurance – until your youngest is through four years of college. You might decide, with three children and a spouse that you’ll need several hundred thousand pounds of coverage. A Whole life policy of 10,000, however, would be plenty to provide a decent funeral and burial.

It might be hard to know how much one should pay for life insurance. But it is something that you need, because you never know when you will die. The sooner you get life insurance the better it is for you and your family. Save them the pain of leaving them with nothing.

Expensive life insurance can be a deterrent to some people as some people might not be able to afford it. But not having life insurance can result into a bigger hassle down the road, as funerals can cost a lot of money. Leaving your spouse with nothing is also something to consider about. They can suffer more then just a loss of a loved one. Bear then in mind before you make the decision not to get life insurance.

When you calculate the amount of life insurance you need you should think about immediate and short terms need as well as long term needs. What would fall into the current term need would be funeral costs. So would mortgage payments and child care. And example of future expenses would have to be college. If you look online there are places that can help you calculate exactly how much life insurance you need. So dont worry if youre really sure what to do or how to go about calculating it.

If money is one of the reasons you hesitate about life insurance, dont worry you can get many quotes so you can get the best deal out there. And these quotes do not cost you anything. You can shop around as much as you want to see which life insurance is right for you and fits your budget. Go out there and do something that will not only benefit you, but your family. Dont leave them with any burdens.

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.