Life Insurance Tips

Health Insurance

2009-04-26T22:42:00.001-07:00

Health Insurance

You may not worry on your health, but you sure do care about your assets. With healthcare costs rising at more than 15 per cent a year, having a health insurance is becoming a stipulation.

These policies are of three types -- the first covers basic hospitalization needs; the second critical illness; and the third daily hospital cash reimbursements. Even life insurers offer physical condition covers with defined profit.

Under these, a pre-specified amount is paid as compensation, irrespective of the expenses incurred.

With or without a family, you need a health cover. For those who have a family, we advise a family floater instead of a standalone policy since the prospect of all family members needing hospitalization at one go is isolated.

Even if your employer offers group medical insurance, get your own cover. A change of job could leave you without insurance, and so could leave. And, getting a fresh cover after 45 is hard.

Importance

Buy floater policy to cover total family
Option for a cashless plan, keep a cashless mediclaim cards handy
Ask insurers for a premium fee to find the cheap policy
Keep an eye on exclusions and inclusions in the policy
Undergo medical tests, if required
Buy a health insurance even you have one from your employer

2009-04-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

Health Insurance

You may not worry on your health, but you sure do care about your assets. With healthcare costs rising at more than 15 per cent a year, having a health insurance is becoming a stipulation.

Under these, a pre-specified amount is paid as compensation, irrespective of the expenses incurred.

Even if your employer offers group medical insurance, get your own cover. A change of job could leave you without insurance, and so could leave. And, getting a fresh cover after 45 is hard.

Importance

Buy floater policy to cover total family
Option for a cashless plan, keep a cashless mediclaim cards handy
Ask insurers for a premium fee to find the cheap policy
Keep an eye on exclusions and inclusions in the policy
Undergo medical tests, if required
Buy a health insurance even you have one from your employer

Must have insurance covers

2009-04-25T01:58:00.001-07:00

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." So said Dorothy Thompson, Dorothy Thompson is a famous American journalist.

The alarm of death is big, but it is not overt. The fear of losing your hard-earned assets, such as a car or a house, is bigger. And, the fear of how your loved ones would provide for themselves if something happens to you is even larger. The uncertainties of everyday life -- increasing incidence of diseases, terrorist attacks and road accidents -- add to the anxieties.

Insurance could at least minimize, if not banish, these pressing fears from our lives. We list five insurance covers that you must have at all times -- term, health, accident, motor and home.

Term Insurance

The cheap and the most basic, this is a no-frills life cover that should be one of your first financial tools. Being a pure insurance cover, it does not return your money if you live the policy term.

If you don't, the sum assured is paid to your departing. So, buy only if you have monetary dependants, or you expect to have dependants in the future. If you expect to have dependants till a later stage of your life, look for a plan that has a high middle age.

Most term plans provide cover till 60-65 years of age. Few even offer plans till age 75. As there is no surrender or maturity value in these, you should settle for the one with the lowest premium and the longest term.

Since they are simple, term plans can be easily compared on the basis of price and the cover age. Search for a quote from at least four to five companies before buying one.

Recently, a few variants have been introduced in term insurance. ING Vysya Life Insurance has launched limited premium paying term plans. In these, you have to pay a higher premium in the initial years to cover the premiums for the entire term, after which you stop paying altogether. If you think, you can pay for higher premiums only for a few years; this plan will make sense for you.

Important

Keep the highest promising term
Keep the old age as long as possible
Talk to 4-5 insurers or visit their websites to get premium tariff
Decide the plan that has the lowest premium at your parameters
Feel medical tests, if required
Keep the nominees informed
Pay premiums year by year

How to pay premiums?

2009-04-25T01:54:00.000-07:00

You can pay your life insurance premium through any of the following Source:

· Pay premium at Insurance offices: Main office or branch offices

· By Internet: Through banks that your insurance company has tie-ups with

· Pay premium by Bank Account: You can provide your bank with standing instructions (auto-pay) to debit your account as and when the insurance premium becomes payable, or use phone-banking facilities

· Authorized service providers (Third party) such as BillJunction.com or BillDesk.com

What happen if you forget to pay your premium?

Generally, you would receive a notice from the insurance agent and the insurance company reminding you about your due premium fee. However, if you don't receive the reminder, you cannot hold the insurance company trustworthy; the loss as well as the responsibility to pay your premium before the due date is yours.

An insurance company generally provides a 30 days grace period 15 days if the payment mode is monthly during which the premium has to be paid. However, if the policy lapses due to non-receipt of premium within the first three years, it can be revived within two years from the lapse date. The insurance company charges interest for the delayed payment of the policy and has the right to accept or decline reviving the policy.

Some schemes exist to revive a policy; for example, in the case of a money-back policy, the survival benefit under the policy the money receivable from the insurance company at regular intervals can be used to pay premium plus interest on your premium amount.

The point is to remember you are attractive a chance with your family's future by being negligent. And you and/or your family could pay for the penalty.

Suppose a policy is lapses then what happens?

2009-04-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

Life insurance companies provide the insured with a grace period of 30 days, that is, a period of 30 days after the start date of the policy. The insured can pay premium on any day during this grace period. In case the insured dies during the grace period, the insurer is liable to pay the death benefit to the nominee less any amount outstanding including the unpaid premium. This provision helps the insurer to minimize the risk of policy lapse unintentionally.

In case the insured has not paid premiums after the grace period, the policy lapses. However, a lapsed policy can be reinstated within a certain period. The insured has to pay the insurer the accumulated due premium with interest, as well as provide a good health statement. Insurance companies offer many procedures for the insured to revive her/his policy.

In the event the insured dies and the policy lapsed within three years from the date of commencement of the policy, then the insurance company is not liable to settle such claims.

However, some concessions are available and payments of claims are made, that include the following scenarios:

If the insured had paid premium for at least three years and thereafter if premiums have not been paid, the nominee would receive a proportionate paid up value

If premium has been paid for a minimum term of two years and if the insured dies during the term of the policy

Within three months from the date of first unpaid premium, the full sum assured along with bonus is payable less the unpaid due premium and the premium that falls during the policy anniversary

In between three to six months from fully unpaid premium, only 50 per cent of the basic sum assured is payable

No bonus is paid and no arrears of premium are received between six months to one year from fully unpaid premium

Some tips to find right policy that is suitable for you and your family

2009-04-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Figure out your needs

You can use online calculators to get a sketchy idea of how much money it would take to cover your existing spouse’s expenses until retirement, and/or your children’s everyday expenditure until they reach maturity or Finish College.

Options for term life

A term-life policy is the best and simplest option for most Americans ranging in age from about 20 to about 50. Cash-value life insurance can make sense for wealthy people over the age of 60 – but for most people, term insurance is the way to go.

Get quotes online

Web sites can give you a lot of pricing information fast – although all of it will be subject to a more detailed application process and a medical exam.

Get in shape

To improve your risk class, you can take steps such as quitting smoking, losing weight and dropping your cholesterol and blood pressure if they’re high. You also can get that exam before you apply for insurance so you’re not hit with any surprises. In some cases, the changes you make can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a policy.

Decide how to buy

You can go it alone and buy insurance straight from the company, seek guidance from a fee-only financial planner, buy it through a commission-based financial planner, or buy it through an insurance agent.

Understand how these folks get paid

Insurance agents and commission-only financial planners don’t make money unless they sell you insurance products. Fee-plus-commission planners charge both a fee and a commission on products. Fee-only planners charge a fee for their direction but don’t sell products; you would buy the insurance coverage on your own.

Do your homework

If you decide to buy a policy on your own or hire a qualified to help you, you should bone up on life insurance on the different sites. This will help you feel more confident and informed.

Importance of Life Insurance

2009-04-18T05:51:00.000-07:00

If life insurance buying is approached in the proper way it can be very helpful to yourself and your family also. You need to take the time to give some thought to a subject that can be very horrible. I guess that is why most people don't think about it, or at best think about it only after they have had a brush with death, or when a life insurance professional brings up the subject. Sometimes these people wait until it is too late to do something about such a dangerous matter.

They find themselves uninsured when they discover they have some critical illness. People should give life insurance buying serious thought at least once per year as ones condition may change and you find that your want for life insurance may change as a effect.

Why Life Insurance?

2009-04-18T05:28:00.000-07:00

It is critical to have some arrangement for safe and secure future. Life insurance is an key part of setting up the plans for the coming years of life. Life insurance is an brilliant tool that provides guaranteed economic protection to insured’s family after his/her death. In simple language life insurance is a method to transfer risk and insecurity from one party to another in exchange for a premium.

Life insurance, sometimes refer to as life assurance, provides for a payment of a sum of money upon the death of the insured. In addition, life insurance can be used as a means of investment or discount.

You will find some useful tips on buying life insurance policy. It’s never too late to purchase an insurance policy but it is essential to select correct type of policy and for choosing right type of policy it is important to find a reputed, certified and quality insurance company.

Life insurance policy is issued on the basis of your age, health and length of insurance coverage so it is necessary to make confident that you have all medical information regarding your health before purchasing any life insurance policy.

Basic funda for Life Insurance

2009-04-17T05:47:00.000-07:00

Always cover yourself at and early age.
Insure your all family members.
Take only that policy which gives money back options.
Always take a Term Insurance for lower premium.
Take insurance unto 10 times of your income
Always pay premium on time
Always spread your risk with different type of plan
When your policy manure’s there must be a company to pay you.
Always buy insurance from a reputed Company as insurance is always for a longer period. Check the companies claim settlement ratio.
Always nominate your nearest relative so no any problem at the time of claim.
Death is certain for all, you and also me, so insure today and get secure.