Term Life Insurance

About Budget Life

The following term life insurance companies head up the Budget Life Top 15: Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation, Western Reserve Life Insurance Company of OH, ReliaStar Life Insurance Company, Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of MA, West Coast Life Insurance Company, Banner Life Insurance Company. We use a third party database of top term life insurance companies to rank in terms of lowest life insurance rates. We can also provide term life insurance quotes online.

Term life insurance rates have been dropping steadily in response to increased competition. Term life insurance is a commodity, and improved access to online life insurance quotes information, such as at this Web site, is making it even more so. Whether to use life insurance as an investment is a separate decision; but for just pure life insurance, which is term insurance, why pay more than you have to?

Budget Life also lets you obtain term life insurance quotes from independent agents. These life insurance agents use our database to ensure that they have the lowest life insurance rates; they don't quote for just one life insurance company. Term life insurance quotes are commodities, and they find the best term life insurance rate. Some specialize in life insurance underwriting for impaired risk life insurance.

About Life Insurance

Paying for life insurance hurts! But few can do without it. The key is to buy life insurance only for losses that you can not replace, such as your income. Avoid narrowly defined life insurance policies that only cover specific loss of life, such as accidents, plane crashes or cancer. You're better off with insurance for any loss of life for a small increase in premium.

Don't skimp on life insurance. But remember that people with no dependents may not need life insurance policies at all. To estimate the amount of a life insurance policy, use our life insurance calculator. Most life insurance consultants estimate five to ten times your annual income. Smoker life insurance costs two to three times as much as non-smoker.

Jane Bryant Quinn advises how to find the best term life insurance quotes in When Your Term Life Insurance Expires. Budget Life uses the Term4Sale database recommended by Ms.Quinn for term life insurance comparisons.

Do you know how much your policy is worth? See our article on life insurance settlements. We take a somewhat contrarian view on this topic, so let us know what you think!

Term Life Insurance or Whole?

Term life insurance, also called temporary insurance, covers a person against death for a limited time, the term. For example, the term might be until children are grown, or until college is paid for, or until retirement. You pay for the policy period and at the end of the term, the contract or policy expires. If no claims are made against the policy during the term, you don't receive any benefits after the policy expires, just like auto or homeowners insurance.

Whole life insurance, also called permanent insurance, is permanent and does not expire (assuming you continue to pay the premiums). It provides coverage similar to term life insurance, but it also provides an investment vehicle. A portion of the premium goes for life insurance, while the rest goes into an investment account. This account can be either an interest bearing account or a variable (stocks and bonds) investment account.

Which is better (our opinion)? Young families with large financial obligations are usually better off with term life insurance policies. The substantially lower premiums enable them to purchase sufficient coverage to protect against loss of income. Any discretionary investment funds can be placed in other vehicles (mutual funds, money market accounts, etc.) that are likely to generate returns similar to or better than life insurance policies. Whole life insurance is often purchased by people for tax and estate planning purposes. Recently, some advisors have started recommending life insurance as an investment. You should consult with your financial advisor.

Choosing an Agent

Almost all life insurance companies sell their products through agents, rather than directly to the public. Some companies use "captive" agents, who can only represent one company. Most of the competitive term life insurance providers (such as those featured at this site) use independent agents, who are free to represent several companies. These agents can help you select from a variety of products and companies to tailor a plan.

You should first obtain online life insurance quotes and review other life insurance choices before making a decision.

Specialty Life Insurance

Some life insurance companies now offer no-exam life insurance with a few health questions and no medical exam.

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Term Life Insurance