A poll was released over the weekend showing Americans are less concerned about health care costs than they used to be. Americans are less worried they will lose their health care insurance and less likely, they say, to postpone needed health care treatment. The public option has many Americans reconsidering their current health care situation and deciding that it is not that bad after all given the alternatives.
Don't think insurance companies are that important to the economy? AIG was the largest insurance company in the world and when it almost failed, it cost US Taxpayers over $85 Billion dollars. Its failure was predicted to bring down the US financial system. Now that the economy has stabalized somewhat, some insurance companies are leading the charge with storing stock prices. AIG's stock price, once the company that alsmot brought down the US financial system, is up about 500% since its low last March. Insurance Companies are huge and they can help drive the economic recovery.
Town Hall meetings are turning into armed bar brawls...politicians are comparing each other to Hitler...other politicians are degraded American Citizens speaking their minds...the White House is strong arming Health insurance companies...and Health Insurance Companies are spending millions of dollars on lobbying to mold health insurance reforms to benefit them. With politicians warring with each other and even the public in some cases, will Health Insurance reform cause a class war? Just illustrates how important insurance can be in our society.
Several states are considering raising the minimum amount of liability car insurance required. Most states currently require a minimum of $20,000 in liability insurance with some lower and some higher. Higher limits mean higher premiums. With the recession still in full swing and unemployment still rising, I think the states are making a big mistake. Their intent is to provide more insurance coverage to those injured in auto accidents. But I think it will do the opposite. If the state raise limits, the higher premiums required for those limits will cause some drivers to drop their insurance all together. Therefore, I think the end result of raising the minimum limits will be to increase the number of uninsured drivers.
Life Insurance policies provide a specified monetary benefit to
the policy beneficiary in the event of the death of the
policyholder. Life insurance can be an important tool used to
protect the financial well being of your family in the event
of your death. Your need for life insurance will vary
throughout your life and financial situation. When you are
young and have no dependents such as a spouse and/pr children, your
need for life insurance is very low. As you grow older, marry
and have children, your need for life insurance increases
dramatically. And finally when you are older and if your
children are grown and financially self-sufficient, your need for
life insurance may once again decrease.
Purchasing life insurance is an important decision.
While it can protect your family, there can be a significant cost
involved. Therefore, you and your family must weigh the need
for life insurance versus the costs. One of
the first steps in purchasing life insurance is
determining how much you can afford to pay in annual premiums.
You should not purchase a policy you cannot afford because if your
policy is canceled for non-payment, it generally cannot be
renewed.
Another consideration is what type of life insurance to
purchase. Term insurance is life insurance that runs for a
certain, specified term, such as 20 years. Term insurance
pays a specfic death benefit, such as $500,000. If you do not
die during the specified policy term, the insurance simply ends and
neither you nor your family receive any benefit from it.
This insurance is valuable though as the death benefit that it pays
if a claim is made is much higher than variable life
insurance.
Variable life insurance has no specific term and therefore remains
active as long as the premiums are paid. Variable
insurance has a specific death benefit but it is always
much lower than the death benefot you could get from a term life
insurance policy for the same premium. This is due to
the fact that the policy does not end and therefore it can
remain in effect until a claim is made. Variable policies
also build a cash value based on some type of security or
equity. Many popular variable policies build value based
on some stock market index such as the S&P
500. These policies can be cashed out later in life
making them popular retirement savings vehicles.
The premiums for life insurance as well as the limits you are
allowed to purchase are based on many variables. Some you can
control and some you cannot. Life insurance premiums are
heavily influended by your age, something you cannot control. The
older you become, the more expensive life insurance will be. So it
is adviseable to purchase life insurance when you are young.
Premiums are also extensively influenced by your general health,
something most of us can control to some degree. If you smoke
and are overweight, you will pay more than double what a non-smoker
with no weight problems will pay. Your family's
medical history is also examined and influences your premiums
and limits.
Most health insurance companies require you to take a physical
before selling you a life insurance policy. It is recommended
that you schedule the exam well in advance and then do everything
you can to improve your physical health before taking the
exam. Losing 10 - 20 pounds and getting into better shape
before an exam can literally save you thousands of dollars a year
in insurance premiums. Forgetting the medical benefits
of improving your health, the financial benefits alone are well
worth the effort.
We have just given a very shallow overview of life insurance in
this section. While we discussed the two major types of life
insurance, term and variable, there are many different
sub-categories of life insurance. In addition, there are
numerous riders, exclusions and coverage enhancements that can be
added to the standard policies. We recommend that you retain
a good life insurance agent and then undertake a thorough review of
your needs to determine which type of life insurance is right for
your.
Visit our website for helpful information on life insurance.
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