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Heather Said:

What are the pros and cons of modified whole life insurance?

We Answered:

I always encourage people not to rely on the life insurance they get from their employer for their financial protection. Usually they are not portable, so if you lose your job you lose your coverage.

If you need life insurance protection then I would suggest that you go and try to find another cheaper term life insurance policy before you lapse your whole life policy. If you are still healthy enough to qualify for a new policy you can probably lower your premium with a good competitive term policy with a higher face amount than $12,400 and use the $2,400 for your immediate needs.

Melissa Said:

Term Insurance vs Whole Life Insurance?

We Answered:

Whole life insurance is a form of life insurance which has a guaranteed level death benefit until death or age 100, which ever comes first. It also builds a guaranteed cash value which will equal the face amount of the policy at age 100. So if you have coverage of $100,000 and you are still alive at age 100, the insurance company will void your life insurance policy and pay you $100,000.

Premiums remain level and there are 3 ways you can pay your premiums. The most common way is called "Straight Life" or "Continuous Premium Whole Life." This is where you premiums continuously until you die or when you reach age 100.

The second way is called "Limited Pay." This is where you pay a higher amount of premiums than Straight Life for a certain amount of time. Examples of this are "20-Pay Life" or "Life Paid at 60." With "20-Pay Life" you pay your premiums for 20 years. "Life paid at 60" means you pay your premiums until you reach 60 years old. The shorter the payment period, the higher the premiums and vice versa.

The third way is called "Single Premium Whole Life." This is where you pay one lump of premium and never have to pay it again.

As I mentioned earlier, Whole life insurance builds cash value. You can borrow it anytime and use it for any purpose. The question is "what is this borrowing part all about?" Isn't the savings suppose to be your money? The answer is no. The premiums you pay belongs to the insurance company.

If you want to take money out from your life insurance, you have to borrow it. The insurance company will charge you a loan interest of anywhere between 5-8%. But in the first 2 years of the policy, no cash value is accumulated. So there's nothing you can borrow during that time. After the first 2 years, you are guaranteed an interest rate between 1-3%. When you borrow money from the cash value, your death benefit is reduced by the amount you borrowed, but the premiums remain the same. Interest charged on the amount you borrowed does not go back into your cash value. It goes directly to the insurance company.

If you die someday, the insurance company keeps your cash value and pays the death benefit only.

If someday, you decide you want to cancel your whole life policy, you will get most of your cash value. When you cancel your life policy, the insurance company may charge you a surrender charge on your cash value. If you borrowed money from your cash value, it is important that you pay this loan back before canceling the policy. Failure to do so will result in income tax on the loan amount.

In summary, here are the pros and cons of whole life insurance:
PROS
1) You are guaranteed coverage until you die or reach age 100, whichever is first.
2) Premiums remain level.
3) It builds cash value.

CONS
1) It builds cash value, which makes this type of life policy very expensive.
2) Cash value grows at a low rate of return
3) If you want to use the cash value, you have to borrow it and pay loan interest of 5-8%
4) If you die, the insurance company keeps your cash value.

Term insurance is designed to provide death protection for a definite and limited period of time such as One Year Term, Five Year Term, 30 year Term, or Term to 65. If the insured dies during the term, the policy matures and the insurance company pays the face amount of the policy to the beneficiary. If the insured doesn't die during the term, the policy expires.

The second most important characteristic of Term insurance is that it is pure insurance. You pay premiums only for the coverage. Since there are no forced savings or cash value attached to Term insurance, it is designed to provide the greatest possible protection for the lowest possible cost. Therefore, the two key points to remember about Term insurance are that if offers (1) protection only for a (2) a specified period of time.

One of the most widely marketed forms of Term insurance is Annually Renewable Term (ART). The insurance company grants the insured the right to renew the policy each year to a stated date or age. The cost to renew the policy goes up each year because the rates are based on the insured's attained or current age.

The increasing in premiums can present a real problem for the insuring public. One Term product that provides a partial solution to the rising costs is Level Premium Term. With a policy of l0ng duration, the payment may be leveled out over the life of the policy to create Level Premium Term. The cost of Level Premium Term is calculated by price of the early years by the price of the later years. So in the beginning, you are making an overpayment of what the actual cost of insurance is. But in the later years, you are making an underpayment of what the actual cost of the insurance is. Why? Because the cost to insure someone is young is low compare to the cost of insuring someone who is old.

Term insurance, then, in any of its many forms, is the most affordable protection available for teh premium