What does it mean to review your life insurance policy? This is a review of the overall terms, current life situations and beneficiaries on the policy. Everyone should be reviewing their policy once per year.
Traditional Life
When life goes according to plan, you’ll pay off the mortgage, put your kids through college and enjoy a long retirement. But we know the unexpected could happen. In the event of unexpected circumstances, life insurance may help lighten their financial burden. In fact, life insurance plans may be more affordable than you might think.
Types of insurance vary. Tary Insurance offers three types of insurance — and each has unique characteristics:
Term Life
Term life is a type of insurance policy where premiums remain level for a specified period of time —generally for 10, 20 or 30 years. After the end of the level premium period, premiums will generally increase. Coverage continues as long as the premiums are paid. Perhaps this is an option you may want to consider when you’re on a more limited budget and will have significant expenses over a shorter period of time.
You can often pay a lower premium when you select a shorter term — say, 10 years instead of 20. But since premiums are based on risk of death, once you are outside of the level premium period, a term life policy generally gets more expensive as you grow older.
Whole Life
Whole life is permanent insurance — you’re insured throughout your lifetime, or until the policy matures, as long as you continue to pay your premiums per terms of the contract. And those premiums will stay level as long as the policy remains in force. Over time, permanent insurance typically accumulates a cash value that can be accessed1 for a variety of purposes while you’re still alive.
Universal Life Insurance
Like whole life, universal life is permanent insurance that may also accumulate a cash value. It offers more flexibility, though. You can tailor a policy to meet changing priorities with flexible premiums2 and face amounts. Universal life also offers you more control over how quickly your cash value grows.