Term insurance is life insurance that remains in effect for a specified period of time, or “term”, after which the coverage expires. The period may be 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, or 30 years.

Most term insurance policies can be renewed or converted up to a specified maximum age with no additional medical requirements needed in order for the insured to prove he or she is still insurable. This can be a tremendous benefit since anyone can become uninsurable at any time, without warning.

When a term policy is renewed or converted, the premium is adjusted upward based on the insured’s age at the time of renewal or conversion.

Term Life Insurance offers affordable coverage that pays only a death benefit. Unlike Universal Life Insurance, Term Life Insurance builds no cash value, and therefore does not have a “savings” element.

Return Of Premium is a type of term life insurance policy. Premiums are paid for a specified term period (10, 20, 30 years). If death does not occur during the life of the contract, and all premiums are paid in a timely fashion, the owner of the policy will receive all premiums paid over the life of the contract. If the policy is canceled at any time, no money is refunded. While this was the original concept, many current policies do allow prorated refunds at some point during the life of the policy.

Many Universal Life Insurance policies today offer a no-lapse guarantee, which means as long as you pay the designated premium, the policy is guaranteed to stay in force to age 100 (or even to age 120).

As with all life insurance, the main purpose for buying a Universal Life Insurance policy is to provide a death benefit to your beneficiary at the time of your death.

Equity-Indexed Universal Life Insurance, or indexed universal life insurance (IUL), is permanent life insurance that offers all the benefits of universal life with accumulation values tied to a stock market index. An EIUL policy has a fixed interest rate component as well as an indexed account option. Whereas traditional UL may credit 4 percent to 6 percent, EIUL has the ability to receive index-linked gains as high as 18 percent or more. In years in which the index does well, interest-crediting rates will rise, and in years in which the index performs poorly, interest crediting will fall. The policy owner can reap the rewards of stock market-type gains and be protected with minimum-guaranteed interest rates in case of stock-market losses. EIUL otherwise has all of the typical features of traditional UL and operates under the same policy mechanics.

The major difference with EIUL is the option to participate indirectly in the upward movement of a stock index without accepting the normal risk associated with investing in the stock market. The actual interest credited to a policy’s cash value is determined by the changes of an equities index. Most insurance companies use the S&P 500 Index as the underlying index for their EIUL product. This combination of the potential to realize higher upside returns without the downside risk makes the EIUL policy a unique and attractive cash-accumulation vehicle.

Whole Life Insurance is a type of life insurance contract that provides for insurance coverage of the contract holder for his/her entire life. Unlike term life insurance, which covers the contract holder until a specified age limit, a traditional whole life policy never runs out. Upon the inevitable death of the contract holder, the insurance payout is made to the contract’s beneficiaries. These policies also include an investment component, which accumulates a cash value that the policyholder can withdraw or borrow against.

This type of life insurance provides the policyholder with a guaranteed amount to pass on to his/her beneficiaries, regardless of how long he/she lives, provided the contract is maintained. Most policies also offer a withdrawal clause, which allows the contract holder to cancel his/her coverage and receive a cash surrender value.

Survivorship (Second to Die) Life insurance is a type of life insurance on two people (usually married) that provides benefits to the heirs only after the last surviving spouse dies. This differs from regular life insurance in that the surviving partner doesn’t receive any benefits after their spouse dies. Thus, second-to-die insurance is used for estate planning.

Parents who take out this type of insurance are thinking of their children, not themselves. For example, it could be designed to pay estate taxes or support any surviving children. It is also called “Dual-Life Insurance” and “Survivorship Insurance”.

Simplified Issue, you may be able to qualify for up to $250,000 or more of term life insurance online without having to take a physical exam.

Some insurers offer you instant issue life insurance with no physical. You answer a few health questions and they decide within days, based on your answers, whether you qualify for the life insurance coverage.

You may be able to apply for the policy online, pay your first month’s premium using your credit card, and begin your coverage the same day. It depends on the insurance company.

$1,000 TO $50,000

Guaranteed Insurance for those individuals that are not eligible for traditional life insurance or have been declined for coverage in the past. Guaranteed issue life insurance policies have “graded benefits”. This means that if the insured person dies within a specified amount of time, the beneficiaries only receive a portion (or none, in the case of contestable periods) of the death benefits. Most guaranteed issue life insurance policies only pay full benefits after the first two years of the policy.

• NO DOCTOR’S EXAM
• NO MEDICAL QUESTIONS
• NO BLOOD OR LAB TESTS