Life Insurance
What is Life Insurance?
In its simplest form, life insurance is a financial product that pays a sum of money to a named beneficiary at the death of an insured individual. Insurance policies called "permanent" or "cash value" insurance develop cash values that have the potential to grow tax deferred, providing policy owners with a benefit they can use during their lifetime. Insurance proceeds are generally paid free from income taxes and they are not subject to probate. Thus, life insurance proceeds pass quickly and directly to the beneficiary.
What is Living Benefits?
There are times when you may have a need for your insurance proceeds prior to death. These benefits give you the choice to accelerate the death benefit if you have a terminal, chronic or critical illness. This policy gives you the flexibility and protection at times when you may need it most. If you are diagnosed with certain chronic, critical or terminal illnesses, as defined in the policy, a insurance policy allows you to accelerate a portion of your policy face amount to:
- Replace income lost as a result of your illness
- Provide for in-home care or facility needs
And... - Any face amount not accelerated as living benefits will remain a death benefit for your loved ones after you pass away.
Types of Life Insurance
1. Term Insurance
Term life insurance is a way for you to help provide financial security for your family by giving you life-insurance coverage for a specified period of time, or "term", such as 10, 20 or 30 years. If something happens to you during that time, your loved ones don't have to worry. If not, your policy simply expires at the end of the term.
| Benefits of Term Life | |
|---|---|
| Helps provide security for growing families | YES |
| Coverage for temporary financial obligations | YES |
| Cash value | NO |
| Permanent coverage | NO |
Because term life doesn't build cash value, it's generally less expensive than permanent coverage. That makes it a good choice for young families just starting out. By providing protection against the loss of income, it can help ensure that your loved ones' quality of life can be preserved—and their tomorrows will be protected.
You can also use term life insurance to cover specific financial obligations that may disappear over time. For example, use a 30-year term policy to ensure a 30-year mortgage can be paid in full, or choose coverage that lasts long enough to pay for college tuition or wedding expenses if you're not here to provide for them.
2. Permanent Insurance
Unlike term insurance, which addresses more temporary needs, permanent life insurance is designed to provide life-long financial protection. Because permanent life insurance policies are designed and priced to keep over a long period of time, this may be the right type of insurance for you if you have a long-term need for life insurance coverage.
"Permanent insurance" is generally a catchall phrase for a wide variety of life insurance products many of which include a cash-value feature.
Within this class of life insurance, there are many different products, including universal life insurance and indexed universal life insurance. Within this class you have more tools to meet your financial goals, including payment flexibility, tax-deferred accumulation of cash value, and a choice of coverage (subject to contract requirements). You can also use some of the cash value you've accumulated to cover the cost of your policy. So even when money is tight, you can still maintain your life insurance.
3. Final Expense Insurance
Ensure your family has one less thing to worry about. When your family is dealing with your loss, the last thing you want to do is burden them with your final medical bills and funeral costs. Preparing now with Final Expense insurance lets you leave behind only fond memories.
Although hard to talk about, final expenses can be a major burden to your family and loved ones. Final expense insurance from Transamerica will help protect your family from unforeseen expenses should the unthinkable happen.
| Average Cost Of Final Expense | |
|---|---|
| Transfer of Deceased | $250 |
| Professional Services | $1,817 |
| Embalming | $628 |
| Casket & Vault | $3,490 |
| Memorial Service | $125 |
| Hearse | $275 |
| Facilities Charge | $845 |
| Graveside Service | $325 |
| Total Average Expenses | $7,755 |
| Other cash payments, including cemetery plot, headstone, etc. | $2,500 |
| Total Cost | $10,255* |
