Term insurance is the simplest form of life insurance. Here’s how it works.

Term insurance is the simplest form of life insurance. It provides temporary life insurance protection on a limited budget. Here’s how it works:

Term Life Ins Picture1

When a policyholder buys term insurance, they buy coverage for a specific period of time and pay a specific price for that coverage.

Term Life Ins Picture2

If the policyholder dies during that time, their beneficiaries receive the benefit from the policy. If they outlive the term of the policy, it is no longer in effect. The person would have to reapply to receive any further benefit.

Unlike permanent insurance, term insurance only pays. It does not accumulate a cash value. That’s one of the reasons term insurance tends to be less expensive than permanent insurance.
Many find term life insurance useful for covering specific financial responsibilities if they were to die unexpectedly. Term life insurance is often used to provide funds to cover:

  • Dependent care
  • College education for dependents
  • Mortgages

Would term life insurance be the best coverage for you and your family? That depends on your unique goals, needs, and circumstances. You may want to carefully examine the pros and cons of each type of life insurance before deciding what type of policy may be the best fit for you.

Several factors will affect the cost and availability of life insurance, including age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, the policyholder also may pay surrender charges and have income tax implications. You should consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy involving life insurance. Any guarantees associated with a policy are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue making claim payments.

Life insurance is not insured by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). It is not insured by any federal government agency or bank or savings association.

The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright FMG Suite.

When you’re married and have children, insurance needs will be different.

A growing family, by definition, means growing financial obligations—both present and in the future. Raising children can increase your insurance needs and heightens the urgency for being properly prepared.

Auto

When a child becomes a new driver, one choice is to add the teenager to the parents’ policy. You may want to discuss with your auto insurer ways to reduce the additional premium that accompanies a new driver.

Home

You should periodically review your homeowners policy for three primary reasons.

A growing family generally accumulates increasing amounts of personal belongings. Think of each child’s toys, clothes, electronic equipment, etc. Moreover, household income tends to rise during this time, which means that jewelry, art, and other valuables may be among your growing personal assets.

The second reason is that the costs of rebuilding—and debris removal—may have risen over time, necessitating an increase in insurance coverage.

Lastly, with growing wealth, you may want to raise liability coverage, or if you do not have an umbrella policy, consider adding it now. Umbrella insurance is designed to help protect against the financial risk of personal liability.

Health

With your first child, be sure to change your health care coverage to a family plan. If you and your spouse have retained separate plans, you may want to evaluate which plan has a better cost-benefit profile. Think about whether now is the appropriate time to consolidate coverage into one plan.

Disability

If your family is likely to suffer economically because of the loss of one spouse’s income, then disability insurance serves an important role in replacing income that may allow you to meet living expenses without depleting savings.

The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation.

If you already have disability insurance, consider increasing the income replacement benefit since your income and standard of living may now be higher than when you bought the policy.

Life

With children, the amount of future financial obligations increases. The cost of raising children and funding their college education can be expensive. Should one of the spouses die, the loss of income might severely limit the future quality of life for your surviving children and spouse. Not only does death eliminate the future income of one spouse permanently, but the future earning power of the surviving spouse might be diminished as single parenthood may necessitate fewer working hours and turning down promotions.

The amount of life insurance coverage needed to fund this potential financial loss is predicated on, among other factors, lifestyle, debts, age and number of children, and anticipated future college expenses.

Several factors will affect the cost and availability of life insurance, including age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, the policyholder also may pay surrender charges and have income tax implications. You should consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy involving life insurance. Any guarantees associated with a policy are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue making claim payments.

Some couples decide to have one parent stay at home to care for the children full time. The economic value of the stay-at-home parent is frequently overlooked. Should the stay-at-home parent die, the surviving parent would likely need to pay for a range of household and child-care services and potentially suffer the loss of future income due to the demands of single parenthood.

Extended Care

The earlier you consider extended-care choices the better. However, the financial demands of more immediate priorities, like saving for your children’s college education or your retirement, will take precedence if resources are limited.

The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG, LLC, is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright FMG Suite.

You can plan ahead to protect yourself and your family against the financial consequences of deteriorating health.

As Teddy Roosevelt once observed, “Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.”

The challenges seniors have met throughout their lives have made them wiser and stronger, preparing them for the unique challenges that come with aging.

As we age, the potential for cognitive decline increases, ranging from simple forgetfulness to dementia. Long-term illness can sap time and energy from tending to your financial affairs in retirement. Even a decline in vision may make it harder to manage your financial affairs.

Fortunately, you can look ahead to help protect yourself and your family against the financial consequences of deteriorating health, and in many cases, insurance may play an important role.

Let’s examine some of the ways you can employ insurance to help protect your financial health.

Healthcare Costs

For some, healthcare costs represent a larger share of their budget as the years pass.

Recognizing this, you may want to consider Medigap insurance to cover the expenses that Medicare does not, which can add up quickly. You also might want to consider some form of extended-care insurance, which can be structured to pay for nursing home and home healthcare services—two services that Medicare doesn’t cover.

Managing Your Wealth

The involvement you have with managing your investments may change as you age. For many seniors, that sort of day-to-day responsibility is unattractive and even untenable.

If that’s the case, you may wish to consider what role annuities can play. Annuities can be structured to pay you income for as long as you live, relieving you of the concern of outliving your retirement money. Certain annuities even offer extended-care benefits, which allow you to address two concerns with one decision.1

Transferring Your Estate

If you’re like many seniors, you have a strong desire to leave something to your children, grandchildren, and perhaps a favorite charity. Through the use of life insurance, you can pursue these objectives. For example, life insurance can be used to create an estate or to equalize an estate transfer among your heirs.2

Insurance will never be able to prevent the health issues that come inexorably with age, but it can be used to mitigate their potential financial consequences.

1. The guarantees of an annuity contract depend on the issuing company’s claims-paying ability. Annuities have contract limitations, fees, and charges, including account and administrative fees, underlying investment management fees, mortality and expense fees, and charges for optional benefits. Most annuities have surrender fees that are usually highest if you take out the money in the initial years of the annuity contact. Withdrawals and income payments are taxed as ordinary income. If a withdrawal is made prior to age 59½, a 10% federal income tax penalty may apply (unless an exception applies).
2. Several factors will affect the cost and availability of life insurance, including age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, the policyholder also may pay surrender charges and have income tax implications. You should consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy involving life insurance.
The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright FMG Suite.

Whole life insurance remains in force as long as you remain current with premiums. Here’s how it works.

Insurance Benefits Graphic

In exchange for fixed premiums, an insurance company promises to pay a set benefit when the policyholder dies, but also offers additional benefits as well. Whole life insurance policies can build up cash value — effectively a cash reserve that pays a modest rate of return, and the growth is tax-deferred. Guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.

  Policy Loan Graphic

Most whole life insurance policies allow policyholders to borrow a portion of their policy’s cash value. Access to the cash value can allow you to pay for things like college expenses, a home down payment, or any other needs you may have. Interest payments on policy loans go directly back into the policy’s cash value.

Insurance Benefits Graphic

When the policyholder dies, his or her beneficiaries receive the benefit from the policy. Depending on how the policy is structured, benefits may or may not be taxable.

Whether whole life insurance is the best choice for you may depend on a variety of factors, including your goals or circumstances.

When you borrow against this cash value of your policy, there are some important points to consider. Accessing the cash value of the insurance policy through borrowing — or partial surrenders — has the potential to reduce the policy’s cash value and benefit. Accessing the cash value may also increase the chance that the policy will lapse and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before your death.

As with all types of life insurance, several factors will affect the cost and availability of whole life insurance, including age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, the policyholder may also pay surrender charges and have income tax implications. You should consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy involving life insurance. Any guarantees associated with a policy are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue making claim payments.

Life insurance is not insured by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). It is not insured by any federal government agency or bank or savings association.

The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright FMG Suite.
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