What is term life insurance? You have an interest in buying term
life insurance, that is why you are reading this article, and
you want to know how it really works. Right? Well, there are
many types of term life insurance and I am going to give you a
brief explanation as to how each one works.

Decreasing Term Life Insurance

Decreasing term life insurance is very popular with home owners
and mortgage companies. The homeowners want to know that the
mortgage is paid off if they should prematurely die, and the
mortgage company want to be assured that they are repaid the
money loaned to the homeowner. The face amount of these policies
decrease in a uniformed manner each year as the balance owed on
the mortgage decreases, and the premium remains level. This is
very inexpensive life insurance.

Increasing Premium Term Life Insurance

This is initially the cheapest term life insurance you can buy.
The death benefit remains level for the duration, however, the
premiums increase every year and as a result this may turn out
to be the most expensive term life insurance you can buy. If you
should purchase this policy it would be wise to convert to a
level plan as quickly as possible.

5 Year Level Term Insurance

The face amount of this policy remains level for the entire 5
year period and so does the premium. Upon death the face amount
is paid either in one lump sum or in the form of an income. If
you have a short term need for life insurance, like covering a
bank loan, then this may be the plan for you.

10 Year Term Life Insurance

Like the 5 year term life insurance policy, the ten year term
life policy can be used to cover a bank loan, but it can do
considerably more. It can be used for family protection and a
myriad of other needs. The face amount of the policy remains
level for the duration and so does the premium. Some companies
allow you to continue the policy after 10 years with an increase
in premium.

20 Year Term Life Insurance

The 20 year term life insurance policy is probably the most
popular of term life policies. The death benefit remains level
for the duration and in some cases so does the premium. With
some companies, however, the premiums increase after the first
10 years to reflect the cost of the additional risk to which the
insurance company is exposed as the insured gets older. All in
all, the 20 tear term life insurance policy is fairly
inexpensive and does the job it is intended to do.

Unlike whole life insurance, universal life insurance or
variable life insurance, term life insurance does not have cash
values or earn dividends. There is a fairly new type of term
life insurance policy, however, called a return of premium
policy which returns all your premiums at the end of the term
period, if you do not die. The premiums are so high it may not
be worth your while to buy this type of term policy.

As you probably know all to well, the cost of healthcare and health insurance premiums continue to increase at levels substantially above the general inflation rate. The reasons given for these extraordinary cost increases are numerous and include: technological advancements in the medical field, increased demand for medical services and prescription drugs, the aging of the population, cost shifting caused by the uninsured and governmental reimbursement rates, state and federal mandates, and costs associated with medical related lawsuits.

As individual consumers, we have very little control over some of the factors contributing to the cost of healthcare. However, all of us have control over lifestyle related health insurance claims. A simple formula of eating a balanced diet, getting the appropriate amount of daily exercise, participating in annual physicals and other recommended routine care, limiting alcohol consumption, and eliminating the use of tobacco products will no doubt reduce our personal healthcare costs. In addition to reducing medical costs, the other benefits of following such a formula include more energy, self confidence, less stress, and increased productivity. If you are not doing so already, I encourage you to consider practical ways to promote a healthy lifestyle for you and your family. For example, one of the individual health insurance companies my organization works with has an option that will offset 25% of the annual cost of a health club membership. Simple things such as taking a walk, bike ride, or going swimming promote both a healthy body and mind. If you have a sweet tooth, consider limiting yourself to eating desert once a week. You will enjoy it more and your body will thank you.

Health insurance premiums will continue to increase as long as the cost of healthcare continues to go up. The best way to reduce the overall cost of healthcare is to decrease our need for healthcare. Healthy lifestyle choices and prudent use of the healthcare system are the best and easiest ways to get a handle on our healthcare expenditures. Perhaps the greatest benefit of a healthy lifestyle is our ability to enjoy our precious time here on earth to the fullest.

Michael Ertel is the President of Ertel & Company, Inc. and has over 15 years of experience in the health insurance business. He is the founder of MedicalInsuranceNow.com which is an internet based service that assists individuals, families, and small business owners by providing side by side comparisons of health insurance alternatives and the convenience of applying for health coverage online.

Comparison shopping for term life insurance coverage is just a click away. However, before you go around clicking on websites, there some basic information you should be prepared to provide to get preliminary quotes:

Aside from the obvious underwriting information such as your name, age and gender, you will have to provide more detailed information such as:

Weight: If your height weight ratio is not within certain limits (in other words you are overweight) it may affect your rate.

Do you smoke? Smokers pay a higher rate than non smokers. Rates can be as much as three times higher. However if you have quit smoking for at least a year prior to submitting your application, you may save some money.

Health: Companies want to know how much you exercise and what type of lifestyle you live. Do you participate in risky activities like racing, scuba diving, sky diving, rock climbing?

Type of work: Is your job hazardous? For example, if you work in underground mining, high-rise construction or work with explosives, you’ll carry a higher rate.

Driving record If you’ve been convicted of reckless driving or DWI in the last 5 years will increase your rate.

Your familial history Have your parents or siblings had cancer or cardiovascular disease before the age of 60?

You may be tempted to tell the insurance company what they want to hear (even if it’s not exactly the truth), but don’t. Lying on your application may void your insurance coverage.

Once you’ve elicited quotes from several companies, compare your rates and make sure your insurance company will be around for the long haul. Check their AM Best rating. AM Best is a company that measures the financial stability/solvency of insurance companies. A very low quote from a financially unstable company won’t do you a lot of good if they’re not going to be around to pay the claim.

View our Recommended Life Insurance Company This site is simple and easy to fill out a quote and has a lot of great info about Home Insurance and Affordable Health Insurance.

Definition

Remuneration is the payment of a service rendered. This
includes any bonuses and salaries. Remuneration is typically in
monetary terms but sometimes the compensation is in replacement
of the loss.

A recompense for a loss; compensation

In the context of insurance

In the context of insurance, remuneration or compensation means
been paid out when the act you are insured for happens.

It is often hard to see insurance as a service, but that is
exactly what it is.

And you need to confirm beforehand how your insurance company
will be remunerating you.

Often you can assume that because you are insured for $xx.xx
that you will receive that amount. But that is not always the
case. The insurance company might offer a monthly remuneration,
or to remunerate only when a certain event occurs.

Insurance remuneration

In some cases the remuneration might not as you expect it. Some
examples would be:

*Auto Insurance, (Accident). The insurance company will only
remunerate the ’scrap’ value of the vehicle.

*Auto Insurance, (Theft). The insurance company will only
remunerate you in 3 or 6 months in the hope of the car been
recovered.

*Auto Insurance. The insurance company will remunerate what ever
is cheaper, (and often less advantageous for you), repair of the
vehicle or scrap value or even book value.

*Recreation vehicle insurance. You might have to prove that you
used the vehicle within the manufacturer limits. Something that
is almost always impossible to achieve.

Remuneration vs Compensation

Remuneration is the payment for a service or to recompense for
losses. Insurance can be viewed as a service.

Compensation is the act of compensating, or the act of receiving
remuneration.

In the context of insurance both terms are interchangeable. You
either get compensated for your losses or the insurance company
offers you remuneration for your losses.

Conclusion

When it comes to insurance remuneration you need to make sure
that you have all the facts.

*How will the insurance pay you out?

*Are the expectations realistic, (what you need to prove)?

*Is the waiting time before remuneration too long?

Find out more about Insura
nce remuneration

Long term care insurance can be a complex and sensitive subject – one that
most people hope they will never have to take out. As the name suggests, it is the name given to the insurance that provides coverage for the care given to a person when they need permanent and continuous care.

Long term care has been described as the biggest challenge that an elderly
person could have - and an estimated 70% of people aged 65 or over will need
long term home care at some point in their lives.

This care is usually provided by a family member or close relative – often a
spouse, a daughter or daughter in law. Around 70% of long term care is provided
in the home and can include medical care and help with everyday activities. Long
term care insurance offers coverage and benefits for services not covered by
regular insurance or by Medicare.

Not surprisingly, long term care doesn’t come cheap and paying for it can be a
challenge – studies show that the average cost for the insurance increases by
around 12% every year – the average cost of a year spent in a nursing home is
around $41,000.

Long term care insurance makes sense if you are young and have the necessary
time to prepay for adequate coverage – although most of us don’t think about it
when we are young. There are several different methods of paying for the
insurance, or for older people who don’t have the funds; there may be other
options, such as using money from assets. Medicare may help cover the costs for
those who have no other options.

Apart from being an unavoidable fact of life for most older people, long term
care should not necessarily be seen as something negative. For many people, it
offers a way to maintain some of their independence as well as peace of mind,
and ensures their later years won’t put a strain on family relationships.

Protect Your Laptop

Laptop cases are an important computer accessory you should make sure you acquire. When you purchase a laptop, sometimes the case is included for a low price or even for free. However, these laptop cases may not be the best way to protect your computer. Search online, read reviews, or ask around for recommended laptop cases, so you can choose the perfect one to fit all of your needs.

What Should You Look For?

The basic factors that anyone should look for when shopping for laptop cases are features, protection, and price.

Features

The features that distinguish cases from one another include: size, color, extra storage, construction material, etc. The case that may come standard with your laptop is usually just big enough to hold the laptop, but not big enough to hold any extra folders, disks, DVDs, or other items that you may need. When looking at laptop cases, you should also consider the weight and comfort of the case. If your laptop is lightweight (under 4 pounds) you may not need to worry about choosing from laptop cases that weigh 2 or 3 pounds. But, if your laptop is over eight pounds, those extra 2 or 3 pounds may be the weight that makes it too heavy to lug everywhere. Laptop cases are available that are made of lightweight and comfortable materials with well-designed carrying straps that do not slide, pinch, or dig into your shoulder. Go into different stores to try out different laptop cases prior to buying one. If you buy online, make sure there is a good return policy.

Protection

Protection is important when choosing a new case for your laptop. Laptop cases are made with soft, waterproof outsides and with hard, inner core to withstand dropping, kicking, spills, etc. Laptop cases are tested for durability. So assess your protection needs (traveling, a lot of maneuvering, etc.), and choose a case that will protect your investment.

Price

Prices will vary according to the above features, protection, and the manufacturer of the different cases. Make sure you know your budgetary limitations before purchasing, but what you spend will certainly be worth it.

By Margarette Tustle. Learn more about laptops from dnalaptop.com.

Aren’t all travel insurance plans basically the same?

No. When you read travel insurance policy language, remember that as with any legal document, the definition of the terms is what governs the working of the policy (including payment of the claim).
I create hypothetical travel scenarios for training purposes. This includes contacting our travel insurance suppliers’ claims departments to see how they handle a given scenario.

A common concern of travelers are Pre-Existing Medical Conditions. In some cases, you can cancel, interrupt your trip or receive medical treatment if you (or a non-traveling family member) has a pre-existing condition. It has to do with the policy’s wording.

All travel insurance excludes claims due to pre-existing medical conditions. Some travel insurance plans will waive the pre-existing condition exclusion if you get your travel insurance in the first 10, 14 or 21 days after your first trip payment date (ie - before the end of these 10, 14 or 21 days).

Any payment on your trip is considered the first payment. This includes the tax you pay when you redeem frequent flyer tickets, refundable deposits or even a trip planning consultation fee if that fee is later credited toward your trip costs.

You’ll protect yourself if you have to cancel or interrupt your trip because of that pre-existing medical condition. There are three primary rules to keep in mind:

• You have to insure your trip’s full prepaid, non-refundable cost and
• The person with the medical condition has to be medically stable when you get your insurance and
• You must get your travel insurance in the first 10, 14 or 21 days after your first trip payment date.

You can cancel or interrupt your trip or receive medical treatment even if you have a pre-existing condition - if you follow these rules.

This seems simple enough, doesn’t it?

Yes. Except there are companies that interpret this wording slightly different from what you expect. Be on the lookout for a clause in policies that states, “General exclusions include any expected or foreseeable events”.

What this means to you is this: If you buy a travel insurance policy that includes the words “General exclusions include any expected or foreseeable events”, here’s what you need to do:

1. Ask if buying the policy in the Waiver Period really does waive this general exclusionand
2. Are there other conditions (ie - medically stable or covering the full trip cost) that have to be satisfied

No Surprises
If you are told, “No, that wouldn’t be covered because it’s not unforeseen”, I strongly suggest you steer clear of those companies - you don’t want an unexpected surprise.

We do not offer policies from companies that play this semantics game. Like you, I want to be sure a travel insurance plan will work just like I expected it to.

Steven Dasseos is the founder and CEO of TripInsuranceStore.com. You can compare reputable travel insurance plans at this website. Contact Steve Dasseos here.

No one likes to think about the consequences of death and its affects on those that we leave behind. It is however an indisputable fact that sooner or later we will all shuffle off our mortal coils, often without warning. When that time comes a life insurance policy will ensure the financial security of our loved ones in their grief, and will ultimately give each of us the peace of mind that our mortgage is paid off and our families taken care of when we die.

Life insurance these days is in fact fairly cheap to maintain. Increased competition in the life insurance marketplace, coupled with its ease of purchase over the Internet has bought premiums down to record low levels. You can now obtain a life insurance policy that pays a lump sum of £100,000 upon your death for as little as £5 per month.

How Much Insurance Do I Need?

Those that do decide to take the plunge and sign up for a life insurance policy though often struggle to decide how much insurance they should take out. As life premiums go up in line with increases in the sum insured, the ultimate insurance amount is often dictated by how much the person taking out the life insurance can afford to pay each month.

Then there is the thought of the mortgage. If we are still owing money on the mortgage when we depart this world, many of us would not want to see our loved ones struggle to meet the mortgage repayments each month. The amount of insurance taken out therefore should at least cover the cost of our mortgage, or what is left on the mortgage as it would be if a reducing term life product is purchased.

Protect Your Mortgage

In fact, many mortgage lenders these days insist that life cover is taken out to protect the mortgage repayments in the event of the owner’s death. On joint mortgage applications, a joint life policy is strongly recommended by lenders, and in some instances mortgage lenders will include a basic life policy in with their mortgage products that reduces in line with the outstanding amount to pay. However, life cover issued direct by mortgage lenders may not always be the cheapest insurance policy available. It therefore pays to shop around for life cover on the Internet as you may be able to save £15 or £20 on your insurance premiums each month.

Deciding on the amount of insurance coverage

So, how is it best to decide on the amount of insurance coverage? It varies for each family / individual, but in general you should take out a life policy not only to cover the cost of your mortgage but also to provide your family and dependants with a lump sum after you’ve gone. What lump sum you decide upon will depend on many factors, but it should at least cover the cost of your monthly household expenses minus the mortgage payments.

This article was brought to you by Insurance Shop.com providing life insurance policies from leading insurers at leading prices

The life insurance industry is becoming tougher on smokers and those of us who are overweight.

When an insurance company calculates its premiums, it has to work out the risk of you dying whilst the policy is in force. (Or with Critical Illness Insurance, the risk that you will become critically or seriously ill during the policy’s term.) In this context, smoking and obesity have become increasingly important issues.

The life insurance industry pointedly ignores the views of some Pro Smoking Pressure Groups which argue that smokers under the age of 40 have around the same probability of dieing as non smokers. David Pickett, Life Insurance Manager at Sainsbury’s spoke for the insurance industry when he confirmed “Health risks associated with smoking can have a big effect on life cover costs. It is vital for those who have kicked the habit to review their policies”.

Just how big an effect smoking has on life insurance costs was highlighted in a recent snapshot study by www.express-life-insurance.co.uk. This found that the average smoker paid 56% more than a non-smoker. The study was based on nine of the UK’s top insurance companies and examined the premiums quoted for two men aged 30 asking for £100,000 cover over 25 years. The only difference between the application details was that one was a smoker and the other wasn’t.

The life insurance industry has also recently tightened its belt on the overweight members of society. Previously, only people with a Body Mass Index of 33 or more were considered as overweight. This level has now been reduced by 16%. Now anyone with a BMI of 28 or more is likely to face premiums loaded by 50%. If you’re anxious to know whether that includes you, you’ll need a calculator! BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilos by your height in meters and the result squared.

So if you’re intending to apply for life insurance is may be as well to loose a few pounds first – oops kilos - and they’re much harder to lose than pounds!

It’s not quite so straightforward for smokers. To qualify as a non-smoker, most insurance companies insist that you must not have “smoked or otherwise consumed any form of nicotine products during the previous 12 months.” Indeed, some companies go further and extend the qualifying period to 5 years!

Because premiums for smokers and chubbies are so high, it becomes even more important to seek out the cheapest possible prices. As you’re an internet surfer, the odds are you’ll land a good discount. Just search for cheap life insurance and let your fingers do the walking!! You’ll still pay more but the discount will soften the impact on the wallet. Expect online savings of 10% - 15%.

Michael is an exclusive financial writer who writes articles primarily about UK family finance. One of the websites he writes for is Life Insurance Quotes Online. More Life Insurance Resources