subject: Life Insurance – Dead Or Alive [print this page] Life Insurance Dead Or Alive
However much most people are against taking up any form of life insurance, it unfortunately is a reality in life whereby you can't dictate the future. Bad things can happen to good people. Hence, good people have the responsibility to ensure the necessary support systems are in place. It's akin to Aesop's fable of the grasshopper and the ant whereby one who doesn't prepare for hard times deserves life's damaging blow. Since a happy ending is warranted, the grasshopper is helped by the ant and doesn't suffer as he justifiably should. Such are the foibles of life.
Life insurance is basically a formal agreement between two parties, namely the policy owner and the insurer. A payment schedule is derived based on the policy owner's requirements and affordability. He then makes periodic payments to the insurer based on the schedule. In the occurrence of insured events within the policy's coverage such as owner's death, illness or hurt, the insurer agrees to pay a specific sum of money to the owner or named beneficiary.
Life insurance policies take on many names and forms but they normally revolve around two main categories. The first is somewhat a temporary insurance whereby the owner is insured for a specific duration in exchange for an agreed premium. If a certain event occurs before maturity of policy, a benefit in the form of a lump sum payment is made to the owner or beneficiary. When the policy matures and you are still fine and dandy, there is no payment made. In other words, this type of policy only insures your life.
The other type of policy lasts your whole lifetime and builds value to lessen the risk for the insurer as the owner gets on with age. The owner is able to cash in his policy and receive a lump sum payment, or borrow upon its value. These policies tend to get very costly if taken at a later age in life.
Another insurmountable question is whether suicide is covered by the policy. Insurers will not honor the policy if suicide occurs on a newly signed policy. For aged policies, court decisions have sometimes decided against insurers and ordered payouts be made to beneficiaries unless they can show reasonable doubt on cause of death.
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