Protect Those Who Matter Most

If the worst happens, you can still protect your beneficiaries – a spouse, child, family member, charity, or business associate – with tax-free money to:

• Replace your lost income

• Fund your child's education

• Pay off household debt

• Pay for your funeral and other related expenses

Types of Life Insurance

The two major types of life insurance are term and permanent. Permanent life insurance includes several subcategories, such as traditional whole life and universal life.

Advantages of Permanent Life Insurance

Whole life or permanent insurance pays a death benefit whenever you die —even if you live to 100! Both the death benefit and the premium are designed to stay the same (level) throughout the life of the policy.

Initially, it is more expensive than term insurance but more cost effective in the long run. This is similar to owning a home (permanent) compared to renting one (term).

There are a wide variety of options to choose from. If the policy is structured properly, the cash value component, which can be put to good use during your lifetime, may provide the following benefits:

• Tax-deferred growth

• Tax-free distributions

• A competitive rate of return

• You can contribute large amounts of money. The caps are more generous than traditional investment vehicles like 401(k)s, IRA and 403(b)

• You can use the cash as collateral to get loans from institutions

• It is considered a safe investment

• There are no-loss provisions

• If you borrow from the policy, you can pay it back with unstructured loan payments

• Your money is liquid

Advantages of Term Insurance

Term insurance is the simplest form of life insurance. It pays only if death occurs during the term of the policy, which is usually from one to thirty years. Term benefits include:

• Low cost

• Offers a death benefit for a specific period of time

• Can be converted to a permanent policy at any time

Life Insurance Facts: Know the Realities

• Four in 10 adult Americans have no life insurance at all.

• Insured Americans, on average, have only about three-and-a-half times their annual income in life insurance coverage. Many insurance experts believe that people's true need for coverage is 10 times their gross annual income, and sometimes more.

• Only 35 percent of adult Americans have individual life insurance. Many rely on insurance provided by their employers, leaving many employees without coverage if they were to lose their job or change jobs.

• Each year, a significant number of Americans (600,000) die prematurely. In fact, the chances a 25-year-old male will die before reaching the retirement age of 65 is nearly 1 in 5; for a female, the odds are 1 in 9.

• When a premature death occurs, insufficient life insurance coverage on the part of the insured results in 75 percent of surviving family members having to take measures to meet financial obligations, such as work additional jobs or longer hours, borrow money, withdraw money from savings and investment accounts, and, in too many cases, move to smaller, less expensive housing.