The most common question asked of me about life insurance over the past 30 years is “what is the best type of life insurance?” The simple answer is “the one that best meets your goals and objectives.” In other words, there is no such thing as the best life insurance policy. Is there a best mobile phone, best computer or best automobile? The same goes for life insurance.
There is, however, a “best policy for each individual owner of life insurance” and that is easily determined with the help of an experienced professional. And, here is an important newsflash – the policy you own today may not be the best policy for you in the future. Your goals and objectives may have changed, your family or business needs may be different and today’s products are certainly better.
How do you determine which policy is best for you? Unless you cut your own hair, I strongly advise against buying life insurance without the help of an experienced professional. Working together, a life insurance professional and you should be able to determine what policy best meets your current goals and objectives. Every owner of life insurance should review their coverage on a regular basis, at least every 2-3 years.
With the proper help and guidance, life insurance is not hard to understand. At its most basic level, a life insurance policy provides a death benefit. From there, it can be used for many things, such as a savings vehicle, an asset protection tool, a long term care solution or to fund a business succession plan.
The main purpose of this column is to raise awareness about important products, trends and information that would otherwise be difficult to come across.
“Equity Term”
For many life insurance buyers, term insurance fails when it is needed most and permanent insurance is too expensive. One of the biggest flaws of term insurance is that most policies do not guarantee that you can convert the policy any time, for any reason, without evidence of insurability. What I refer to as “Equity Term” is a hybrid, or a combination that offers the best of both products. Built on a permanent policy foundation, a hybrid offers:
- Rates that are similar to term insurance.
- NO CONVERSION NECESSARY. Coverage inforce as long as needed.
- Cash value growth, especially in the early years.
- Flexibility to change design as needs change over time.
- No surrender charges.
- Potential secondary market value.
The ability to extend coverage without proving new evidence of insurability is critically important for most life insurance buyers and “Equity Term” policies do just that.
All life insurance is NOT created equal. If you are considering buying something that requires a license for it to be sold, a good rule of thumb is to buy it from a licensed professional. There is no financial downside when utilizing the help of a professional. Unless you are buying from a life insurance company that sells direct (most life insurance buyers are unaware of these companies), there is no advantage of “going it alone.” Online web sites that sell insurance ARE NOT life insurance companies selling direct. They are insurance agencies that receive compensation from insurance carriers, regardless of the level of help you use.
Visit www.TedBernstein.com or www.LifeInsuranceConcepts.com for information and help making sure you own the best policy for you.
BIO
Ted Bernstein is a third-generation licensed life insurance specialist and nationally recognized industry innovation expert in alternative distribution strategies and life insurance product development with decades of speaking out and advocating for changes on behalf of consumers. A member of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, he was the first to introduce life insurance without commissions or “no-load” life insurance in the mid-1980s and launch the first fee-based Life Insurance Policy Audit and Review service for trust companies and life insurance fiduciaries. His newly introduced innovation, the Installment Life Option, is game-changing. To learn more, visit www.lifeinsuranceconcepts.com or call 561-988-8984.