TN Life Insurance-Term And Permanent Life Insurance

To better understand life insurance, consider your Financial Worth to your family . . . No other vehicle can create an instant estate like life insurance.

Try this . . . take your annual salary and divide that number into the dollar amount of life insurance you own (don't include group life insurance, because you don't own it).

The result will tell you exactly how many years of income you would leave your family in the event of your premature death. (Keep in mind, we are not considering any pay raises.)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Should I buy "term" or "permanent" insurance ?

This is an age old question and it is not as simple to answer as some of the "financial gurus" would have you believe.

Your own personal life insurance program should be designed for you and your family or business. There is no concrete, all the time, answer to this question. What do you want your insurance program to do and how long do you want to keep it ?

You may need term life insurance, you may need permanent life insurance, or you may need a combination of both. Be careful. You really need the advice of a professional insurance agent. The concept of "buying term and invest the difference" is a good theory, but in my 23 years in the insurance industry, I have not interviewed a single person who has accumulated $100,000 cash, to replace a $100,000 life insurance policy.

Q. Should I buy life insurance over the internet ?

There are, of course, many places where you can do that, but who would your husband, wife or business partner call to discuss changes to the policy or to file a claim ? We think life insurance should be more personal and, after all, there are agents all around you to answer your questions and service your policy. The servicing aspect is free of charge, so why not take advantage of it ?

Q. I'm single, why do I need life insurance ?

The most obvious answer is to pay your final expenses. You see, when most people think of "final expenses", they think of a funeral service. That can be a very costly mistake. From a personal standpoint, I had a 16 year old nephew, who was involved in an accident. He stayed on life support in a critical care unit for over two weeks before he died. His family was left with a hospital bill exceeding $ 80,000. Final expenses may involve medical bills; transportation costs; family lodging; attorney's fees; court costs; unpaid bills; a mortgage; a business interest; as well as, the actual funeral service. Also, many single people have elderly parents who they care for. Proceeds from a life insurance policy would insure that their care continued.

An important question here is - Do you expect to stay "single" for the rest of your life ? You will never be any younger than you are right now and if you are in good health, you should purchase as much life insurance as you can work into your budget.

Q. How much life insurance should I buy ?

Budget, of course, is a concern. There is absolutely no benefit to taking on a large insurance premium that you can't keep paying over an extended period of time. The purpose of life insurance is to provide "cash" when it is needed the most. We want our husbands or wives to maintain the same standard of living; we want our kids to go to college, just like we planned. We want there to be a steady stream of monthly income to provide food, clothing, and all the other things we provide on a daily basis. The only way to provide the right answer is to complete an analysis of the "need". A professional insurance agent can help you accomplish this and, once it's done, it needs to be reviewed on an annual basis.