Different Types of Life Insurance Policies
Life insurance is one of the most important policies that you should take so that you are able to leave behind enough financial security to your family, in case of your unfortunate death. If you are married or have dependents who look up to you financially, it is a must to take life insurance policy. There are three main types of insurance policies that you need to know:
Term Insurance: Term insurance is the most common and basic life insurance policy. You get a sum assured amount on your death, which is handed out to the person you nominated for in the insurance agreement. So here, you have to determine how much the life cover should be, the policy tenure etc. The premium money that you pay for this kind of insurance is the lowest among all life insurance products. However you do not get back any money if you survive the term of the policy.
Whole life policy: Whole life insurance policy is supposed to insure you for the entire life. So, it is an investment as well as life cover. So when you pay your monthly premiums, a part of it goes towards savings and builds up as cash value while the other goes toward protecting your life. You can borrow money against this cash value which builds over a period of time. Whole life policies mature after an individual turns 100 years old. At that time, the insurer will pay you the face value (or the amount the insured has built over a period of time). If the policy holder dies before this period, he can get the sum assured as well as the returns over investment.
Endowment policy: Endowment policies are aimed for a particular period. The maturity period can be in sync with your goals like your child's marriage, overseas trip, retirement planning, college education etc. While term insurance is for a particular period of time like 10 year or 20 years, or so on, the whole life policy covers you for your entire lifetime; you are covered, no matter when death comes. Endowment policies are like term insurance when it comes to policy tenure (10 years, 20 years etc) but you get back returns over your investment if you survive the policy term. Endowment insurance policies have high premiums among all these three common forms of life insurance.
Decreasing term insurance: There is a fourth type of life insurance policy, linked to term insurance, also known as 'decreasing term insurance' associated with mortgage. This is beneficial if you are taking mortgage and you have money outstanding. You should take this insurance when you take mortgage. The amount is insured for the entire mortgage term. When you pay off the mortgage amount, the money remaining on the insurance policy decreases till there are no more obligations. In case, you die during the term of the policy, the money towards insurance is paid by the insurance company.