Term Life vs. Permanent Life Insurance

There is much debate on which life insurance policy is better – term life or permanent life? I’m here to give you a simple side-by-side comparison. As always, please do research into both on your own and contact a professional life insurance agent.

Term life insurance is lower cost than other life insurance policies which makes it very attractive especially in today’s economic uncertainty. Term Life is obtained for a specific amount of time such as 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years, whereas Permanent Life Insurance is for the life of the insured. Therefore, the cost for Permanent life insurance premiums is significantly higher which might price some people out of being able to afford it. The nice thing about Permanent is that you do not run the risk of in 15 to 20 years (or whatever term length you have chosen) having an issue getting a new policy due to age and/or health issues.

Quick Side-by-Side Comparison:
Term Life Insurance	Permanent (Whole) Life Insurance
Low Cost	Significantly Higher Cost
Fixed Coverage Period	For the Life of the Insured
No Interest	Interest Accrues
No Cash Value	Cash Value

As always which you choose is best determined by you and a professional agent. There are many online quoting sites where you can obtain free quotes within minutes. Our company, America Direct, deals in Term Life. Get your free term life insurance quote here.

For permanent (whole) insurance I have found the following sites that offer more information and free quotes.

Spectrum – http://www.spectruminsurancegroup.com/whole-life-insurance.php*

CompuQuotes – http://www.compuquotes.com/index-wholelife.jsp*

*By providing this information, America Direct is in no way affiliated with or endorses these companies.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

Are term life insurance policies worth the money?

This question was posed by AMomBlog on Twitter today and I wanted to touch base on the subject.  I do believe that term life insurance policies are worth the money (depending on your individual situation) and this is why:

1. Term life insurance is the most affordable life insurance policy out there.
2. With tough economic times term life is probably the easiest and most affordable policy you can get to protect your family.
3. Term life is very easy to obtain. There are many websites including our own, America Direct, that have an easy online quote form.  You simply fill it out and hit submit and within seconds you are brought to a page that allows you to look through different carrier offerings along with pricing for comparison. Once you’ve looked through those a knowledgeable agent will give you a call within 24 hours of submitting to help you complete the process of actually obtaining the policy.
4. In some cases you may be able to obtain a policy in 24 to 48 hours with our Rapid Approval policy or our Hybrid Life offering.

It all comes down to what exactly you want to utilize the policy for.  Some questions to ask yourself before obtaining a policy could be:

1. Do I have children that will need this money in case something happens to me?
2. Do I have a spouse that will need this money?
3. Do I have a mortgage & bills that need to be taken care of?
4. Does my family have enough to cover my final expenses?

If you don’t have family (spouse/children) that rely on you for their livelihood and income then you may not need a life insurance policy. To learn more check out our website, do some research and speak with a knowledgeable agent.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

Lifestyle and Life Insurance

Did you know that your particular lifestyle choices can impact your ability to obtain life insurance?

In fact many choices that you make on a daily basis can affect your ability to obtain life insurance or raise your rates significantly.  The following is not an entire list, but just some of the things that could cause you problems.

• If you have any driving offenses such as obsessive amounts of speeding tickets or a DUI severely limits your options. 
• If you’ve ever been arrested, have a record or are currently in jail.
• If you participate in a dangerous type of hobby such as skydiving, cliff jumping, bungee jumping, scuba diving, rock climbing, motor vehicle racing, private piloting, rodeo, etc.
• If you have a hazardous occupation such as oil drilling, crab fisherman, ice road truckers, race car drivers, high rise window washers, armed forces, etc.
• Things such as alcohol consumption, tobacco use or illegal drug use.

Not all of the above will necessarily negate you from obtaining a policy, but it could raise your rates.  If any one or more of the above things relate to you contact a knowledgeable life insurance agent to see what, if any, impact that will have on obtaining life insurance coverage.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

Term Life Goes Hybrid!

Are you working on any issues such as high cholesterol or losing a few extra pounds?  Do you simply just not have the time to take a medical exam? Our Hybrid Life product offered through Fidelity Life may just be the perfect answer for you.

If you’re looking to obtain affordable term life insurance coverage but have a few health issues to work on you will absolutely love this product.  Hybrid Life is a blend of all cause (level term) and Accidental Death Benefit.

Our Hybrid Life product offers a high face amount of coverage almost immediately – most policies are approved within 24 to 48 hours.  You have the ability to defer a medical exam for up to 6 months!  During which time you will have coverage unlike traditional carriers where you have to wait up to 3 months. Perfect for those who need that extra time to bring cholesterol levels down or drop those extra pounds.  You also have the choice to not undergo medical underwriting, in which case you would still be able to keep your blended policy in force.

If you choose to take an exam, the policy’s mix of coverage (all cause vs. Accidental Death Benefit) will be adjusted.  Best part is that if the underwriting is unfavorable (ex: decline) the initial mix of coverage and payment amounts will not be affected.

An example of how this works is: A male age 35 (non-smoker) seeking $750,000 20 year term policy – initial hybrid split is $209,816 all cause and $459,184 Accidental Death Benefit.  Once an exam is taken the amounts can differ in terms of the all cause going up and the Accidental Death Benefit decreasing.

This is the ONLY term life product of its kind out there and we at America Direct are pleased to offer it to you. This product is also annually renewable until age 95!

Currently there is no online quoting due to the nature of the policy.  Stay tuned as we are diligently working on providing the ability to get quoted online.  In the meantime, for more information or to start the process, please call one of our friendly, knowledgeable agents today at 888.440.1554.  You can also email us at hybridlife@americadirect.com.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

Hybrid Life and Premiums on Term Life

I read an article earlier this month in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Insurers Raise the Premiums on Term Life” by M.P. McQueen. Read the full article here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124450333064895949.html

Basics of the article focus around the fact that term life insurance rates are rising and are expected to continue to rise throughout the year. So if you’ve been putting off getting life insurance now is the time to move forward in the purchasing process to try and obtain the best possible rate before the rates rise even more. Some companies have already raised their rates and others are slated to do so rather soon.

I’d like to specifically mention a particular piece of this article that potentially could have been avoided had the gentleman highlighted in the article had the information. This gentleman tried to avoid the price increase and quickly put in his application. Unfortunately, due to needing a medical exam that had been postponed his application didn’t arrive in time therefore increasing his annual premium by almost $100.

With one of our featured products – Fidelity Life Hybrid Life – the exam portion would have been a non-issue. Our Hybrid Life product offers a high face amount of coverage, approval within 24 to 48 hours, no exam necessary for up to 6 months or not at all depending on your choice. Initially it is a blended policy of Accidental Death Benefit in addition to regular all-cause coverage. If you choose to undergo a medical exam the amounts of blended coverage could change. If you choose not to undergo an exam you keep your blended policy and it will remain in force as set-up initially. With this type of product it helps those that may have issues to work on such as a bit higher cholesterol level or a few extra pounds to shed – this product gives you 6 full months to reduce things such as that and qualify for an even better rate.

Don’t miss out on this fantastic product. For more information check out our website at http://www.americadirect.com/

Stay tuned as I will be posting more information about this product in the coming weeks.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

Desperate times – do they really call for such desperate measures?

In today’s economic environment things have gotten so out of control that people are actually killing their entire family – in my opinion I think that shouldn’t even be an option. There are plenty of other ways of dealing with financial crisis. I believe that there is a better way. Speaking from personal experience I can honestly say that it can be downright difficult at times to see that light at the end of the tunnel. But it’s there waiting for you to do something about it, you just have to be willing to fight for it.

As a single mother of a young child I went through 10 months of unemployment and it was extremely hard to get through, but I tried to keep positive and figure out a way to get through it, not necessarily for me but for my son. The thought of killing him or myself never even entered my mind. All I kept thinking was what can I do to make sure that my son has a roof over his head and food in his mouth and guess what – after 10 months of struggling I managed to gain employment again and things are better.

I ask everyone out there in situations like this to think about your family – families are important and children are the foundation to our future world, why would you take something as precious as life and destroy it. I don’t mean to be harsh but reality right now is a nightmare for a lot of people and I understand that, but there are better ways to handle things than to take the life of your entire family and yourself.

I’m here to give some advice that I received when I was out of work and didn’t know where else to turn. The following are resources that need to be checked into before it gets to the point where you feel you’re simply going to lose it. These do help.

• Check with your local township – they generally have a food pantry and resources for you to receive clothing, toys for the kids, help with utilities so they don’t get shut off, expedited food stamps and mine actually gave out gift cards to one of the major grocery stores
• Check into resource centers in your area – these places can also help expedite food stamps, help with rent assistance (if needed), provide clothing, job placement, computer labs and some have their own food pantries that you can go to on a monthly basis
• Check into local churches – some have food pantries, shelters, clothing
• Call your local public aid office – food stamps, rental and cash assistance
• Call WIC (Woman, Infant, Children) – offer food assistance for babies and young children as well as pregnant women in need
• For health benefits for children you can check into All Kids and for adults generally there is something offered through your specific county

I wish I would’ve utilized these resources sooner as I took penalties and withdrew everything I had saved up in my retirement account and now have to start over. These resources are put in place for the sole purpose of helping people during hard times so USE them!

As hopeless as all of this may seem if you wind up in this situation you can bet that someone out there has it even worse (yes, worse) off than you so don’t give up and take the easy way out – your family will thank you one day. Things always have a tendency to work out if you just give them a chance.

For those of you reading this that are doing okay it would be great to help out your community by donating anything you can. You never know, your friends, relatives, neighbors may actually be going to those places. Hopefully it never happens to you, but you may need their help someday.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

Accidents happen – Are you prepared?

An accident by definition is an unexpected event that occurs without deliberate cause but has marked effects.

I was driving down to my parents this past weekend and going northbound all lanes were closed off.  There were at least a half dozen people congregated in the middle of the expressway attending to someone in the road.  It got me thinking about the many times that I’ve either been involved in an accident or come extremely close…it’s a scary thought and one that most people don’t often think about.

One would hope to never be involved in an accident, however I’m thinking that most of us have already been in one or several – thankfully if you’re reading this they weren’t fatal.  No one wants to think about being in an accident that would cause loss of life, but it happens daily, just look at the news reports out there.  It’s heartbreaking to think about I know.  This brings me to the question of – Are you prepared?  Better yet – Is your family prepared?  In the event that you are involved in a fatal accident is your family financially capable of sustaining themselves without you?  The reason I bring it up is because accidents do happen, most aren’t fatal but some are and typically for a healthy individual accidents are generally what cause the majority of pre-mature deaths – whether it be in a car or otherwise.  Make sure that your family is protected with life insurance.  Life insurance is so important and as they say it’s not for the living, it’s for those that survive.  All of us have family out there that most likely relies on us for at least a portion of their livelihood.

Do your loved ones a favor and protect them now before it’s too late.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

What is an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)?

I would like to start by saying that I am not an attorney therefore please do not take this as legal advice.  With things of this nature it is always wise to do thorough research on your own and contact an attorney to help with the set-up.

By definition an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) is something you can obtain that will allow your beneficiaries to escape the estate taxes in the event you pass away.  Typically a trust is set up for the benefit of the spouse and/or children.

There are advantages and disadvantages to setting up a Life Insurance Trust. 

One benefit of setting up a life insurance trust is that you can specify how the proceeds are spent.  In my case I have a $250,000 policy with my son as beneficiary (he’s 4 currently) and I want to make sure that the money within my policy will last him at least until he turns 18.  Therefore with a life insurance trust I can specify a certain amount of money each year be given for purposes such as education, health care, extra-curriculars, clothing and general living expenses.  Without a trust there would be a lump sum that could potentially be run through rather quickly.

A disadvantage with an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust is there is no owner which means that once a policy is placed within the trust you will not have the power to change or cancel the life insurance policy that has been placed within it.  Also, if you already have an existing policy and choose to now place it within a trust there is a 3 year period that needs to be taken into account.  By a 3 year period I mean that if the insured dies within the first 3 years after the policy is transferred into the trust it can be included within estate taxes.  If you don’t currently hold a policy and you set up a trust there is no transfer so there wouldn’t be a 3 year period to be concerned about.  Another issue with a trust is that because you cannot make changes to it once it’s in place you are unable to add additional beneficiaries if they come about in the future.  As an example:  I have my only son listed as beneficiary, if I were to put my policy in a trust and had more children I would be unable to add them to it.

As I mentioned earlier I am not an attorney, the information above is what I’ve found by doing my own online research and is only intended for informational purposes.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

Life Insurance for Your Child

This is a highly debatable topic and I’m here to give you some thoughts on whether or not to pursue purchasing life insurance for your child/children.  As a parent we all know that it’s important to have life insurance on us in case of our untimely passing, but what about our child/children.

Obviously as a child there really isn’t going to be a loss of income and I get that.  But something that most parents don’t ever want to think about is the passing of their child.  As a parent myself it is an extremely unpleasant thought to say the least and hopefully none of us will ever have to go through that. 

Here are a couple of reasons to consider purchasing life insurance for your child/children. Life insurance for your child can cover the final expenses in the event that they do pass away unexpectedly (and we all hope that doesn’t happen), not to mention income to cover other things such as counseling services and additional time off of work.  The other reason to obtain life insurance for your child/children would be that more than likely they are healthy and young with no medical issues so purchasing life insurance for your child now can help them in the future.  If they are diagnosed with diabetes, high blood pressure, a life-threatening illness or joining the military (which many young men and women are now doing) it could prevent them or make it difficult to obtain insurance.  Once a policy is in place it will not go away unless the premiums aren’t paid.

Each family is different so this is something that needs to be thoroughly researched and discussed.  If you do decide to pursue a policy there are many places on the internet that can help you with a quote and a policy. It’s never too early to start planning for the financial future.

Author: Christine Wandt, Internet Marketing Specialist

Father of Four

As a father of four children, it surprises me that even at older ages kids still need their father (even though they would not admit to it). Helping with homework, cooking meals, providing emotional support, coaching athletics, and of course providing financial support are all things I can look back on and feel good about.

As I look back over the years, it’s amazing how fast it goes. One moment you are holding a baby, and the next one you’re worried about paying for college. One of the decisions I’ve made that I am most proud of was the one to purchase life insurance. Sure it was tough, and we have gone through some difficult years economically (this being one of those years), but I feel glad that I had made the decision to ensure the future of my kids, even if I was not to be there.

America Direct is a company that represents the best insurance companies out there, including Fidelity Life Association. I’m proud of my association with this company, and feel especially good about the things we have done for so many families. Families like mine.

Author: Michael Goodyear, EVP Sales & Marketing