If you’ve been watching or reading about the global stock markets sliding yesterday and continuing today, you’re probably worried. And rightly so. No one wants to return to the financial chaos that plagued us just a few short years ago.
According to The New York Times this morning, “Investors continued to pull funds away from stocks—including in emerging markets despite their solidly growing economies—and shifted instead into the perceived safety of assets like U.S. Treasury bonds, German bunds and precious metals.”
That sentence can be summed up in just one word: safety. People are looking for a safe place to put their money where it can still grow. And in a climate like this, there is very little safety. There is an exception, however. Owners of whole life insurance have seen their cash values rise when the value of many of their other financial assets have slipped, and this will continue to be the case.
Plus, the cash values in these policies, which accumulate on a tax-deferred basis, can be used in the future for any purpose you wish. You can borrow cash value for a down payment on a home, to help pay for your children’s education or to provide income for your retirement.
In addition, the life insurance policy continues to do exactly what it was designed to—serve as the foundation of a family’s financial security. The death benefit will remain the same through the ups and downs of the economy. Now that’s something to count on.
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 | Shelley Fiore | |
So you’ve decided to buy life insurance to protect your family or business?
Good move.
But there’s more to the purchase than just signing on the dotted line.
You need to pay close attention to the policy add-ons that insurers offer. In the industry, these add-ons are known as riders. Like a warranty or guarantee for other consumer purchases, riders can give policyholders additional benefits and increase peace of mind—If something goes wrong, there’s a plan B.
And while they may vary in price, they are, at the very least, prudent to consider.
(more…)
Not so much, according to
a survey from Guardian Life. The survey showed that consumers under 40 are opting for whole life insurance over other types of policies due to their desire to be financially secure.
The survey showed that 35 percent of the respondents under 40 also preferred to pay their premiums as fast as possible versus the traditional lifetime payment schedule. The No. 1 motivating factor (72 percent for those under 40) for the purchase of whole life was the desire to protect their families. The No. 2 reason for all age groups was whole life’s guaranteed cash value.
Those under 40 also said they had considered mutual funds, CDs, stocks and other life products before opting for the whole life, with 54 percent seeing whole life as a reliable retirement income supplement.
Perhaps now is the right time for you to review your insurance and financial portfolio to include
whole life insurance as one of your choices for safety, security and guarantees.
Do you recall that great classic song by the Fifth Dimension, Up, Up and Away?
Well, not many folks are singing about how good things are on the economic front. Fear of rising taxes, a continued recession, lingering unemployment and low or anemic economic growth have many people scratching their heads and wondering how best to position themselves financially.
A just released LIMRA report indicates that sales of permanent life insurance policies for the first three quarters of this year are up 15% over the same period last year. Why are people taking a renewed interest in permanent life insurance? I see several reasons:
1. People are looking for guarantees. What’s better than a 3% or 4% interest rate guarantee of your cash value? What other options offer this type of guarantee?
2. The tax advantages of life insurance include the tax-free buildup of cash values while the policy is in force and the tax-free nature of most death benefits.
3. You have guaranteed access to those cash values. If you need a loan, will your banker always be there? Your cash value will.
4. Consider the stable nature of the life insurance industry in an otherwise shaky financial world.
5. You gain peace of mind knowing your loved ones are protected and will be provided with the exact amount of financial help you have identified that they need, in the event of your premature death. What a legacy to leave!
Click here to find out more about permanent as well as term life insurance, and which may be right for you. I hope you’ll take time to find out about the unique and powerful nature of life insurance. It will help you feel like your financial health is up, up and away!
Have you heard of the Hindenburg Effect? If you have, you may be looking for a way to protect your investments from potential market downturns, because that’s what the Hindenburg Effect tries to forecast, severe market downturns. Add to this the fact that home sales are down, residential foreclosures are up, commercial property foreclosures may also be on the rise and the true unemployment rate is in excess of 10%. All of this may make you uneasy and cause you to run for shelter.
At the same time, the ownership of life insurance is at a 50-year low, according to LIMRA. Why? If people understood how permanent life insurance can protect their families while at the same time providing them with underlying cash-value guarantees, ownership of life insurance would be up, not down
People are looking for guarantees in today’s market, but very few exist. Permanent life insurance is one of the few financial instruments that offers safety, security, peace of mind and guarantees. As a bottom-line guarantee for your family and business, few things are better than today’s life insurance products.
