Agent Owner, Gilmore Insurance Services, Marysville, Washington State
Is term life the best? I guess I would ask for what? Temporary or limited time coverage? yes, absolutely. A lifetime? Unless you plan on dying early, term is not the best product. Term is priced to account for short term needs. Long term, since the cost maximums are set so high, your costs could basically to a dollar premium charged for a dollar insurance benefit provided. The question becomes will the term be in force when you need it? That is actually the best insurance, the one you have paid your premium on that is in force when you die.
Insurance Adviser - Broker, SC Insurance Services, Oahu, Hawaii
Term Life has it's place, but overall for most people I would advise against it. Term insurance expires at the end of it's "term" - hence the name Term. Every year older we get, everything else being the same, the cost of insurance goes higher. So if you buy a 20 year term policy at age 30, and you don't implement a whole or permanent life policy during that time, at the end of the term you will have no more insurance and the cost to buy a new policy may then be prohibitive. Also Term insurance has no cash value, so the only benefit connected with Term insurance is to your beneficiary if you die before the term is expired. Is it the "best"? I would say definitely No.
Term life insurance has an important role in the financial portfolio of most people, and that is because of its relatively low cost. Even people who live below the poverty line can protect their families and dignity by purchasing Term life insurance.
Is it the answer for seniors looking for funeral coverage? Absolutely not. Is it the answer for people who want to build up cash value so they can borrow from it? No, because Term insurance does not have cash value.
But Term insurance can be the answer for those who need large amounts of coverage for a set period of time, such as young parents or new home owners. It is important to buy Term insurance that is "convertible", i.e., can be converted to permanent insurance at will, without evidence of insurability. That way, if you get 3/4 of the way into the term and realize you'd like it to last forever, you can change it to Permanent at the same health rating as when you got your Term policy, regardless of your health at the time of conversion.
Thankfully, there are different types of life insurance policies out there, so most people can have a choice and don't have to rely on "one size fits all.". Term is not always the best choice, but if you have trouble making ends meet, at least it's something. Kudos to you if you recognize the value of having life insurance and sacrifice to protect your loved ones by buying Term life insurance.
Manager, Marindependent Insurance Services LLC, California
For most Americans Term is the best choice out there.
Unless you have a need for life insurance for your entire life or love overpaying for insurance.
There are a couple of situations where whole life can beat term, but they are rare. A couple of the best uses of whole life are:
To Fund a Special Needs Trust
Possibly for Business Life Insurance
For the Really Really Wealthy
As part of a lawyer and accountant created Trust, again for the Really Wealthy
In the instance when you can not qualify for term life insurance. You may have to get a form of life insurance that is whole life.
For most others, buy Term an Invest the rest in Tax Free and Tax Differed investments.
.JPG){kind=avatar}
Is it the answer for seniors looking for funeral coverage? Absolutely not. Is it the answer for people who want to build up cash value so they can borrow from it? No, because Term insurance does not have cash value.
But Term insurance can be the answer for those who need large amounts of coverage for a set period of time, such as young parents or new home owners. It is important to buy Term insurance that is "convertible", i.e., can be converted to permanent insurance at will, without evidence of insurability. That way, if you get 3/4 of the way into the term and realize you'd like it to last forever, you can change it to Permanent at the same health rating as when you got your Term policy, regardless of your health at the time of conversion.
Thankfully, there are different types of life insurance policies out there, so most people can have a choice and don't have to rely on "one size fits all.". Term is not always the best choice, but if you have trouble making ends meet, at least it's something. Kudos to you if you recognize the value of having life insurance and sacrifice to protect your loved ones by buying Term life insurance.
Unless you have a need for life insurance for your entire life or love overpaying for insurance.
There are a couple of situations where whole life can beat term, but they are rare. A couple of the best uses of whole life are:
To Fund a Special Needs Trust
Possibly for Business Life Insurance
For the Really Really Wealthy
As part of a lawyer and accountant created Trust, again for the Really Wealthy
In the instance when you can not qualify for term life insurance. You may have to get a form of life insurance that is whole life.
For most others, buy Term an Invest the rest in Tax Free and Tax Differed investments.