Many people need clarification regarding the various types of life insurance, and which is best for them.

Term Life Insurance:

Term life insurance is a bit like leasing a car. You pay cover for a predefined term, and are covered for that term. However, at the end of the term, whether for example its 15 years or 30 years the deal is done and you simply walk away.

Term life insurance only offers protection for the duration of the mortgage, and is normally of no value when your mortgage is paid off.

Term insurance is also cheap, and can even become cheaper over time. There are also a number of different types of term life insurance to choose from as follows:

* The first type is known as level term insurance, and it is a very popular policy. Here, the premium costs are locked in for the entire term of the policy. This means you pay the same amount every month/year for the term of the policy.

* The second type of term life cover is known as escalating term insurance. This type of scheme means that you pay an increasing amount each year, so the payout at death also increases. They are generally low cost policies, and are more suited to first time buyers and the young. However, they can become more expensive as you get older.

* The third type is known as decreasing term insurance. In this case your monthly payments will stay the same, although the amount of cover you receive will reduce each year.

* The forth type of term life insurance is what’s known as increasing term insurance. Here the lump sum payable at death increases each year. This increase in value of the policy is made up by increasing the premiums periodically over the years.

* Finally, convertible term insurance is a type of term life cover that can be converted into an investment/insurance policy in the future. Normally, the value of such investments will be based on your health, at the time you bought the term insurance policy.

Whole of Life Insurance:

A whole of life policy can be more complicated and more expensive than term life insurance. However, a whole of life insurance policy covers you up until the time of your death, providing that you keep paying your premiums!. The advantage of these types of policy is that your family could receive a considerable lump sum when you die.

This type of policy is more expensive and complicated than term life policies. The investment you make earns some interest each year. So, providing your investment grows, your annual premiums can actually reduce over time. Also, there may come a time when the interest produced can cover all your future premiums, and as a result you may have no more premiums to pay on your policy.

However, understand that it is possible that the final value of a whole of life insurance policy may not be the same as the amount of money invested in it over the years.

Summary:

Buying a term life policy, or whole of life insurance is an important decision and one that needs to be made carefully. Before you take the plunge, you need to examine your needs, and exactly what you wish to achieve.

The simplest form is a level term policy with a renewable option. This will allow you to get life insurance for as long as you may need it.

On the other hand, you might like to consider a policy that grows in value over time, giving you a very nice nest egg which you can benefit from, while you are still alive.

Both types have their advantages and disadvantages, and careful consideration and advice from a competent insurance adviser is vitally important.

Michael Pettigrew writes articles for insurance website Best Insurance Quotes, who provide quality cheap life insurance cover. Visit Best Insurance Quotes for great life insurance cover

categories: life insurance,insurance,finance,mortgage,investments,general

During the 1980s, mortgage interest rates in America topped 18%, prompting the introduction of the 40 year mortgage. The 40 year mortgage increased in popularity again in 2005, when Fannie Mae introduced a program to offer these extended-term mortgages. In 2007, approximately five percent of all mortgages are 30 year mortgages, with that figure reaching 25% in high-cost housing markets such as on the West Coast. With the 30 year mortgage becoming a more main-stream product, the 40 year mortgage has been introduced. While this type of mortgage further reduces the monthly cost of loan repayments, there are some definite disadvantages involved.

The Pros

The main advantage of choosing a 40 year mortgage is a fairly obvious one-the extended terms of the mortgage make monthly repayments lower, and it means that owning a home becomes more affordable. There’s not always a huge difference between the monthly repayment on a 30 year mortgage and on a 40 year mortgage, but those few dollars can mean the difference between affording your own home now and having to wait a few more years to save a larger down-payment.

One of the important things to note about the 40 year mortgage is that after the first five years, the interest rate is adjustable. That means after the fixed-rate period is over, your interest rate can increase and decrease along with current market rates. This is one of the aspects of the 40 year mortgage that keeps that initial interest rate so low. If you’re looking for a low-cost mortgage with a view to refinancing within five years, the 40 year mortgage can be a good way of approaching this.

Finally, the 40 year mortgage is typically a safer way of affording a home if you’re unable to afford a conventional 20 year fixed-rate mortgage. Options such as interest only loans or balloon mortgages offer initial lower payments, but these come with some very risky drawbacks. Unlike other low-initial-cost mortgage options such as the interest-only mortgage, there’s no possibility that you’ll end up with negative amortization with a 40 year mortgage. This makes it a much safer way of achieving a lower-cost mortgage.

The Cons

Of course, the 40 year mortgage has some drawbacks of its own. Tacking that extra ten years onto the terms of the loan means you add a big chunk of interest, making the total cost of the loan significantly higher. That 40 year long will reduce the amount you must pay each month, but over the life of the loan it’s going to cost you. In addition, the interest rate on a 40 year mortgage is typically slightly higher than with a 20 year or even a 30 year mortgage. Longer terms mean increased risk for the lender, and you pay for that risk with extra percentage points on your interest rate. It may not be much-less than 1%, but even that adds several thousand dollars to your loan total.

Another disadvantage with the 40 year loan is a result of the way in which mortgage payments are structured. All conventional mortgages are front-loaded with interest, meaning that the first years of repayments are almost all interest, and you don’t start paying off a significant amount of principle immediately. The longer the terms of the mortgage, the longer it takes to build up equity in your home-more than twice as long to build up just 20% equity in comparison to a 20 year mortgage.

A related problem with this very slow build-up of equity occurs in cases where your down-payment is less than 20% of the home’s appraised value. In these cases your lender typically requires you pay for private mortgage insurance until you reach that 20% equity figure. With a 50 year mortgage, it’ll take much longer to reach 20%, so you’ll be paying extra for private mortgage insurance for much longer than with any other type of loan.

What does this mean for Home-Buyers?

For people who find that the 20 or 30 year mortgages aren’t affordable, the 40 year mortgage can make the dream of home-ownership a reality, but these mortgages are best used with a view to refinancing as soon as possible. The 40 year mortgage shouldn’t be considered a long-term loan, simply because those extended terms are so expensive in the long run. As long as you’re planning to refinance within five to ten years, the 50 year mortgage is a good alternative to riskier low-cost products such as the interest-only mortgage.

If you’re considering an investment to support your future, you’re thinking in terms of finance. Maybe it’s on our minds 24/7. After all, we need money to survive, and most of our lives is spent on making it. Not just stockbrokers or bankers or investors, the so-called money-jugglers of society.

The thing is, finance is really for everyone. If you’ve got money, then you have to involve your brain in the act of finance or money-managing to get the most bang for your buck. Otherwise, you will splurge and you will wonder where in the world the money went.

The best time to start learning about finance is the time you start to receive money. Think about it. When you received a check in the mail from your grandma as your birthday present, weren’t you already thinking of what you were going to spend it all on?

That is the essence of finance, although that very act may have been insensible and financially disagreeable; hey, you were just a kid, after all.

Maybe you were a smart kid, one who knew how money goes. Maybe you’ve stashed it in your secret hiding place. Maybe you started to go into business by selling lemonade (although maybe you drank more than half of it too). Maybe you gave some away to your favorite charity. Yup, that was finance too. We all know better now, don’t we?

It hasn’t changed much; we go out to make money, we spend some, we save some, until we have enough to make a couple of major purchases such as homes or vacations. Only we know a bit more. And we’ve understood more of the finance jargon that sometimes rolls on the tongue.

Investments. Assets. Loans. Benefits. Mortgage. Insurance. Knowledge is power, as they say, and knowledge on how to finance will lead you to finance greater amounts of money in the future. So study up. Take finance management classes. Follow the stock market. Listen in on discussions.

Finance also includes self-discipline. Sometimes you have to keep yourself from small pleasures in order to attain the bigger more important things. Finance means that you need to set your priorities straight. Sacrifice may seem like a lot at the moment but the end will justify the means.