There are several types of insurance policies, among which life insurance is one of the most essential and important insurance policies you need because, without life, all other types of insurance will not exist. A life insurance policy is necessary. We will talk about life insurance costs and payouts in this article.
The benefits of purchasing a life insurance policy include the provision of coverage that will ensure the payments of all your ultimate expenses, such as funeral expenses, unpaid debt, mortgage and medical bills.
They also provide the beneficiaries—such as the loved ones you will be leaving behind—of your choosing a short-term or long-term financial assistance they need when you pass away. In addition to this, life insurance does not only cover your beneficiaries but also you while alive and experiencing financial difficulties.
What is a Life Insurance Policy
Life insurance is primarily the replacement of income that results from the contract between the policyholder and life insurance provider. In this contract, the insurance provider will guarantee to offer the specific beneficiaries chosen by the policyholder a huge sum of money upon the death of the policyholder; this is called death benefits.
There are several types of life insurance policies that vary in their flexibility and benefits, all of which can fall into two categories; term life insurance policy and whole life insurance policy. One can find the primary difference between these two types of life insurance policies regarding their coverage length—that is, the duration of coverage they offer.
Term life insurance policy will provide you with coverage that will last for a specific period of time before they expire. On the contrary, whole life insurance will offer you coverage that will last for a lifetime without expiration.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance primarily provides coverage for a specific period of time that is never beyond thirty years, but the most common duration is twenty years. The term life insurance costs consist of the cost of premium which is expected to be paid by policyholders monthly and yearly on a regular basis is always constant throughout the term without increasing or decrease due to certain factors.
If the policyholder does not pass away during this specific period of time or the term of the policy, they will be required to continue the policy’s coverage by either purchase a new one or convert them to a whole life insurance policy. However, the continuation of their policy coverage usually comes with a higher premium charge, thus causing your life insurance costs to be higher.
Term life insurance policy is popular for its affordable nature and may be used for the replacement of lost income during your employment years. They provide the specific beneficiaries of their policyholders’ financial assistance for the maintenance of a family business or to protect the family from financial difficulties, especially if the policyholder is the income provider of the household.
Whole Life Insurance
A whole life insurance policy is the commonest type of permanent life insurance that lasts for a lifetime without expiration. Due to the lack of expiration date in a whole life insurance policy, the premium charge is always higher than for term life insurance. Therefore, your life insurance costs will be higher. They provide the policyholder more than just death benefits that will be given to their beneficiaries; they also offer them life benefits.
The premium is split into two portions, one of which is directed to the beneficiaries only when the policyholder passes away. The other portion will be directed to savings or investments—where cash will accumulate over time – in the form of cash value. The cash value is accessible to the insured when they are experiencing financial problems or critical medical conditions that demand long-term medical care.
Another type of permanent life insurance is universal life insurance that provides the insured with sufficient coverage throughout their lifetime. Universal life insurance policy is prominent for the benefits of flexibility they provide the insured over whole life insurance policy. They offer policyholders the chance to either increase or decrease their monthly premium charge.
Universal life Insurance policies come with essential benefits over some life insurance policies because they offer long-term coverage for income replacement, which will last longer than the policyholder’s employment years—They can also be used in estate planning— Irrespective of these benefits, only a few set of people purchase their policy because their life insurance costs are more expensive when compared with term and whole life insurance policies.
How Gender Influences the Cost of Life Insurance Policy
The gender of a policyholder plays a significant role in the alteration of the life insurance costs. Studies and research show that the mortality rate of men is higher than women, which means women live longer than men. The surprising increase in the mortality rate of men is primarily due to their high degree of susceptibility to several life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, strokes, heart disease, and diabetes.
Therefore, most Insurance providers or companies usually make use of the difference in the mortality rate of men and women to determine their policy’s rate. Life insurance providers usually charge men with expensive premiums so as to accumulate enough payments to offer them full coverage because women live longer than them. Although, aside from gender, there are several other factors that life insurance companies usually use in determining the life insurance costs; they include health history, profession, age, and lifestyle.
Illustration of How Age and Gender Influence Premium Rate
The age and gender of a soon-to-be policyholder may influence their premium rate and life insurance costs overall. The influence on the premium rate will be illustrated below.
Forty to forty-nine
Men that purchase term life insurance plan of $250,000 for twenty and thirty years will pay a premium of $210 and $384 per year, respectively. On the contrary, women will pay $185 and $314 for the same condition.
Fifty to fifty-nine
Men that purchase term life insurance plan of $1,000,000 for twenty and thirty years will pay a premium of $1,692 and $3,301 per year, respectively. On the contrary, women will pay $1,233 and $2,349 per year, respectively.
Sixty to sixty-nine
Men that purchase a term life insurance plan of $500,000 for thirty years will pay a premium of $2,793 per year. On the contrary, women will pay $1,911 per year.
From this illustration, one can spot the difference in the premium rate (influencing the life insurance costs) of men from women. In which men are required to pay more for their term life insurance policy. Furthermore, the higher rate of men’s premium over women is not limited to term life insurance plans alone but also occurs in whole life insurance plans.