Virtual University

Beneficiary Designation Considerations

Life insurance is purchased with consideration for others. An insured is not going to receive the policy proceeds. Family members are usually the designated recipients. Selecting the way to protect these benefits requires a great deal of consideration.

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Facts About Whole Life

Term insurance policies have always been a popular product. The premiums involved seem to make people feel that it is the ideal solution to their insurance needs. The belief is that needed coverage is given at affordable prices. There is little thought given to 'initial premiums' versus 'future premiums.' That is one of the major flaws in this type of insurance.

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How to Put L&H Insurance in the P&C Agency - Part 1 of 3

Many insurance agencies have found it easy to increase revenue and services offered by adding life and health insurance to the agency portfolio. Numerous prospects already in the agency client list have been overlooked for many years. Here's how you can improve retention and the agency's bottom line.

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How to Put L&H Insurance in the P&C Agency - Part 2 of 3

Many insurance agencies have found it easy to increase revenue and services offered by adding life and health insurance to the agency portfolio. Numerous prospects already in the agency client list have been overlooked for many years. This short series of articles shows you how you can improve retention and the agency's bottom line. The topic for Part 2 is “Figuring Life Insurance Amounts”.

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How to Put L&H Insurance in the P&C Agency - Part 3 of 3

Many insurance agencies have found it easy to increase revenue and services offered by adding life and health insurance to the agency portfolio. Numerous prospects already in the agency client list have been overlooked for many years. This short series of articles shows you how you can improve retention and the agency's bottom line. The topic for Part 3 revolves around cross selling.

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Key Person Insurance

It may surprise a client to find that the company’s most valuable asset was not insured. This would be especially upsetting for an insured who felt that there was always needed coverage in effect. Property, liability and business income insurance were purchased to eliminate serious losses. What went wrong? Why wasn’t this possible major loss brought to their attention and why wasn’t it insured against?

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Life Insurance Basics: Term vs. Whole Life

Any general discussion of life insurance should begin with the observation that the life insurance industry in the United States has been transformed over the past 30 years or so. The climate of extremely high interest rates in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s made the “savings” or “investment” element of many existing forms of whole life insurance policies obsolete, or at least obsolescent.

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Life Insurance Basics: Varieties of Whole Life

Students of insurance are sometimes dismayed to discover that there are no fewer than four basic kinds of whole life insurance: traditional (participating and non-participating), universal, variable, and variable universal, with many variations and hybrid forms as well.

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Life Insurance Policy Checklist

E&O classes always stress the need to use checklists. P&C exposures change over time and policy coverages must change with them. This is also true with life insurance. The needs that were present at application time probably have changed. A policy that was sold years ago may now require modifications due to changes in the family, income, required expenses, etc.

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Tax Benefits of Life Insurance

Cash-value life insurance has a substantial savings or investment element that can’t be ignored entirely if the tax laws are to operate fairly. So life insurance is subject to special rules regarding federal income taxation, and a separate set of rules regarding the federal estate and gift tax. The following is a summary of the most basic principles in each area.

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The Truth About the Accidental Death Rider

Many years ago, insurers created a “double indemnity” rider where death from an accident would result in double the face amount being paid. Now most insurers have a better solution.

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Understanding the Viatical Settlement

Viatical settlements, or accelerated death benefits, were controversial products developed in the 1980s following publicity for the AIDS epidemic. There were touted as a means for terminally ill patients to get money from life insurance policies to pay for medical treatment or other 'bucket list' activities. Others viewed them as opportunistic and unethical.

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