Archive for the ‘Life Insurance’ Category
Business ethics as a formal discipline in the U.S. dates back only to the 1960s. Formal positions in the corporate structure that deal with ethical issues dates back to the 1980s. Ethics reflect values determined by the purpose of the organization. For example, corporations are created to maximize profits for the owners; sacrificing profits for other concerns are unethical, except when legal and moral issues take precedent.
Recently corporate social responsibility has come on strong as an ethical concern. Responsibilities toward communities, workers and the environment are becoming stronger ethical concerns as economic changes occur that strongly impact society. Business ethics concern all stake holders, not just the owners of the corporation and business managers need to realize this to avoid malpractice in carrying out their duties.
Workers who put a large part of their lives into the corporation are definitely stakeholders and the corporation has a responsibility to its workers and their families. Communities in which corporations reside are definitely stakeholders as they depend on the corporation for the overall economic well-being, tax base and environmental impact. The corporation has a responsibility to the community or local society for its environmental impact.
Workers depend on the corporation for their lively hood and are entitled to a living wage and at some point job security. The community that provides infrastructure and other services is entitled to support in the form of taxes and good corporate citizenship. The local society is entitled to care of the environment so that pollution is controlled and adverse impacts are minimized and dealt with in a socially responsible way.
The modern corporation is no longer simply a profit generating enterprise. While this remains the overriding purpose of the corporation it must be carried out within the business ethical norms that currently exist in the society to do otherwise would constitute malpractice on the part of business managers. The current overall economic and social environment has evolved to where the corporate entity must be concerned with matters bigger than itself and its owners.
People over 50 often question if a life insurance policy is really necessary. The short answer to that is yes, life insurance is definitely a necessity. Even if the purchaser’s children have grown up and moved out, there are still many financial reasons to purchase a policy.
A life insurance policy can help cover the remaining balance on a mortgage, pay for funeral expenses and protect dependents from any remaining debt. Additionally, life expectancy is higher than it used to be and the savings from an expired term policy may not go as far as they once did.
Term policies are perhaps the most common form of this type of insurance. Term assurance offers purchasers a fixed payment over a specific length of time. When this coverage expires the policy terms will need to be renegotiated, often at a higher rate.
Term policies may not be the best option for life insurance over 50. People who expect to live longer than ten years, or those with serious medical conditions may benefit more from a whole life policy. These policies generally do not expire as long as their premiums are paid. Sometimes whole life policies are referred to as final expense policies.
A financial planner should be consulted by anyone choosing between a whole and a term policy. Whole life policies can take years to generate enough of a return on the initial investment to make them worthwhile. However, they are sometimes the only option available when purchasing life insurance over 50.
No matter which policy a person chooses, purchasing life insurance is one of the best ways to provide for loved ones.
An insurance agent may experience a rewarding career that revolves around helping others prepare for financial emergencies. If you have sales experience or the ability to explain the benefits of certain insurance products, you might find success as an insurance agent. Many clients consider their insurance agent as a trusted professional who compliments a core group of advisors, such as their attorney, tax preparer and financial planner. Insurance agents often engage in consultative roles to find a solution that meets a client’s needs.
Training
Training is required before an agent can solicit insurance products to consumers or to business owners. Each state requires prospective insurance agents to complete an approved training program for the type of insurance that the agent will sell. For instance, many insurance agents begin their careers selling life insurance or health insurance. If you plan to sell life insurance, you must complete the required hours of study and successfully pass an examination. You may find companies that hire insurance trainees and provide in-house training or you can locate approved course providers in your area. Most states have options that provide tips online toward becoming an insurance agent. The insurance commissioner’s office for your state might reflect approved course providers on its website.
Licensing
A license is required to become an insurance agent within the United States. The specific licensing requirements may vary according to the laws of each state. Generally, applicants will need to provide proof of training, exam results and complete a criminal background check to become an insurance agent. Your state may require errors and omissions insurance before issuing your license. Many states require e&o insurance for insurance agents to protect consumers against negligence or unlawful acts. If your actions cause a client to experience a financial loss, your state can file a claim against your e&o policy and provide compensation for the client.
Continuing Education
Insurance agents are required to complete continuing education courses. The training frequency and the required hours of study will vary among states.
To Sum it Up
Insurance agents strive to become knowledgeable professionals who are resourceful and sensitive to the needs of their clients. You can become an insurance agent and build your customer base one client at a time.
Your credit card company may use different names to refer to credit card insurance: “payment protection”; “credit shield”; “credit card protection insurance”; “credit safeguard”. It’s important to check what kind of coverage is implied in your insurance plan since it varies from company to company. Here are a few things that may get covered by credit card insurance policy:
Credit Life Insurance will pay off your credit card balance if you die. The one necessary condition is you need to make the credit card company the beneficiary on your insurance policy.
Credit Disability Insurance offers coverage of minimum payments on your credit card if you are unable to make them due to a temporary disability. The coverage is only valid for a specified period of time.
Credit Unemployment Insurance will pay minimum amount on your card every month if you incur involuntary unemployment (for example you were laid off due to downsizing of your firm).
Credit Property Insurance will pay for damaged or lost items that you purchased using your credit card.
Credit Liability Insurance offers protection against your liability if your credit card got stolen or misused.
It may sound good and provide some peace of mind, however enrolling in a credit card protection plan is frequently an unnecessary expense. Credit card insurance policy is costly and rarely pays off. Thus, even if your card gets stolen, by law your liability is limited to just $50, which most credit card companies won’t even bother to collect from you. Credit Life Insurance will relieve your family members from the obligation to pay off your credit card debt in case of your death, however it’s usually limited to a certain amount ($5,000 to $20,000), so it doesn’t provide full protection. The limitation of Credit Disability Insurance is pretty obvious: it will only cover your minimum monthly payments for a specified period of time. Yet even with a high balance on a credit card, many people with short-term medical disability are still able to make minimum monthly payments using their savings. Most financial advisers agree that purchasing credit card insurance is a poor investment and barely ever pays off, so it should be avoided all together.
Historically men were the breadwinners of the family. If something happened to the man, his family was facing extreme economic hardship as it was merely impossible to fully replace his income. No wonder it was mostly men who purchased a life insurance policy to make sure their loved ones were protected if the worst happened.
As the gap between male and female workforce narrowed, more and more women would acquire a life insurance plan through their employer or insurance company directly. Yet many women today are not adequately insured because they erroneously think that it’s the husband who needs to carry life insurance the most.
Make sure you thoroughly review your family budget and financial needs. Women in the following categories (some of them may surprise you) should consider obtaining a life insurance plan to protect financial well-being of their family –
Women who are part of a two-income family. If the family relies equally on both the paychecks, losing one income would make it hard to sustain the family. Today more than 60% of married women are employed – putting food on the table is no longer a male-only prerogative. Both the working spouses need to carry life insurance to protect the family against a financial loss should something happen to one of them.
Single women who are head of a house-hold. It’s crucial to provide financial security for your children if you are a sole breadwinner. Being the only source of income, you make your family financially vulnerable if you fail to obtain life insurance: there’s simply no other source of income to compensate for the loss of yours.
Stay-at-home wives and mothers. So maybe there’s no risk of monetary income loss, but the work you put into making your household function well is enormous. If something happens to you, external help will need to get hired to care for the children, do cleaning, cooking and shopping for the family. These services may run a few tens of thousand dollars a year – one income might not be enough to cover them.
Single women with no kids. There’s no need to carry a high-amount life insurance policy, but you still need to consider obtaining some coverage. If anything happens to you, the funeral expenses will be the obligation of your parents or other relatives – you want to relieve them of this financial duty as much as you can. Besides, purchasing a term or whole life insurance now that you are young and healthy is beneficial for your future insurability. If you apply for life insurance coverage for the first time 10 or 20 years from now, you might be turned down because of the health condition, or you might be quoted higher premiums associated with older age.
Source: Newyorklife.com
If you are shopping around to find an adequate term life insurance policy at a rate you can afford, you should be prepared to ask insurance agents a few important questions that will clarify the policy and prevent any unpleasant surprises in the future:
- Are the premium rates fixed? Some insurance companies will sell you a policy with variable premium rates that are likely to increase after the initial low-rate period is over. If the price you were quoted looks too good to be true, make sure to check if it will stay the same for the entire duration of the policy.
- Are there any exclusions in the policy? Among the most common life insurance policy exclusions are Suicide Clause (no payout if the policyholder commits suicide), Dangerous Activity Clause (if the policyholder dies in an accident while participating in a dangerous activity such as rock-climbing or auto racing), Act-of-War Exclusion (often applied to the military personnel).
- Can You Renew Your Policy? Since you will be investing a lot of money into your life insurance policy, make sure you will be able to renew it at the end of the term. Another important factor to check is whether a medical examination is required for policy renewal.
Buying a life insurance policy should be approached as a long-term investment. You want to make sure that the life insurance company you select is both reputable and stable and it will be there for the financial needs of your family a number of years from now. So before you invest in a policy that will provide protection for you and your dependents, do a thorough research of the potential companies and make the choice that will relieve any future worries.
As a rule, insurance companies are given financial strength ratings by independent organizations – S&P (Standard & Poor’s), A.M. Best Company, Moody’s. But even if you select an insurer with the best ratings, it’s important to monitor the financial condition of the company you purchased your life insurance policy from – things change rapidly and the overall stability of the financial market can never be fully trusted.
Your next step should be to check with the Better Business Bureau: how many claims were filed for a given insurer, what’s the nature of complaints and how promptly the company resolved them. The BBB can also provide the information on the length of time that the company has been operating as well as any additional details regarding the company’s background. You want to go for BBB Accredited businesses because they comply with the BBB regulations and are monitored consistently for their performance. Beware of the companies that fail to respond to complaints filed against them – you could be one of those unhappy clients that is seeking justice but is being ignored.
One more thing to do is to check consumer-generated reviews and see if there are potential issues that you may also encounter as a customer – hidden charges, poor coverage or unclear policy, bad customer service, etc. Unfortunately these days it’s easy to publish fake positive reviews: if it sounds too good to be true, or too “salesey” with promotional adjectives in abundance, it could be written by one of the company’s employee or a search reputation agency that was hired for the purpose.
Making the right selection will ensure that your money is safe and there will be no issue to cash in your life insurance policy, when the time comes.
