Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance provides a death benefit to the beneficiary upon the policyholder’s death, but only during the term of the life insurance. On the other hand, whole life insurance provides a death benefit to the beneficiary upon the policyholder’s death during the entire life time of the policyholder. On the surface, it appears as if whole life insurance is a better way to go if you want life insurance. But if you look at the matter more extensively, you will realize that indeed term life insurance is the better choice for life insurance.

To start, you need to realize that insurance companies need to make a profit just like any company, and they will adjust their premiums accordingly in order to maintain a profit margin. In the case of whole life insurance, they know at some point during the period the policyholder has the insurance, they will need to pay a death benefit to the beneficiary. Because of this, the premium for the whole life insurance can be 2 to 3 times that of term life insurance.

Term life insurance fulfills the objective of what life insurance should do, which is to provide a pay out benefit to the beneficiary upon death of the policyholder within the term of the life insurance. With whole life insurance, insurance companies invest the premiums and the policy accrues a cash value over time. The policyholder can borrow money off of the cash value if desired, and they have the option of canceling the policy and the cash value can be paid to the policyholder. The amount paid at the time of cancellation is the surrendered value.

There are two very important reasons as to why a term life insurance policy is more favorable over a whole life insurance policy, other then the fact that the term life insurance premiums are much lower. Lets examine these two reasons.

You need to ask yourself the question, why do you need life insurance? Most people need life insurance in order to financially protect their family in case of death of the primary bread earner in the family. So in most cases, the primary bread earner has life insurance. At what time does the family really need this protection? The family needs this protection during the period when family expenses are relatively high, such as dependent kids are living under your roof, mortgage needs to be paid, and the numerous other expenses incurred by the normal family in the United States. This is the time you need life insurance. Latter on in retirement, you do not have many of these expenses, and if you are receiving a pension, most pension plans financially protect the spouse. The best life insurance therefore is one that provides financial protection at a time when it really is needed. Term life insurance fulfills this role.

With a term life insurance policy, you can specify the term length which typically may be 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 year terms. The best time to start a term life insurance policy is when the primary bread earner starts a family. This way the family will be financially protected during the period in which family expenses are at their highest.

Many people prefer whole life insurance because it is also an investment vehicle. The problem is the premiums for a whole life insurance policy go to extremely conservative investments, and you would do much better in terms of return if you invested the money yourself. You should not have a life insurance policy as an investment. The difference in premium cost between term life insurance and whole life insurance should be used for investments into vehicles which have a greater rate of return, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Statistically, money used specifically for these investment vehicles have a much greater return compared to the return on an investment with a whole life insurance policy. With a whole life insurance policy, the insurance company will not take the risk of higher return investments and therefore the money is invested conservatively.

Many people do not want to have a term life insurance policy because they feel that when the term of the policy has ended, they have wasted their money assuming the policyholder is still alive. You did not waste your money because you got what you paid for, and that is financial protection during a period when the family needs it the most.

One of the problems people have with term life insurance is that when the term ends, if the policy holder wants to renew the policy, the premiums are so high that it it makes no sense to continue the life insurance. The point is, at that time the probability is high that you will not need to have life insurance, therefore you can just let the policy terminate.

The following is our directory of websites which provide a search vehicle for term life insurance. If you are seeking term life insurance, it pays to shop around because the premiums can vary greatly between companies, given the same risk factors. The websites listed here provide search vehicles which allow you to search companies which offer term life insurance. This way you can find the most competitive premium given your current risk factors.

Term Life Insurance - Directory

Budget Life Insurance
Description:
Top term life insurance companies provide quotes, which are updated and available online daily.

Advantage Quotes
Description:
They specialize in term life insurance for ages 45+ and will complete all the insurance forms for you. They are here to serve your term life insurance needs!

State Farm
Description:
View a listing of State Farm’s term life policies, or get a quote.

TermLifeAmerica.com
Description:
Term life insurance, return of premium term life insurance, and term life insurance quotes, are available by top rated companies.

Wholesale Insurance
Description:
Term Life Insurance Database at Wholesale Insurance. Compare life insurance quotes and term life insurance rates from ALL top life insurance companies.

EFinancial
Description:
Life insurance, Compare Term Life Insurance rates among America’s most trusted insurers. Fast. Easy. Secure.

Term4Sale
Description:
The most unbiased term life insurance comparisons are found at Term4Sale because Term4Sale does not sell term insurance. Term4Sale is a free public site operated by COMPULIFE Software, Inc. which sells term life insurance comparison software to thousands of life agents throughout the U.S. and Canada.

QuickQuote
Description:
Quotes for term life insurance, instant term life insurance, return of premium term life insurance, individual health insurance, short term health insurance, and travel insurance.

iQuote
Description:
IQuote, providing term life insurance since 1984, helps you search for the best term life insurance rate available. Get free term life insurance quotes and find the best rate over the phone or online.

LifeInsure.com
Description:
Life insurance quotes and term life insurance quotes available online.

CompuQuotes
Description:
Find Low Rates on Life Insurance. Get Free Life Insurance Quotes from up to 5 Insurance Providers.

AmericanTerm.com
Description:
Provides term life insurance quotes from over 150 life insurance companies.

Prudential Financial
Description:
Life insurance options provided by Prudential Financial.

SelectQuote
Description:
Get fast and reliable Term Life Insurance quotes from America’s #1 Term Life Insurance sales agency.

Financial One
Description:
Financial one offers free online term life insurance rates. Shop for term life insurance, universal life insurance, and return of premium (ROP) life insurance.

AccuTerm.com
Description:
Peruse their online introduction to the basics. Learn what to look for in a policy. Use their search vehicle.

NationalRelocation.com
Description:
Get term life insurance rates and quotes from life insurance companies.

Insure.com
Description:
Compare term life insurance rates from more than 60 leading life insurance companies on Insure.com. Obtain an instant life insurance quote today.

Budget Rates Life Insurance
Description:
Life insurance quotes from the most unbiased and comprehensive life insurance site on the Internet.

IntelliQuote Insurance Services
Description:
Instant term life insurance quotes online from top term insurance companies. Compare company and policy info-Insurance needs calculator to help you get optimum coverage.

AccuQuote
Description:
Save up to 70% on Term Life Insurance Online. AccuQuote provides term life insurance quotes from top rated insurance companies.

Life Insurance Quotes Wiz
Description:
Need Life Insurance? LifeInsuranceWiz.com provides life insurance advice, as well as free life insurance quotes, term life insurance quotes, whole life insurance quotes, and universal life insurance quotes.

2Insure4Less.com
Description:
Get instant insurance quotes online from multiple companies. Save time and money comparing policy rates for cheap car, auto, affordable health, low cost life, home owner, renters, disability, long term care, cancer, burial, and annuity.

ReliaQuote
Description:
Free term life insurance quotes online from top-rated life insurance companies. Save on low cost term life insurance with ReliaQuote Life Insurance Services.

LifeQuote
Description:
LifeQuote.com conducts business entirely on the Internet. They are committed to providing the best rates on Cheap Term Life Insurance Quotes.

InsureMe
Description:
InsureMe is a free service that helps people find the most competitive insurance rates available.

1stQuote
Description:
Life insurance quotes, instant term life insurance and return of premium term life insurance quotes with insurance company ratings and policy details.

InsWeb
Description:
Compare term life insurance quotes from top insurance companies by InsWeb.

ProFam.com
Description:
Learn all about term insurance. What is it, why get it, comparisons to other types of insurance, plus much more.

NetQuote
Description:
A term life insurance quote matches you with the best rates from Netquote.

ChoiceQuote
Description:
Term Life Insurance - Instant Online Quotes

AmericaQuote
Description:
Instant Low-Cost Life Insurance Quotes.

If you own a website which provides a search vehicle for term life insurance and you are not listed above, contact me with your URL and I will include you on the list.

Term Life Insurance - Conclusion

Here we have provided an argument for term life insurance over whole life insurance. The most important reasons as to why term life insurance is favored over whole life is that the premium for term life insurance is lower, term life insurance fulfills the objective of what life insurance should be, it protects the family during a period when expenses for the family are at their greatest, and finally the extra money needed for higher premiums for the whole life insurance could be used more prudently if invested in vehicles which provide for a greater rate of return. Both the advantages and disadvantages of whole life and term life insurance can be discussed with your insurance broker, but in the end, only you can decide which type of life insurance policy is right for you. We believe that you will most likely come to same conclusion as we did, and that is term life insurance is the right life insurance to have to protect your family.