Life insurance is a key aspect of many Canadians’ overall financial strategy. It can assist your specified beneficiary, such as your family, with replacing your income and carrying out their plans in your absence, such as going to university or retiring. However, there are different types of life insurance policies specified for different needs. Since there is no general life insurance policy that can encompass all needs and requirements. Each type of life insurance policy should be considered carefully as they are accompanied by different varying advantages.
Term life insurance
Term life insurance is a form of life insurance coverage that protects you for a certain period of time, known as a term, and gives your dependents a tax-free lump sum payout if you pass away within the term. Some common term length options for life insurance include 10 or 20 years, with some lengths of 25, 30 years and up to 65 years of age may be available. Some Canadian life insurance providers can even enable you to choose your own term of coverage. You may be able to select a certain number of years for the term life insurance coverage to last. These are known as “pick-a-term” products.
There are advantages to protecting yourself for a set amount of time. Your life insurance death benefit can meet the majority of your short-term life insurance demands. This might involve financial circumstances like your mortgage, any outstanding debt you may have, school coverage for your children, or living expenditures for your loved ones so they can keep the same level of life if you pass away. Convertible term life insurance is also available in some term policies. Convertible term life insurance allows you to convert your existing term life insurance policy into lifelong or permanent life insurance before reaching a certain age.
Whole life insurance
In Canada, whole life insurance is one of the most popular forms of life insurance. It covers you for the rest of your life as long as you pay your premiums on time. As a result, whole life insurance is often known as permanent life insurance coverage. A whole life policy, in addition to offering a fixed payout whether you die young or elderly, contains an investing component. A percentage of your premium payments is placed into a savings component known as “cash value.”
The cash value of your insurance rises with interest over time and serves as a financial safety net in times of uncertainty. You can pay your premium using the policy’s cash worth, borrow against it, or remove it partially or completely. This can be done to help you get through a hard financial period. You can even surrender the insurance later in life to live off the proceeds.
Universal life insurance
Universal life insurance is comparable to whole life insurance, with the exception that it includes a self-directed long-term investing component. Your insurer provides you with alternatives for investing the cash value of your insurance, which may be used to save for retirement. If you are a knowledgeable investor or are concerned about estate planning, universal life insurance may be a more intriguing alternative. However, universal life insurance policies need more hands-on work than other types of life insurance coverage and may not provide the same rate of return as other investment alternatives.
Mortgage life insurance
Mortgage insurance guarantees that your mortgage lender collects the remaining balance of your loan if you were to pass away. In other words, the payment is made to the mortgage lender rather than your family.
The payout amount corresponds to your outstanding debt. The result is, that it decreases over time as you pay down your mortgage. The insurance rates, however, stay constant during the policy period. Since mortgage insurance is rigid in terms of who receives the death benefit, a term life policy with adequate coverage to pay your mortgage may be a better deal. If the mortgage is reduced, your beneficiaries will get some cash even after the mortgage is paid off. They can also utilize the payoff in any way they see appropriate rather than paying the mortgage in full.
Mortgage life insurance has certain advantages with the most noteworthy benefit being that it does not need a medical examination. If you have a severe medical condition that makes life insurance impossible, your only possible option is to get mortgage life insurance to safeguard your home financially.
Group life insurance
Group life insurance is one of the most common forms of life insurance that insurance companies provide to their employees as part of their employee benefits package. Group life insurance, just like other insurance policies, offers advantages and cons.
Convenience and acceptability, are some of the major advantages of group life insurance. Registration in group life insurance can sometimes be automatic or require paperwork to be completed. Additionally, group life insurance may not need a medical exam, which is especially advantageous for employees who are older or have serious health conditions.
As beneficial as group life insurance is, depending completely on it may not be advisable because it cannot be taken with you if you change employment. Some insurers allow policyholders to change their group life insurance into individual life insurance if they quit. A group life insurance policy tends to be a one-size-fits-all option. In result, it cannot be tailored to your specific requirements.
With varying types of life insurance, there is not a one-type-fits-all kind of policy, it all depends on your unique needs and situation. In the event that you have any doubt in terms of which life insurance is right for you, it is advisable to contact a knowledgeable advisor. With their expertise, they can assist you in figuring out which type of life insurance is the best fit for your needs.