Life Insurance Rates Continue to Drop

The Insurance Information Institute reported in October that rates for individual term life insurance and permanent life insurance (whole life and universal life) will likely drop by three percent in 2006

This is because people are living longer (what the insurance business calls "mortality improvements) and also because of competitition.

One will be able to see these improvements instantly on the lifeinsure.com insurance quotes engine as these changes come about

Term life insurance rates have been in a downward trajectory for the last 20 years or so.

The biggest rate reductions that we have seen have been for the most healthy people who don't use tobacco which the life insurance companies call the "best risks".

The lowest rates available in 2005 are more than 50% lower than term life insurance rates from a decade ago.

Insurance company ratings

Insurance companies are given for financial strength ratings as are most financial institutions and many financial instruments such as bonds.

What do these ratings measure? Their relative ability to meet their financial obligations.

What should you use these ratings for? When comparing insurance companies probably financial strength should be the first thing to look at. Typically insurance company ratings use a letter grade. Each rating service is a little bit different.

Moody's ratings start at Aaa, then go to Aa1, Aa2, Aa3 and then to A1, A2 etc.

Standard and Poor's ratings are AAA, then AA+, AA, AA- then A+ etc. That last one can sometimes be misleading. Years ago an insurance company came out with a big ad that said A+! but when you read the fine print it was an A+ from Standard and Poor's and in actuality is the 5th rating from the top.

A.M. Best rates insurance companies starting with A++ to A+ and then letter grades like school grades from then on (A, A-, B+, B etc.)

There are also Weiss Ratings which are also letter grades and Fitch ratings which are similar to the Standard and Poor's set up.

Feel free to call lifeinsure.com to get more information on insurance companies, ratings and life insurance quotes, toll free at 866 691 0100.

Do You Have Enough Life Insurance?

Just over half of employees that have had what is called a "major life change" in the last 18 months believe that they have enough life insurance as reported by The National Underwriter.

This research was reported Sept. 30, 2005 in a survey of U.S. employees done for MetLife.

A major life event was defined as having a baby, becoming a grandparent, buying a home, getting married or engaged, changing jobs or sending a child to college.

Of the employees having these major life events, 26% said they had less than three times their annual family salary in life insurance thus many of those who answered the survey are underinsured, according to Met. If this survey is representative, then a substantial number of people are underinsured.

68% of those with children under 18 are concerned about financial security for their family in the event of their death or their spouse's death, 43% have not yet tried to determine how much life insurance their household needs and 30% of those with life insurance are not sure how much insurance they have.

More than 65% of females stated concerns about what premature death would mean to their families, compared with 50% of the males, but female participants on average own life insurance of only 2.2 times their income.

Lifeinsure.com can help a consumer find the proper amount of life insurance with competitive quotes instantly. Also, you can read about how much insurance one should have by clicking here.

Term life insurance

Term life insurance: Is it the best choice?

Not a simple question nor is there a simple answer but it is the simplest kind of insurance to understand. You pay the insurance company a certain amount of money - the premium - and if you die during the term period (the period of time that you are covered) then the life insurance company pays your beneficiaries the agreed upon insurance amount.

The good part: It's inexpensive. It does the job while you have it, especially for families where income is tight and the loss of the breadwinners would be a financial disaster.

The less advantageous: It runs out at the end of the term. That could be 10 year term, 15 year term, 20 year term life insurance and even 30 year term life insurance.

Some term life insurance policies offer a guaranteed renewal which means you can continue the policy but at a new rate for your new, older age. This can be expensive and eventually as you get older - unaffordable.

So, the important point is to get life insurance - no matter the type - and get the most you can get so your loved ones are taken care of financially. Term life insurance is one way to get life insurance. The other ways are whole life insurance or universal life insurance. You can read about those subjects in this blog.

Moody's Gives Report on Stability of Life Insurance Companies

It was reported today that analysts at Moody's Investors Service stated that most United States based life insurance companies have a stable rating outlook.

At the end of 2004, 73% of the 174 insurance companies rated by Moody's had a stable financial strength rating. There were 17% with a negative outlook and 4% being reviewed for potential rating downgrades.

The report also noted that the average financial rating for stock company life insurance companies is A1, two levels below the Aa2 rating average for mutual insurers. Moody's rating categories start at Aaa and move to Aa1, Aa2, Aa3, A1, A2, A3, Baa and down.

This report came from the NU Online News Service. To learn more about insurance company financial strength ratings click here.

News about AIG, American General Life's parent company

The National Underwriter, a leading insurance news organization reported today that American International Group Inc. had a 51% increase in net income for the second quarter.

Reuters made the suggestion that AIG’s positive results were a stimulus to help pricing of all U.S. stocks.

AIG based in New York, is reporting approximately $4 billion in net income for the last quarter with $27 billion in revenue. This is up from $2.7 billion of net income on $23 billion in revenue for the same quarter in 2004.

Peter Streit, at Williams Capital Group in New York, desecribed the second-quarter results as “outstanding.”

For term life insurance quotes and other life insurance quotes go to www.lifeinsure.com

Avoid decreasing term life insurance

There is level term life insurance and and decreasing term insurance.

Simply stated level means that the insurance amount stays the same and the decreasing goes down over a period of time. We hardly ever see decreasing term any more.

Why in the world would someone buy decreasing term life insurance? The most common use has been for mortgage life insurance where the amount of insurance tracked the decreasing amount of the mortgage balance. Our advice is to just get a regular term life insurance policy instead of decreasing term. There's just no reason when you can get low cost term life insurance that stays level. You can get term life insurance quotes, online and anonymously, at lifeinsure.com.

Life insurance for cigarette smokers with a note on cigars and chewing tobacco

It's true that insurance companies charge more for life insurance if you smoke cigarettes but you still can search the market and get the best rates possible on the lifeinsure.com site. If you do quit cigarette smoking later and remain in good health, you can either reapply with the life insurance company you get or get a new life insurance policy at non-smoking rates.

Call us (toll free 866 691 0100) so we can assist you with direction on which way to go to make sure you get life insurance with great prices and to keep your options open.

If you smoke cigars or chew tobacco, some life insurance companies will charge the same as if you smoke cigarettes, some lower. We know which insurance companies differentiate and charge lower for cigar smokers and also which ones are lower if you chew tobacco and don't smoke. The prices shown on the lifeinsure.com site for tobacco use don't reflect this.

Your situation may require custom life insurance quotes which we would be glad to do for you. Contact us for those custom quotes and describe your tobacco use and we'll work those quotes up for you.