Why Term Life Insurance?

About 68 million adult Americans have no life insurance. This means if they die their families have no financial protection. More than half of those who do have some insurance are under-insured and thus cannot adequately take care of their families when they die. Most under-insured American adults are insured for only four times their annual salary or less!

Why don't Americans properly insure themselves? Because they don't know how to select or buy the right insurance.

Term Life Insurance is designed to be kept for a certain period of time or "term," at which time the life insurance terminates or expires. It is often required as collateral when taking out a loan. It is a popular way to fund business buy/sell agreements. It is a popular method of covering debt, (e.g., home mortgages) for families. It often is used to provide larger amounts of life insurance until children are grown and out of the house. It is not meant to replace Ordinary or Permanent Life Insurance. But it has become an inexpensive alternative to those often expensive "cash value" plans.

"ART," "YRT," "Mortgage Decreasing" and "Flat Term" are all types of Term Life Insurance. By far, the type most often purchased these days is "Flat Term" insurance. "Flat Term" refers to life insurance wherein the death benefit and the premium are guaranteed for a designated length of time. The most common are 10, 15, 20 and 30-year terms. You must be careful of the guarantees, however. Some "Flat Term" offers will give you guarantees for only a portion of the duration of the policy.