Bust Through the Insurance Jargon: Endowment Life Insurance

There are many choices when it comes to taking out life insurance; one option you may want to investigate is endowment life insurance. This type of plan is slightly special in what it offers. Whereas normal life insurance plans only offer death benefit, this plan will pay money out whether you pass away or not.

An endowment life insurance policy bears comparison to a term life insurance plan. Both of these policy kinds are active for a certain period of time, normally between 10 and 30 years. Whereas a term insurance plan only pays out should you die during that period, an endowment policy will pay out whether you live or die. Once the policy is due to end, the insurer will pay out a lump sum for you to use if you are still living. No further payments are received from a term insurance policy after the death benefit has been paid.

Another advantage of an endowment life insurance plan is that you can decide to cash it in before the policy expires. This commonly means that you will receive less money than you would have done if you let it mature, but you can receive the money back at a time that you most need to use it. For instance, if you cash in a policy after 15 years and it is due to run for another five, then you are likely to receive approximately half of the total that would have been paid out at the end of the policy. The exact amount of money you receive if you cash in will depend on the arrangements you have made with the insurer.

The major flaw of this kind of plan is that in most cases, the monthly payments are higher than that of other kinds of insurance products. One available option is to take out a low cost endowment plan; however, it should be noted that although the premiums are less, the amount payable out to you will reduce as the policy goes on.

As another viable option, you could opt for a return of premium insurance plan. This is a relatively new concept on the market but delivers a win-win situation for you. The plan is also for a specified amount of time and the premiums will be monthly like the other products. Should you pass away during the policy period, your named beneficiary will receive the death benefit like all the other plans.

The main difference with this policy type is that you will also receive your premiums back in full if you are still living one the policy ends. The premiums are free of income tax and so the amount you get paid will be the same amount as you paid in over the course of the plan. Return of premium policies can also be cancelled early. This will result in you getting back a partial amount of what you paid in but not all of it. The main benefit of this policy is that you are covered if you do die and covered if you don’t.

In order to get lower premiums you need to be aware of a few conditions that affect how much you will pay. The first of these is your age; you are likely to pay a higher premium if you take out insurance in later life. This is why it makes sense to take insurance out in your earlier years. The second point to remember is that smokers will pay more than non smokers, sometimes as much as 50% more.

Information regarding endowment life insurance and return of premium insurance can be obtained from insurance companies of a financial expert. They will be able to give you all the facts you need to find the right type of life insurance for you. Once you are ready to take out life insurance, many providers have simple and fast forms that you can fill out over the internet.