The Harper Insurance Agency - Life Insurance & Financial Services

Life & Financial Services

Life Insurance

Life insurance helps you protect what matters most - your loved ones. Life insurance helps ensure their financial needs are met, even after you’re gone. There are two basic types of life insurance: term and permanent. Deciding which type may be appropriate for you depends on how you want your life insurance to work for your family. We will help you determine the type and amount of protection you may need.

Term Insurance - The most basic and least expensive type of life insurance. You buy coverage for a certain amount of time, such as 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. If you die before the term is over, your beneficiary gets the benefit stated in your policy. If you live beyond the term, the policy expires. Many policies also offer the option of extending your coverage, subject to certain restrictions and limitations.

Term Insurance Advantages:

Fills a temporary need for life insurance protection in your life
Offers the least expensive insurance protection
Most policies allow you to convert your term policy into a permanent one
Can be used as supplemental coverage to a permanent policy
Death benefits are generally income tax free

Permanent Insurance - This type of policy never expires. As long as premiums are paid, it remains in force. Premiums are usually based on your age at the time of purchase and generally remain level. In addition to providing a death benefit, premiums are also invested to produce returns – adding cash value to your policy. You can even tap into this cash value by taking out a loan, withdrawal or surrendering your policy.

Permanent Insurance Advantages:

Policies offer lifetime protection and can build tax-deferred cash value
Withdrawals and loans make it easy to access your cash value to help supplement retirement and emergencies
You can cancel or surrender the policy at any time and use the cash value however you wish
Offers a guaranteed premium that won’t increase
Death benefits are generally income tax free

To help figure out which is right for you, it may be useful to understand some of the basics of a life insurance policy:

Premium – The amount you pay in exchange for coverage.

Death Benefit – The amount of money paid to your beneficiaries upon your death.

Cash Value – The amount available to the policyholder through surrenders, loans and withdrawals.

Length of coverage – The amount of time you’re insured.