Living Benefits Life Insurance
Today there are life insurance companies that offer life insurance that does more than only pay a benefit upon death. Hybrid life insurance is available that combines a death benefit and protection against a critical, chronic, and terminal illness. They offer protection together in one unique package of protection. These benefits are called “living benefits.” Traditional life insurance will not cover the costs diagnosed with a chronic, critical, or terminal illness. Living benefits life insurance will help with this financial burden.
Dual Purpose Life Insurance
A living benefits life insurance policy is a hybrid policy that provides life insurance in the event of death and protection while you are still living.
Life insurance and living benefits are combined to provide a simple solution. This combination is “dual-purpose” insurance. It protects your family in your absence and protects you while you live against chronic and critical illness. A portion of the death benefit is accelerated while you are still alive. If available, insurance companies allow you to add these benefits to a life insurance policy when it is originally purchased. However, some policies have these benefits already in the policy. Often without taking a medical exam.
The amount of money your beneficiary receives is minus the amount of your death benefit directed toward a critical illness. There is A small fee is charged to use the benefit. You can purchase a “stand-alone” critical illness policy designed especially to cover acute illness if your life insurance does not offer living benefits.
With this dual-purpose life policy instead of paying out only upon death, these policies provide extra benefits. If diagnosed with one of several specified critical or chronic illnesses, the benefits can be activated. These benefits include home health care, heart attack, stroke, or cancer.
With a living benefits life insurance policy, you are funding tomorrow’s care with one policy. Term life insurance and whole life insurance is available with living benefits. Policies that give you early access to policy benefits. The benefits can help pay your bills even if you already have health insurance or Medicare coverage.
Living Benefits Life Insurance Makes Your Policy More Valuable
A lot of these illnesses are survivable – with a ton of medical treatment and expenses. The critical illness rider will give you a lump-sum benefit subtracted from your death benefit. These benefits will help cover unexpected medical costs and other costs.
Recent studies show that nearly half of all Americans suffer from at least one chronic illness, and many of these people have one or more daily activity limitations. Chronic diseases—such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis—are among the most common. They are the most costly of all health problems in the U.S. and are the leading causes of death and disability.
According to the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 1.7 million new cancer cases diagnosed and more than half a million cancer deaths in the U.S. this year.
The American Heart Association reports that cardiovascular disease is the leading global cause of death. Heart disease accounts for more than 17.3 million deaths per year, and that number will exceed 23.6 million by 2030.
It is hard to believe, 60 percent of all personal bankruptcies in the United States is estimated to be a direct result of medical problems. What’s even worse is that nearly 80 percent of the people who went bankrupt who were suffering from a critical condition had health insurance at the start of their illness.
Do You Need Living Benefits Life Insurance?
Ask yourself this question, “Are you and your family prepared for life’s surprises?” Many are not. You can do everything possible to provide for and protect your family’s financial security. Unfortunately, just because you have health insurance or a disability policy does not mean that you are sufficiently covered in case of a sudden or severe health problem like a heart attack, stroke, or cancer. A living benefits life insurance policy can help.
But what happens if life comes up with an unexpected situation to surprise you? Something you may not have thought of or prepared for like a lingering chronic or critical illness or a condition where you need home health care? One answer to this situation is an insurance policy with a critical illness rider or a separate stand-alone critical illness policy.
What if I Cannot Self-Insure?
Do you need living benefits? If you can’t self-insure for a critical illness through savings, then yes. Because it can be incredibly difficult to save a large amount of money needed to cover critical illness, some consumers opt for some form of critical illness coverage.
Critical illness riders are sometimes more cost-effective than a stand-alone critical illness insurance policy. They may also be cheaper than some disability policies.
Do you know how much insurance you need?
Defining The Benefits in Living Benefits Life Insurance
- Critical Illness. Usually, pays one lump sum if you have a severe illness such as cancer, heart attack, or a stroke.
- Chronic Illness. Usually pays a monthly benefit if diagnosed as chronically ill, and you are unable to perform two activities of daily living such as bathing, eating, or dressing.
- Terminal Illness. Usually pays a benefit if diagnosed with a terminal illness with a life expectancy of 12 to 24 months. These funds can be used for experimental medicine, preparing for final expenses or for any purpose you deem necessary.
Things to Know About Accelerated Benefits
The amount of the accelerated benefit that will be made available depends upon many factors. These factors include the diagnosis and the insured’s life expectancy at the time of the diagnosis. The insurance company providing the policy formulates an accelerated benefit offer based on the medical information provided by the insured’s physicians.
Typically, the accelerated benefit is a percentage of the eventual death benefit that would be available under the policy—likely in the range of 40 to 70 percent. Some policies also require that the policy is in effect for a specific time before the accelerated benefit becomes available.
One company Pays a lump-sum benefit if diagnosed with a specified critical illness. With this state-of-the-art Critical Illness Rider, benefits paid do not decrease the death benefit amount. With most companies, benefits used for critical illness lower the death benefit.) Plus, after a first-ever diagnosis, you are still eligible for benefits from multiple essential categories of disease if you continue paying premiums. Something to consider.
As Experienced Independent Agents, We Can Help
As independent agents, Life Insurance for Parents has extensive knowledge of the life insurance industry. We understand company underwriting guidelines. We know how to qualify you for the best possible life insurance rates using the best company. We also know the companies that offer living benefits riders. As independent agents, we will listen and are committed to helping you find the best policy tailored to your individual needs and budget.
We only represent the top 1% of the market place. We know the companies, the products they offer, and we use the latest technology to improve your experience and get your policy issued as fast as possible at the least expensive rate. Some of the top-rated companies we work with are Protective Life, Pacific, Mutual of Omaha, Transamerica, SBLI, Protective Life, American General, and Prudential, to name a few. We are not obligated to any company, finding the company that is the right fit for you, at the lowest possible price with the best rating and benefits is our goal.
WHY USE LIFE INSURANCE FOR PARENTS, HOW WE’RE DIFFERENT
We are professional
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We want to earn the opportunity to help your family and friends with their insurance
WE ONLY USE TOP RATED COMPANIES
We use America’s top life insurance companies. These companies are well known and financially strong. And, they are very highly-rated by impartial rating agencies. Companies we recommend have an excellent reputation at paying claims promptly. They have a long, dependable history of operation in the United States. Many have been around for hundreds of years. Of the over 256 life insurance companies available to choose from in the U.S., we only use the top 1%. However, many only offer a built-in “terminal illness” benefit with their policies.
Whether you choose a term policy or a whole life policy, the choice you make here will be a personal one. Your choice may well depend on your financial circumstances and future goals. The critical thing to remember is that some form of life insurance coverage is vital for most of us. Life insurance is especially necessary when we have a family to consider. You can get adequate protection from either kind of policy. And by moving forward and purchasing a life insurance policy, you can do something today that will outlive your life.