Showing posts with label Life Insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life Insurance. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Can I supplement my life insurance policy?

If you already possess a life insurance policy, it is possible for you to get extra coverage to supplement the actual policy .This helps your dependents even in the absence of you to eek out a proper living. Sometimes the actual policy money may not be sufficient for them to meet the expenses. Thus this supplemental life insurance gives extra financial security to your
family. But are you eligible for this supplemental life insurance? Find out.The article covers
What is supplemental life insurance?
Features of supplemental life insurance
Benefits of supplemental life insurance
Tips on supplement life insurance
Supplemental Life Insurance is otherwise referred as additional insurance policy. A person who takes a supplemental insurance policy is eligible to get extra coverage. The extra coverage which he enjoys can be few or multiple times more than the actual policy. Such coverage depends on factors like the insurance amount of your actual policy. However the additional coverage cannot extend beyond a prescribed limit which again varies from policy to policy. The aim is to supplement life insurance.

The concept of life insurance teaches that the insured's family and dependents are protected even after his death. Any individual takes a life insurance policy with this main objective. However the coverage in a single life insurance policy is not practically sufficient to meet all the needs especially when the dependents are large in number and the financial commitments are so high.

At times the dependents may have to sell the family property to settle a loan or if they don't have one they must make use of the proceeds received from the insurer. This rarely leaves them with enough money to run their lives smoothly thereafter. Supplementary or additional life insurance aims to overcome this limitation by providing additional coverage as long as a person can afford to pay and such payments don't exceed the maximum amount or fall below the minimum amount prescribed in the policy. The relevant details can be found in online life insurance policies.
Features of Supplemental Life Insurance
Some of the features of this policy are as follows
Flexible Options
The insured can choose the amount of coverage as per his desire. This applies for additional insurance policies taken in all forms of insurance like permanent, term, whole and universal. However insurance companies allow for additional coverage in group insurance policies taken by the employer. For the other forms of insurance it varies from company to company.
Proof
When you choose Supplemental insurance policies you are also given the flexibility of changing the amount of coverage. Whenever you want to insure for a very high amount you need to provide authenticated evidence and documentary proofs to establish that you are able to pay such an amount. This proof is referred as evidence of insurability.
Benefits of Supplemental Life Insurance
Some of the benefits of this policy are as follows
Reduces Procedural Delays
As said earlier most companies allow you to take additional insurance policies if you are covered in a group insurance scheme offered by your employer. In such circumstances it becomes very easy for you to obtain evidence of insurability. Since this comes under the purview of corporate schemes you will not be required to comply with many formalities in the course of obtaining the additional insurance. If asked your employer will also provide the reference certifying your credibility. This will make things easy both for you and the insurer.
Extra Protection
This main objective of this policy is to offer extra protection. When you take an insurance policy there are lots of chances that you may not continue it due to several reasons. Many of them surrender the policy in the midway due to financial commitments or inability to pay the premiums. This defeats the very objective of opting for an insurance policy.

With a supplemental insurance policy you ensure that your and your family is given extra protection. It is not hard or doesn't take much to discontinue or surrender when you take one insurance policy. Having planned to take up additional insurance policy shows that you have made all alternate arrangements and will not discontinue or surrender the policy till it matures or before you die.
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Universal Whole Life Insurance Policies

This is a very flexible type of insurance policy, which allows for a change in death benefits every year. It is also based on the chances of risks. In addition this policy also charges for all
insurance related expenses from your account on the basis of the changing economic trends.
Incase you do not paid sufficient money to meet the demands of this policy it will automatically terminate. Besides it also offers flexibility. The insurer can choose to stop from making the payments and commence it as soon as he wants if he so desires. This provision is applicable only if there is sufficient amount to meet the expenses of the policy, in your account.
Variable Life Insurance
Whole life insurance comparison will reveal that this policy is different from the others. The insured will be able to able to earn a higher amount when compared with the other policies. At the same time the insured will not be able to claim the benefit like loan. The working of this policy is similar when compared with other whole life insurance policies. The main distinguishing feature is that the money deposited by the insured is invested in financial instruments like stocks and mutual funds. Therefore the insured will be able to get higher returns if the stock on which his money has been invested performs well in the market.

Whole Life Insurance policies entitle the insured to earn returns on their investment. Therefore it is suited for persons who are looking for something beyond protection from a life insurance policy. The insurer invests the premiums in various stocks in some policies or chooses to invest in other sources like banks or even uses them to finance trade and related activities. The returns are not definite if the insurer invests your premiums in stocks. However investing them in other financial instruments guarantees returns . However in the remaining cases the returns are almost guaranteed. The type of policy chosen by the insured determines whole life insurance quotes. Whole life insurance details can be accessed online.
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Can I expect return on investment beyond protection?

If you need protection throughout your life, then you have to be prompt in paying your premium .This is what whole life insurance premium says. In return you can use the amount from your insurance for future investments or other unforeseen key expenses. There are two kinds in whole life insurance. They are ordinary whole life insurance policies and limited pay whole life policies .Learn what whole life insurance policy has in store for you.The article
covers
Whole life insurance quotes
Characteristics of a whole life insurance policy
Whole life insurance types
Classifications of limited whole life policies
Whole life insurance is a subcategory of permanent insurance. As per this policy a person will be eligible to obtain protection throughout his life. The only prerequisite is that he should be prompt in making the payments. This type of policy can be preferred if the insured is having long term goals for investment and also wants alternative sources to meet emergency financial needs.
Some of the characteristics of a whole life insurance policy are as follows:
Uniform premium rates
In a whole life insurance policy the premium rates are usually constant. It is advisable to invest in these policies in the early stages of one's life for two reasons. Firstly the financial strain will be minimal for a person of that age. Secondly when a person invests early he won't find it difficult to pay the same amount even after he gets old because of two factors namely the rise in his income and the uniform rate of premium. On the contrary if a person invests in this policy at a later period he will still have additional income but pay a higher amount of premium when compared with the person who started investment in the younger age. The simple logic behind this is the insurance premiums increase with a rise in cost of living. Hence whole Life insurance rates are regarded affordable.
Refund of policy amount
The insured does not run into the risk of losing the money invested if in case he does not die or the period expires. This type of policy allows the insured to claim a refund. However the amount of refund varies from policy to policy and many factors like age, the number of years for which the policy is taken influences them. In short the criterion chosen to evaluate whole life insurance quotes will be considered.
Other benefits
The insurer can also raise loans from the insurance company. The amount of such loans will be decided on the basis of his policy amount and premiums. However it should be understood that this will decline the amount of refund that they receive after the expiry of the policy. Besides this will also reduce the extent of life protection that they are entitled to.
Whole Life insurance types:
The two main categories of traditional whole Life Insurance are as follows:
Ordinary whole Life Insurance Policies
Limited pay whole life policies
Ordinary whole Life Insurance Policies
This type of insurance policy required the insured to pay a fixed sum of money up to an old age. The basic idea is to ensure that when the policy matures that the insured gets money whose value equals death benefit. However for practical reasons the insured person is not able to pay the money till the expiry of the policy. They either die before the policy period or close the policy and obtain the surrender value to get maximum benefits.
Limited pay whole life policies
In this type of policy the insured is required to pay premiums at a uniform rate. However the period for which the policy is taken in lesser when compared with ordinary whole life insurance policy. The insured is therefore required to pay a higher amount in the limited period. The policy comes to end on the attainment of the slated period.

Some of the classifications of limited whole life policies are as follows:
Interest Sensitive Whole Life Policies
Universal Whole Life Insurance Policies
Variable Life Insurance Policies
Interest Sensitive Whole Life Policies
This policy does not pay returns to the insured. However the amount earned by investing the insured's investment is accounted and paid to the insured. At the same time the costs for maintaining his life insurance policy is charged from the same account. This is to make sure that the insurer has sufficient funds to pay incase of sudden death of the insured or surrender of the policy.

The premiums rates are not uniform in a term insurance policy. They fluctuate with the changes in the market. The insurance company also has another interesting provision namely guaranteed minimum. According to this provision the insured will be paid a minimum returns whether or not his investment makes profits
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The Features of Joint Life Insurance

Dividends
Most joint life insurance policies earn dividends from the premiums being paid by policyholders. These dividends can be used to reduce premium payment or it can be left to
accumulate with interest. It can also be received in cash, should the policyholder opts for that.
Loans
Most policies allow holders to borrow from the cash value of their policy. The interest for these loans are based on the market's rate. If the loans and the interest that comes with it is not paid, it will be deducted from the proceeds of the policy during death or if it is surrendered prior.
Premiums
Premiums are what policyholders pay on a regular basis. Most joint life insurance companies require these to be paid either until the 100th year of the younger insured or until the second death. But more often than not, these premiums are at level, meaning they don't change as time progresses.
Non-forfeiture options
These are options that protect the policyholder against incidents wherein they were unable to pay their premiums. Examples of these options are automatic premium loan, paid-up insurance, and cash surrender

Optional Benefits
Optional benefits are benefits offered at an additional cost. A waiver of premium benefit relinquishes all the premium payments if and when the holder becomes disabled. There's also a death waiver of premium that provides for the waiving of payment when one of the holder dies for a specified period of time.

After understanding these points, it is easier to see that joint life insurance policies are advantageous in such a way it carries lower premiums than if you choose two separate policies. The requirements for underwriting this type of insurance are way easier too. Plus it works the same way as regular life insurance polices, such as it build cash values and offer loans as well.

But in spite of those advantages and before availing joint term life insurance quotes, you have to know that these joint insurance polices are not really flexible. Once they are written, there is almost no room for changes. And if you happen to be the younger of the two person under the survivor life insurance, you will be paying more than your partner, because the premiums are computed based on the average ages. And to top it all, for those who availed the first to die clause, the survivor would need to purchase whole life to cover the final expenses of the policy. And because there is no way to determine who the two of you will die first, it is really hard to make arrangements early on when the cost is cheaper.
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Joint Life Insurance - No Extra Benefits for You Here

oint life insurance policies are policies that enables two individuals to be protected, but the full value of the policy is paid only once at the time of either insurer's death. This is also referred to as the joint first to die clause.


Spouses, children, or even a business partner will benefit from a survivorship life insurance policy. Spouses is the directly benefit from it. Should one of the couple die, the surviving spouse will get the proceedings of the policy. The amount should be enough for them to live on, until the whole family gathered had gathered their bearings after the loss.

Children are also benefited. Taking care of children and sending them to school can really be expensive. With a joint life insurance in place, these tasks are going to be less burdensome, especially if one of the parents dies unexpectedly.

Joint life insurance policies do not only help families. It can be beneficial to business partners as well. Insurance joint life policy in a business setup has two types, the single life annuity and the last to die annuity. The first one corresponds to the clause that the value of the policy is payable until the first partner dies. The second one, on the other hand, says that the policy is in force until the last partner dies.
The Different Levels of Joint Life Insurance
Level Term Assurance
This is the basic level of a joint life insurance policy. This simply states that if and when one of the policyholder dies then payout is made. But when the surviving spouse or partner in turn goes, then no more payment will be made even if the policy has still not lapsed.
Decreasing Term Assurance
This is also known as the mortgage protection insurance. This level of life assurance covers the capital as well as the interest of the mortgage, which are all payable when the one of the policyholders dies. It is called decreasing term assurance because the amount payable decreases as the mortgage debt is reduced due to the monthly amortization paid over time.
Critical Illness
Critical illness is now being integrated into life insurance policies because of the discovery of modern medicines. Longer survival people of people with terminal diseases are now possible. However, they may not be able to go back to work to sustain their everyday living, not to mention their medications.

For this, joint insurance policies are going to pay a lump sum should either one of the policy holder is diagnosed of any critical illness such as heart attack, cancer, stroke, or multiple sclerosis.

These are the different levels of joint life insurance cover details. It then follows that the survivorship life insurance rates depends entirely as to which level you would like to avail of. Get different levels depending upon your coverage requirements.
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Getting Return of Premium Insurance Coverage

Not every life insurance company offers return of premium coverage. Typically, it is still a new
service, and only the best life insurance companies are offering it at this point. If you want to
delve into the world of ROP life insurance, start by getting a return of premium life insurance quote from several companies. Choose the company that has the best coverage with the most affordable premiums.
Benefits of Return of Premium Life Insurance
The main benefit of return of premium life insurance is the forced savings that it creates for the insured person. In a perfect world you will not need your life insurance policy, and if it ends, you will have the sum of the total of the premiums you paid given back to you. This is a great way to save while also protecting your family in case you were to die. Remember, funerals are extremely expensive. Do not leave your family without the ability to pay for a proper funeral for you. With return of premium insurance, you get the best of both worlds

Disadvantages of ROP Insurance
The main disadvantage of return of premium term life insurance is the fact that it costs more than traditional life insurance. Not only that, but in order to benefit from the return of premium service, you will have to keep your insurance with the same company for the entire life of the policy. Finally, term life insurance with return of premium is not offered by all insurance companies. But these disadvantages are far outweighed by the benefits of return of premium life insurance. Consider ROP for your family today!
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Has Return of Premium Life Insurance (ROP) Come to Stay?

Life insurance is a gamble. If you die, your family benefits, but of course, you don't want to die! If you do not die, you are out all of the premiums you paid! Not with return of premium life
insurance! With return of premium term life insurance, you are no longer risking losing all of
those monthly premiums that you pay!
What is Return of Premium Life Insurance?
Return of premium life insurance is a type of term life insurance with return of premiums paid throughout the policy term. Like other forms of life insurance, if you die during the term of the policy, your family will receive the lump sum benefit of the policy. If, however, you live and the policy comes to term, you are repaid for all of the premiums that you paid!
How Is ROP Different
Return of premium life insurance is different than other types of term life insurance. Return of premium competes with the two other main types of life insurance: whole life and term life insurance. Whole life is insurance that you pay for your entire life, with no limit. This is an expensive form of life insurance. Term life insurance is life insurance that you pay for a set period of time, usually twenty to thirty years. The premiums on term life insurance are usually much lower, since many of the customers using term life insurance do not die during the term.

Return of premium term life insurance is an innovative way to combat the most common reason that people do not choose to buy life insurance. Most consumers who choose not to buy life insurance do so because they assume they are not going to die during the term, and therefore they will waste their money on the premiums. With ROP, that excuse is no longer valid! If you do not die, and keep your policy with the company the entire time, you are repaid the premium amounts. This is a great way to force yourself to start saving!
Features of ROP
ROP life insurance works much like other types of life insurance. If you die while you are a policy holder, your beneficiaries, usually your family, receives a lump sum, valued at whatever the value of the policy is. If you do not die, at the end of the term, you are repaid the premiums, provided you keep your life insurance with the company the entire term of the policy.
Cost of ROP Life Insurance
Return of Premium life insurance does cost more than regular term life insurance, since the company will be paying you back at the end of the term. But, most customers who use return of premium life insurance feel that the extra expense is worth it, because if they live through the term of the policy, they are not out anything. And the added cost is usually only a few dollars a month, which is well worth the investment. The typical difference between return of premium insurance and traditional term insurance is 30%.
How it Works
The reason that the life insurance company will be able to repay their return of premium clients their premiums at the end of the term is that they are investing the premiums during the policy term. Each time you pay your monthly premium, it gets invested, bringing income into the company. Also, many people choose to take their business to another company before the term is up. When this happens, they do not receive their premiums back. That money, as well as the money from investments, is now available to pay you back for your premiums.
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Truth About Viatical Life Settlement Companies

A viatical life settlement company normally gets involved with bids when a viatical settlement agent bids the life insurance policy on the terminally ill contact individual. The package that is
usually sent out for bids contains the life insurance policy terms, As well as the medical
prognosis of the terminally ill individual. The vertical life settlement company which is awarded the bid normally agrees to pay 50% to 80% of the policy's face amount, varying according to the gravity of the terminally ill customer's medical condition and life expectancy. The viatical life settlement company-in turn-sells the terminally ill individual's life insurance policy to a financial investor who eventually becomes the policyholder as well as the beneficiary and assumes premium payments of the insurance policy.

According to the Viatical and Life Settlement Association of America, the financial investor will receive 100% of the life insurance policy's face amount from the said insurance company, upon the death of the terminally ill individual. Normally, the sooner the terminally ill patient becomes deceased, the higher the return of the investor. The Viatical and Life Settlement Association of America reports that while returns of 15% to 20% are customary for financial investors, the insurance policies can pay off a considerably higher return if death occurs quite early.

Regulations The Need Of The Hour
The Viatical and Life Settlement Association of America has been a leader in fostering regulation of the insurance industry and responsible legislation since its advent in 1995. It is not only the oldest, but the largest non-profit trade association in the viatical and life settlement business. It has contributed detailed and conceptual language to actual laws governing the life settlement industry in most United States territories. The result of these efforts improved public awareness, public information and created a highly competitive market place for the chief purpose of serving the consumer a valuable financial service.

Viatical settlement with life insurance can benefit a wide range of seniors who desire to cash out life insurance as they plan for better retirement as well as other needs. Several seniors prefer a combination of annuity products, while some others desire to become debt-free. With viatical settlement with life insurance, a number of seniors don't realize that there are no restrictions on the use of their life settlement proceeds. Policy holders and financial advisors are capable to unleash valuable cash resources by entering into a life settlement
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Is the seller of life settlement sure to die? Viatical Settlements

If one were to look from the perspective of an investor, purchasing a viatical settlement is
much akin to buying a bond with a negative valued coupon and dubious redemption date. This
is due to the fact that the return of the viatical settlement chiefly depends on the life expectancy of the seller-when he or she becomes deceased.
Viatical Settlement
A viatical settlement is the absolute sale of a life insurance policy by the owner of the policy before the maturation of the said policy. Sales of viatical settlements are at a price discount from the face amount of the policy. However, viatical settlements are normally in excess of the insurance premiums paid or current surrender value of cash. This offers the seller an instant cash settlement. Viatical settlements generally involve insured customers with a life expectancy of two years or less. In nations without state-subsidized healthcare, along with high healthcare costs-the United States-this is considered a very practical way to pay out severely high health insurance premiums faced by extremely ill individuals.

Viatical settlements became popular in the United States in the late 1980s due to the increasing AIDS epidemic. The early victims of this dreadful disease in the United States were mainly homosexual men, many of whom were rather young.
Viatical Life Settlement
A viatical life settlement involves insured customers with longer life expectancies (normally two to fifteen years). A viatical life settlement may be considered a better alternative than a viatical settlement, but there are still plenty of risks involved. The general consensus of viatical settlements is that they are seriously risky. This is due to the fact that the return is unknown, since it's not probable to determine when an individual will die. To invest in a viatical settlement is simply speculating on death. The longer the life expectancy, the less costly the insurance policy (such as with a viatical life settlement), but the return is normally lower. Without a shadow of a doubt, this has to be one of the more morbid investments money can buy.

Although there seems to be more cons than pros when it comes to viatical settlements, one of the benefits is that viatical settlements assist in making tough choices a bit easier by creating a peace of mind. A viatical settlement can generally provide terminally ill insured customers financial solutions for serious financial dilemmas.
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Are you hard pressed for the premium money?

Often you will find it difficult to pay the policy amount owing to the other pressing expenses. On such occasions you don't have to worry .Here is a kind of insurance that has got the flexibility to change the policy amount even after entering a policy for different amount. Have a look at
this policy in the article.The article covers
What is universal insurance policy?
What are the benefits of life insurance universal?
What are the tax advantages in it?
What are the disadvantages of this policy?
Universal Life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance policy. Unlike other insurance policies one can change the policy amount .At times the insured finds it difficult to pay the premiums because of some financial commitments. On such occasions the insured is not able to change the policy amount This policy allows the insured to change the policy amount.

Some of the advantages of this policy are as follows:
Innumerable death benefits
This policy allows flexibility in the amount of death benefits. You are free to change them to suit your convenience. There is another special feature associated with universal life insurance policy. The policy provides for lapse protection which entails you to enjoy the benefits as long as you pay the premiums regularly. Even if it does not have the provision of lapse protection the maturity amount will be paid in the event of death after deducting the money borrowed.
Premium Options
The insured is at liberty to make his choice in paying the premiums. You can either pay the premium at regular intervals or in one stroke. However you cannot change the amount of premiums to be paid.. You cannot pay less or more that the prescribed limits. Your dependents will not be able to enjoy the death benefits if you fail to pay the premiums.

However you can make the payments within as and when you wish. Another notable feature of this policy is that it does not get automatically cancelled even if you fail to pay the premiums. The underlying condition is that the premiums paid till date should be sufficient enough to meet the policy requirements till now.
Protection options
The insurance company not only allows you to choose premium payments but also gives you a choice in choosing protection limits. Suppose you feel that you require more or less protection you can alter your policy accordingly. The biggest advantage is that that when you increase the policy amount it is not necessary for you to buy an additional policy. However you need to get them approved by an underwriter.

You can reduce the amount in case you need to meet other financial commitments and as well as increase them once you have met them if you desire so. In case you decrease the amount the company follows a different procedure of applying a surrender charge against the policy's cash value.
Source for obtaining finance
This insurance policy also helps you in raising finance. You will be able to borrow money from the insurance company in the form of surrender value and loans. Surrender value is an option whereby you can surrender a part of the policy and claim the cash equivalent for the surrendered policy. You will also be able to borrow loans from these insurance companies like any commercial banks. These facilities will help you to claim income tax concessions. If you are willing to raise finance from the insurer the prerequisite is that your policy should not be a modified endowment contract.

Since universal life insurance is a long term investment it is not advised to borrow money either by loans or through surrender values as they reduce your policy amount. In case of emergency needs you may still consider them if you are promptly able to repay them with interests if any so that it does not affect your policy.
Death benefits
There are two types of benefits during death when a person chooses a universal insurance policy. When a person invests in this policy the increase or decrease of his cash value does not influence the policy amount. Moreover when there is an increase in cash value the insurance company creates an extra insurance policy for the increased amount.
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Variable Universal Life Insurance - Flexibility at its Best?

Variable universal life insurance has tax advantages to policy holders. The investment earnings of the policy are tax free, as long as the policy is in place. Also, the death benefit can
be played income tax free if paid correctly. And, after ten years, the policy earns FIFO
withdrawal status. Taxes tend to one of the main reasons that people who are relatively wealthy choose to use this type of life insurance.

The ability to earn a return on the policy is another advantage of this form of life insurance. As discussed, the premiums paid on this life insurance are invested in investments chosen by the policy holder. This freedom allows many people to make considerable income with their life insurance policy.
Disadvantages of Variable Universal Life Insurance
One of the main disadvantages of this form of life insurance is the high cost of premiums. Variable Universal Life policies are more expensive for the most part than other types of life insurance. The reason for this is that the value of this policy can increase, and there are tremendous tax savings.

Some claim that while the policy holder can choose their investments, they are limited in he types of investments they can choose. Also, the investments are set up in accounts that the Rate this Article
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Finally, the expenses can grow on these policies. If many policy
holders in the company die, and their dependents receive the death benefit, it can cause the insurance company to create more expensive terms for their policies. The chance is there that the policy could lose money over time.

Insurance life universal variable may be a good option for you, if you are willing to take on the risks involved. Now that you know the advantages and disadvantages of variable universal life insurance, you can make the choice that is best for you!

The ultimate consumer is still not aware of life insurance policies. The level of his understanding is not sufficient. This is partly because of the reason said above. Some of the domestic companies don't have the technical expertise to implement the latest practices.

Moreover the services of insurance agents could sometimes do more bad than good. Some of them try to convince their clients to invest more or to choose certain policies which are not much beneficial to the clients. A person will find himself in trouble if he invests more than what is actually required. Since some agents indulge in unethical practices, this has led to wrong mindsets among general public about insurers.

The number of advantages outnumbers the disadvantages. Life insurance is a savings option that helps the individuals, general public, business houses and the nation at large.It is therefore a wise move to choose a life insurance policy. The consumer has to gather life insurance information before choosing a particular policy.
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