Economy Squeezing Your Insurance Budget? Think Term Life

It's an economy-driven dilemma: In these shaky financial times, you know it's more important than ever to protect your family's solvency with life insurance. But these days, you don't have a lot of money to spend on monthly premiums.

Term life may be the solution. Term life insurance can provide you with the coverage you need to protect your family until the economy improves - and at a cost you can afford. Wondering if term life fits into your lean-times budget? Consider this:

* Monthly premiums for term life are generally far less than premiums for whole life policies. This makes term life much more affordable for people on a tight budget.

* You can choose how long you'll keep the policy and how much the coverage amount will be. This means you pay for coverage only for as long as you believe you'll really need it - until a dependant child finishes college, or retirement gives you access to 401(k) funds, or the economy improves and the financial threat to your family decreases.

* Some companies offer virtually "instant" approval and immediate coverage, versus the sometimes weeks-long application process for a whole life policy.

* While with traditional term life you won't get any money back if you don't die before the term ends, many companies now offer term policies that do have a cash value (for a slightly higher premium). And most will allow you to convert your term policy to a "permanent" one under certain circumstances, meaning a portion of your premium after conversion will go towards building cash value with interest.

* Your beneficiaries won't be taxed on the proceeds from your term life policy.

* Term life is a great way to supplement existing policies that are now inadequate due to inflation, such as an employer-sponsored life plan or an older whole life policy.

* The money you save in premium costs for term life can be put to better use elsewhere - such as investing in your retirement, your child's college fund or in improving your home.

The easiest way to comparison shop for term life insurance is to go online to a site like www.InsWeb.com. You'll need to complete a detailed quote form, but at the end of the process you'll receive multiple quotes from agents in your area, as well as major insurance carriers - usually within 24 hours of completing the form.

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