Tag: long term

HDFC Life’s new life insurance plan offers guaranteed income of upto 13% annually on sum assured

Ana R. Cheatwood

One of the leading life insurance firms, HDFC Life has launched a new insurance plan which offers guaranteed income of 11% to 13% annually as a percentage of the sum assured under the policy. The product HDFC Life Guaranteed Income Insurance plan also offers guaranteed, regular, tax-free benefits and guaranteed death benefits.

Aneesh Khanna – Head of Products & Segments, HDFC Life said, “At HDFC Life, our aim is to ensure financial security for our policyholders and their loved ones. Life insurance as a product category provides the dual benefits of protection and long-term savings.”

Khanna added, “HDFC Life Guaranteed Income Insurance plan offers guaranteed returns and secures policyholders from future uncertainties. The plan offers a choice of premium payment terms and life cover even during the income payout phase. We hope individuals make the most of this plan and build a corpus along with a financial safety net for themselves and their families.”

HDFC Life’s this new insurance plan gives a discount on first-year premiums for online purchases. There is also a discount of 12% for 8 and 10 years of a premium payment term (PPT) and a discount of 15% for 12 and 15 years PPT.

Also, the plan provides life cover even during the income payout phase.

A policyholder will have the option to choose the income period of 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years.

Additionally, the policy provides guaranteed death benefits either in a lump sum or in monthly instalments as a family income benefit option.

The entry age for the plan ranges from 0 (zero) to 65 years.

It needs to be noted that this is a non-participating life insurance plan.

The HDFC-backed life insurance arm constantly endeavors to offer products that meet various life stage needs of individuals. With HDFC Life

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Insurance companies yet to see fire sale of high-value life policies

Ana R. Cheatwood

Many life insurance companies are yet to see a sharp spike in the sale of high-value policies as was widely expected in the aftermath of the government’s decision to tax income from insurance policies having an aggregate premium above Rs 5 lakh in a year.

Insurance

This is for policies issued on or after April 1, 2023.

Insurers expect March, which is typically the busiest month for life insurance companies, to see increased sales of such policies before the government’s proposal kicks in.

 

After the Budget announcement, analysts at various brokerage houses had reckoned that high-value non-par guaranteed products could see a fire sale over the next two months (February and March) to avail of tax benefit which only goes away from April 1.

“Nothing extraordinary happened in February. Perhaps it’s not yet registered with customers. It’s too early to say,” said a chief executive officer (CEO) of a private sector life insurance company.

“However, in March, we might see a pick-up,” he added.

“There is some interest from customers because we are seeing enquiries.

“But there has not been a spike in the sale of high-value policies.

“We could see some increase in March because typically it’s the busiest period for life insurers,” said Mahesh Balasubramanian, managing director (MD) and CEO, Kotak Life Insurance.

According to Rushabh Gandhi, deputy MD, IndiaFirst Life Insurance, after Union Budget 2023-24, there has been significant increase in customer inclination towards buying non-unit linked insurance plan (ULIP) products over and above Rs 5 lakh.

“As of February, our business witnessed a 20 per cent increase in the composition of its non-ULIP portfolio versus the first 10 months of the year.

“We have also observed a 15-20 per cent increase in the average ticket size concerning non-ULIP policies over Rs 5 lakh,” said Gandhi.

Meanwhile, the

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ICICI Prudential Life Insurance leverages machine learning models for customers, CIO News, ET CIO

Ana R. Cheatwood
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has deployed advanced machine learning models for their customers. This digital solution predicts future persistency behavior and has enabled the Company to improve persistency across all cohorts. Coupled with the Company’s other initiatives, it has resulted in higher premium collections, enhanced productivity, and improved profitability.

Persistency measures the proportion of customers who continue to pay renewal premiums. In the life insurance industry, the persistency ratio is an important indicator of the quality of the sale as well as the future growth of the insurer.

The advanced models have helped map customer behaviour to various inputs and options that can be provided by the Company. Integration of the advanced models into the Company’s operations have helped provide targeted interventions to multiple customer segments, enabling the Company to step in and resolve customer queries and improve persistency. Simultaneously, the solution also aids the Company in predicting future persistency behaviour of new customers being onboarded, enabling the Company to initiate appropriate action. This includes interactions with senior sales managers to resolve queries thereby providing excellent customer service experience.

Mr. Dhiren Salian, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said “Customer-centricity is the focus of everything we do. As a ‘Customer First’ Company, we have been leveraging data science and technology to ensure our customers are on course to achieve their long-term financial goals. This is in line with our vision of building an enduring institution that serves the protection and long-term saving needs of customers with sensitivity”.

“With the deployment of advanced machine learning propensity models, we are witnessing an improvement in our persistency ratios across all cohorts. It has resulted in higher premium collections, enhanced productivity and long-term sustainable growth. These models help identify distinct customer segments, enabling us to offer a more engaging experience by

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Why I’m Getting Life Insurance Even Though I Don’t Have Kids

Ana R. Cheatwood

Insider’s experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners, however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.

  • I was always told I didn’t have to worry about life insurance until I had kids.
  • But now that I’m 35, I’ve decided my husband and I need policies.
  • It’s cheaper to lock in rates now, we rely on both our incomes, and I plan to help support my parents.

When I turned 30, I decided to do an overhaul of my finances after spending my 20s making mistakes. I spent months meeting with financial experts and soliciting advice from friends and family members in order to put together a new money strategy.

The advice I received helped me start budgeting, investing in different index funds and stocks, opening up a retirement fund, and finally having an emergency fund.

I also received the advice that I should skip thinking about life insurance until later on, when I had kids. Until then, many people told me it would just be a waste and another monthly payment to think about. At the time, I was recently married and not thinking about any type of timeline for starting a family, so I thought it was smart advice to follow.

However, now that I’m about to turn 35, and still don’t have any kids, I’m starting to reconsider that decision and have started looking into life insurance policies. Here’s why.

Life changes are looming

My husband and I have started doing some near-term future planning and have

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Can Nursing Homes Take My Life Insurance From My Beneficiary?

Ana R. Cheatwood
can nursing homes take your life insurance from your beneficiary

can nursing homes take your life insurance from your beneficiary

A lengthy nursing home stay can be expensive, and if you don’t qualify for Medicaid, you may need to draw down your assets to pay for it. You may choose to leave a life insurance policy behind to help your loved ones cover final expenses and replace some of the assets that were used to fund nursing care. But can nursing homes take your life insurance from your beneficiary? The short answer is no, a nursing home cannot lay claim to your life insurance policy if you’ve taken the necessary precautions. We explain more below but you may also want to work with a financial advisor to help set you your estate up with the right insurance for your retirement and long-term care needs.

Who Pays for Nursing Home Care?

If you or a spouse require nursing home care, there are multiple ways to pay for it, depending on how long of a stay is required. Generally, the options for paying for nursing home care include:

  • Personal savings or investments

  • Medicaid

  • VA benefits (if you’re an eligible veteran or the spouse of a veteran)

  • Long-term care insurance

  • Life insurance with a critical illness or long-term care rider

  • Annuities

  • Loans, including home equity loans

Each option has pros and cons. Using personal savings or investments to pay for nursing care, for example, can mean leaving a smaller financial legacy for your loved ones. term care insurance” class=”link “Long-term care insurance can cover your nursing care expenses but buying a policy can be expensive.

A life insurance policy with a long-term care rider may be more appealing since you can get both a death benefit and funds to pay for long-term care if needed. Annuities can provide you with a

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An Insurance-Licensed CFP Considers a Life Settlement

Ana R. Cheatwood

Or, a trustee may decide it no longer makes sense to maintain a marginally beneficial trust-owned life insurance policy where the accelerating premiums are draining cash assets from the estate.

Whatever the specific situation may be, thousands of seniors have benefited financially by selling unwanted policies and using the cash for more pressing needs.

According to a recent market data survey conducted by Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA), consumers were paid over $750 million for their unwanted life insurance policies in 2021.

Other highlights from the survey revealed the following:

  • Consumers received an average of 7.8 times more than their cash surrender value (representing over $660 million more than policy owners would have received from life insurance carriers.)
  • In 2021, more than 3,000 transactions were conducted by LISA members totaling over $4 billion in face value.
  • The average amount of net death benefit per transaction was $1.35 million.
  • LISA estimates indicate that life insurance policies valued at $642 billion are allowed to lapse or are surrendered annually by consumers because most are not aware of the life settlement option.

While recent growth in the market is attributed to a more mature state regulatory environment and broader consumer acceptance of the option to sell obsolete policies, growing numbers of insurance and fiduciary professionals are also viewing life settlements as a prudent exit strategy from burdensome coverage.

More policy owners are recognizing that selling a policy creates a liquidity event for an otherwise static asset.

Not only does the seller receive a cash payout multiple times the policy’s cash surrender (if any), but also they effectively shift an unwanted expense to the income column.

In the case of expiring term policies with no intrinsic value, or in the case of a UL policy about to lapse, selling the policy is clearly the

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Here’s when to buy life insurance

Ana R. Cheatwood
The benefits of life insurance are clear. What's less obvious, however, is the timing around purchasing a policy.  / Credit: Getty Images

The benefits of life insurance are clear. What’s less obvious, however, is the timing around purchasing a policy. / Credit: Getty Images

Life insurance provides critical financial support for your loved ones in the event of your death. In exchange for a minimal payment to a provider each month (or annually if you’re looking for a cheaper rate) you can rest assured knowing that your beneficiaries will be financially prepared in your absence.

life insurance” class=”link “The benefits of life insurance are clear. What’s less obvious, though, is the timing around purchasing a policy. Since qualifications and types of insurance vary significantly it can be difficult to know when to buy coverage.

If you’re in the market for a life insurance policy now then reach out to a life insurance expert today. They can help you get started with a free quote so you know exactly what to expect.

Here’s when you should buy life insurance

Life insurance, like most other types of insurance, is specific to your personal circumstances and long-term goals. Here are three times when you should buy life insurance.

After you’ve gotten married

If you’re single and living alone you may be able to get away without having life insurance. But once you’re married and interdependent it makes sense to get covered. This is especially true if you’re the sole breadwinner (although it also helps if you’re splitting the bills with your partner).

And even if you have life insurance through your current employer it may not be enough. Do the math to see if the employer-provided plan will meet your long-term goals. If not, you may need to get a supplemental plan, too.

A life insurance agent can help determine exactly how much you need.

After you’ve bought a home

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What type of life insurance do I need?

Ana R. Cheatwood
There are many kinds of life insurance to choose from so do your research to find the best one for you. / Credit: Getty Images

There are many kinds of life insurance to choose from so do your research to find the best one for you. / Credit: Getty Images

Life insurance is a smart protection to invest in. If you pass on, it provides much-needed money to your loved ones — money they can use toward your funeral, burial or any other debt you may leave behind.

Some life insurance policies also let you grow your wealth or give you access to cash if you need it.

If you’re in the market for life insurance – or want to boost the protection you already have – then reach out to a life insurance expert who can help you get started with a free quote now.

Which type of life insurance is right for your situation? Here are the four main kinds to consider.

Term life insurance

Term life insurance is a policy that only covers you for a certain number of years. If you pass away during that period, it will pay a death benefit to whomever you have named as your beneficiary. Then, they can use the money however they wish, including to settle debts, pay for funeral costs, or use them toward everyday living expenses.

Who benefits: This type of life insurance is best if you’re on a tight budget (it tends to be the most affordable type of policy) and you want coverage for a specific period of time — such as for your full mortgage term or until you retire.

For these reasons, term life insurance is one of the more popular insurance types. If you think you would benefit from this type of insurance then speak with a life insurance professional now who can help you get started.

Whole life insurance

Whole life insurance is

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Medicare Could Take Retirees’ Life Insurance Benefits if They Don’t Do This

Ana R. Cheatwood
SmartAsset: Can Medicaid Take Life Insurance From a Beneficiary?

SmartAsset: Can Medicaid Take Life Insurance From a Beneficiary?

Medicaid provides a way to pay for medical costs. But it can also lay claim to the assets that you leave behind, including life insurance if you do not have a designated beneficiary. Let’s break down what Medicaid can claim and how to protect your assets. A financial advisor can help you create an estate plan that protects your assets for your family.

What Is Medicaid?

Medicaid is a government-sponsored health insurance program, it’s run by the federal government in conjunction with state governments. Importantly, the program is designed for Americans in need.

Each state sets income limits for Medicaid eligibility. Although the exact qualifications vary, you likely qualify for Medicaid if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than 100% to 200% of the federal poverty level. As of 2022, the federal poverty line sits at $18,310 for a two-person household.

Medicaid Estate Recovery Program

Medicaid coverage can assist with both short-term and long-term healthcare services. So, as you can imagine, the costs for the program can add up quickly.

The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program works to recover the costs of benefits. Although the details of the program vary by state, it means that Medicaid can pursue payment for benefits provided through the recipient’s estate.

Ultimately, the results of the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program can lead to smaller inheritances for estate beneficiaries.

Can Medicaid Take Life Insurance From Beneficiary?

SmartAsset: Can Medicaid Take Life Insurance From a Beneficiary?

SmartAsset: Can Medicaid Take Life Insurance From a Beneficiary?

The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program can lay claim to a number of assets you leave behind. But, can Medicaid take life insurance from beneficiary? Generally, Medicaid cannot take a life insurance payout from a beneficiary. That’s because the life insurance company will send the funds of your death benefit directly to

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