How important is insurance really? An insurance product is designed such as to protect the life and/or the property of an individual, company or other entity from losses under unforeseen circumstances.

It would not be incorrect to say that the concept of insurance is as old as that of human societies. In the ancient times, if an individual?s house burned down, the other members of the community helped build a new one by contributing the necessary resources.

In as early as 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, the Chinese and the Babylonian traders? practiced methods of risk transfer. The Chinese were known to redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due if a ship sunk when traveling through treacherous river rapids.

Insurance was practiced by Babylonians in form of a system, the famous Code of Hammurabi, c. 1750 BC and the by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. If a merchant took a loan to fund his shipment, he would also pay the lender an extra sum in exchange for the lender’s guarantee to cancel the loan should the shipment be stolen.

The concept of insurance was also popular among the Iranian Achaemenian monarchs of Iran who were pioneers in insuring their people. They went an extra step by registering the insuring process in governmental notary offices. Insurance was almost ceremonial and was performed each year in Norouz (beginning of the Iranian New Year). The heads of different ethnic groups, as well as others willing to take part, presented gifts to the monarch. The most important gift was presented during a special ceremony. When a gift was worth more than 10,000 Derrik (Achaemenian gold coin) the issue was registered in a special office. This was advantageous to those who presented such special gifts. For others, the presents were fairly assessed by the confidants of the court. Then the assessment was registered in special offices.

People in Rhodes came up with the concept of the ‘general average’. Merchants whose goods were being shipped together would pay a proportionally divided premium which would be used to reimburse any merchant whose goods were jettisoned during storm or sinkage.

Life insurance and health insurance have been around since 600 AD when the Greeks and Romans who organized guilds called “benevolent societies” that took care of families and paid funeral expenses of members upon death. In the late 17th century England, “friendly societies” existed where people donated funds to be used for emergencies. This was much before the concept of insurance was formally brought in place.

It was in 14th century in Genoa that came up the concept of separate insurance contracts which were not bundled with loans. The insurance pools were backed by mortgage of property.

The end of the 17th century, the concept of marine insurance existed in a concrete form.

The modern day concept of insurance has its origin in the Great Fire of London, 1666 which destroyed 13,200 houses. This lead to the establishment of England’s first fire insurance company, “The Fire Office,” to insure brick and frame homes by Nicholas Barbon in 1680.

The first Insurance Company in the United States underwrote fire insurance and was formed in Charles Town (modern-day Charleston), South Carolina, in 1732. Benjamin Franklin popularized the practice of insurance, particularly against fire in the form of perpetual insurance. In 1752, he established the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Insurance has come a long way today

Many seniors choose to get diluted coverage because of the premium expense, or forego life insurance completely instead of purchasing this asset, which might be extremely worthwhile for their families. The cost of providing for their loved ones is just too high to bear during retirement years.

Are there any alternatives? The answer is, unequivocally, YES! A specific new life insurance for seniors product has evolved over the past few years and it is called Premium Financing. It is not a new life insurance concept, but one that has come to the forefront recently.

Premium financing is where, typically, an independent institutional funder decides to pay the premium for the insured. Financing is done for a period of years, or even for life. Financing rates vary, but are typically related to the U.S. prime rate or LIBOR.

Why would the funder do this? The funder believes that they will get a better return, overall, than investing in traditional financial vehicles. They fund an enormous basket of these transactions, and know through the law of averages, that overall, their returns should yield a few hundred basis points higher than bonds. The institutional funders include Hedge Funds, Large U.S. and International Banks, Pension Funds, College Endowments, and even Insurance Companies themselves.

Why would a senior do this? The senior typically has no out of pocket expenses, or, at most, minimal cash outlay. Imagine getting millions of dollars of coverage with no cash outlay or a few thousand dollars one time total investment.

If the senior dies while the note is in force, premiums and reasonable interest are recouped by the institutional funder, and the balance is paid to the heirs. These new senior life insurance programs are set up so that the proceeds pass to the heirs both income tax free (standard with life insurance), and estate tax free. This is an awesome advantage, once only utilized by the very sophisticated and wealthy.

In some cases, depending upon the initial structure, seniors may even choose to offer the policy for sale into the burgeoning secondary market called life settlements at the end of the note term, continue financing, or even buy the policy outright if their health status has changed.

There are even revolutionary life insurance products, like immediate annuities, which can, in many cases, provide seniors an income for life with no out of pocket expense.

Today’s financial markets offer a plethora of options for Seniors to obtain the Life Insurance they may dearly need.

More options for seniors

The life insurance companies have now designed more life insurance for seniors, retired and elder consumers now have more alternatives to select from, life industry sources said some policies introduced recently to provide more options for seniors were not available ten years ago.

Life insurance for seniors

Funeral expenses ?

Funeral expenses can come up to thousands of dollars, this could be a burden for most of the families. People can afford to buy a $50,000 car by installment may not have a lump sum cash of $15,000, besides the family needs to pay for other minor expenses related to death, or the medical bills.

As people over 50 grow older and enter the market of purchasing personal coverage, they may run into problems trying to find a company that will sell them a policy, all the more if there are any health problems or health conditions. The insurance company may prerequire elderly to get a medical exam before they will even deduce selling them a plan, and then, this plan will frequently be at a much higher cost than a group insurance plan. Of course the benefits might not be as good also. There may quite be a lot to heed as browsing for personal medical coverage.

A.a.r.p. seniors should make sure they shop around and compare plans and policies. Seniors should calculate how much coverage you will need, and how much money you can spend on monthly premiums. Aarp can help you decide on the top personal health coverage coverage for the price that you want or are able to pay.

A.a.r.p. personal medical coverage specialists will give you answer a few questions as you are in the market for a good plan and reasonably priced insurance company. Make sure you know what your monthy premium will be, what the doctor visits will cost, what the deductible will be, and how much money will be paid out by the insurance company for the bill. How much of Medicare will be supplemented and with the medicare drug plan be enough? You should find out if the plan covers prescriptions, check ups, and preventive care. Will the plan cover doctor visits, surgery, long term care, home medical care, and health equipment and supplies? Eye doctors? Dental work?

As you can see there’s much to be decided on before actually getting an Aarp personal insurance plan. With a little browsing and comparison shopping with A.a.r.p. you find the best rate for your personal medical insurance.

Life insurance may not be included in the list of ‘light topics’ that can sparkle up any conversation. However if we think about it, it should be talked about because it is an important topic. There’s a lot of things happening, both good and bad, and it is better to prepare for any untoward event than hope for the best and be bombarded with bad news. The right time to deal with it is now. It is not practical to forego buying an insurance until an event compels them to do so. Life insurance should cover your income seven to ten times security. Now that’s something worth talking about, right?

In Iowa, the house representatives approves the reform of the health care system. The goal of the reform is to expand access to and improve the quality and affordability of health care in Iowa. The project began by providing health insurance to Iowans and helping small businesses manage the high costs of health insurance. After months of bi-partisan work, there was a noted increase in the quality of health care and thus the project is said to be a success. This is an inspiring example for the rest of the world to follow.

Among the many different type of life insurance in the market today, many people prefer to have a Term Life Insurance. Based from the name itself, Term Life Insurance is specifically designed for a period of time. This length of time is called “term”. You purchase this type of insurance and you are guaranteed to be covered for a specified number of years. It may be 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years as the case may be. Some insurance companies even offer a term life insurance with an option of returning the premium. This means that you will receive 100 percent of the amount of premiums you have paid for the plan.

Term life insurance is very popular and purchased by many because it is considered the more affordable type of insurance despite the fact that it expires without maturity. However, this type of insurance is normally renewable and it is non-taxable. Because term life insurance is not that expensive compared to other types of life insurance and since it is not permanent, it is best suited for people with temporary need of insurance. It is also for people who are just starting to work and are not financially capable to spend much on life insurance. Unfortunately, the amount of money insured can only be paid if the time of the death of the insured is within the specific term or period of time the policy is still in effect.

A senior’s burial policy is, simply, a whole life insurance policy with a small face value. It has been designed to accept most older people with simplified underwriting that asks few health questions. In fact, only simplifed issue policies even ask health questions. Guaranteed issue policies do not ask any health questions but they use a waiting period instead of underwriting by health.

But a simplified issue policy will pay out an immediate death benefit upon issue. A guaranteed issue policy may have a 2 or 3 year waiting period before the full face value will be paid to beneficiaries. If the insured person passes away before the waiting period expires, the policy will usually refund the premiums, sometimes with interest.

Simplified issue policies cost less too, and they have been designed to accept most seniors who are reasonably healthy and active. So before you, or somebody you know, buys the first guaranteed issue policy that is advertised on TV, be sure and look into simplified issue policies for seniors.

Now a burial policy can be a very affordable way to plan for a funeral’s cost and other final expenses. The face value, or death benefit, of the policy can also include other planned expenses like travel, food, and paying off debts. Most of the time, a policy can be issued with a face value of anywhere from $2,500 to $25,000. Any money that is left over, after paying for final expenses, belongs to the benficiary to use as they please.

Many seniors purchase this coverage for themselves, but just as often, grown children will purchase the policy to cover their aging parents. The covered person must answer any application questions, and of course, they must sign the policy, so they will be aware of the coverage. But most of the time, the elderly people are happy and relieved that this important obligation has been taken care of.

Both senior citizens and their caretakers may find that burial policies are an affordable way to plan for a major expense. It is a relief to everybody that nobody has to worry about where to come up with thousands of dollars in cash at a time of loss.

Just be sure to inquire about different policies to make sure that you find the best coverage that you can qualify for, and also shop around to get that coverage at the best possible rate!

What Medicare Covers

Once you are 65 years old, you’re eligible to enroll in Medicare. Medicare can include several programs:

* Medicare Part A, which helps cover inpatient hospital care, nursing home care, hospice care, and some home health care. Most people pay for this coverage through taxes, so they do not pay a deductible or monthly premium.

* Medicare Part B, which helps cover doctors? services, outpatient hospital care, medical equipment, physical and occupational therapy and some home health care. Most people pay an annual deductible and a monthly premium for this health plan.

* Medicare Part C, Medicare Advantage Plan, which offers you more choices among health plans and extends your benefits.

* Medicare Part D, prescription drug coverage.

In addition, you may need MediGap coverage, which is health insurance that covers what Medicare does not.

Affordable Health Insurance for Senior Citizens

As you can see, health insurance for senior citizens can be confusing. Fortunately, insurance comparison websites can help you gain a clear picture of what health insurance you need, as well as help you find that insurance at a reasonable rate.

All you need to do is go to an insurance comparison website and complete a simple form with information about yourself and your insurance needs. Once you submit the form, you will soon receive quotes for affordable health insurance from multiple A-rated insurance companies. And at the best insurance comparison websites, insurance professionals are standing by to talk with you and answer any health insurance questions you have. (See link below.)

Visit http://www.LowerRateQuotes.com/health-insurance.html or click on the following link to get health insurance quotes for senior citizens from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can also get more insurance tips there.

]]> http://www.theherbalpills.com/mens-health/senior-health/seniors-life-insurance.html/feed 0 http://www.theherbalpills.com/mens-health/senior-health/senior-life-insurance-with-no-medical-exam.html http://www.theherbalpills.com/mens-health/senior-health/senior-life-insurance-with-no-medical-exam.html#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:33:05 +0000 http://www.theherbalpills.com/mens-health/senior-health/senior-life-insurance-with-no-medical-exam.html Term life insurance policies are very popular these days, and of course, they can provide very valuable protection at a low cost for many people. However, the problem with term life insurance is that it expires just when the covered person would find it harder to find protection, after ten or twenty or thirty years, the term life insurance expires. The theory behind term life insurance is that by that time the insured person will have less obligations, and they will have enough money saved to self insure.

However, we find many senior citizens and retired people who have not had the good fortune to be free of obligations, and with sufficient savings to cover their debts, final expenses, and other obligations. Also, by the time we reach maturity, we may also have developed more health problems. As if an advanced age were not enough, health problems may make us very tough or expensive to insure at all!

However some life insurance companies have developed senior life, guaranteed life insurance, or final expense life insurance programs to meet these needs. These are, basically whole life insurance policies. This means that the policy will stay in force as long as the policy is kept in force. A policy is usually kept in force by paying premiums, or by having the policy “paid up”. Yes, many whole life policies can be paid up over a period of years, usually ten to twenty years. In this case, an insured person can relax, knowing they will have life insurance for their whole lives, and not just for a period of years.

These type of senior life insurance or final expense policies come in two types that do not require a medical exam. For a face value that usually ranges from $2,500 to $25,000, many senior life insurance companies will offer simple issue and guaranteed issue life insurance policies. Because the face value is lower, and so the risk to insurance companies is lower, you can find some more relaxed requirements to gain affordable coverage for life insurance. Seniors can leave this money to a beneficiary, usually their spouse or children, to cover burial expenses, settle final debts, and leave some money as an estate.

Simple issue life insurance policies provide immediate death benefits. They do as health questions on the applications, but the great majority of seniors can qualify. They usually only declined applicants who have a terminal disease, or are in a nursing home. So smaller health issues will not prevent an applicant from obtaining coverage. Since the coverage is immediate, as soon as the insured person is notified that their policy has been issued, they will be covered.

Guaranteed issue life insurance policies do not ask any health questions at all! Instead they underwrite by delaying full coverage for a period of months, from 24 to 36, or 2 to 3 years. If the insured person passes away during this qualification period, they will refund all premiums with a specified interest rate. For an older individual with serious health issues, this is still a no-lose deal.

If you are an older person, or if you are concerned about paying final expenses for your parents, consider a senior life insurance policy. It will be much easier to pay an affordable monthly premiums than to come up with several thousand dollars for a burial and other expenses after the person dies.