Prime Group: Cheapest Life Insurance Information, Resources

Why should I buy life insurance?

Many financial experts consider life insurance to be the cornerstone of sound financial planning. It can be an important tool in the following situations:
Replace income for dependentsIf people depend on your income, life insurance can replace that income for them if you die. The most commonly recognized case of this is parents with young children. However, it can also apply to couples in which the survivor would be financially stricken by the income lost through the death of a partner, and to dependent adults, such as parents, siblings or adult children who continue to rely on you financially. Insurance to replace your income can be especially useful if the government- or employer-sponsored benefits of your surviving spouse or domestic partner will be reduced after your death.
Pay final expensesLife insurance can pay your funeral and burial costs, probate and other estate administration costs, debts and medical expenses not covered by health insurance.
Create an inheritance for your heirsEven if you have no other assets to pass to your heirs, you can create an inheritance by buying a life insurance policy and naming them as beneficiaries.
Pay federal “death” taxes and state “death” taxesLife insurance benefits can pay estate taxes so that your heirs will not have to liquidate other assets or take a smaller inheritance. Changes in the federal “death” tax rules between now and January 1, 2011 will likely lessen the impact of this tax on some people, but some states are offsetting those federal decreases with increases in their state-level “death” taxes.
Make significant charitable contributionsBy making a charity the beneficiary of your life insurance, you can make a much larger contribution than if you donated the cash equivalent of the policy’s premiums.
Create a source of savingsSome types of life insurance create a cash value that, if not paid out as a death benefit, can be borrowed or withdrawn on the owner’s request. Since most people make paying their life insurance policy premiums a high priority, buying a cash-value type policy can create a kind of “forced” savings plan. Furthermore, the interest credited is tax deferred (and tax exempt if the money is paid as a death claim).
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What are the principal types of life insurance?

There are two major types of life insurance—term and whole life. Whole life is sometimes called permanent life insurance, and it encompasses several subcategories, including traditional whole life, universal life, variable life and variable universal life. In 2003, about 6.4 million individual life insurance policies bought were term and about 7.1 million were whole life.Life insurance products for groups are different from life insurance sold to individuals. The information below focuses on life insurance sold to individuals.TermTerm Insurance is the simplest form of life insurance. It pays only if death occurs during the term of the policy, which is usually from one to 30 years. Most term policies have no other benefit provisions.There are two basic types of term life insurance policies—level term and decreasing term.
Level term means that the death benefit stays the same throughout the duration of the policy.
Decreasing term means that the death benefit drops, usually in one-year increments, over the course of the policy’s term.
In 2003, virtually all (97 percent) of the term life insurance bought was level term. For more on the different types of term life insurance, click here. Whole Life/PermanentWhole life or permanent insurance pays a death benefit whenever you die—even if you live to 100! There are three major types of whole life or permanent life insurance—traditional whole life, universal life, and variable universal life, and there are variations within each type.In the case of traditional whole life, both the death benefit and the premium are designed to stay the same (level) throughout the life of the policy. The cost per $1,000 of benefit increases as the insured person ages, and it obviously gets very high when the insured lives to 80 and beyond. The insurance company could charge a premium that increases each year, but that would make it very hard for most people to afford life insurance at advanced ages. So the comapny keeps the premium level by charging a premium that, in the early years, is higher than what’s needed to pay claims, investing that money, and then using it to supplement the level premium to help pay the cost of life insurance for older people.By law, when these “overpayments” reach a certain amount, they must be available to the policyowner as a cash value if he or she decides not to continue with the original plan. The cash value is an alternative, not an additional, benefit under the policy. In the 1970s and 1980s, life insurance companies introduced two variations on the traditional whole life product—universal life insurance and variable universal life insurance.For more on the different types of whole life/permanent insurance


How do I pick a life insurance company?

Roughly 1,000 life insurance companies sell life insurance in the U.S., but many are members of groups of companies and so aren’t really competitors with each other. Having separate companies enables a group to offer its products through separate distribution channels, to more efficiently meet the regulatory requirements of particular states, or to achieve other organizational goals. There are an estimated three hundred company groups.Moreover, not every group has a company licensed to operate in each state. As a general rule, you should buy from a company licensed in your state, because then can you rely on your state insurance department to help if there’s a problem. And if the insurance company becomes insolvent, your state’s life insurance guaranty fund will help only policyholders of companies it has licensed. To find out which companies are licensed in any state, contact that state’s state insurance department.There are several other points to keep in mind when selecting a life insurance company:


Product – most, but not all, companies offer a broad range of policies and features, so choose a company that offers the product and features that meet your needs.
Identity – life insurance company names can be confusing, and different companies can have similar names. Life insurance company names often use words that suggest financial strength (such as Guaranty, Reserve, or Security), financial sophistication (such as Bankers, Financial, or Investors), maturity (such as First, Pioneer, or Old), dependability (such as Assurance, Reliable, Trust), fairness (such as Beneficial, Equitable, or Peoples), breadth of operations (such as Continental, National, or International), government (such as American, Capital, or Republic), or well-known and respected Americans (such as Jefferson, Franklin, or Lincoln). Be sure you know the full name, home office location, and affiliation (if any) of any company you are considering (for an example, click here).
Financial Solidity – life insurance is a long-term arrangement. There is no guarantee for life insurance policyholders similar to that provided for bank accounts by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Select a company that is likely to be financially sound for many years, by using ratings from independent rating agencies.
Market ethics – some life insurance companies subscribe to the principles and codes of conduct of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, a nonprofit organization that promotes ethical conduct in life insurance marketing.
Advice and service – for many people, life insurance is a strange, complex product, so that it helps to deal with a representative with whom you can communicate and who is attentive to your needs. This might be connected to the selection of a life insurance company because some agents represent only one or a very few life insurance companies. See How do I select a life insurance agent?
Claims – you may want to check a national claims database to see what complaint information it has on a company. Also, your state insurance department will be able to tell you if the insurance company you are considering doing business with had many consumer complaints about its service relative to the number of policies it sold.
Premium and cost – The premium is the amount you pay the company for the life insurance contract with all of its benefits. Even for a given death benefit and type of insurance (e.g., term life), the premium can vary widely among companies, either because some companies’ policies have features that others don’t, or because some charge more than others for the same coverage. So the first step in comparing policies is to make sure you compare similar insurance plans, based on -Your age-The type of policy and policy features-The amount of insurance you are purchasingThe premium for the policy isn’t the same as the cost of the protection portion of the policy. One policy might have a higher premium but also offer more benefits (for example, it might pay policy dividends) than another. Or both might promise dividends, but in different amounts at different points in time. In each case, the higher-premium policy might have a lower cost of protection. How can you tell what a policy’s cost is? Companies should tell you a policy’s Net Payment Cost Index and its Surrender Cost Index. Use the Surrender Cost Index if you’re thinking of keeping the insurance only for a specific period of time; use the Net Payment Cost Index if you expect to keep the policy indefinitely. Generally, the lower the cost index, the better.




How can I save money on life insurance?

There are ways to save money when buying life insurance, but they don’t always entail paying a lower premium immediately. As your top priority, look for a policy that meets your needs. Buying the wrong benefits for a low premium is a waste, not a saving. Beyond that, here are some ways to maximize your life insurance dollars.


Before you buyOnce you’ve determined what type of life insurance product to buy:
Focus on financially sound companies.Dozens of companies sell life insurance. Limit yourself to companies with high ratings from two or more independent rating agencies. A low premium from a shaky company isn’t a good buy. See How do I choose a life insurance company? for more details.
Shop around to get a sense of the premium you’re likely to pay. Quote services on the Internet may serve this purpose, or you can ask an agent or broker to get you a premium estimate.As part of this research, determine which rate class you’ll fit into. Most companies that sell individual life insurance have several different price classes—usually called “preferred (non-tobacco),” “standard (non-tobacco),” “preferred (tobacco),” and “standard (tobacco).” A small percentage of people have health conditions or histories that disqualify them for even “standard” rates. Many in this group will be offered insurance at “impaired risk” or “nonstandard” rates.
Look into group insurance.Consider participating in your employer-sponsored life insurance program, even if you have to contribute to it financially. Employers often subsidize their group insurance costs, so it can be less expensive than individual life insurance. You might obtain coverage up to a certain level without providing evidence of good health, an advantage for some people. You’ll probably pay premiums through payroll deduction, which can be a nice convenience. However, make sure to compare group and individual rates, as depending on your age and health status, group insurance may or may not provide a savings. In comparing group to individual life insurance, remember that if you have over $50,000 of group life insurance, IRS tables determine how much it costs to provide the amount over $50,000 and charges you taxable income for that cost.
Take care of yourself.Find out into which rate class you’ll be grouped and, if necessary, consider making some lifestyle changes—don’t smoke, maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly—to qualify for a more favorable rate class.



When you're ready to buy

Shop around to get a good rate.Life insurance is a very competitive business, and you’ll find differences of hundreds of dollars (for annual premiums) even among financially strong companies for essentially the same policy.
Consider the net cost index.How can you compare two policies, one with premiums that start lower than the other but later are higher than the other? Or one with low premiums and a low cash value, the other with higher premiums and a higher cash value? Use a net cost index—a standard method for collapsing these variables into one number. The lower the number, the better, but ignore small differences (since the indexes are approximations based on assumptions, small differences might not signal true differences in values). The agent or broker with whom you’re dealing, or the company from which you’re considering buying a policy, will provide these index numbers.
Be aware of premium discounts for particular amounts of insurance.Most companies offer rate discounts for specified insurance amounts. For example, you might actually pay a smaller premium for $250,000 of life insurance than for $200,000, or for $500,000 of life insurance than for $450,000, because a discount “kicks in” at the higher insurance amount.
Beware of “fractional premiums”.Typically, you can pay your life insurance premium once a year, once every half-year, once a quarter, or once a month. Although paying quarterly or monthly might seem to be easier to fit into your budget, some companies levy high charges for paying premiums frequently. Others levy quite small charges to do this. If a company levies high charges for paying more frequently, try budgeting so that you can pay your premium only once or twice a year.
If you’re buying a term policy, look for renewal guarantees.A renewal guarantee gives you the right to start a new term after the current one ends, paying a higher premium based on your current age, but without requiring you to undergo a new health exam or submit any other “evidence of insurability.” Without the guarantee, you’d have to shop for life insurance all over again, and if your health has deteriorated, you might have to pay much more or not get it at all.

Prime Group: Cheapest Life Insurance company website links

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
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Mutual of Omaha: Insurance and Annuities

Prime Group: Cheapest Student Loan Join Millions Smiles

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Financial Aid - Grants, Scholarships, LoansStudent Loan Advisor - Free online helpGet money for school - Apply online
An education loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. (Scholarships, on the other hand, do not have to be repaid.)
Education loans come in three major categories: student loans (e.g., Stafford and Perkins loans), parent loans (e.g., PLUS loans) and private student loans (also called alternative student loans). A fourth type of education loan, the consolidation loan, allows the borrower to lump all of their loans into one loan for simplified payment.
Federal law sets the maximum interest rates and fees that lenders may charge for federally-guaranteed loans. Nothing prevents a lender from charging lower fees. Many lenders offer a variety of student loan discounts to attract borrowers.
Few students can afford to pay for college without some form of education financing. Two-thirds (65.7%) of 4-year undergraduate students graduate with some debt, and the average student loan debt among graduating seniors is $19,237 (excluding PLUS Loans but including Stafford, Perkins, state, college and private loans), according to the 2003-2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). (The median is $17,120. One quarter of undergraduate students borrow $24,936 or more, and one tenth borrow $35,213 or more.) For federal student loan debt (excluding PLUS Loans), the figures are 62.2% and $17,036. Average cumulative debt increases by about 3% or approximately $550 a year. When one includes PLUS loans in the total, the average cumulative debt incurred is $21,899. (Approximately one in ten (10.8%) parents borrow PLUS loans for their children's college education, with a cumulative PLUS loan debt of $16,317.)
The following table shows the percentage of students borrowing and average cumulative debt per borrower (excluding PLUS Loans) according to type of educational institution.
Graduate and professional students borrow even more, with the additional debt for a graduate degree ranging from $27,000 to $114,000. The following table shows the percentage borrowing and average amount of cumulative debt per borrower among graduating students according to degree program. It provides the amounts borrowed for just the graduate education and also the combined totals for undergraduate and graduate education.
Grants, scholarships, work-study and other forms of gift aid just do not cover the full cost of a college education. Many students find that they must supplement their savings with government and private loans. The Federal education loan programs offer lower interest rates and more flexible repayment plans than most consumer loans, making them an attractive way to finance your education. You can also deduct up to $2,500 in student loan interest even if you don't itemize deductions on your income tax return.


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The interest rate on the Stafford Loan for new loans first disbursed after July 1, 2006 is a fixed rate of 6.8%. The same rate applies to the in-school, grace and repayment periods. The interest rate on new PLUS Loans first disbursed after July 1, 2006 is a fixed rate of 8.5%.
The interest rates on existing variable rate Stafford and PLUS loans will continue to change annually on July 1, based on the last 91-day T-bill auction in May. The current interest rates on the Stafford Loan are 6.54% during the in-school and grace periods and 7.14% during the repayment period. The current interest rate on the PLUS Loan is 7.94%. These rates are expected to increase by 0.08% on July 1, 2007 to 6.62%, 7.22% and 8.02%. FinAid recommends that students who have not yet consolidated their variable rate loans do so during the six month grace period after graduation in order to lock in the in-school rate. Interest rates are unlikely to drop enough over the next year or so to make it worthwhile to wait to consolidate. (Generally, it is best to consolidate your loans at least a month before the deadline, to give the lenders time to process the paperwork.)
Many student loan providers offer low cost government and private loans with consistently high quality servicing and flexible repayment terms. Citibank Student Loans is one of these lenders. FinAid maintains a list of education lenders, guarantee agencies, servicers and secondary markets who offer federal and private student loans, as well as advice on preferred lender lists and choosing a lender and tips on identifying the lenders that currently hold or service your loans.
Loan forgiveness programs (in which the borrower's loans are paid off in exchange for volunteer work or military service) offer an option for easy repayment. If you are having difficulty repaying your education loans, see Defaulting on Student Loans before you decide to skip a payment. It offers you some alternatives. Loan Cancellation and Discharge Forms can be found on the US Department of Education web site.
Also, FinAid provides numerous calculators that can help you better understand your borrowing options. The loan calculators offer estimates of monthly loan payments, estimates of the amount of debt you can afford to repay, an analysis of the cost of capitalizing the interest and tools for comparing loan costs.
Some students, because they do not have prior experience with debt and loan amortization, do not appreciate how much their loans will cost them. FinAid provides some tips concerning calculating the cost of interest.
FSA Ombudsman
If you are having a problem with your federal student loan, contact the FSA Ombudsman at the US Department of Education. The FSA Ombudsman is dedicated to helping students resolve disputes and other problems with federal student loans. The FSA Ombudsman will research your problem in an impartial and objective manner and will try to develop a fair solution. The FSA Ombudsman does not have the authority to impose a solution. Nevertheless, many students have found the FSA Ombudsman to be helpful in resolving disputes with lenders. You can contact the FSA Ombudsman by phone at 1-877-557-2575, by fax at 1-202-275-0549, by mail at U.S. Department of Education, FSA Ombudsman, 830 First Street, NE, Fourth Floor, Washington, DC 20202-5144, or by email at fsaombudsmanoffice@ed.gov.

Disclaimer: This information is extract from www.finaid.org

Prime Group : Cheapest & Easiest Student Loan

Resources for Student Loan

Organization:
Website:
Access Group
http://www.accessgrp.org/
eStudent Loan
http://www.estudentloan.com/
Federal Student Aid
http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/
FinAid The SmartStudentTM Guide to Financial Aid
http://www.finaid.org/
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Higher Education Info Center
http://www.heic.org/
Jump$tart
http://www.jumpstartcoalition.org/
Mapping Your Future
http://www.mapping-your-future.org/
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
http://www.nasfaa.org/
National Student Clearinghouse
http://www.nslc.org/
Student Aid Alliance
http://www.studentaidalliance.org/
U.S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/
U.S. Government
http://www.students.gov/



Lenders and Servicers
Organization:
Website:
Medfunds
http://www.medfunds.com/
Academic Management Services (AMS)
http://www.tuitionpay.com/
Access Group
http://www.accessgroup.org/
AES
http://www.aessuccess.org/
Affiliated Computer Services (ACS, formerly AFSA)
http://acs-inc.com/
Amerifund Student Loans
http://www.amerifundloans.com/
AmSouth Bank
http://www.amsouth.com/
Bank Five
http://fallriverfive.com/
Bank of America
http://www.bankofamerica.com/studentbanking/
Bank One
http://www.bankone.com/
BankNorth
http://www.banknorth.com/
BorrowSmart
http://www.borrowsmart-trust.com/
CFS
http://www.cfsloans.com/
Chase
http://www.chase.com/educationfirst/
Citibank
http://www.studentloan.com/
Citizens Bank
http://www.citizensbank.com/edu/
CollEDGE
http://www.colledgeloans.com/
CollegeBoard
http://www.collegeboard.com/
College Loan Corporation
http://www.collegeloancorp.com/
Connecticut Student Loan Foundation (CSLF)
http://www.cslf.com/
EdAmerica
http://www.edamerica.net/
EdSouth
http://www.edsouth.org/
First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union
http://www.firstcitizens.org/
First Niagara Financial Group
http://www.fnfg.com/
Great Lakes
https://www.mygreatlakes.com/
HSBC
http://www.banking.us.hsbc.com/
Independence Federal Savings Bank
http://www.ifsb.com/
KeyBank
http://www.keybank.com/
KHESLC
http://www.kheslc.com/
M&T Bank
http://www.mandtbank.com/
Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA)
http://www.mefa.org/
MassBank
http://www.massbank.com/
MOHELA
http://www.mohela.com/
National Education
http://www.nationaleducation.com/
National Education Loan Network Plan (Nelnet)
http://www.nelnet.net/
National Education
http://www.nationaled.net/
Nellie Mae
http://www.nelliemae.org/
NextStudent
http://www.nextstudent.com/
PNC Bank
http://www.pnc.com/
Quincy Credit Union
http://www.qmcu.com/
R.I.S.L.A.
http://www.risla.com/
SallieMae (Student Loan Marketing Association)
http://www.salliemae.com/
Sovereign Bank
http://www.sovereignbank.com/
Student Assistance Foundation
http://www.safservices.org/
Student Loan Funding
http://www.studentloanfunding.com/
SunTech
http://www.suntech.com/
SunTrust
http://www.suntrust.com/
T.H.E.
http://www.northstar.org/
Union Bank & Trust
http://www.asapubt.com/
Wachovia Education Finance
http://www.wachovia.com/personal/page/0,,325_496,00.html
Wakefield Co-Operative Bank
http://www.wakefieldcoop.com/
Wells Fargo
http://www.wellsfargo.com/
Weymouth Bank
http://www.weymouthbank.com/