Life insurance news and articles. Save on term life insurance quotes http://www.danielagency.com Alan Daniel At Daniel Insurance Agency, LLC we work with the top rated life insurance companies in the country including Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company and Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company. We are knowledgable as to which company fits different medical conditions and will shop your cases appropriately.

Transamerica Occidental Life and Transamerica Financial Life has learned quite a bit in 100 years. (Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company was incorporated in 1906.) More than a century of experience means Transamerica knows financial services and how to help meet the changing goals of their clients. From their pioneering work in term life insurance at the turn of the last century, to their premier universal life products today, their experience is one of their biggest assets. Transamerica Occidental Life and Transamerica Financial Life's numbers speak for themselves, but what do ratings and numbers mean to you? They mean safety and stability. As members of the AEGON Group -- one of the world's leading life insurance organizations -- Transamerica Occidental Life and Transamerica Financial Life have built our reputations on solid management, sound decisions, and consumer confidence. With over one million insurance policies in force, top ratings, and more than 100 years under our belt, we're not going anywhere. With a century of experience, premier products, a stellar reputation, and top-notch resources, their specialty is helping you meet your financial objectives so you can get back to enjoying life. Let Daniel Insurance Agency, LLC review your current life insurance policy and provide you with instant term life insurance quote or request a personalized quote from an agent to explore all options. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Can you buy life insurance for people over 80 years of age? Of course. At 80 years old you may not have as many options in purchasing a life insurance policy, but you can still get term life insurance quotes as well as other types of coverage. Also if you have an existing policy you are considering replacing, you may have any opportunity to sell that policy for cash instead of just letting it lapse. Being 80 years old isn't what it was 10 to 20 years ago. Now many people over age 80 still find they have a need for life insurance whether to protect their estate, family or business interests. Life is still very much ahead of you, but each year you wait does increase the premiums you will pay. Get quotes today and make sure to speak witth an agent about all your options as just getting an instant quote for term life online may not be the only or best option for you. The agents at Daniel Insurance Agency, LLC will work with you to uncover the right product and rates to meet your goals and needs. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Return of Premium Term Life Insurance is a concept where if you outlive your term life policy the insurance carrier returns all of your premiums paid in. Traditional term life is the most cost effective way to purchase life insurance. Cash Value insurance, on the other hand, means paying higher premiums as the contract pays at death. Return of Premium or ROP somewhat splits the two in the middle. ROP typically costs 25-50% more than a traditional term life insurance policy. The key is to have your agent evaluate the rate of return on the extra premium cost for the ROP policy. For example, a healthy 35 year old male can purchase one million dollars of coverage on a level premium 30 year guarantee for about $830 per year. The ROP premium for the same is $1440. So you are paying an extra $610 per year for Return of all your premiums paid in if you outlive the term. Well, what is your rate of return re paying $610 per year for a return of $1440 x 30 years or $43200. It is 5.08% net. In any case, this is not a bad solution if it can fit into your budget. Return of all premiums paid in are not taxable as it is a return of your principal. Consider consulting an agent that has the product savvy and software to present the facts to help you make a prudent decision. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel A Life Insurance Buy-Sell agreement is used by the business owner(s) to provide for the continuation of the business in the event of a death. By using a life insurance buy sell arrangement, the business continues uninterrupted, which benefits the buyer, the heirs of the estate, etc. The big question is simply if a sole proprietor, partners in a partnership or shareholder of a company should become deceased, how are they bought out? How is their business interest valued? Who will take over the deceased persons interest? Well, all this is spelled out in the buy-sell agreement. Life insurance is a key element in the agreement which is considered the funding mechanism to ensure guaranteed funds. Many agreements cover for a disability as well funded by a disability buy-sell insurance policy. Insurance provides an immediate source of money for the surviving business partner, or business itself. Two types of buy-sell agreements used are cross purchase plans and entity plans. It would be in your best interest to consult a qualified business attorney for the proper advice. Your life insurance agent can provide the best alternatives on how to fund the agreement if necessary. Daniel Insurance Agency has helped many business owners secure their interest for the short term and long term by providing the best life insurance quotes available for your buy-sell agreement. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel You may have a hidden asset that your are unaware of. Until recently, the owner of a life insurance policy that was unneeded or unwanted had two options - cash surrender or lapse the policy. Now, a senior settlement enables a policy owner to sell their policy for an upfront stated amount which is determined by the cost of the policy and the insured's life expectancy. This transaction involves the transfer of ownership of an in-force policy to the purchaser of course. For the most part, this only applies to those who are 65 and older. Generally speaking, those age 74 or younger will not have a great chance at selling unless there is a health impediment involved. The many considerations for contemplating to sell a life insurance policy are as follows: The original reason for purchasing the life insurance policy no longer exists due to a spouse passing. The purchase of other insurance products, possibly survivorship life or long term care or even replacement for a new policy. The policy owner wants to make a gift to a family member while he or she can witness the recipient's enjoyment of it. The policy owner wants to provide funds to a favorite charity. Many seniors own term life insurance policies which by nature have zero value. Not the case! If the term life policy has a conversion feature it could very well be sold as a senior settlement. It is important to be aware of this as a senior as many conversion features end at a certain age. Make sure you consult a professional that can help you to determine the value of your life insurance policy. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Many life insurance companies will charge extra premium if scuba diving. Some will not, but are more limited to recreational divers up to 50-75 feet depending on the life insurance companies. These life insurance companies will offer their best rate class if you medically qualify. Some will offer their second best rate class and as stated, others will charge extra premium for the risk. It is important to work with a life insurance agent that understands all the markets to help best position you with the best life insurance company. Scuba Diving is using a self-contained breathing set to stay underwater for periods of time greater than human breath-holding ability allows. The diver carries all equipment necessary for diving and is not reliant upon equipment elsewhere (e.g. on the surface) to supply breathing gas or other support during the dive. The diver swims underwater using fins attached to the feet. Some divers also move around with the assistance of a DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle), commonly referred to as a "scooter", or by using surface-tethered devices called sleds, which are pulled by a boat. The word 'SCUBA' is an acronym for "Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus". The life insurance industry reviews a wide range of risk factors when underwriting a scuba diver. These classifications include, but are not limited to: Recreational diving Public safety diving Technical diving (also called Tech Divers) Cave diving Deep diving Ice diving Wreck diving Commercial diving Scientific diving http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Buying life insurance with sleep apnea is not always easy. Working with an agent that understands sleep apnea and life insurance can help you to save a lot of money. Most life insurance companies will charge extra premium if you are diagnosed with sleep apnea., but there are a select few that will not. There are a couple of life insurance companies that will ever offer Preferred rates if you medically qualify. You must consult with a life insurance agent that understands the markets to position you with one of these select companies. Sleep apnea occurs when you regularly stop breathing for 10 seconds or longer during sleep. It can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the number of times in an hour that your breathing stops (apnea) or becomes very slow (hypopnea). Apnea episodes may occur from 5 to 50 times an hour. There are three types of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, and mixed sleep apnea. This topic focuses on obstructive sleep apnea, which is also called OSA or simply sleep apnea. (OSA), which is the result of blocked airflow during sleep, results from narrowed airways. Other factors, such as obesity, often contribute to obstructive sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea, results from a problem with how the brain signals the breathing muscles. This type of apnea can occur with conditions such as heart failure, brain tumors, brain infections, and stroke. Mixed sleep apnea, which is a combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea. The main cause of sleep apnea is the blockage or narrowing of the airways in your nose, mouth, or throat generally causes obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This usually occurs when the throat muscles and tongue relax during sleep and partially block the airway. Sleep apnea can also occur if you have bone deformities or larger than normal tissues in your nose, mouth, or throat. For example, you may have large tonsils. During the day when you are awake and standing up, this may not cause problems. However, when you lie down at night, your tonsils can press down on your airway, narrowing it and causing sleep apnea. Lifestyle changes help with sleep apnea. The most common device utilized to help is a CPAP(continuous positive airway pressure) to prevent the airway from closing during sleep. Surgery is typically a last result effort if lifestyle changes and or a CPAP does not work. The life insurance industry likes to see good compliance with full utilization of the CPAP machine. In addition, it may not be a bad idea to have a sleep study performed to measure how you are doing depending on your doctors thoughts. Make sure to review your options when buying life insurance and find an agent who will work with you and identify the right companies for your given situation. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Pilots have special challenges when purchasing life insurance. The fact is that most life insurance companies and agents don't understand the actual risks involved in aviation and are unable to find pilots the most cost-effective coverage. We work with a large number of pilots and understand how to get the best life insurance rates for private and commercial pilots Commercial pilots are treated like any health risk in the life insurance industry. Private pilots are not. Most life insurance companies charge extra premium if you are a private pilot or even exclude aviation coverage. Although, there are a select few that do not. The main factors looked at are: 1. IFR 2. VFR 3. Total hours solo 4. Annual hours 5. What type of aircraft 6. Medical factors and more. We know that AOPA offers competitive rates for private pilots. But with that being said, there are private insurers that are A+ rated that are more competitive in cost. Make sure your agent knows what carriers specialize in private pilots to ensure economic value. At Daniel Insurance Agency we can help you lower your life insurance rates and make sure you and your family are protected. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel All life insurance companies but a select few will offer smoker rates regardless if you smoke cigarettes, cigars, chew tobacco, or nicorette gum etc. The few life insurance companies that will offer non-smoker rates to alternate tobacco users other than cigarettes can save you 50%-100% in cost. Some are aggressive to the extent where Preferred Plus and Preferred non-smoker rates are available as long as you medically quality. It is important to deal with an agent that is aware of the different outlets for economic reasons as pointed out. For light cigarette smokers, there is a life insurance companies that will offer a non-smoker rate. This is extremely competitive to the extent no other carrier will consider this. This is a great opportunity for those of you who smoker on occasion. The life insurance industry views your health habits as a key factor in determining your cardiovascular risk. In fact, you may be able to bring your blood pressure readings into a safe range simply by making changes in your lifestyle. Doctors have long known that smoking promotes heart disease, but for a long time smoking didn't appear to have a direct connection to hypertension. Observations have revealed a crucial link that earlier studies missed because blood pressure is generally measured in doctor's offices and clinics, where smoking is prohibited. When researchers tested blood pressure while people smoked, they discovered that within five minutes of lighting up, the subject's systolic pressures rose dramatically - more than 20 mm Hg, on average - before gradually declining to their original levels over the next 30 minutes. This means the typical smoker's blood pressure soars many times throughout the day. Like people with labile hypertension (in which blood pressure may jump frequently in response to daily stresses), smokers may suffer "part-time" hypertension. For example, smokers with a prehypertensive reading of less than 140/90 mm Hg may actually have stage 1 hypertension every time they puff a cigarette. This increase occurs because nicotine, whether smoked or chewed, constricts small blood vessels, forcing the heart to work harder to circulate blood. As a result, the heart speeds up and blood pressure rises. Nicotine also interferes with some antihypertensive drugs, most notably beta blockers. The chemicals in tobacco smoke raise heart disease risk in other ways, too. They can reduce the body's oxygen supply, lower levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol, and make blood platelets more likely to stick together and form clots that can trigger a heart attack. Just because you smoke or use tobacco does not mean life insurance is not affordable. You have options and need to review with an agent experienced in finding smokers the best term life insurance quotes available. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Life insurance companies have different guidelines set to determine your rate class based on cholesterol levels. Most life insurance companies will penalize you for being treated. The important appeal is to work with an agent that understands which carrier will be best suited for your medical history. One insurance company in particular will offer Preferred plus rates with a total cholesterol of 240 and an hdl ratio not to exceed 5.0 with or without treatment. Most carriers guidelines read between 210-220 without treatment and not to exceed 5.0 on the hdl ratio. Some insurance companies are at 4.5 on the hdl ratio. If you struggle with your cholesterol levels, we have found that instant regular oatmeal is a good alternative measure to lower cholesterol and a very good antioxidant. Most people's bodies already make more cholesterol than they need, and they could stand to cut back on foods that boost cholesterol levels, such as those high in saturated fats and trans fats, although there are exceptions to this rule. Regardless of its source, excess LDL in your blood gets deposited in the walls of your arteries, the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart and brain. The accumulation of LDL causes a narrowing and instability in the artery walls, which ultimately can lead to heart attacks and strokes. What is a healthy cholesterol level? You may think you know the answer but even the experts are not entirely sure. As recently as 2004, a government panel changed the national cholesterol guidelines, proposing a lower target for people with a very high to moderately high heart disease risk than it had established three years earlier. The changes were based on the findings of five major heart disease prevention studies showing that the risk of heart disease decreases even as LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels drop below what was previously considered optimal. Despite this downward trend, it's a myth that the healthiest cholesterol level is zero. Your body needs cholesterol. Men can't produce testosterone without it, and women can't produce estrogen. Your intestines can't digest food without cholesterol, and your cells can't create their outside coating, or plasma membrane. So, cholesterol isn't bad; it's an important biological component. What is bad is having too much and carrying it in the bloodstream in particles that deposit it in the wrong places. Just what level of cholesterol is healthy for you, and how can you achieve it? The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has created guidelines that give you an easy, step-by-step method to evaluate your risk of heart disease, set your cholesterol goal, and take the steps you need to achieve it. High cholesterol affects about 18% of Americans ages 20-74, and atherosclerotic heart disease is the single leading cause of death and disability in the developed world. The good news is that for most people, heart disease is preventable if you live a heart-healthy lifestyle to lower your LDL cholesterol. Exercising and eating a diet low in saturated and trans fats can help you go a long way toward reaching that goal. If you need more help, effective medications can take you the rest of the way. Also high cholesterol does not have to stop you from getting term life insurance at an affordable rates. Be sure to search for the best quote and insurance company given your health situation. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Along with providing a death benefit, a universal life insurance policy also incorporates a savings vehicle. In short, it is like combining a term life insurance policy with a tax-deferred interest accumulating savings account. One benefit of purchasing a universal life insurance policy is that besides accumulating a tax-deferred savings, one may not have to pay premiums during the entire policy. If money to pay the death benefit and other related costs accumulates in the tax-deferred savings portion of the policy, then premiums may eventually not be required to keep the policy in force. It is more advantageous to pay the smallest amount of premium of the life of the policy. This will produce the highest rate of return on the premium stream at death. Look at it this way, if you pump lots of money into the universal life policy in the beginning years your cash value will escalate rather quickly. So, if you have $100,000 of cash value and your death benefit is $500,000 you get the $500,000 when you die so the carriers at risk factor is really $400,000. The point is, the industry would prefer all policyholders to pay as much upfront or higher premiums for this reason. There are policies out there with $200,000 in cash value with $400,000 death benefits. Better off taking the $200,000 and buying a $200,000 policy. So who could benefit from a universal life insurance policy? Since a universal life policy is an investment vehicle along with a life insurance policy, only people who feel they need life insurance into their 70's would benefit from a universal life policy. This would give the savings portion enough time to possibly accumulate into an investment. Most persons will not need life insurance that late in life, and in the case life insurance is not needed that late, it may be more beneficial to purchase a term life insurance policy and plan a proper retirement investment savings account such as a 401K, 403b, Roth Ira, etc. If a universal policy looks right for you there are a few important points to remember. First, make sure you plan to have the policy long term since you will need to have the policy in force at least 15 years to be eligible for any return of the policy. More importantly, understand that most permanent policies are projected and not guaranteed. So you must understand the risk factors as many policies implode when not managed properly. Secondly, make sure you have a knowledgeable insurance agent to review your options such as term and permanent insurance. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Need low cost life insurance? Take a look at the budget friendly option of a term life insurance policy. Term life insurance policy premiums are generally much better low cost options for life insurance than cash-value policies (universal and whole), especially if you are young and in good health. A low cost term life insurance policy does exactly what you expect it to do by financially taking care of your beneficiaries if you die. Generally speaking, most Americans are under insured and carry permanent life insurance which is far more expensive than term life insurance. This is a fundamental problem if the main bread winner dies. It is important to understand that permanent products pay a much higher premium, in the vicinity of 10-15x more. So in retrospect, a $1,000,000 term is essentially the same cost as a $150,000 permanent product. What would you feel better with? Here's the basics of a low cost term life insurance policy: You typically buy a low cost term life insurance policy with a specified time period, usually one, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five or thirty years. During that "term" you pay a specified premium. Some consider a return of premium (ROP) term which if you outlive the contract your are refunded all premiums paid in. Your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit if you die during the term of the life insurance policy. Seems simple enough, right? Well, as with all insurance, there are little complexities and loop-holes you need to fill. What about when your term is over? That's where renewable and convertible term insurance comes in. For example, if you want a basic 10 year low cost term life insurance policy with the death benefit to stay the same throughout the term life insurance policy, and at the end of the term you would like to "convert" to a different term life insurance policy such as a cash-value policy, without taking another medical exam, your contract better have a conversion privilege. This is very important if your health diminishes. In that case you would choose a level term convertible life insurance policy. Conversion is the most important feature in a term life insurance contract. Term life insurance does not build cash-value or have the tax benefits like universal or whole life, but it can be a great option for someone who would like life insurance, but can't afford the higher premiums. If you look very close at a permanent product by taking the present value of the premium stream verses the cash value you will realize it may be more advantageous to buy term and invest the difference. It is apparent agents fail to present the numbers in this fashion as the rate of return is very low and not guaranteed but projected. Here is a check-list to help you decide if a low cost term life insurance policy is right for you: You're on a budget and cannot afford a very high premium. You are young or old, and in good health. You are looking for a simple, straight-forward, low cost life insurance plan to protect your beneficiaries. When checking with your agent on term life insurance, ask a lot of questions. As stated, agents do not receive as much commission on term life insurance verses cash-value policies so you may have to probe a little for more information. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Nearly 1.2 million heart attacks occur from heart disease each year, and unfortunately not all those with heart disease have the life insurance they need. More than 40% that suffer from a heart attack will die. Even more shocking, 335,000 people with heart attacks will die before ever reaching the hospital or in an emergency room. The American Heart Association claims that over 7 million Americans have suffered a heart attack in their lifetime. Because heart disease is so common and often silent until it strikes, many people do not have the life insurance in place they need. It is important to recognize the factors that have an adverse effect on underwriting in the life insurance industry. Age, family history of heart disease or CAD, race, smoking, cholesterol, uncontrolled hypertension, physical inactivity, obesity (more than 20% over one's ideal body weight), uncontrolled diabetes, high C-reactive protein and uncontrolled stress and anger. Making changes in your lifestyle is a proven method for reducing your risk of developing heart disease. While there are no guarantees that a heart healthy lifestyle will keep heart disease away, these changes will certainly improve your health in other ways, such as improving your physical and emotional well being. Also, because some risk factors are related to others, making changes in one area can benefit other areas. With medical technology today heart disease and other heart related matters can be corrected whereby in many cases your life expectancy is not impeded upon. Today's technology with respect to heart scans, stress tests, echocardiograms, catherizations etc. we can establish a good base line to avoid death threatening heart attacks. For whatever reason, many people with heart disease do not engage in these methods to establish a base line of understanding where their heart stands. In our opinion, we believe it is essential in the foundation of understanding our heart better in that every human should have a cardiac work up starting at the age of perhaps 40. If older it should be on an annual basis. We are granted one life and our heart is our engine. The life insurance industry is more liberal these days due to medical advancements in understanding how different heart defects effect mortality risk. Some carriers will not rate you extra premium if you had a heart attack, by-pass surgery, stinting etc. Most carriers will rate depending on the diagnosis and risk factor involved. The key is if the problem is corrected there must be good cardiac follow up to void any future recurrence. Good follow up puts everyone's mind at ease and bodes for a positive outcome when applying for life insurance with heart disease. Many insured's are paying higher premiums for CAD history when they should not be. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Each year in the U.S. roughly 240,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). And for most new patients, decisions about which treatment to have or whether or not to even be treated at all are not clear-cut. It also makes many review their life insurance. Unfortunately most believe they will not be able to afford life insurance after treatment. Prostate cancer treatments include surgery to remove the prostate gland, external radiation, cryotherapy (in which the tumor is treated by freezing it), radioactive seed implants, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and watchful waiting. Seed implants, also called brachytherapy, are small radioactive pellets about the size of a grain of rice. The pellets are implanted into the prostate; they deliver radiation to the prostate cancer from the inside. The life insurance industry for the most part is not to overly aggressive to taking risk given this disease. Although, there are life insurance companies that will write a prostate cancer survivor provided the gleason score is 6 or less, pre psa did not exceed 15 and post psa is relatively undetectable with one year post treatment in effect. There is a carrier that will consider Preferred rates subject to full medical underwriting of course. There are a few carriers that will write a survivor with a gleason score of 7. Patients should learn as much as they can about their treatment options and make a decision that is best for them. When it comes to their life insurance, don't assume the cost will be prohibitive. As for life insurance options be sure to speak with an agent that specializes in dealing with adverse medical history that can have an effect on your premium cost. http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php Alan Daniel Diabetes affects an estimated 18.2 million Americans, and the number rises each year. The life insurance industry recognizes a type l diabetic or juvenile diabetic to be diagnosed under the age of 40. Most life insurance companies will not underwrite this type of risk or are highly rate for the disease. The key element a insurance company looks at is the control which is measured by the glycohemoglobin A1C level and total glucose level. The life insurance industry views good control if the A1C is 6.5 or less. There is a carrier that will not rate a type l diabetic if their A1C level is 8 or less and the proposed insured meets all underwriting criteria as well. Type ll diabetics or adult onset are more liberally underwritten in the life insurance industry. Some carriers will only entertain this risk if the A1C level is 6.5 or less. If higher a rating will be assessed to the base premium. Other carriers are more aggressive and will not rate up to an A1C of 8. Above 8 those life insurance carriers that will entertain this risk will assess a rating. In addition to, weight, medication, overall health, and lifestyle is viewed when underwriting diabetics for life insurance. If you have type 1 or 2 diabetes, you know that blood sugar control, a balanced diet, weight management, regular exercise, and checkups are vital to your health. Taking special care of every part of your body to avoid serious complications is just as critical. Among your biggest concerns with diabetes care are: Foot infections Chronic skin infections Gum disease and tooth loss Vision problems Heart disease and blood circulation problems http://www.danielagency.com/blog.php