Life Insurance

Our life insurance services begin with a fact-finding interview, followed by recommendations and options for your review. You have a wide portfolio of products from which to choose. Your decision depends on your family or business needs, and on how your insurance best fits your overall financial plan.

• Family income protection for your current living standard
• Pay off debt obligations such as a mortgage, car payments, education expenses
• Compensate a company for the loss of a key employee
• Fund a buy-and-sell agreement between business owners
• Pay for estate taxes or other final obligations necessary to settle an estate
• Accumulate funds to supplement retirement income
• Pay for children's education expenses

Types of Life Insurance

The two basic types of life insurance are Term and Cash Value. There are many variations on these two. Generally speaking, a Term policy provides life insurance for a specific period of time and creates little or no cash value. Cash Value policies usually last for the lifetime of the individual who is insured. This type of policy has a cash accumulation feature that can be used for collateral or for borrowing.

Some examples of popular types of Cash Value policies, and basic distinctions:

• Whole Life (also known as ordinary life, straight life, traditional permanent insurance): has guaranteed premiums and death benefits.
• Universal Life: Allows you to vary, with limitations, the amount and timing of premium payments and the death benefit.
• Variable Life: You can direct the distribution of your premium payments among several different accounts, rather than that of one company. Typical account choices are: common stock, bond, mortgage, money market accounts. Your death benefit and cash value benefits vary in relation to the value of the investments underlying the policy.
• Variable Universal Life Insurance: Combines the flexibility of Universal Life with the investment account features of Variable Life.
• Joint and Last Survivor Life Insurance: Designed to pay death benefits only after the second of two people has died. It is normally used in fairly complex estate tax situations. You will want to discuss the purchase of this type of insurance with a tax advisor.

For a personal interview, call Dawn Michael, CLU, LUTC at (508) 697-6963 or email dawn@estabrookchamberlain.com.