How to Get Cheap Life Insurance in 2016

Life insurance is something most people don’t think much about… until they start a family or buy a house, and suddenly realize they’re grown-ups. When you’ve got a spouse or kids, you need to make sure they’ll be financially secure if you’re not around — without diverting too much money from other goals like retirement or college savings. So finding a cheap life insurance policy that offers the right amount of coverage is a main concern of any first-time buyer, as well as those simply looking for a better rate.

If you want to get the most affordable life insurance, there are several things you can do to minimize the cost. We have six tips to help you find cheap life insurance, which I’ll be sharing with you in this article.

It’s true there are factors you have less control over when it comes to the cost of life insurance — such as your age — but there’s a lot within your control, too.

Tips to Find Cheap Life Insurance

Beyond those two basic principles, there are other ways you can lower your rate as well. Life insurance can be tricky to understand. Many companies analyze your health differently and also calculate risk in slightly varying ways. Following these steps is key to finding the cheapest life insurance for you.

Tip #1: Get several quotes

As with most purchasing decisions, finding many options will give you an edge. Most people don’t bother obtaining multiple quotes because it’s time-consuming. However, using an online life insurance quote tool is the quickest way to get quotes from several reputable insurers at one time.

Tip #2: Avoid riders and additional insurance

If your bottom-line goal is to find the cheapest insurance possible, you’ll want to say no to any add-on insurance or policy riders. Examples of add-ons include the option to purchase child policies or more insurance at a future date without going through the medical exam process again.

You can think of riders as à-la-carte options to supe up your policy. Riders can be purchased to accelerate your death benefit and pay you out for medical expenses if you have a terminal illness but haven’t passed away yet. Term conversion is another rider that gives you the option to convert your term policy to a permanent (whole life) policy.

A caveat: Choose your coverage wisely. If you need coverage for your kids, then it’s OK to pay for the extra coverage. Also, if you’re someone who is on the fence between term and whole life coverage, the term conversion rider will give you that option down the road for a few dollars per month.

There is no one-size-fits-all method to buying life insurance, but having as few riders as possible will keep your rates low.

Want Insurance for health in 2016

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คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Singapore has "one of the most successful healthcare systems in the world, in terms of both efficiency in financing and the results achieved in community health outcomes," according to an analysis by global consulting firm Towers Watson. The government regularly adjusts policies to actively regulate "the supply and prices of healthcare services in the country" in an attempt to keep costs in check. However, for the most part the government does not directly regulate the costs of private medical care. These costs are largely subject to market forces, and vary enormously within the private sector, depending on the medical specialty and service provided.

The specific features of the Singapore healthcare system are unique, and have been described as a "very difficult system to replicate in many other countries." Many Singaporeans also have supplemental private health insurance (often provided by employers) for services not covered by the government's programmes.

Patients are free to choose the providers within the government or private healthcare delivery system and can walk in for a consultation at any private clinic or any government polyclinic. For emergency services, patients can go at any time to the 24-hour Accident & Emergency Departments located in the government hospitals.

The Agency for Integrated Care was established in 2009 to improve services in the community and in nursing homes. Regional health systems have been established to link hospitals with rehabilitation centres and primary care. Many of its initiatives have been supported through Temasek Cares.

The National Electronic Record Programme was launched in 2011 and is used by more than 280 institutions to support telehealth and telemedicine.

Singapore's medical facilities are among the finest in the world. As of 2012, Singapore had a total of 10,225 doctors in its healthcare delivery system. This gives a doctor to population ratio of 1:520. The nurse (including midwives) to population ratio is 1:150, with a total of 34,507 nurses. There are 1,645 dentists, giving a ratio of 1 dentist to 3,230 people.

Private healthcare insurance

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The increasingly large private sector provides care to those who are privately insured, foreign patients, or public patients who are able to afford what often amount to very large out-of-pocket payments above the levels provided by government subsidies.

The government uses the capacity of the private sector to reduce waiting times in the public sector. In 2015 it plans to use the Raffles Medical Group to receive non-critical ambulance cases.

Healthcare insurance in Singapore

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คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Healthcare in Singapore is mainly under the responsibility of the Singapore Government's Ministry of Health. Singapore generally has an efficient and widespread system of healthcare. Singapore was ranked 6th in the World Health Organisation's ranking of the world's health systems in the year 2000.^[1] Bloomberg ranked Singapore’s healthcare system the 1st most efficient in the world in 2014.

A key principle of Singapore's national health scheme is that no medical service is provided free of charge, regardless of the level of subsidy, even within the public healthcare system. This mechanism is intended to reduce the over-utilisation of healthcare services. Out-of-pocket charges vary considerably for each service and level of subsidy. At the highest level of subsidy, although each out-of-pocket expense is typically small, costs can accumulate and become substantial for patients and families. At the lowest level, the subsidy is in effect nonexistent, and patients are treated like private patients, even within the public system.

Singapore's system uses a combination of compulsory savings from payroll deductions to provide subsidies within a nationalised health insurance plan known as Medisave. Within Medisave, each citizen accumulates funds that are individually tracked, and such funds can be pooled within and across an entire extended family. The vast majority of Singapore citizens have substantial savings in this scheme. One of three levels of subsidy is chosen by the patient at the time of the healthcare episode.

Medishield is a low cost insurance scheme intended for those whose savings are insufficient to meet their medical expenses. Premiums can be paid out of Medisave accounts. A new scheme, Medishield Life, was agreed by parliament in January 2015. Co-insurance payment rates are to be reduced from 10-20% to 3-10% and the lifetime claim limit is to be removed. Eldershield is part of the Central Provident Fund which insures against the cost of private nursing homes and related expenses. It already has more than a million policy holders. Medifund is a safety net for those who are unable to meet their assessed contribution. Risks are not pooled, so an individual may be exposed to catastrophic expenses.

How to buy health insurance 2016

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Singapore has "one of the most successful healthcare systems in the world, in terms of both efficiency in financing and the results achieved in community health outcomes," according to an analysis by global consulting firm Towers Watson. The government regularly adjusts policies to actively regulate "the supply and prices of healthcare services in the country" in an attempt to keep costs in check. However, for the most part the government does not directly regulate the costs of private medical care. These costs are largely subject to market forces, and vary enormously within the private sector, depending on the medical specialty and service provided.

The specific features of the Singapore healthcare system are unique, and have been described as a "very difficult system to replicate in many other countries." Many Singaporeans also have supplemental private health insurance (often provided by employers) for services not covered by the government's programmes.

Patients are free to choose the providers within the government or private healthcare delivery system and can walk in for a consultation at any private clinic or any government polyclinic. For emergency services, patients can go at any time to the 24-hour Accident & Emergency Departments located in the government hospitals.

The Agency for Integrated Care was established in 2009 to improve services in the community and in nursing homes. Regional health systems have been established to link hospitals with rehabilitation centres and primary care. Many of its initiatives have been supported through Temasek Cares.

The National Electronic Record Programme was launched in 2011 and is used by more than 280 institutions to support telehealth and telemedicine.

Singapore's medical facilities are among the finest in the world. As of 2012, Singapore had a total of 10,225 doctors in its healthcare delivery system. This gives a doctor to population ratio of 1:520. The nurse (including midwives) to population ratio is 1:150, with a total of 34,507 nurses. There are 1,645 dentists, giving a ratio of 1 dentist to 3,230 people.

Life insurance in India 2016

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คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Life insurance products come in a variety of offerings catering to the investment needs and objectives of different kinds of investors. Following is the list of broad categories of life insurance products:

Term Insurance Policie

The basic premise of a term insurance policy is to secure the immediate needs of nominees or beneficiaries in the event of sudden or unfortunate demise of the policy holder. The policy holder does not get any monetary benefit at the end of the policy term except for the tax benefits he or she can choose to avail of throughout the tenure of the policy. In the event of death of the policy holder, the sum assured is paid to his or her beneficiaries. Term insurance policies are also relatively cheaper to acquire as compared to other insurance products.

Money-back Policies

Money back policies are basically an extension of endowment plans wherein the policy holder receives a fixed amount at specific intervals throughout the duration of the policy. In the event of the unfortunate death of the policy holder, the full sum assured is paid to the beneficiaries. The terms again might slightly vary from one insurance company to another.

Unit-linked Investment Policies (ULIP)

Main article: Unit-linked insurance plan

Unit linked insurance policies again belong to the insurance-cum-investment category where one gets to enjoy the benefits of both insurance and investment. While a part of the monthly premium pay-out goes towards the insurance cover, the remaining money is invested in various types of funds that invest in debt and equity instruments. ULIP plans are more or less similar in comparison to mutual funds except for the difference that ULIPs offer the additional benefit of insurance.

How to buy life insurance for 2016

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คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Pension Policies

Pension policies let individuals determine a fixed stream of income post retirement. This basically is a retirement planning investment scheme where the sum assured or the monthly pay-out after retirement entirely depends on the capital invested, the investment timeframe, and the age at which one wishes to retire. There are again several types of pension plans that cater to different investment needs. Now it is recognized as insurance product and being regulated by IRDA.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy in Insurance Sector

As per the current (March 2006) FDI norms, foreign participation in an Indian insurance company is restricted to 26.0% of its equity / ordinary share capital. The Insurance Regulator has stipulated that foreign investment in Indian Insurance companies be limited to 26% of total equity issued (FDI limit) with the balance being funded by Indian promoter entities. The limit to foreign investment includes both direct and indirect investment and has been a cause of significant lobbying by foreign insurance companies for a change in regulations to increase the FDI limit to 49% of equity issued. Recently,In the Fiscal Budget of Modi Government of 2014-15 it has introduced 49.0% FDI which will bring in more investments in Insurance Sector.

The Indian government has supported an increase in the FDI limit, which requires a change in the Insurance Act. The Union Budget for fiscal 2005 had recommended that the ceiling on foreign holding be increased to 49.0%.

A change in the Insurance Act requires a passage of the bill in both houses of Parliament. The Indian government has tabled the bill in the Upper House of Parliament in August 2010.

Rules for Indian Life Insurance Companies

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คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Initial Public Offer (IPO) rules for Indian Life Insurance Companies

A key piece of legislation impacting on the Life Insurance industries capital raising abilities is the lock-in period of 10 years for investment to be limited to promoter group equity investments. Under the Insurance Guidelines, Indian Life Insurance companies can opt for a public issue of equity through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) after 10 years of operations.

In October 2010, the securities market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), issued disclosure norms for Indian Life Insurance Companies seeking to make an initial public offer for sale of equity shares to the public.

Indian life insurance industry overview

All life insurance companies in India have to comply with the strict regulations laid out by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the state owned behemoth, remains by far the largest player in the market. The private companies have come out with products called ULIPs (Unit Linked Investment Plans) which offer both life cover as well as scope for savings or investment options as the customer desires. These type of plans are subject to a minimum lock-in period of three years to prevent misuse of the significant tax benefits offered to such plans under the Income Tax Act. Comparison of such products with mutual funds would be erroneous.

Policy in Insurance Sector

คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Pension Policies

Pension policies let individuals determine a fixed stream of income post retirement. This basically is a retirement planning investment scheme where the sum assured or the monthly pay-out after retirement entirely depends on the capital invested, the investment timeframe, and the age at which one wishes to retire. There are again several types of pension plans that cater to different investment needs. Now it is recognized as insurance product and being regulated by IRDA.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy in Insurance Sector

As per the current (March 2006) FDI norms, foreign participation in an Indian insurance company is restricted to 26.0% of its equity / ordinary share capital. The Insurance Regulator has stipulated that foreign investment in Indian Insurance companies be limited to 26% of total equity issued (FDI limit) with the balance being funded by Indian promoter entities. The limit to foreign investment includes both direct and indirect investment and has been a cause of significant lobbying by foreign insurance companies for a change in regulations to increase the FDI limit to 49% of equity issued. Recently,In the Fiscal Budget of Modi Government of 2014-15 it has introduced 49.0% FDI which will bring in more investments in Insurance Sector.

The Indian government has supported an increase in the FDI limit, which requires a change in the Insurance Act. The Union Budget for fiscal 2005 had recommended that the ceiling on foreign holding be increased to 49.0%.

A change in the Insurance Act requires a passage of the bill in both houses of Parliament. The Indian government has tabled the bill in the Upper House of Parliament in August 2010.

Types of Life Insurance in India

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คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Life insurance products come in a variety of offerings catering to the investment needs and objectives of different kinds of investors. Following is the list of broad categories of life insurance products:

Term Insurance Policie

The basic premise of a term insurance policy is to secure the immediate needs of nominees or beneficiaries in the event of sudden or unfortunate demise of the policy holder. The policy holder does not get any monetary benefit at the end of the policy term except for the tax benefits he or she can choose to avail of throughout the tenure of the policy. In the event of death of the policy holder, the sum assured is paid to his or her beneficiaries. Term insurance policies are also relatively cheaper to acquire as compared to other insurance products.

Money-back Policies

Money back policies are basically an extension of endowment plans wherein the policy holder receives a fixed amount at specific intervals throughout the duration of the policy. In the event of the unfortunate death of the policy holder, the full sum assured is paid to the beneficiaries. The terms again might slightly vary from one insurance company to another.

Unit-linked Investment Policies (ULIP)

Main article: Unit-linked insurance plan

Unit linked insurance policies again belong to the insurance-cum-investment category where one gets to enjoy the benefits of both insurance and investment. While a part of the monthly premium pay-out goes towards the insurance cover, the remaining money is invested in various types of funds that invest in debt and equity instruments. ULIP plans are more or less similar in comparison to mutual funds except for the difference that ULIPs offer the additional benefit of insurance.

Life insurance in India

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คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Life Insurance is the fastest growing sector in India since 2000 as Government allowed Private players and FDI up to 26% and recently Cabinet approved a proposal to increase it to 49%. Life Insurance in India was nationalised by incorporating Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in 1956. All private life insurance companies at that time were taken over by LIC.

In 1993, the Government of India appointed RN Malhotra Committee to lay down a road map for privatisation of the life insurance sector.

While the committee submitted its report in 1994, it took another six years before the enabling legislation was passed in the year 2000, legislation amending the Insurance Act of 1938 and legislating the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act of 2000. The same year the newly appointed insurance regulator - Insurance Regulatory and Development AuthorityIRDA—started issuing licenses to private life insurers.

How plan insurance life health car US 2016

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คลิกที่นี่เพื่อชมวิดีโอแบบเต็ม(มีคลิป)

Why protection matters

Always compare a wide range of life insurance policies to ensure you find the best possible deal to suit your needs

What is life insurance?

Mortgage life insurance

Policy extras

Your quote

If you have dependents that rely on your income to cover bills such as the mortgage and other outgoings, it pays to think about how they would cope if you were no longer here.

Although none of us likes to think about dying, death is a possibility for any of us at any stage of our life, so it’s important to ensure your loved ones will be financially secure if you suddenly aren’t around to provide for them.

In return for monthly premiums, life insurance will pay out a lump sum when you die, offering peace of mind that your family won’t be left with money worries at what is already likely to be an upsetting time. 

You can either take out a policy that will cover your mortgage alone, or you can buy cover which will provide your family with a lump sum that can pay off your home loan and leave them with money to spare for other debts and ongoing living expenses.

Here, we look at the differences between life insurance and mortgage life insurance to help you decide which kind of cover might be right for you.

Life insurance is designed to pay out a lump sum in the event that you die unexpectedly. Some policies enable beneficiaries to receive monthly payments instead of a lump sum. 

One of the most common kinds of life insurance is called ‘term’ insurance. This type of policy runs for a set term, perhaps 20 or 25 years and, in return for fixed monthly premiums, will pay out if you die during this period.   

If you don’t die during the policy’s term, you simply stop paying the premiums when the term ends, and the cover will lapse.

Another option is ‘whole of life’ cover. This sort of policy will cover you for your whole life rather than a set term and, as a result, premiums are much more expensive than they are for term insurance.

When buying life insurance, the first step is deciding how much cover you need. This is known as the ‘sum insured.’ Remember that the bigger the sum insured, the steeper your premiums will be, so you need to consider carefully how much you can afford to pay each month.

California Individual and Family Health Insurance Plans

Our health plans fall into four categories.

The different insurance plan categories offer flexibility. So you can choose a health plan that‘s best for you and your family based on the amount of health care you‘re likely to need in the coming year. Below, you can see how costs change at each plan level.

* On average. The actual percentage you‘ll pay in total or per service will depend on the services you use during the year.

If you‘re healthy and don‘t go to the doctor often, you may want to choose a Bronze plan. With a Bronze plan, you may pay more out-of-pocket when you get care, but the advantage is that you save money on your monthly premium. Or you can choose one of the Gold or Platinum plans, which may cost more per month —but you‘ll pay a smaller share when you get covered health care services.

No one knows for sure what the next year holds. That‘s why all of these plans protect you from really high costs by paying 100% of your care above a certain amount —that‘s called your out-of-pocket maximum. You‘ll be able to see the details of each plan level, once you start shopping and comparing our health insurance plans.

Anthem health insurance and insurance through the Covered California marketplace

If you‘re eligible for financial help from the government —also called a subsidy —you can only get that subsidy if you buy a plan on the health care marketplace.

While you‘re shopping for a plan on our website, you‘ll see our subsidy calculator. It will help you figure out if you‘re eligible for a subsidy. If you qualify for a subsidy based on your income and family size we‘ll help you get to the marketplace so you can take advantage of your subsidy.

If you‘re not eligible for a subsidy, you can buy your plan directly from us. It‘s easy and convenient and most applications take less than fifteen minutes to complete.

To see if you're eligible for a subsidy, click the button below to visit the Covered California website. When you're ready to shop, you can find our plans on Covered California as well as on anthem.com.

Critical Illness Insurance Covered Conditions

Critical illness insurance in Canada has about two dozen standard covered conditions.  Most policies cover ‘most’ conditions. However few policies cover all conditions.  It’s important to compare both premiums and covered conditions, to ensure you’re getting the most complete coverage at the best premium.

Critical illness insurance in Canada has about two dozen standard covered conditions.  Most policies cover ‘most’ conditions. However few policies cover all conditions.  It’s important to compare both premiums and covered conditions, to ensure you’re getting the most complete coverage at the best premium.

It’s important to note that critical illness insurance does not simply ‘cover’ the conditions. It’s not as simple as you have a heart attack and the company pays the benefit, or you develop cancer and they pay the benefit.  You must both develop the condition AND meet the stringent policy criteria.  We recommend reading our full series of articles on critical illness insurance so that you’re aware of what you’re purchasing.

Here’s a list of the standard covered conditions:

1. Cancer
   • Life Threatening Cancer
   • Early Prostate Cancer (Partial)
   • Ductal Breast Cancer (Partial)
   • Superficial Malignant Melanoma (Partial)
   • Benign Brain Tumour
2. Stroke
3. Heart
   • Heart Attack
   • Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
   • Heart Valve Replacement
   • Aortic Surgery
   • Angioplasty (Partial)
4. Multiple Sclerosis
5. Motor Neuron Disease
6. Alzheimer’s Disease
7. Parkinson’s Disease
8. Aplastic Anemia
9. Loss of Limbs
10. Loss of Speech
11. Blindness
12. Paralysis
13. Severe or Major Burns
14. Coma
15. Kidney Failure
16. Organ Transplant
17. Enrollment in Official Transplant Program
18. Occupational HIV
19. Loss of Independence
20. Bacterial Menengitis
21. Complications from Infectious Diseases
    • West Nile
    • Flesh Eating Disease
    • E. Coli
    • Lyme Disease

Notes:
Not all companies cover all conditions. Shop and compare, you can do this through our online critical illness quotes.

As noted above, you must both develop the condition AND satisfy the contractual provisions surrounding the condition. Simply developing the condition is not going to result in payment of a benefit.

Most companies in Canada use standard definitions. However some companies deviate from these conditions. If you purchase a policy that has non-standard definitions, make sure you know how your policy varies from the standard, and why. That’s why it’s important that you deal with an expert in Critical Illness Insurance. Feel welcome to call Glenn toll free at 866.662.5433 or complete our Critical Illness Request from and we’ll call you back promptly.

Missin my best buddy samsam...

Posted by Baste on Saturday, September 26, 2015

How Much Critical Illness Insurance to Buy?

If you’re considering purchasing critical illness insurance, in addition to all of the contractual and coverage decisions, there’s two basic product questions you need to answer.

1. How much critical illness insurance to buy and
2. What type of critical illness insurance to buy (i.e. the premium structure).

The answer to both of those questions are fairly mechanical in nature.

How much to buy?

For the total amount, it’s a matter of totaling up the expected costs you may have should you develop a covered condition. Examine each reason and estimate the amount that you’ll need for each of those items.  Total these amounts and you have a solid estimate as to the amount of coverage.  When in doubt, round higher.

Here’s an example:

1. Time off work, estimated 6 months: (1/2 of your annual salary)
2. Drug costs, 1 year: $50,000 (Forbes magazine quotes “Newfangled cancer drugs can cost $50,000 a year”)
3. Travel/food/hotel costs to be near treatment center:  $2000 (or your best reasonable estimate)
4. Time off work for partner, estimated 3 months:  (1/4 of partner’s annual salary)
5. Additional costs i.e. childcare, house cleaning:  $5000 (or your best reasonable estimate)

Additionally if you’re considering payment for out of country treatment you may consider an additional $75,000 to $150,000. A quote from this article (discussing prostate cancer treatment at the Mayo clinic) says:

A 2007 study from the Journal of Clinical Oncology compared proton-beam therapy to a more common form of radiation therapy on prostate-cancer patients. For a 70-year-old man, the proton-therapy treatment cost $63,511.

For a total estimate of $100,000-$250,000 (as the Mayo clinic number is merely an estimate for one type of cancer).

In the end, these numbers are estimates and will vary wildly with your predictions, assumptions, and desired coverage level. However amounts of $25,000 to $250,000 would be common for critical illness coverage. For young families who are properly covered with life insurance and disability insurance, you may consider amounts in the range of $25,000 to $50,000 as a rough estimate for an emergency fund.

What type of critical illness insurance to buy?

Critical illness insurance premiums are structured similiar to life insurance premiums. The different types of premiums structures are very similiar to term life insurance and term to 100 life insurance. Critical illness 10 year term has premiums that are level for 10 years. After 10 years the premiums increase and are level for another 10 year period. Eventually the policy will expire, typically at age 75. Most policies however have an option up to age 65 to exchange or convert your term policy to a permanent policy without taking a new medical exam. The common types of critical illness term policies are 10 year term, 20 year term, term to age 65 (premiums level to age 65) and term to age 75 (premiums level to age 75).

The second premiums structure is term to 100. This type of critical illness policy is level for life. Premiums for this type of policy are initially higher than a comparable term policy, however the premiums are level for life. There’s no expiry age (the policy continues as long as you pay the premiums, no matter your age) and no conversion option (as the policy is already a lifetime policy).

Which one should you choose? Term or Term to 100? The answer lies in how long you expect to need the policy. If you’re intending to keep the policy only for 10 or 20 years, a term policy will be much less expensive. If your intention is to keep the policy forever, than while a Term to 100 policy is initially more expensive, it should still be your choice. The Term to 100 product ensures that your premiums remain affordable later in life.

Term Life Insurance Canada

How much life insurance do I need?

How much life insurance do you need? $50,000? 5 million? To answer this question, we need to look at ‘why’ you’re considering buying life insurance.

Why? Standard of Living
For many, the answer to ‘why’ is that we want our financial dependents – our family – to maintain their standard of living should we die. We don’t want anyone getting rich, but we don’t want anyone going broke either. We want your family to simply maintain their standard of living should you die. We want them to live in the same home, drive the same car, eat the same brand of groceries.
That standard of living – the mortgage, the bills, the groceries, the car payment – has a cost. That cost is currently paid through your paycheque, your income.

You are Your Paycheque
This is a key component to understanding how much life insurance we need. We currently maintain our standard of living using our paycheque. If we die, from a financial perspective (not an emotional perspective – that’s a different subject) we lose our paycheque.
In fact, for most of us, our largest financial asset we have is our income over the years. And it’s that asset that we lose if we die. We don’t lose our mortgage, or our bills, or our savings for children’s education. We lose our paycheque for a period of years. Insurance is designed to replace a financial loss, and this approach focuses on the financial loss when we die – our paycheque.
If we use life insurance to provide a replacement paycheque should we die, then our dependents can continue to maintain their existing standard of living using this replacement paycheque. We’ve then done the job we set out to do. The life insurance calculator below uses this premise to answer the questions ‘how much life insurance do I need’.

Life Insurance Calculator
The following calculator calculates how much lump sum insurance you would need to provide a replacement income over a period of time. You can think of the capital as being the life insurance proceeds put into a savings account, and then your replacement income is withdrawn and placed into a chequing account each year. The money in the chequing account is what your dependents then live on for the year – so nobody gets rich but they maintain their standard of living. At the end of the time period, the money is completely gone – the life insurance proceeds have gone to 0 and nobody got rich, they merely maintained their standard of living.
The following points may assist:

• Percentage of Income: many of us will assume that if we die, our dependents don’t need 100% of our paycheque in order to maintain their standard of living. A common rule of thumb is to assume 80% of your income is sufficient for 1 income households and 60% is sufficient for 2 income households.
• Number of years to replace income: This is how long we would assume we need to replace the income for. I recommend you try different values for this input in order to get a range of values. On the top end you would use the number of years until you expect to retire (to completely replace your income should you die tomorrow). On the lower end, you may use the number of years you expect it will take your children to become financially self sufficient. If you are 40 years old and you’re youngest child is 5, you might try values of 25 years (until you would be 65) and 15 years (assuming that your 5 year old will be financailly independent at age 20).
• Would your beneficiaries use this tactic with the insurance proceeds should you die? Probably not. At that time they would determine how best to use the insurance proceeds. The calculator is designed to show us a reasonable range of insurance to make sure we don’t have too much or too little. It doesn’t address how to use the insurance proceeds, which would normally be determined after the fact.
• The use of future assumptions in these types of calculations means there is no perfect answer to how much life insurance you need. To counter this, you should try different inputs for the calculator in order to get a range of values that you should consider. Within that range you can then apply other personal considerations as to whether you prefer to be on the top or bottom end of that range.
• This calculator works best for income earners with financial dependents. If your needs are different this calculator may not apply. Please feel welcome to contact us to speak to a broker who can assist you with your specific needs.
• Find the numbers to be high? Many of us should have more coverage than we expect. It’s not that we need such a large initial amount – it’s that we need an income over such a long period of time. Producing a replacement paycheque over 10,20, or 30 years can take more of a lump sum than most people expect.

10 life skills that successful young professionals should have

Just because you’re no longer in school doesn’t mean you’ve got it all figured out.

You’ve still got plenty of important skills left to master — but now you’re on your own.

To help you navigate this confusing time, we reviewed several Quora threads on helpful skills and ways to spend time in your 20s and 30s and highlighted the most useful insights.

Here are the life skills every young professional should master:

1. How to just be honest

When you’re late to an appointment, it’s tempting to pin the blame on gridlock or train delays.

Instead, says Quora user Michael Hoffman, “just apologize. You don’t have to give details. ‘I planned poorly’ is a hundred times better than risking your integrity by inanely blaming traffic.”

2. How to receive criticism

No one likes to be told they’re wrong or even that they could be doing something more effectively. As Abhinav Gupta writes, it’s easy to resent the person critiquing you, or completely ignore them.

Nonetheless, Gupta says, “in order to succeed in life you should always accept criticism and always respond positively to it and never think ill of people who point out your mistakes.”

3. How to start an interesting conversation

“Conversation-making is probably the most underrated skill,” says Deepak Mehta, who admits that he’s a shy person who’s always found it difficult.

But experience has taught him that if you dare to strike up a discussion with the person next to you, you might very well end up with a new friend, a business connection, or some novel insights on an old topic.

4. How to ask for something you want

“The ability to ask is the easiest, most underutilized skill to catapult your career,”writes an anonymous user.

But if you don’t muster up the courage to request a raise, a promotion, or a bigger sales deal, you have no chance of getting it.

If the thought of requesting what you want makes you anxious, the user suggests practicing in non-work-related contexts. For example, you could ask a vendor at a farmer’s market for a lower price on your vegetables.

“The more you put yourself in uncomfortable situations,” the user writes, “the more likely you’ll decide they’re not that uncomfortable after all.”

5. How to keep your promises

Maybe you told a friend you’d show up to his birthday party, or maybe you agreed to finish an extra assignment for your boss. Whatever the situation, you should make good on your word.

“Break [your promise] and people lose trust and faith in you, which, over time, is very hard to mend,” Hoffman says.

6. How to communicate effectively

No matter your career field, you can always improve the way you speak and write.

“Think about ways to challenge yourself and tweak how you write an email or behave in a meeting,” the anonymous user suggests.

Here’s an example: “During your next team meeting, resist talking about your idea or opinion right off the bat. Instead, count to five, and if you still feel like you have something relevant to contribute, speak up. On the flip side, if you’re shy, challenge yourself to say what you’re thinking, instead of remaining silent.”

7. How to be resilient

The rest of your life is bound to include setbacks, sadness, and frustration (in addition to joy and excitement!). Carolyn Cho says you should use your early adulthood to figure out how to recover from mishaps:

Your twenties [are] a time when most are relatively free of the responsibilities that will increase into your thirties and forties. This is a great time to experiment, fail, and bounce back. Learn how to ride out failure and persevere.

Life is full of challenges. The twenties are a great time to toughen up and start teaching yourself how to be emotionally and mentally resilient enough to weather both the joys and hardships to come.

8. How to demonstrate good table manners

“A lot of interviews take place over meals,” writes Drew Pavilonis.

“Chewing loudly, or eating with your mouth open, licking fingers and utensils (yes, I’ve seen it), elbows on the table, just shows a lack of manners and social skills.”

9. How to manage your anger

Syed Muswair Abbas Rizvi argues that you can channel your rage and frustration in positive directions instead of lashing out at the people around you. (For example,research suggests that anger can stimulate creativity, at least temporarily.)

“Your anger can empower you to do the unthinkable and unimaginable things, if you just learn the art to master and manage your anger.”

10. How to live within your means

Cho advises young adults to think carefully about all their expenditures:

“Luxuries are a wonderful thing only if you can truly afford them. Don’t be a slave to funding a lifestyle that will not last. Learn to live modestly and save up, and then you will have earned the right to purchase yourself some treats, in moderation.”

This article is published in collaboration with Business Insider. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Shana Lebowitz is a strategy reporter for Business Insider.

Image: A businessman walks through a station. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao.