Life insurance: More than just death insurance.

More than what people think.

There are several different types of life insurance policies. At Next Step Financial, we want to educate you about the different types of policies, explain their benefits, demonstrate their differences, and help you make an educated decision to choose the best policy for your personal situation and objectives. One of the advantages we offer our clients is that our policies offer living benefits. Living benefits give you the opportunity to accelerate your death benefit while you are still alive to help pay for qualifying, unforeseen circumstances that may occur during your lifetime.

Simply stated, life insurance is a contract between an individual and an insurance company where the individual makes a premium payment to secure a policy. Most people think of it as a way to provide financial security to their family following their death. Many people do not realize that there are different types of life insurance policies which provide a wide range of payment options, terms, and benefits. In addition to death benefits, these policies build cash value, offer living benefits, tax-free savings, and retirement income.

There are two distinct types of life insurance: Term and Permanent policies.

Term Policies:

• Term Life Insurance – The most common and simplest type of life insurance. Policies are purchased for a specific period of time, and pay a monetary benefit if death occurs during the term of the policy.

Permanent Policies:

• Whole Life Insurance – A life-long policy with premium payments that do not change for the duration of the policy and offers coverage until your death. It provides a death benefit and accrues tax deferred cash value at a pre-determined, guaranteed interest rate.
• Indexed Universal Life Insurance (IUL) – A life-long policy offering the policy holder the flexibility to adjust their death benefit and premium payments. The policy increases cash value by participating in an index such as the S&P 500. Gains have a cap on the percentage earned but offer a guarantee that your cash value will never decrease even in a down market.