When it comes to life insurance we have two primary types of policy to choose from – term life insurance or whole of life insurance. Many people find it hard to come to a decision about which type of policy to take out but the decision you have to make really isn’t that complex and both will offer good levels of cover for the majority of people. Let’s take a closer look at your options.

With all the buzz about President Bush’s new tax changes for those who own health insurance, everyone is busy crunching the numbers. Those who currently gets insurance through their employers are trying to figure out if they’ll be one of the unlucky ones who will be taxed to pay for Bush’s proposed new tax changes. Even the self employed who currently deduct health insurance premiums from their income tax are figuring out if their health insurance total breaks Bush’s prescribed ceiling.

So who will benefit from the health insurance tax change? For starters, the 17 million Americans who currently purchase their own health insurance without tax benefit. This was the goal of Bush’s change. The other hoped for benefit is that some of those millions of uninsured Americans will now be able to afford to buy health insurance now that there will be a tax break.

Behind this proposed tax break stands, obviously, the Bush administration but also a slew of economists who oppose what they consider to be waste in healthcare spending due to overly high health insurance. Their hope is that with this awareness of health insurance spending will come lower health insurance premiums and more affordable health care in general.

Similar plans during the Clinton and Reagan administrations didn’t work, but who knows? I guess, we’ll have to wait and see.

This article from the Cincinatti Enquirer is a good one. It talks about how various life stages need different life insurance plans. I think that it’s a good thing to reiterate and keep in mind as you go through life. A review of your life insurance needs should be conducted at least every 3 years to determine if the coverage/plan you currently have fits your current needs.

Term life insurance, the simplest form of life insurance, is designed to protect your family for a specified length of time. Term policies, which range from 1 to thirty years, provide a one-time death benefit but no cash savings.

There are some important things to consider when buying a policy. Be sure to shop around before buying life insurance. Why? Because the life insurance industry is very competitive with hundreds of companies offering policies. This is a benefit to you, because competition has brought pricing down. However, the range of choices can make finding the right policy from the best company daunting.

When searching for a term life insurance policy, be sure to consider the following:

• Rates: Life insurance rates vary greatly from company to company. Find three to five policies with attractive rates for the amount of coverage you desire, but make sure to talk to an agent and avoid come-on rates that only the healthiest people qualify for.
• Budget: Once you’ve found these policies, be sure the premiums are within your budget. It doesn’t make any sense to go forward with any of these contracts if you aren’t going to be able to afford them. Again, a life insurance agent can help tailor a policy around your needs.

• Service: By considering at least three companies and/or agents, you’ll be able to compare their ability to answer questions and to give you their undivided attention.

• Stability: An insurance company’s economic stability is directly connected to their ability to meet their future financial obligations. In other words, you want to make sure an insurance company will be able to pay your death benefit. You may want to check with A.M. Best. This is a company that rates insurance providers’ fiscal soundness.

President Bush’s new health insurance tax breaks will give a big kickback to Americans who pay for their health insurance out of their own pockets: self-employed, unemployed and small business owners. But there’s a caveat: if your health insurance bill is higher than what the federal government deems appropriate then you’ll be giving back a portion of that tax break by paying taxes on the overage.

The problem with this plan? Not everyone has that kind of control over their health insurance bills.

Bush calls high-cost health insurance plans ‘gold-plated,’ but many of those who are forced to pay higher-than-average premiums for their health insurance are far from rich and privileged. Those with high-risk occupations like firefighters, paramedics and policemen, those who are older, those with pre-existing conditions – all of these people will find their health insurance bills to be quite pricey and far from gold-plated.

Which means that under Bush’s new tax guidelines, they’ll have to pay even more for their health insurance in the form of taxes on the amount of their bill that exceeds what is deemed appropriate.

It was nice of Bush to try and tax the richer a little harder than the poor, but the definition of gold-plated should probably be fleshed out a little more before they write it in the tax books in ink.

As shown by Compulife’s History of Term Life Insurance Premiums, life insurance for the most part has never been cheaper. Online life insurance quotes have made life insurance shopping easy. There are hundreds of insurance carriers online and thousands of products to chose from, so where to begin? Well, the best approach to online shopping is to prepare yourself before you start your search.

Ask yourself questions like:

• Why do I need life insurance
• Should I buy term or permenant life insurance
• How long do I need it
• How much do I need

Talk with a broker that deals with multiple companies. He or she will know the ins and outs of each company and will be able to find you the best value for your lifestyle and health profile.

The short answer: maybe. Certainly Democrats are historical proponents of the uninsured in America as well as a more socialist answer to the problem on a national scale. Now that there is a Democratic majority in Congress, albeit slim, the uninsured could be in for a little more attention than they’ve enjoyed for the past 8 years.

A surprising move by President Bush in his State of the Union address offering tax breaks to those who pay for their own insurance wasn’t as well received by congressional Democrats as one might think. The backlash, of course, is against those who have health insurance as part of their salary. Formerly untaxed, these insured folks will now be offering up a hefty fee to offset the lost money the government will now give to those who buy their own insurance.

And Democrats are protesting. Democratic Senator Barak Obama wants a stop to what he calls “disappointing charade of debate on affordable health care coverage.” His solution? Federal health insurance for every American within the next six years.

One can only wonder what the tax structure behind that plan would look like, both for the currently insured and the insured-hopefuls – certainly nothing a Republican Congress would endorse.

With President Bush’s State of the Union address came the announcement of a proposal to change the way health insurance plan expenses are taxed. But before you understand what would change, you need to know what the current rules are.

As it stands, tax laws on health insurance premiums vary depending on who provides you with that health insurance. Those who are covered by health insurance offered by their employer pay no taxes at all on that coverage no matter what.

For those who purchase their own insurance, however, it’s a different story. The self-employed currently can deduct their health insurance premiums but those who are employed by those who don’t offer health insurance must pay taxes on their premiums.

With this discrepancy, President Bush disagrees. His proposal? Give employed workers who buy their own health insurance the same tax breaks afforded to the self-employed. In order to pay for the new deduction, everyone who is insured, including those who have coverage through their employers, will pay taxes on coverage that goes over a specified amount. That amount is $7500 for individuals and $15,000 for family coverage annually.

Some people would pay more taxes and others would pay less, which means that some love the idea and others hate it. Let’s just wait and see if it passes the Democratic Congress’ approval.

This article appeared in August on CBS News and is from Stephanie AuWerter of Smart Money Magazine. I found it to be very informative and wanted to pass it along. This week I’ll be passing along more article such as this one as it’s going to be a very busy week for me and I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to write.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently released statistics noting that flight delays in 2006 hit a record high of 22 percent, as did the number of diverted flights. And about one out of every 150 passengers had to sort out a “mishandled” bag last year; the group reported that the total bags reported lost, stolen or mishandled was nearly four million, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report, released in February.

Dan McGinnity, vice-president of AIG Travel Guard, said his company can help consumers with expense reimbursement related to flight delays or assistance in locating lost baggage. After tabulating its figures for 2006, the company noted a 45 percent increase in the number of baggage assistance requests it processed, compared to 2005 figures.

With recent storms across the country causing delays and even cancellations in most major airports, consumers are looking for help in dealing with what was once routine air travel. The company offers several travel insurance plans to help ameliorate some of the confusion caused when a flight is delayed or canceled, or luggage is mysteriously “mishandled.” The insurance may also include coverage for emergency medical expenses and medical evacuation expenses.