Level premium term life insurance offers fully-guaranteed premium rates, which means the premiums on the policy are guaranteed to remain the same for the entire term period. Level premium term life insurance is a fully-underwritten product and is available in amounts as low as $50,000 up to $20 million or more, depending on the insurance company. It is the most common form of term life insurance. To easily compare and review life insurance policy types see What Type of Life Insurance Is Right For You?

Return of Premium (ROP) term life insurance combines the advantages of traditional term life insurance such as affordable, guaranteed level premium periods (10, 20 or 30 years), with a return of premium feature. At the end of the level premium period, 100% of the premiums paid will be returned to the policy owner. Of course, there is a price to be paid for this added benefit. The premiums for ROP policies are higher than premiums for standard term life policies. The insurance company will generally invest these additional premium dollars during the term of the policy, which allows them to return your premiums to you at the end of the term period. To easily compare and review life insurance policy types see What Type of Life Insurance Is Right For You?

This product combines the advantages of traditional term life insurance such as affordable, guaranteed level-premium periods, with the speed and simplicity of the Internet. Policies are generally issued in as little as 15 minutes with no medical exams and no lengthy underwriting. Qualified applicants can currently select coverage amounts from as low as $25,000 to $250,000 and coverage periods of 10, 15, or 20 years. A convenient online application allows the applicant to sign digitally through e-signature. There are no forms to fill out or mail. Once approved, the applicant is asked to set up an online account for payment processing and a policy is issued electronically. To easily compare and review life insurance policy types see What Type of Life Insurance Is Right For You?

Permanent life insurance provides lifelong protection. As long as the premiums are paid, the policy will stay in force until a death benefit is paid. These policies are designed and priced to keep over a long period of time. They are generally recommended for people who believe they will have a lifelong need for life insurance coverage or for coverage that extends beyond the maximum allowed by term life insurance.

Another characteristic of permanent life insurance is a feature known as cash value or cash-surrender value. In fact, permanent life insurance is often referred to as cash value life insurance because these types of policies can build cash value over time, as well as provide a death benefit to the beneficiaries. Cash values, which accumulate on a tax-deferred basis just like assets in most retirement plans, can be used in the future for any nearly any purpose. Policy owners can borrow cash value for a down payment on a home, to help pay for their children's education or to provide income for retirement. When money is borrowed from a permanent life insurance policy, the policy's cash value is used as collateral and the borrowing rates tend to be relatively low. And unlike loans from most financial institutions, the loan is not dependent on credit checks or other restrictions. The loan must ultimately be paid back with interest or the beneficiaries will receive a reduced death benefit and cash surrender value.

If the policy owner needs or wants to stop paying premiums, the cash value can be used to continue the current life insurance protection for a specified time, or to provide a lesser amount of protection for the remainder of the policy. If the policy owner decides to stop paying premiums and surrenders the policy, the guaranteed policy values will be paid to him/her.

There are several types of permanent life insurance policies available including whole life, universal life and variable life. Each offers its own set of options and features including fixed or variable premiums, fixed or variable death benefits and policy loan provisions among others. To easily compare and review life insurance policy types see What Type of Life Insurance Is Right For You?

Whole life insurance is the most common type of permanent life insurance. It provides the certainty of a guaranteed amount of death benefit and a guaranteed rate of return on cash values. The premium is also level and guaranteed to never increase. Some types of whole life insurance policies allow policy owners to participate in the financial prosperity of the insurance company by receiving dividends. Dividends can by used to grow the death benefit and/or the cash value of the policy. To easily compare and review life insurance policy types see What Type of Life Insurance Is Right For You?

Universal life insurance is also referred to as adjustable life insurance. It allows policy owners to pay premiums at any time, in virtually any amount, subject to certain minimums and maximums. Policy owners can also reduce or increase the death benefit of a universal life insurance policy more easily than with other types of permanent life insurance policies. Universal life insurance policies provide the certainty of a guaranteed minimum amount of death benefit, as long as premiums are sufficient to sustain that death benefit. Most universal life insurance policies will also provide a guaranteed rate of return on the policy's cash value. To easily compare and review life insurance policy types see What Type of Life Insurance Is Right For You?

Your coverage need will depend on your individual circumstances. Factors you should consider include anticipated final expenses (e.g. medical bills and burial costs), living expenses for your surviving family members, any outstanding loans (e.g. auto and credit cards), the outstanding balance on your mortgage, anticipated education costs for your children, estate taxes, and business continuation expenses.

The simplest way to achieve a "starting point" is to take a multiple of your annual income and adjust for the factors listed above. A good place to start is 10 times your annual income to start. Keep in mind that your needs will most likely change over time and what seems like enough today may not be adequate in ten years. It is usually best to purchase an amount you can afford while at the same time considering future needs.

Your coverage length will depend on your individual circumstances. Factors you should consider include your age, your spouse's age, your children's ages, the length of your financial obligations (e.g. mortgage and student loans) and the number of years until retirement. You will want to choose a term period that covers all of the above factors. For example, if you have a five-year old child and you wish to support that child through college and perhaps graduate school, you may need a policy term period of 20 years or more.

Most term life insurance policies are convertible to permanent life insurance policies. Convertible policies can generally be converted to permanent policies within a specified period of time from policy issue, without providing new evidence of insurability.

No, your premium rates are guaranteed to remain the same during the entire term period. These are called fully guaranteed or level term policies and they are the only type of term life insurance policies we offer.

It is certainly possible, but not guaranteed. Your final rates will be determined by the insurance company through a process called underwriting. Underwriting includes a review of your current health status, medical history, family history and driving record among other things. Underwriting will determine your final rating class, which will establish your final premium rates. With your assistance, we provide the most accurate quote possible up front.

The life insurance policy will terminate at the end of the term period. However, you may have the option to renew the policy on an annual basis without providing evidence of insurability. The cost to renew annually will most likely be much higher than the previous guaranteed premium rates were, but it may be a valid option for individuals who find themselves uninsurable due to injury or illness.

The policy rating class is the risk category which an applicant qualifies for according to an insurance company's underwriting guidelines. Common rating classes are Preferred Plus (also called Super Preferred), Preferred, Standard Plus, Standard and Substandard. The policy rating class will determine the premium rate for the policy.

For a more detailed idea of the health class that you would qualify for see Health Rating Class Locator.

You can change these terms at any time during the application process by sending us your request via email . Once your policy is in force, you can change these terms at specific intervals (usually every two years) by contacting the insurance company's customer service department directly or by contacting us. The insurance company will require new evidence of insurability for any changes resulting in increased benefits (e.g. a higher coverage amount or longer term period).

The accidental death benefit rider is an optional policy provision that pays an additional amount over and above your policy coverage amount in the event the insured's death is caused by an accident. Even without this rider, your term life insurance policy will pay the stated death benefit in the policy if the insured's death is the result of an accident.

The children's term life insurance rider is an optional policy provision that pays a death benefit for each covered child in the event of that child's death. Life insurance companies will typically provide between $10,000 and $20,000 coverage on the life of each dependent child of the insured, subject to age limitations and other requirements. One rider may cover multiple children.

The accelerated death benefit is a policy provision that allows for the advance payment of a portion of a life insurance policy's death benefit in the event the insured is diagnosed as terminally ill. Requirements vary by insurance company. This rider is commonly an included feature of many term life insurance policies requiring no additional cost.

First, we will collect some basic information from you that will allow us to send you your application paperwork. In addition, if a paramedical exam is needed you will schedule an appointment to have this exam completed with our examination company, Portamedic. Your application packet is then mailed to you via priority mail for your review and signatures.

Once the exam results and the application paperwork are received by QuoteRetriever.com, it will then be submitted to the insurance company for underwriting review. This review can be as short as a few days or as long as several weeks, depending on your individual circumstances. For example, if you have medical history that underwriting wants to review, medical records may be ordered from your physician(s). Depending on how quickly your physician(s) respond to the insurance company's request will determine how long your application stays in underwriting.

Once underwriting is completed, the insurance company will make an offer on your policy and send the application to policy issue. Your policy will then be issued and mailed to our office. We will process your policy as soon as it is received and mail it to you via priority mail. At that point, your designated insurance specialist will assist you with any policy questions you have as well as appropriate policy changes.

For a more detailed explanation of the life insurance application process see Application Process Step by Step.

Any checks you submit with your application for life insurance will be refunded to you if you are not approved or if you decide not to put your policy in force.

If underwriting assigns a rating class different from the class you applied for, QuoteRetriever.com will work with you to determine the best course of action. This can include changing the terms of your policy to reduce the premium or challenging the insurance company's findings.

QuoteRetriever.com's licensed new business coordinators are available to assist you with your application forms. You can call us directly at 877-306-2146 option 2.

Most of our partner insurance companies require a basic paramedical exam in conjunction with a life insurance application. Our third party medical examination company, Portamedic, will contact you to confirm your preset appointment. The exam takes only about 30 minutes and there is no cost to you for the exam.

A basic paramedical exam includes the following:

• Height/weight measurements
• Blood pressure readings
• Heart rate readings
• Urine sample
• Blood sample
• Medical history questionnaire

Depending on your specific circumstances (e.g. age, amount of insurance, medical history, etc.) the insurance company may require additional testing or information. These requirements do not apply to all applicants. Other requirements that may be included are:

• Electrocardiogram
• Chest X-ray
• Treadmill Test
• Attending Physician's Statement
• Motor Vehicle Report

The length of the process depends on many factors, but you can generally expect to receive your new policy 4-6 weeks after submitting your application.

There are many ways you can control how fast a policy is completed, however there are other influences that determine the speed of the application process that you nor QuoteRetriever.com can control. The following is a list of the most important and beneficial tips to speeding up the process.

• Complete your application packet promptly and accurately. This is the biggest delay in the process. If you can complete your application completely and return it within days you can cut weeks of the overall time.
• For corrections, cross through the incorrect information, write in the correct information and initial next to the correction. Do not use white out.
• Respond to us right away with any requests for missing or additional information.
• Complete your paramedical exam as soon as possible.