Last Updated on March 15, 2017 by lifepolicyshopper

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Permanent Life Insurance - National Guard Soldiers

Over the past years National Guard Soldiers have responded to multiple deployments. There is no doubt SGLI provides great life insurance for Soldiers that answer the call for multiple tours of duty. In fact, a National Guard Soldier that volunteers for any tour of duty that comes along might affectionately termed a “Guard Bum”. These Soldiers might typically be the ones the Readiness NCO has on speed dial to call in a pinch when something needs to get done in a hurry. For missions like picking up rations before a drill weekend you might see one of these Guard bums on the road providing great support to the lively hood and readiness to units across all Guard units throughout the 54 states and territories. Even the most skilled professionals with very specialized skills such as doctors, lawyers, dentists and chaplains have found themselves responding to multiple deployments and earned this adorned title.

Guard bums find themselves in an interesting predicament when it comes to life and health insurance. With so many deployments and volunteer missions it’s impossible to maintain a civilian employer for a group sponsored plan unless a spouse might have access to one. In the days before 9-11 health care for a Guard bum was not a common place. Today the Soldier that supports multiple deployments has access to Tri-care Reserve Select. This plan offers a low cost plan which is Tri-care Standard with a low monthly premium and low co-pay. This is a great improvement and supports the Soldier that provides on call support to the units across the Guard.

For life insurance, the military offers great term insurance through SGLI written in other articles here at LifePolicyShopper like this one. There are term life insurance offerings in every state through the state National Guard Associations and most of these offerings are term. But it’s important to note, this insurance is term. Term insurance is only temporary. When the National Guard Soldier leaves the Guard, the term insurance is gone 120 days after discharge. Yes this term insurance is convertible to whole life – but that is very expensive. Yes, a Soldier can role onto Veteran’s Group Life Insurance (VGLI) but that is very expensive.

For the National Guard Soldier, the day will come when you leave the Guard and leave behind the $400,000 SGLI temporary life insurance coverage. A recommendation here at LifePolicyShopper is between the ages of 45 and 50 is to buy a low cost 15 or 20 year term life insurance policy that will provide short redundant coverage with SGLI in preparation of losing it and extend this coverage out through the years you need it most. Also during this same time buy a modest permanent policy with a death benefit in the range of $50,000 to $75,000 that will never expire to provide permanent coverage for final expenses and to be there after all the term insurance is gone.

We love Guard bums here at LifePolicyShopper. We know that around every great unit there is a group of volunteers that provide countless hours of support that bring a unique set of skills that make the National Guard great. If you are between the ages of 45 and 50 and would like to begin your search for your own temporary and permanent low cost life insurance coverage. Begin your research with our online quote engine. Research the best policies. The quote engine on this page is a live engine that will return a quote based on your age and gender. You will not reach a point to wait for a call. You will see actual quotes to begin putting a life insurance plan together today. Once you are satisfied with the level of coverage and payments, we can proceed with an application and review your medical information to get you the best price based on your health. This is biggest reason to obtain your private coverage prior to age 50. Once your health begins to deteriorate, price becomes the second criteria behind whether a certain carrier with deal with your health condition at a preferred, standard or worse rate. At LifePolicyShopper we are contracted with over 60 life insurance companies and we maintain up to date information on how certain carriers deal with certain health conditions. This is where we can provide you the best value for your life insurance spend.

More on Buying Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance provides you with a more affordable opportunity to ensure your mortgage payments in the unfortunate event of your death. Even though they are offered for a limited time-period, you can always match them up with your mortgage payment cycles of 10 or 20-year contracts. For the budget conscious, this definitely seems to be a smarter alternative for a low cost death benefit.

Insurance companies offer cheap term life insurance policies with different contract time periods, conversion credit during the first five years and transferable waiver of premium.
Other than being a cheaper option, term life insurance is better in other aspects when compared to a mortgage life insurance. There are options available for a term life insurance policy. The proceeds from a term life insurance go directly to the beneficiaries instead of the lender, so the money can be used by your dependents as desired which could be even to pay off other debts. Term life insurance also pays a death benefit. According to NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners), the companies pay almost 90 cents to the dollar in benefits for term life insurance policies. Typically the whole life insurance will be 2 to 3 times costlier than a term life insurance but if you don’t have it when term coverage runs out – you have nothing for final expenses.

Term life insurance offers the cheapest alternative to provide insurance coverage for your dependents. It has allowed individuals under budget-crunch situations to buy policies with larger payout amounts due to the limited term of the coverage. So, if you can renew your term life insurance regularly during your lifetime, you have actually found an affordable alternative to expensive whole life insurance.

More on Buying Permanent Life Insurance Coverage

To begin with, you need to understand that life insurance falls into two very broad categories: Whole and term. The basic difference between term and whole life insurance is this: A term policy is life coverage only. In whole life insurance policy, as long as one continues to pay the premiums, the policy does not expire for a lifetime. As the term applies, whole life insurance provides coverage for the whole life or until the person reaches the age of 100. Whole life insurance policies build up a cash value (usually beginning after the first year). With whole life, you pay a fixed premium for life instead of the increasing premiums found on renewable term life insurance policies. In addition, whole life insurance has a cash value feature that is guaranteed. In term and whole-life, the full premium must be paid to keep the insurance.

With level premiums (payments that never change) and the accumulation of cash values, whole life insurance is a good choice for long-range goals. Besides permanent lifetime insurance protection, Whole Life Insurance features a savings element that allows you to build cash value on a tax-deferred basis. The policyholder can cancel or surrender the whole life insurance policy at any time and receive the cash value. Some whole life insurance policies may generate cash values greater than the guaranteed amount, depending on interest crediting rates and how the market performs. The cash values of whole life insurance policies may be affected by a life insurance company's future performance. Unlike whole life insurance policies, which have guaranteed cash values, the cash values of variable life insurance policies are not guaranteed. You have the right to borrow against the cash value of your whole life insurance policy on a loan basis. Supporters of whole life insurance say the cash value of a life insurance policy should compete well with other fixed income investments.

Unlike term life policies, whole life insurance provides a minimum guaranteed benefit at a premium that never changes. One of the most valuable benefits of a participating whole life insurance policy is the opportunity to earn dividends. The insurance company based on the overall return on its investments sets earnings on a whole life policy. In addition, while the interest paid on universal life insurance is often adjusted monthly, interest on a whole life policy is adjusted annually. Like many insurance products, whole life insurance has many policy options.

Make sure you can budget for whole life insurance for the long term and do not buy whole life insurance unless you can afford it. You should buy all the coverage you need now while you are younger, and if you cannot afford whole life insurance, at least get Term. That is why whole life insurance policies have the highest premiums it is insurance for your whole life, no matter when you pass on. The level premium and fixed death benefit make whole life insurance very attractive to some. Unlike some other types of permanent insurance, with whole life insurance, you may not decrease your premium payments.

Buy inexpensive Term life insurance to age 100 with level payments and level death benefit

Read about the best of both worlds - we can enroll members of the National Guard in the 5 Star Life Family Protection Plan. It's term life insurance to age 100 read more here.