WTK: Life Insurance

[ek4ever]

eurogirl.....sounds like my agent....I prefer to use the term financial advisor. He does a great job of advising on investments and have come up with some really good ones in the past and is always on the lookout for new ones for me....which is great since I don't really have time to keep on these things....plus he has a great base of contacts in the business community

Other companies I got a card on my birthday and never heard from the agent other than that. Even when I cancelled a policy the agent wasn't even concerned to find out why. My agent even paid a premium for me when i forgot just so the policy wouldn't lapse.

Maritime has all those other companies beat by a country mile. Great products and excellent agents.

[White CZ4A]

there are ones with critical illness attached to them, thats the one to get
Sagicor has a good one

so does clico....

i guess it will matter the extent of coverage you will get....

maritime as well has critical illness as part of it.
They also have no preference to doctors etc...

[gone in 60 seconds]

so for young people which one is the best to invest...?

[nareshseep]

To me guardian and clico are two of the largest companies right now, split your investments and start early, when you reach 60 you can also cash in your life insurance.
which tends to worth more than the actual insurance itself

[Peanut Punch]

cute corolla, most of the advise u got is good....
>Life insurance is excellent for use as security for mortgage purposes... banks will always ask u to asign ur Life insurance to them in the event u die the debt will be paid off by the insurance company & ur family won't have to pick up the debt or loose the property.

>It's great income replacement for your family if u die suddenly,,... ur salary will be taken away but the bills will keep comming & they will benefit from this for a few yrs or a lifetime ... depending on the amount u r insured for.

>Basically it's a death benefit & Insurance is always a great investment!

cute corolla, you should always know where u r putting ur money'.... www.ambest.com will give u the FYI on all Insurance companies in T&T .... according to them Sagicor Life Inc. & Clico r the leading two with regards to life insurance.
AM BEST International measures the the Quality & Compliance of isurance companies in T&T.

[urabus]

Peanut Punch, hey thanks i'll certainly look into the AM Best website

once again, how does this benefit me when i'm dead....yeah i see your point of repaying any indebtedness i would have incured, so as to prevent my family from having to fell the brunt of it.

well thanks guys....i'll check out some of these places and make a decision, but i like sagicor thou

[cinco]

now you can have lots of unprotected sex because you have lots of money






end of pointless post

[urabus]

aye cinco why u doh hush u ....

if it was pointless to u, then don't comment

[ek4ever]

To me guardian and clico are two of the largest companies right now, split your investments and start early, when you reach 60 you can also cash in your life insurance.
which tends to worth more than the actual insurance itself

Guardian and Clico have suffered severe financial losses in the recent past....something to consider looking at before choosing a company. Remember both these companies have significant sums invested in things like energy, real estate development and others not all of which have borne fruit. Read their audited financial results and you will see....hundreds of millions in losses does not really inspire confidence

[AGENT RORO]

To me guardian and clico are two of the largest companies right now, split your investments and start early, when you reach 60 you can also cash in your life insurance.
which tends to worth more than the actual insurance itself

Guardian and Clico have suffered severe financial losses in the recent past....something to consider looking at before choosing a company. Remember both these companies have significant sums invested in things like energy, real estate development and others not all of which have borne fruit. Read their audited financial results and you will see....hundreds of millions in losses does not really inspire confidence

Really? Care to show any documents to support that?

[sufferrar]

Ah see that you all fail to mention that your insurance policy must cover the value of the mortgage.
I fell for this trap.
In 2000 i took an annuity and insurance .
In 2005 i took a mortgage and i couldn't assign the policy because it was only valued at $300,000.00
Luckily it was optional since they holding the deed for the land.
It was only then that the mortage people explained to me that i had to increase the value of the insurance.
Eventually the cost of the insurance would be $900 and something a month with my wife's insurance.

But when i took the insurance in 2000 you could geta house and land for $250k but now $250 k cannot even but a lot.
so check this out .

another thing is that at age 65 the dividends are stoped. i'm not too sure what this means but my father in law was explaining it to me in a complicated way. check your insurance broker for more info.

Every thing that the others said is true but the way i seeing it is that your $250 today is worth more today than investing it .
The million dollars you getting at age 65 from your insurance will not buy much in 30-40 years from now.

I am seriously considering to stop my insurance .
The only real benefit i seeing from the insurance is that in case of death your beneficary will get something. And dont even count on the savings part of it because it will be worth nothing.

Depreciation is a huge factor .

[AbstractPoetic]

sufferrar,

Very interesting.

[pugboy]

its common knowledge that GHL was over invested in RBTT and vice versa hence
why they both tanked big time and had to sell off big chunks to avoid further possible fluctuations because of each other

Clico is a private company, I dont think they give out their balance sheets to anybody

there are two schools of thought when it comes to investing you money,
1 - you develop the mentality to save and invest yourself
2 - you give it to one of these companies to do it for you

[eurogirl]

no offence to the clico savvy's but THEY SUCK BIG TIME ..


my entire family is insured with that stupid place and their policies have been reviewed and basically they got screwed over wrt to medical plans ..

healthnet - waste of flicking time looser dumbfcuk doctors and whacko noob densits
and it takes 4444 evvvorrrrr to get rebates when u go outside

plus surgeries ? plz their critical illness is a joke now

my dad had to do minor surgery and they issused a chq for $2000 , like what that gonna cover ? steups


do your homework b4 , and makesure in the next 5-10 yrs it don't come around an bite u in the butt

[996vtwin]

how important is life insurance for a young single person?

do i really need it?

why shud i take it, or is it a waste of my $$.

not going to get into it but basically you would be a fool to even ask such a question. For me its like asking do i need HIV?

Stop funding Insurance companies, they are all full of sheit.

[nareshseep]

everyone at some pt in thier life has a family, if you start now, you get cheaper rates in the long run, and larger compound rate figure. It just future proofing

[eurogirl]

how important is life insurance for a young single person?

do i really need it?

why shud i take it, or is it a waste of my $$.

not going to get into it but basically you would be a fool to even ask such a question. For me its like asking do i need HIV?

Stop funding Insurance companies, they are all full of sheit.

Do you ?

I kid I kid

[ek4ever]

To me guardian and clico are two of the largest companies right now, split your investments and start early, when you reach 60 you can also cash in your life insurance.
which tends to worth more than the actual insurance itself

Guardian and Clico have suffered severe financial losses in the recent past....something to consider looking at before choosing a company. Remember both these companies have significant sums invested in things like energy, real estate development and others not all of which have borne fruit. Read their audited financial results and you will see....hundreds of millions in losses does not really inspire confidence

Really? Care to show any documents to support that?

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazine ... _BEST_.asp

What it shows here is that Guardian Life being apart of GHL can be and is influenced byb the performance of the group which unfortunately has had poor returns to investors recently.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2006 ... ness3.html

http://www.nationnews.com/story/285996760762559.php

[AGENT RORO]

To me guardian and clico are two of the largest companies right now, split your investments and start early, when you reach 60 you can also cash in your life insurance.
which tends to worth more than the actual insurance itself

Guardian and Clico have suffered severe financial losses in the recent past....something to consider looking at before choosing a company. Remember both these companies have significant sums invested in things like energy, real estate development and others not all of which have borne fruit. Read their audited financial results and you will see....hundreds of millions in losses does not really inspire confidence

Really? Care to show any documents to support that?

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazine ... _BEST_.asp

What it shows here is that Guardian Life being apart of GHL can be and is influenced byb the performance of the group which unfortunately has had poor returns to investors recently.

ek4ever, Right I saw this report as well as another one I can post later, but relating to Clico what report did you see?

[ek4ever]

suferer makes a good point...if you are investing...and note the use of the word investing....in life insurance then it is your responsibility to ensure that the returns on your investment will exceed the rate of inflation thereby preserving the value of your investment. If not then it doesn't make sense. It's like the bank teller trying to convince me to open an account....first thing I ask is what is the interest...usually some 3-5%....then i ask why should i put my money in at 3-5% when inflation is approx 10%...no answer.

The bottom line is you have to inform yourself about finances and have ALL the facts before you invest. Personally i prefer tax free offshore investment but you sometimes have to start with a minimum of U$5000 for the first year and such so it's not for everyone.

I think I started off like a lot of other ppl here....life insurance...annuity...pension plan...medical.....what is something to note is that it all quickly adds up.....so that when I was ready to buy my house...land start my company etc....it was surprising how much collateral I already had.

Put it another way...what would you be doing with that money anyhow...spending it? letting it sit in a bank? If you have extra money make it work....invest it ...look at all options.

OH yeah....CLICO sucks big time

[acesinghit]

Maritime's Life Insurance policy can have Critical Illness attached to it. You will be covered up to the age of 100 where other plans go up to 60, 65 and 70. Also, Maritime's AdMed medical insurance needs no bills or receipts or all that surgical/doctor information before they pay a claim........all they need is an official doctor/medical institution letter indicating that you need x or y procedure to be done and Maritime pays the FULL amount in a cheque. If the procedure costed you $10,000. according to the category it falls under.....they will pay you $25,000. and you pocket the rest. The catch is you cannot repeat the same procedure again in 3yrs I think.

In terms of Medical insurance and Critical Illness, Maritime is the best.
In terms of Pension Plans.....Clico and Guardian Life are tops.
In terms of Investment Plans....Clico again is tops.

all the rest like Sagicor and Algico is rubbish.

One should take out Life Insurance only if he/she is requested to do so by a lending institution so that the Credit Card, Car Loan and house Mortgage will be covered in case of death. These days those loan instruments does have a built-in insurance protection in them so incase of death it will be wiped off.

Life insurance should also be taken out as a means of family income replacement. Should the individual perish, that would be an income not coming in anymore to support a family and pay bills etc...So even though the loans are wiped out due to built-in protection, what about the groceries, books for kids, school fees, gas for car, funeral expenses and other maintainance etc..an adequate Life Insurance policy will pay the beneficiary eg. a wife (unless otherwise stated) a lumpsum cheque to deal with such. Now a proper agent and yourself should calculate how much you would like to leave for your family incase of death.......in other words, how much money you would like to leave with them as a means of a buffer till better can be done....like the wife getting a job or if she already has one until the kids can get a job etc..

Some Major Medical policies, Critical Illness and Investment policies does have a death benefit attached to it so in conjunction with Life Insurance it would be better for your beneficiary.

Lastly wrt pension plans......please note that some plans only accumulate value after the 5th year due to fees etc...and if you terminate it you will get back only what was put in minus the fees. Maritime's REAP pension plan AFAIK does not incur fees during such a period but regardless of what or whom you go by, it will help reduce your income tax. Stay far from similar products offered by commercial banks like TISP, ScotiaLife etc etc....true benefits can only be offered by a full fledge Insurance Company by law that way upon maturity you won't have to transfer your lumpsum to an Insurance Company to evade taxes/fees and reduced lumpsum.

[AbstractPoetic]

suferer makes a good point...if you are investing...and note the use of the word investing....in life insurance then it is your responsibility to ensure that the returns on your investment will exceed the rate of inflation thereby preserving the value of your investment. If not then it doesn't make sense. It's like the bank teller trying to convince me to open an account....first thing I ask is what is the interest...usually some 3-5%....then i ask why should i put my money in at 3-5% when inflation is approx 10%...no answer.

This is critical.

What about equity-based investments? What are the best company stocks to invest in (in the Caribbean)?

[acesinghit]

true inflation is not 10%........if buying milk, sugar, flour, rice etc... went up by 10% the same way it fluctuates on a month to month basis then a pack of milk should be at least $100. by now. Its a measurement they use to calculate, thats why do not invest in normal bank savings accounts......only use it as a salary pass through a/c. those types of accounts are only 1-2% interest. Put funds in a fixed deposit with CIB or CFC or Fidelity etc etc and get 7-8% for the least. Fixed deposits with banks are not all that but better than nothing especially Scotia's Rate Booster a/c just like Fidelity's own, interest is compounded!

[996vtwin]

I think I started off like a lot of other ppl here....life insurance...annuity...pension plan...medical.....what is something to note is that it all quickly adds up.....so that when I was ready to buy my house...land start my company etc....it was surprising how much collateral I already had.

The question was aked if he needed life insurance. First of all insurers never liketo use the word 'insurance' the prefer the nnice word annuity, go figure.

For them it's all about the odds, if you are young and healthy you are a prime target for them because the chances that you will die soon are rare and in themean time they will invest the money you gave 100x over.

Imo, find a good investment plan, for me when I was young you would want risky plans. Whether you invest in the foreign or local stock market, or some other plan, look around for the highest rate and flexibilty. Insurance companies like to lock in you money!!! Now that just down right wrong.

And of course inflation is something you have to consider. What will your million dollars be worth when you are fifty. You may just be able to buy a car,,,maybe....but probably not.

[pugboy]

hey, the man gamble with people policy money and making billions with methanol
the man must have a golden touch somehow
others like HCU not so lucky when it come to gambling
with other people money

OH yeah....CLICO sucks big time

[ek4ever]

hey, the man gamble with people policy money and making billions with methanol
the man must have a golden touch somehow
others like HCU not so lucky when it come to gambling
with other people money

OH yeah....CLICO sucks big time

Was referring to their life, medical and annuity products. To much up front and administrative charges plus it's a beyotch to process medical claims.

[pugboy]

they all try to backsqueeze when you make a claim,
its no different than trying to make a car insurance claim
pure robbery

some say clico is a big pyramid scheme, they have one of the highest turnover rates in corporate trinidad

[sufferrar]

Do you know why when you sign up for insurance or annuity they usually want cash? It is because the first payment goes to the insurance guy.

And then there is the surrender fee if you decide to end the policy within the first 10 years. $100 per year for the first 10 years.
So after 10 years of investing with them only then you can stop your insurance without a surrender fee.

[urabus]

Do you know why when you sign up for insurance or annuity they usually want cash? It is because the first payment goes to the insurance guy.

i think i get caught up in that.....

[AGENT RORO]

Do you know why when you sign up for insurance or annuity they usually want cash? It is because the first payment goes to the insurance guy.

And then there is the surrender fee if you decide to end the policy within the first 10 years. $100 per year for the first 10 years.
So after 10 years of investing with them only then you can stop your insurance without a surrender fee.

Sir, That is not true. It goes into the system as your first month's premium, that's why your payments would usually start 30 days after. I REALLY dont know where you got your info from.