The history of Life Insurance is not a very hard one to understand. Today, Life insurance is simply the contract between a single individual and an insurance company dictating that the company is to pay the policy holder’s beneficiary if the insured dies. But where did the idea of being insured at death come from? Who were the first people that implemented this idea? What did they do when the amounts of money were not as high as those of the companies in the life insurance industry today? When did the actual life insurance industry started? All these are pretty interesting questions and the fact of the matter is that some of them cannot be answered to a high extent; however we do know a lot about the history of this wonderful thing that today covers people from all around the globe.

The First Few Signs in Life Insurance History

Historians have been searching for the true start of life insurance as we know it, but they have first deciphered the baby steps that finally ended in the actual death benefit payment. According to the Financial Shopper Network in Ancient China sailors would prevent pirates from stealing all their goods by carrying portions of other ships cargos, this way if a pirate stole the cargo of one ship, the entire load would not be lost. A little bit later in Babylon traders simply gave loans that had to be repaid when the contents of the trade were delivered safely.

So what does this have to do with life insurance? Well both of those civilizations were preventing losing it all. They were doing little baby steps that would help in the long run. Life insurance as we know it however; started in the city of Rome. The people of this highly advanced civilization decided to form what they called “burial clubs”. These clubs were designed with one sole purpose, in case of an unexpected death of a club member; everyone else would be willing to pay for their funerary expenses and help the family of the survivor with some money. The concept of life insurance as they knew it ended dramatically in the year 450 A.D. when the Roman Empire fell and its practices were abandoned for a long period of time. It is also important to highlight that many historians agree that about at the same time of Rome, the Indian Empire and its citizens also formed “burial clubs” in order to pay for funerals and help people with expenses. A clue of this according to the Financial Shopper Network is that the “yogakshema, the name of Life Insurance Corporation of Indian’s Corporate Headquarters” refers to the Vedas.

Britain and It’s Footstep in Life Insurance History

Modern life insurance however did not start until the British decided to try and make it work. The practice of life insurance was banded in the entire continent of Europe except for England and it was exactly the British that started the most prominent life insurance companies known to the European countries today. It was in the middle of the 17th century that in the streets of London, England a group of people met together at Lloyd’s Coffee house and decided to come about with life insurance ideas. The coffee house was a famous place for merchants, ship owners and traders and therefore it would be the perfect place to discuss life insurance knowing that most of those people had money.

Life Insurance History in the United States

With the British knowing the basics of life insurance and the things that could help people like the life insurance industry, they decided to give it a try in the United States of America. After talking about how they would decide on coming about with the first life insurance company, they decided to base it on the well known British model at the time. The first life insurance company in American soil was founded in the Southern Colony of Charleston, South Carolina in the year 1735.

About 20 years later the entire colonies saw that this was a good idea, so the Presbyterian Synod of Philadelphia decided to sponsor the first life insurance corporation in the United States, which wrote its first policy in the year 1761. The bad thing about life insurance at that time was that many religious groups opposed it because it would be like anticipating one’s own death and with the religious fervor in the North American Colonies at the time; it proved to be quite a challenge to get the whole thing started.

The actual life insurance industry as we know it really took off in the year 1840 because those religious groups calmed down and didn’t interfere with governmental affairs anymore. Another big reason that life insurance companies came about proved to be the New York and Chicago Fire’s that killed a whole bunch of people in each of the two cities. After this more and more life insurance companies started coming about and in the 1900’s business really grew. People wanted to be protected in case of an accidental death.

The 1900’s proved to be an era of growth for the life insurance industry. Two wars went on and many people decided to insure themselves to establish a secure monetary future for their families. It is also said that after an attack on the country more people buy life insurance policies. Nobody can contest that simply because after Pearl Harbor a bunch of people panicked and decided to open policies in fear for their lives. The same is true after the turn of this century when the attacks on the World Trade Center took place. People decided that not having protection was not worth it and that a little premium each month was better than leaving their families in economic burden.

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A term life insurance policy is often referred to as pure protection, since all you are buying is a death benefit. In a way you are renting protection for the term or life of the policy, say 10 years. If you die during that time, the policy will pay its death benefit.

To make a term insurance policy marketable there are a few elements that make it more like renting an less like “pure” protection.

The premiums are level from the day you buy it until the end of the term. If you actually paid the real corresponding costs your payments would rise each year. In that case, if there was any chance that you could be convinced that you no longer needed the insurance, you would drop it and the company would not make very much money.

Most term life insurance policies are guaranteed renewable before or at the end of the initial term. Insurance companies know that your needs for insurance will last for as long as you live, so they want you to keep paying for insurance far beyond that initial term period.

The benefit to you of the renewable feature is that you don’t need to prove to the insurance company that you are still “insurable” in order to keep the term insurance policy in force for a longer period than the original term. Naturally, each time you renew, the premiums will be higher for the next period of years because you are older and, therefore, more likely to die.

Another feature, convertibility, is usually part of the policy as well. In my opinion the convertibility feature is vital and something the terms of which must be clearly understood by you and your advisors in order to make sure the policy is a flexible as you will need it to be.

The convertibility feature means that the term insurance policy can be exchanged for another type of life insurance usually at any time before the expiration of the policy’s term. Buying a convertible term life insurance policy will put you in control since will be able to convert to a permanent type of coverage at a later time, without having to prove that you are still insurable.

Usually people choose term insurance for protection when the need for it is only temporary, such as mortgage protection, business bank loans and trade account protection required by a vendor, or perhaps as income replacement when their children are young. There are times when the requirements for immediate cash protection in order for them to keep the commitments they have made if they were to die make term insurance the only possible solution.

In other words term life insurance is a permanent solution for a temporary need. And it is a temporary solution for a permanent need.

You can figure out how much you need and get a quote online. You can buy term insurance through the mail and never have to speak with an agent. The Internet sets you free to get what you want when you want it and pay almost whatever you want.

The question is, does that make the most sense for you, your family and your business? Isn’t it possible that a trained agent who has spent a lifetime helping people like you will have insights and experiences to share that you can benefit from? Remember, when you buy life insurance commissions will be paid to someone. Should that be a wholesale aggregator with a web site or a trained professional you trust who has to look you in the eyes for as long as you all shall live? You decide.

Remember, term life insurance is like wetting the bed, it provides instant relief but sooner or later you are going to have to get up and do something about it. I remember the first time heard that expression. Now that thirty years have passed I understand what he meant.

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Battling cancer on its own is an extremely trying event in anyone’s life and the lives of their families. If you had already owned a term life insurance policy before you developed cancer, you might have had the opportunity to use the accelerated death benefit to help offset the cost of your cancer treatments as well as other medical bills.

However, now that you have been given a clean bill of health as a cancer survivor, perhaps your term life insurance company chose not to renew your policy or decided to drastically raise your term life insurance premiums. All of a sudden it is a struggle to find affordable coverage since you are now considered an “impaired risk.” Impaired risks are not only people with pre-existing medical conditions or chronic health problems such as diabetes or high blood pressure, but also those who develop cancer, those addicted to drugs or alcohol and even those who have been convicted of a felony. Those who are considered impaired risks often are not able to obtain coverage. If an insurance company is willing to underwrite a policy for those with impaired risks, the premiums are much more expensive than a basic policy.

In recent years, however, insurance companies have begun to find ways to work with people that have health problems, or “impaired risks” – even cancer survivors. It is important to seek out term life insurance companies who specialize in impaired risk coverage rather than “generalists.” Getting cancer survivor or impaired risk insurance has never been easier or more affordable.

How to Obtain Your Coverage

There is good news about term life insurance companies who specialize in cancer survivor and impaired risk term life insurance: they do not operate with a generalized health check list or have blanket requirements to obtain a policy. Each case is evaluated individually. So, as a cancer survivor you would be subject to a thorough health evaluation. You may even be required to submit medical forms signed by your physician stating your current health status. If you are in remission and otherwise lead a healthy lifestyle, basic coverage should no longer be a problem.

Additionally, up-to-date insurance companies now employ a method called “clinical medical underwriting.” Whereas prior to this new system, insurance companies would use a standard mortality table based on 30 year old data, this process takes into consideration all the current medical advances and lifestyle choices that allow people with medical/disability problems to live long and productive lives. Insurance companies now base their cancer survivor impaired risk term life insurance rates on being more informed on individual cases. This means that you will hopefully be able to obtain the best coverage for the least amount of money.

If for some reason you are unable to obtain a term life insurance policy for impaired risk, do not worry. You are always eligible for a guaranteed issue policy. This type of coverage is expensive but they do not require a medical exam and there are no health questions on the application.

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