Burial Insurance

Burial life insurance is an important investment for seniors who need to cover funeral costs. Since a burial ceremony can cost up to 10,000, life insurance is very important and many seniors are considering purchasing a plan. When comparing burial life insurance quotes, there are some important factors people need to be aware of.

When determining life insurance rates, agencies will take in account various factors concerning the applicant’s medical condition and lifestyle. Age is an important issue, especially for seniors who want to get life insurance. Life expectancy has a big impact on life insurance premiums. Seniors who are expected to live longer, will get better rates. Besides age, health is also important and it has a big influences on life insurance premiums. A healthier senior will get better rates than one who has pre-existing medical conditions.

Burial life insurance is a policy which does not require a medical examination. instead, applicants will have to complete an application form which has four questions. Seniors who answer“no” to three of them will qualify for coverage. Final expense life insurance can help seniors cover funeral costs.

Singles need Insurance

There are several reasons you might want to purchase life insurance even when you’re single, though you may need less coverage than someone who wants to provide for a surviving spouse or children. That’s because there may be other family members or loved ones who could be affected financially in the event of your death.

Many single people are now pondering buying life insurance, given that more adult Americans today are single than are married and that the median age at first marriages has never been higher. Young adults today are also waiting longer to buy homes or have children, milestones typically associated with the purchase of life insurance.

Life insurers are actively reaching out to millennials (who are more likely to be single) by making their offerings more web- and mobile-friendly and by marketing their policies in unexpected places like Wal-Mart and Costco.

Many consumers get a basic life policy through work, which could cover the needs of a single person without dependents. Remember, though, that if you leave your job, your coverage doesn’t come with you.

Here are five reasons to consider purchasing a policy, even if you’re not married

1. It’s cheaper to buy a policy when you’re young and healthy. Not every young person needs life insurance – and if you haven’t yet established an emergency fund or you’re still living on your parents’ couch, buying life insurance certainly shouldn’t be a top priority. If, however, you’re making the maximum contribution to your retirement fund and have six months of expenses stashed in a savings account, you may want to consider buying a policy.

Another reason not to wait: The older you get, the more likely you are to contract a chronic health condition, which could push up your life insurance premiums or make you ineligible for coverage at all. Buying a policy now will lock in coverage while you’re still in good health and qualify for the best rates.

2. You’ve got co-signed loans or are worried about funeral costs. If your parents (or other family member or friend) co-signed a student loan or a mortgage with you, they’ll be fully on the hook for the amount owed in the event of your passing. In addition to debt, burial costs can also be expensive – the average funeral costs more than $7,000 – and it can set back loved ones without a significant amount of savings.

If your funeral or your debts will be a significant financial hardship for someone else, consider getting a low-cost policy to cover those expenses – a 10-year term policy naming that person as the beneficiary could take care of such expenses. With unemployment still stubbornly high and most Americans with dangerously low savings accounts, the last burden a grieving family member needs is a loan company hounding him or her for payments.

3. You support others. This is probably the most important reason a single person should purchase life insurance. Nearly 16 million unmarried parents live with their children, according to the U.S. Census. Even if you don’t have kids, there may be others who depend on you financially, including elderly parents who need caretaking or special needs siblings. The right life insurance policy can serve as a financial safety net for those you care about most.

Work with a financial planner to determine how much life insurance you need on top of any other assets you have in order to insure that your dependents are properly cared for financially after you’re gone.

4. You want your business to continue. If you’re a small business owner with partners, a life insurance policy can allow your partners to more seamlessly purchase your portion of the business. Partners in the company would enter into a buy-sell agreement, buying policies (either as individuals or as a company) on the lives of the co-owners with the understanding that the payout would go to the deceased partner’s heirs without giving them a stake in the company itself.

5. You want to leave a legacy. If there’s a cause that you’re passionate about or you’ve got someone you’d like to take care of financially (even if they’re not dependent on you now), purchasing a life insurance policy can help meet those goals. This kind of purchase only makes sense if you can comfortably afford the policy after funding emergency and retirement savings, as well as paying down any high interest debt.

If you do buy a policy as a single, it’s important to re-evaluate your insurance coverage after life events, such as the birth of child or a marriage, to make sure you’re still appropriately covered and to update your beneficiaries. If coverage purchased now becomes inadequate for your needs at a later date, you can buy supplemental coverage, rather than starting from scratch.

Takaful Growth Malaysia

The growth of the insurance and takaful sectors for 2014 will remain stable amid domestic demand, said industry experts. Strong growth prospects and improved risk management would lead to increased demand for insurance and takaful amongst the public at large.

Industry is anticipated to remain encouraging for both conventional and takaful operators through the introduction of new or enhanced and innovative products by insurance takaful companies. There is plenty of room for organic growth, given the fact that Malaysia still has low insurance penetration in both the conventional and takaful sectors.      

Local insurance and takaful players are expected to utilise multiple distribution options available and develop alternative channels whilst strengthening their agency force to establish a solid foothold in the industry.

The RBC implementation might change the landscape of the takaful industry and the expected contribution growth is deemed to accelerate modestly, with fairly robust growth amongst takaful operators outpacing the conventional players.

The persistent talent shortage, of professionals well versed in both principles, would be one of the main areas that need to be looked at critically in order to remain competitive in the industry. In addition, he said the rapid development of insurance and takaful industry has made it all the more difficult to recruit the right human capital needed for the various job functions.

Tax Relief For Retirement RM9,000

INDIVIDUAL taxpayers will enjoy a relief of up to RM9,000  a year for life insurance premiums, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) funds from next year.

This came about after Parliament amended Section 75A of the Income Tax Act 1967 (ITA 1967) recently.

The Inland Revenue Board (IRB), in a statement, said under current ITA 1967 provisions, life insurance premiums and EPF were given a tax relief of up to RM6,000 for a year of assessment.

Therefore, the additional PRS relief of RM3,000 qualifies a contributor to enjoy a tax relief of up to RM9,000.

Takaful Durian Runtuh

Only takaful companies are exclusively getting the Group Takaful Rakyat 1Malaysia (i-BR1M) scheme involving about five million BR1M recipients, which will cost the government RM250 million in contribution towards the scheme.

“i-BR1M will be implemented through a consortium of takaful companies. This initiatives is estimated to benefit five million household recipients with an allocation of RM250 million,” said the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in an email reply to The Malaysian Reserve recently.

The MoF clarified that the i-BR1M programme, which was announced by the prime minister in Budget 2014, is meant for BR1M household recipients only where the contribution of RM50 per household recipient will provide a protection of up to RM30,000 in the event of death or permanent disability.

The i-BR1M coverage does not include critical illness benefits as previously reported in some local media.

“The number of companies involved will be based on the number of companies interested and those agreeing to the terms of reference (ToR) of i-BR1M,” said the MoF.

Nevertheless, the MoF is not ready to provide the ToR of i-BR1M, which will come into effect in January 2014.

Neither Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) nor some heads of takaful companies contacted are ready to provide the ToR or more details about the consortium and the participants of the scheme.
Nonetheless, a CEO of a takaful company who declined to be named said that depending on the coverage, this portfo

RM196,800 Minimum Savings EPF

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has reminded its members on the new quantum Basic Savings set at RM196,800 as the minimum amount that must be in their EPF account by the time they reach the age of 55, effective next month.

EPF general manager for public relations, Nik Affendi Jaafar said the new rate was benchmarked against the minimum pension for public sector employees, currently at RM820 per month for a period of 20 years from the age of 55 to 75 years.

He said the rate would be reviewed every three years based on retirement needs, inflation rate and the cost of living.

"By taking into account the rising cost of living, life expectancy of Malaysians which is long and the rate of inflation, we have decided to increase the Basic Savings to ensure 13 million members have sufficient savings to enjoy a sustainable retirement," he said in a statement, here, today.

He said the current Basic Savings of RM120,000 at the age of 55 (RM500 per month for a period of 20 years) might not be enough to cover the retirement of EPF members as it was below the poverty line income.

He said EPF statistics showed that 71 per cent of EPF members retired at the age of 55 with savings of less than RM50,000 in their EPF account.

Nik Affendi said the revised rate required members to have higher savings in their EPF account to be eligible to participate in the EPF Members Investment Scheme where savings could be invested in unit trusts.

"This is to ensure that members have sufficient savings in their EPF account when they retire in order to support their basic retirement needs before they can choose to invest in other schemes," he said.

Among the initiatives introduced by EPF to boost members' retirement savings is an employer contribution rate of 13 per cent for workers earning RM5,000 and below.

"Besides that, full EPF contribution rate for employees up to age 60 and flexible withdrawal at age 55 allows members to extend their savings for a longer period," he said.

AmAssurance Sold - MetLife

Malaysia-based AMMB Holdings has reached an agreement with MetLife International Holdings to sell its stake in its insurance and takaful business to the latter for a total consideration of RM812m.

 

Subject to regulatory approvals, Metlife will acquire a 51% stake in AmLife Insurance Berhad with AMMB Holdings owning the rest. AMMB will hold 51% stake in AmFamily Takaful Berhad while Metlife will hold the rest.

 

As a part of this strategic partnership deal, AmLife and AmTakaful will also enter into an "exclusive” 20-year bancassurance and bancatakaful agreements for the distribution of life insurance and family takaful products through the distribution network of AMMB’s banking subsidiaries, AmBank (M) Berhad and AmIslamic Bank Berhad, across Malaysia.