You’ve finally made the decision to purchase a life insurance policy. Good for you! And good for your family, too. There isn’t just one kind of life insurance policy available. Purchasing a life insurance policy can be much different from purchasing, say, an auto insurance policy in which case you can decide on purchasing simple liability coverage, or full coverage, and a high enough amount of auto insurance to cover damages resulting from everything from car accidents to theft.

With life insurance policies, while there are also two main kinds – term life insurance policies and whole life insurance policies – the two are very different in what kind of coverage and extra benefits they offer. Term life insurance policies cover you for a certain period of time, while whole life insurance policies cover you for the duration of your life – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the differences between term life insurance policies and whole life insurance policies.

The bottom line is, once you’re ready to choose the kind of life insurance policy you want to purchase, you’re probably going to need some advice.

There are a few ways to get good advice when it comes to purchasing a life insurance policy. First, do some research on both term and life insurance. Find out exactly what each kind of policy offers and make notes.

Next, talk to friends and family members about which kinds of life insurance policies they’ve purchased. They’ll tell you what works for them and why, and this will help you determine what might work for you.

Finally, talk with insurance agents who specialize in selling both types of policies. Agents are trained professionals who can offer advice based on the coverage you need.

Since Critical cover appeared in East Asia during the year 1988, it may have been a success for the market. Besides, countries such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan all form part of the East Asian insurance industry. Companies in nearly all these countries may have been marketing critical illness cover successfully. Let’s have a look at the development of critical illness cover in East Asia.
According to Pakshong CS and Nieder D, Nov1997, probably all insurance companies may have already launched their first critical illness policy during the mid 1990’s. Critical illness cover may not have been offered only by life insurers but by health insurers also. Health insurers offered critical illness cover with the aim to provide additional benefits on top of their original policies. Moreover, around 40 percent of work carried out in connection with critical illness insurance from 1994-1995 may have stemmed out from policies in force for a year. As a result, critical illness cover started to become successful. In the year 1996, more than one million critical illness policies could already be counted in East Asia.

Critical illness claims rates may have also been recorded for both men and women. Let’s have a glance. Around 42 critical illness claims were made by men aged 20-24 followed by 82 aged 25-29, 95 aged 30-34, 146 aged 35-39 and 215 aged 40-44. Further analysis carried out showed around 160 critical illness claims had been made by men aged 45-49, 99 aged 50-54, 44 aged 50-59 and finally 8 aged 60-64. As for women, the critical illness claim rates varied as compared to that of men. About 48 claims had been made by women age 20-24 followed by 82 aged 25-29, 162 aged 30-34, 219 aged 35-39 and 214 aged 40-44. additional research showed that around 274 critical illness claims had been made by women aged 40-44, 220 aged 45-49, 100 aged 50-54, 55 aged 55-59 and finally 12 aged 60-64.

If the results are analysed carefully it could be noted that critical illness claims among women may be much higher in contrast to that of men. For example, 73 more critical illness claims for women could be noted if the age group 35-39 is compared for both men and women. Furthermore, The Life Insurance Association of the Republic of China conducted the “Dread Disease Experience Study 1996”. This research aimed most at studying the Taiwanese experience of critical illness cover. Results may have been positive. Around 2.4 million critical illness policies may have been sold in a year with more than 2,108 critical illness claims successfully paid. The total sum insured may have been around TWD 1.24 billion. The East Asian insurance market had been more prolific than markets like Canada and USA. Though introduced during 1995, the progress of critical illness insurance in the East Asian market had been remarkable. The 4 countries that constitute the East Asian market may have also led to the success of critical illness cover collectively.

If you are buying auto insurance for the first time, take care to follow certain basic steps which would help to ensure that you are able to finalize a competitive deal. The prime factor before buying auto insurance is to consider the age before applying for one. The usual legal age in most states is 16-18 years of age. Make sure that you have a legitimate driver’s license and a car which is preferably in your own name.

It would be helpful to try and get auto insurance through an agent, since he will be able to guide you about the formalities required. Since you are buying auto insurance for the first time, be prepared to face a number of queries. The agent would require all your details such as name, address, telephone, birthdate, social security number, vehicle identification number, license number and more. Make sure that the agent gets you the best quotation or research on the internet and find out the various rates available for the area you live in. Get an insurance quote which offers the best price and coverage. Compare insurance quotes of at least four companies before making a final selection. This gives you a wider choice of selection and gives you an average rate which helps you narrow down your choice. Once the choice of an insurance company is made you would have to sign an application form and make a deposit with the auto insurance company. The agent will then hand over identification cards as a proof of the insurance cover.