How much life insurance do I need? Three ways Canadians can decide
You’ve been putting it off for far too long and you know that you need to make a decision. But when ...
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Term 100 life insurance (also widely known as term to 100) is a form of permanent insurance, meaning the coverage lasts as long as you live — assuming you live to age 100. Once you reach your centennial birthday, your coverage automatically expires.
Term 100 isn’t a form of term insurance even though it features the word in its name. Unlike term insurance, the costs won’t rise as you grow older. Depending on when you buy term 100, it’s generally more expensive than actual term insurance, but less expensive than universal or whole life insurance, the other subtypes of permanent life.
Unlike universal and whole life insurance, it doesn’t build a cash value (also called a cash surrender value).
The amount of coverage you can get on a term 100 policy varies by insurance company. For instance, coverage amounts start as low as $25,000 at Desjardins and Scotiabank while BMO offers coverage as high as $5-million. The maximum age you’re able to buy term 100 also varies by insurer. For example, Scotiabank will allow you to buy this type of insurance until age 65 while RBC allows you to buy term 100 until age 85.
Many insurers will allow you to add optional coverage, such as accidental death, accidental dismemberment, or accidental fracture insurance.
When you purchase term 100 life insurance, your coverage is permanent and you must pay premiums until you turn 100. Many insurers will allow you to pay your premiums on a monthly or annual basis. However, your coverage will usually be cancelled if you forget to pay your premium.
Some insurance companies may make you take a medical exam while others will ask a few health and lifestyle questions.
If you die when you have a term 100 policy, your beneficiaries will receive the value of your policy.
The cost of term 100 life insurance can vary depending on your age and how much coverage you want.
Here’s a sample quote for a term 100 life insurance policy.
Male, 30, non-smoker Coverage amount: $400,000 | Term 100 $193.3/month |
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Female, 30, non-smoker Coverage amount: $400,000 | Term 100 $173.00/month |
Term 100 life insurance is for someone who wants their premiums to stay the same as long as they live, unlike term insurance where premiums when the policy is renewed. It’s also for someone who wants permanent insurance without paying as much as they would have for universal or whole life insurance. And it’s for someone who is comfortable with having permanent insurance without a cash surrender value.
Some of the disadvantages of term 100 insurance are the fact that there’s often no cash surrender value if you decide to cancel your insurance or you forget to make a payment. You must also continue to pay premiums until you turn 100, which might be more difficult when you’re no longer working and on a fixed income.
Before deciding whether or not to get a term 100 life insurance, you should compare the cost of different policies:
There are two other kinds of permanent life insurance, whole life and universal insurance—both of which offer coverage for life. There are also different variations depending upon the type of permanent insurance.
Whole life insurance: A type of participating life insurance. Your premiums are pooled together with other policyholders’ premiums and invested by the insurance company. You may receive dividends depending on how those investments perform. The dividends earned can be used to pay future premiums, to buy more insurance, left in the policy to grow, or paid in cash to you. Whole life insurance is for people who don’t like to take risks, prefer stable returns, don’t care to take a hands-on approach to investing, and don’t need to know how they’re investing.
Universal life insurance: A type of non-participating life insurance. No dividends are paid to policyholders. Unlike whole life, you have to choose the types of investments instead of the insurer’s money managers. Universal life is for people who are comfortable taking investment risks, choosing their investments and want to know how they’re investing.
To sum it up, there are many advantages to term 100 life insurance:
You’ve been putting it off for far too long and you know that you need to make a decision. But when ...
This article has been updated from a previous version. Buying insurance can be an overwhelming experience. Wheth...