Having life insurance makes sure that your loved ones can continue living in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. Life insurance can protect your family, business and legacy.

1. You never know what is going to happen. Dying suddenly happens to many people and it can happen at any time. If you are protected by life insurance your family members can continue paying the mortgage, car payments and even college costs, after you are gone.

2. Adequate life insurance pays for funerals. Funerals are expensive and even basic funeral services can cost upwards of $7,000-$10,000. Being covered by insurance takes care of these expenses without financially burdening your loved ones.

3. Life insurance protects those you love, be it a spouse, partner, children, or other family members. Providing for future living costs for your family can ensure that they have a comfortable life free from financial hardship.

4. Life insurance enables your descendants to cover any debts or financial responsibilities that you have left behind after your death. Dealing with financial matters is even more difficult after bereavement and at least loved ones can know that the debts will be easily taken care of.

5. Illness can happen at any time and those with a serious illness may not be able to get the life insurance coverage that they or their family needs. Insurance companies do not give insurance to people who are ill, so it is best to obtain it while in good health.

6. Life insurance can be used to protect a business from incurring financial loss or liability in case the business owner/partner dies. Insurance can provide short-term cash to keep operations going until things have settled. This is especially important if your family depends on money from this business.

7. Life insurance can be used to make retirement savings last as long as you live. An annuity can be likened to a do-it-yourself pension plan. Money is put into the life insurance product and a guaranteed stream of income is given in return every month until you die.

8. Having life insurance makes increasing your credit ratings easier since it is considered a financial asset. Policies can have cash value that cannot be touched by creditors even in case of bankruptcy.

9. A life insurance policy can be donated to charity and this allows you to make a large financial gift that you may not otherwise have been able to make.

10. Having a life insurance policy can give you peace of mind. You know that your loved ones and your legacy are taken care of when you are gone and there is no need to worry about anything.

This article has been kindly contributed by Louis Rix, finance & insurance expert at www.carfinance247.co.uk/

How much income an annuity provides is determined by how much you have in your pension pot and the current annuity rates, among other things. To make planning for retirement easier, you can use an annuity calculator to estimate how much your annuity will be. If your pension pot is not projected to provide you an adequate amount of income in retirement, you can then use the annuity calculator to see how much more you will need to save in order to secure the level of comfort in retire that you desire.

Compare providers

You can get an annuity from any provider, which means that you are not limited to the firm with which you have been saving for your retirement. This is one of the most useful aspects of an annuity calculator, as you are can use one from each firm that you are considering, or get quotes from each before you make your final choice. Since each annuity provider may give you different amounts of money depending on how they calculate life expectancy and your personal circumstances, shopping around, either with an annuity calculator, individual quotes from firms, or both, is highly recommended.

Since shopping around is proven to raise your annuity income by research from many the National Association of Pension Funds and other groups, it’s imperative that you do not take the default retirement package that you receive in the post.

Defined benefit vs. defined contribution

Usually, if you are nearing retirement and are seeking a clearer idea of how much income you could get from your pension savings, an annuity calculator is your best bet. However, an annuity calculator or a pension calculator are not suitable for you if you have only have a defined benefit pension.

These kind of pension plans include final salary pensions and career average pensions, and will give you a guaranteed pension for life depending on your salary. Usually the income is two-thirds or one half of your salary, but you should look at your individual pension plan to know for sure.

If you have a defined contribution plan, however, an annuity calculator is a good place to start when you want to find out how much money you will get at retirement. Defined contribution plans are any self-invested personal pensions (Sipps), stakeholder pensions, or other ‘money purchase’ schemes whose growth depends on the rise and fall of market investments.

Niurka Montalvo from www.pensioncalculator.org writes about annuities and other issues affecting those planning for their retirement.

Filling out the life assurance quote applications is easy. All you have to do is select the type of insurance policy you need, select the term and coverage amounts, and answer basic questions like your age, gender, and the like. Keep in mind that life insurance rates vary between providers and they change every month, so you can obtain quotes every few weeks if you like. Life insurance rates have dropped due to the recession and because many companies are competing with each other for your business, so take advantage of the low prices.

You will have to select the amount of coverage that suits you. If you are single with little or no debts, you may want to select a smaller coverage amount. If you have a family, a mortgage, loans and credit card debts, you should select a higher coverage amount to ensure that your loved ones will be cared for. If you do not have many financial obligations, you can select a higher coverage amount if you can afford it. Many people with small debts have life insurance policies that are worth millions of dollars. Follow these tips and do your research online until you find the best individual life insurance policy.