life insurance

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Prepare responsibly

Do you have a family that you want to protect in the event of an emergency? Or would you like to build up capital for your own retirement provision? You can use life insurance for both.

With a life insurance you protect yourself and your family. You have the choice between term life insurance, endowment life insurance and unit-linked life insurance. Find the right one for you according to your personal needs.


Term life insurance protects the family

With this insurance, you provide the best possible protection for your family: If something suddenly happens to you, your surviving dependents are financially secure. You can customize the sum insured, the term and the beneficiaries – whatever suits your life best. Once the first premium has been paid, you and your family will enjoy full coverage.

Term life insurance is also important if you have financed a property. In the event of death, the insurance benefit can be used to continue paying off the house or apartment so that the property stays in your family.


Couple with disability insurance

To protect you in the event that you are no longer able to practice your profession, term life insurance can also be combined with disability insurance.

You can also convert term life insurance into endowment insurance in many cases. The advantage: Your health will not be checked again.

Endowment life insurance: for your family and your pension

Here you take double precautions: In the event of death, your family members are protected with the full sum insured from the first contribution. At the same time, you build up a long-term investment for yourself.

Income from an endowment insurance policy

With endowment insurance, the surplus participation can bring you additional income. In addition to the guaranteed interest income. Unit-linked life insurance does not have a guaranteed interest rate, but you can benefit from opportunities on the stock market.

In old age, you have the choice of how you receive the additional private old-age provision: in one amount or as a monthly pension. Half of the income remains tax-free if you are older than 62 at the end of the contract, the contract has run for at least twelve years and the agreed death benefit is at least 50 percent of the premium amount.

Tip: Do you primarily want to make provisions for old age? Then private pension insurance is a modern alternative to capital life insurance.

Life insurance is as flexible as you are

Financial protection and retirement provision cleverly combined

What is life insurance?

The term life insurance covers all insurance policies that cover biometric risks such as death or disability, as well as insurance policies that serve private old-age provision. They enable financial security for the goals and desires that we pursue in life. This includes, for example, securing home ownership or the standard of living for the family after a stroke of fate, the guaranteed achievement of a savings goal – whatever happens in life, or compensating for the reduced income from the first and second pillars if you want to take early retirement. You can also save on taxes with life insurance .

What is whole life insurance?

Mobiliar’s life insurance protects your loved ones financially and can also provide security for business partners. It is term insurance that guarantees beneficiaries an  an immediate benefit in the event of death. With flexible 3b pension provision, you are free to choose the beneficiaries. You also have the option to choose to ensure a fixed capital or pay an annuity. When it comes to capital, you can not only agree on a fixed sum, but also one that decreases annually – ideal, for example, to finance a decreasing mortgage debt.

Mobiliar offers bonus breaks

Anyone who takes out life insurance concludes a long-term contract. And commits to paying bonuses to meet his savings goal. Even if, for example, you start further training and cannot work, take maternity or paternity leave or are short on cash. Life circumstances can change quickly. This is why Mobiliar offers the so-called “premium break”: You can temporarily suspend your premium payments from the third year of your contract. The risks of death and disability are insured despite the break in premiums, but your savings share does not continue to grow.

Save more and optimize taxes

With a savings insurance, you are also flexible with additional payments. You can deposit more than the agreed premium and save more. As a result, you will receive more money paid out after the contract expires than is stated in the contract. Depending on the insured death benefit, the payment in the event of death may also be higher. You also save on taxes with additional payments, because you can deduct all payments up to the maximum amount for the 3rd pillar from your taxable income.

A comparison of life insurance in Switzerland is worthwhile. We recommend that you discuss your situation with an insurance and pension advisor and look for sensible solutions together.

There is insurance against dangers and there are investments for old-age provision – and then there is life insurance. For many Germans, life insurance is a matter of course – but many do not even know exactly how it works. Are you wondering whether you should still take out life insurance these days, what options you have and how to even find good life insurance? Our guide provides the answers.

Endowment life insurance is the most popular financial product among Germans. Around 87.1 million contracts existed in Germany in 2020 (source: GDV). The total number has been declining for some time, which can be attributed primarily to the low interest rates on savings and demographic change. However, life insurance still serves one main purpose: it is an important instrument in the context of old- age provision. But it can do a lot more than that: capital-forming life insurance is always combined with death protection. It protects relatives in the event that the insured person dies.

Three forms of classic life insurance

The three forms of classic life insurance are:

  • Endowment life insurance: As a customer, you pay contributions over years (or decades) and thus build up capital, which the insurer increases with interest payments and surpluses. In the event of survival, this amount will be paid out to you. In addition, a death benefit for the bereaved is included.
  • Unit-linked life insurance: It works in a similar way to capital life insurance, but the amount at the end of the term is not fixed. Because the paid-in capital is invested in funds. If the prices develop well, the return can be higher, but there is also the risk of suffering losses.
  • Pension insurance: Here, too, the insured builds up capital during the savings phase. However, the capital is paid out monthly in the form of an annuity and only on request as a one-off payment. The payout phase can be limited or last until the end of life. In the event of premature death, the relatives only receive a refund of the contributions paid.

Many products that serve to provide for old age are often based on life insurance. These include, for example, the company pension (direct insurance), the Riester and Rürup pensions, but also pensions for a one-off payment. Life insurance is essentially life insurance.

HOW DOES CLASSIC LIFE INSURANCE WORK?

Capital-forming life insurance is essentially a savings product. Therefore, life insurance usually has a term of 15, 20 or 30 years. So, when should you take out life insurance? As early as possible! Due to the long period of time, the interest and surplus can result in a considerable plus for the customer. Because the insurers can lucratively invest the paid-in contributions on the capital market, the profit generated is shared with the customer. At the end of the insurance period, which often coincides with the entry into statutory pension, the sum insured is paid out either all at once or as a monthly pension.

The guaranteed interest rate ensures security

One of the central elements is the guaranteed interest rate. This is in every contract and will not be changed until it expires. In this way, the customer knows exactly on the first day what amount he will definitely receive from the life insurance. The guaranteed interest rate is based on the maximum technical interest rate . The “actuarial interest rate” is set by the Federal Ministry of Finance and is used to ensure that insurance companies make sufficient provisions for their own protection. The discount rate is linked to general interest rate trends. It has been declining gradually since peaking in the mid-1990s and currently stands at 0.9 percent.

However , the guaranteed interest only applies to the savings portion. This is the premium after deducting fixed costs, primarily upfront commission, management fees and death benefit costs. The insurer may deduct a maximum of 2.5 percent of the total amount as a sales commission within the first five years. In addition, administration costs are incurred each year . However, each insurance company sets the amount itself: some charge 1 percent, others 5 percent. Whether the guaranteed interest on a life insurance policy pays off after deducting the costs always depends on the specific contract offer.

The guaranteed interest rate only indicates the minimum amount that a life insurance policy pays out. There is another factor to consider when calculating returns: bonus sharing . There are essentially three types:

  • The interest surplus is a share in ongoing profits that the life insurance company generates by investing the premiums paid in beyond the guaranteed interest rate.
  • The risk excess arises when the insurer pays out lower insurance benefits than originally calculated, for example due to a further increase in life expectancy.
  • Excess costs accrue when the insurer has made savings on acquisition and administration costs.

In addition, the so-called final surplus is calculated annually. This is a buffer that the insurer builds up during the term of the contract.

The surplus participation is variable and is redefined each year by the insurance companies. However, participation commitments from the previous year are binding and cannot be changed retrospectively. However, it is possible that an insurer theoretically does not generate a surplus for several years in a poor economic situation.

With the Life Insurance Reform Act (LVRG) from 2014, the legislator has newly regulated the extent to which customers must share in the surpluses. At least 90 percent of the interest and risk surpluses must now reach the customer.

END LIFE INSURANCE EARLY

If you need money and therefore want to part with your life insurance, you have several options: You can terminate the contract or sell it. It is also possible to lend money to the life insurance or to make it non-contributory. Canceling life insurance is usually the worst choice because you get less money than the other cases.

cancel life insurance

For many, termination is the obvious solution. However, it is often the worst option. If you cancel, you will only be reimbursed for the repurchase value. This is the “value” of the life insurance (contributions + guaranteed interest), but minus the costs and the final bonus. As a result, the termination can ultimately be a losing transaction.

You should also take into account that you benefit from a high guaranteed interest rate and a tax-free payment, especially with contracts that were concluded between 1994 and December 31, 2004.

borrow life insurance

If you only need money in the short term, it is often better to take out life insurance. This works via a so-called policy loan, which the insurance company grants.

sell life insurance

If you need the money from life insurance in the long term, you can sell it. This is usually more lucrative than terminating them. There are a number of specialty companies that buy and then carry on life insurance. They pay a few percentage points more than the insurance pays out in the event of termination. The prerequisite is often that the policy has a certain value (e.g. 5,000 euros) and the contract has been in existence for a number of years. For contracts before 2005, you don’t pay any tax even if you sell them, for contracts from 2005, 25 percent withholding tax is due if you make a profit.

Make life insurance hours or non-contributory

If you want to stop making payments temporarily, you can negotiate a deferral with the insurer. It may also be possible to finance the contributions from surpluses for a limited period of time.

If you don’t want to pay any more into the life insurance in the long term or don’t know how long you have to take a break, you have another option: You can make the life insurance non-contributory .

 

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