American General Life Insurance Company: Not Just For Soldiers

Often known as AIG for short, American General Life And Accident Insurance Company was not named because they only offer insurance to American generals. In this case, the word "general" refers to the word's alternate meaning of "common to or current to the majority" (Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, 1980). Over four million Americans use American General Life And Accident Insurance Company for their insurance needs, whether for business or private use.

How Stable Is AIG?

Although any life insurance company offers great rates and incentives, not every insurance company is going to be around in the next few years. Before you decide on any insurance company, take a look at its financial ratings. There are several independent financial ratings watchdog companies that act as a Consumer Reports of the financial world.

The top ratings companies are Standard & Poors, FitchRatings and Moody's Investors Service, which release their ratings to the general public. They grade a lot like the American school system, with A being outstanding and F as "failed". American General Life And Accident Insurance Company has been consistently A++ or even higher for the last few decades. This means, among other things, is that the company is financially stable.

A Brief History Lesson

American General Life And Accident Insurance Company has been in business for over 100 years, starting on February 28, 1900 in Tennessee. Back then, its name was "The National Sick And Accident Association of Nashville." For a while, it was known as the NLT Corporation. It merged with Houston, Texas-based American General Corporation in 1982. Since then it not only changed its name several times, but bought out yet another insurance company.

Although American General Life And Accident Insurance Company does offer employers services for their workers, the company is more focused on the insurance needs of the individual (often called "middle market" in insurance lingo). Choices offered include term insurance, universal coverage and their trademarked "Quality of Life Insurance".

The latter is a new idea in life insurance – giving money when you and your family need it BEFORE you die. This insurance helps pay the bills in case you contract a critical illness or even a terminal illness. It helps if you suddenly become disabled and even with retirement, as well as life insurance to help your family out in case you die. AIG is available in most states, so check and see if it is available where you live.

How Can You Get An Affordable Life Insurance?

Who does not want value for money? Whenever you buy something, you would look around to get the most for the least as this would give you the satisfaction that you spent your money wisely. This is very much true with life insurance policies as well.

How Do You Find That Affordable Life Insurance You Are Looking For?

Among all the insurance policies offered, the best and affordable life insurance would be the term life insurance. This is because in the majority of cases when you buy an insurance policy you would buy two things – (i) the actual insurance that would build up into a neat sum for your nominee and (ii) the cash value which would be invested for some great returns when the policy matures.

The term insurance comes in different denominations – it would be in 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years which is the maximum coverage time. You would need to take such financial policies apart with a fine comb and ensure that they offer you everything that re-assures you for the future. For example, a person who has many children would do better with a 30 years policy while if not, it is okay with 10 years duration.

There is a highly affordable life insurance provider everywhere and in order to find one for yourself, you would need to ask quotes from as many providers as possible. The best quote would be the one that not only requires a very low cost premium, but also offer the best terms and conditions for your life policy.

For the best possible terms, always look for policies which carry a guaranteed renewable tag. This means that at the end of the term, if and when you might be a higher risk to insure, you could still renew your policy without any problems and find coverage as the best possible cost.

When We Speak Of An Affordable Life Insurance How Much Should Be The Insurance Amount?

Most people do not have the slightest idea about how much should an affordable life insurance be for in terms of cash. Veterans in this field would advise that for the best benefits, you should aim for about ten times your total annual income. Generally speaking, the amount should provide a comfortable life to your nominee – after the payment of outstanding bills and the funeral expenses.

What you need to do is to leave behind no matter to worry for the person who would is nominated to receive the returns of the policy. If you can predict this happening through the present policy, you have achieved your goal.