Colonial Life Insurance Policies

Founded in 1939 in South Carolina, Colonial Life Insurance Company now offers its insurance schemes in forty nine states in US. With one thousand employees and over 2.5 million policies in force, Colonial aims at sharing financial loads of American individuals, families, and businesses, reducing their financial risks, and providing voluntary benefits via group insurance schemes. Colonial Life Insurance policies vary from term insurance to whole life and universal life insurance, and voluntary group term life insurance.

Term Life Insurance Policy

Term insurance is a kind of Colonial Life Insurance policy that is ideal for someone purchasing an insurance policy for the first time and also for people who need to manage financial needs within a limited budget. The death benefits covered by term insurance policies are mostly tax-free and retain their value over time. For each term, the policy buyer pays level (fixed premiums) that may be increased optionally upon a renewal of the term. The policy also allows the buyer to claim 75% of the death benefit if he/she gets a life-threatening medical condition.

Whole Life Insurance Policy

The whole life insurance policy, offered by the Colonial Life Insurance Company, is also known as permanent life insurance policy. It covers death benefits for the whole of the insured person’s life. In addition it has the special saving scheme of ‘cash value accumulation’; part of the premium paid goes into the saving that can be accessed by the insured at any time per his/her needs. In case the policy holder retires or changes a job, he/she can carry the policy over to the new workplace or the status of retirement without reducing the benefits.

Universal Life Insurance Policy

The Colonial Life Insurance Company offers a universal life insurance policy with more flexible premium options and a cash vale accumulation scheme that increases in amount by the prevailing rates of interest. Universal life insurance policies are also portable (stay valid in case of retirement or job replacement) and can be bought for one’s family without buying it necessarily for oneself. A term insurance can also be added for one’s family within the universal life insurance policy.

Voluntary Group Term Life Insurance

The special feature of a voluntary group term life (VGTL) insurance, offered by the Colonial Life Insurance Company, is its availability at low group rates and the option to convert the policy into an individual life insurance policy. The insured person can claim an ‘accelerated death benefit’ in case of a life-threatening illness. Also remarkable about the VGTL insurance policy is the feature called ‘waiver of premium’ that allows the premium to be waived in case of a period of disability.

All About The California Life And Health Insurance Guarantee Association

First off, this Association is only for Californians. Those who live in other states are certainly free to continue reading and wonder if their own state has a similar association. If you don’t, maybe your local Congress members could look into setting up a similar Association based on the California model. Until your state gets one, the California Life And Health Insurance Guarantee Association is yet another reason to hate California.

What Is It, Then?

After that introduction, this had better be good. The California Life And Health Insurance Guarantee Association protects all Californians' insurance policies even if the insurance company the use goes bankrupt. In this age of a slowing economy and an inevitable recession, it's good to know that your life and you health insurance are two less things to worry about.

The California Life And Health Insurance Guarantee Association started in 1991 under Governor Pete Wilson, when a bill of the same name as the Association passed California law. The people in this Association check all of the policies of the defunct insurance company and make sure every policy holder gets what they paid for. This also covers any Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).

How Does It Work?

When an insurance company is dissolved (called "insolvent"), all policy holders will be notified by California's Department of Insurance via mail. Only a court can declare an insurance company dissolved. The California Life And Health Insurance Guarantee Association will work to protect you as quickly as they can. The length of time they take will vary from case to case.

In case you are wondering where the money comes from, it is from all insurance companies that are allowed to do business in California. Those insurance companies provide the full funding for the California Life And Health Insurance Guarantee Association, not your tax dollars.

The Association does not have the power to rewrite any existing laws or policies. They can't give out legal advice, either. They try to determine what your policy covers (and what it doesn't) and get you what they can. You are guaranteed coverage of up to (but not exceeding) $100,000 for your life insurance. If your original life insurance policy was for over $100,000, too bad.

The Association provides a website with free information to all Californians. Included on this website is a list of all insurance companies that have been declared insolvent since 1991. They currently list thirty-two insurance companies.