Life Insurance in Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Michigan
Term life, whole life, final expense, mortgage protection and indexed universal life insurance for people who live in Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Michigan.
Life Insurance Coverage for Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Michigan
Valor Life Benefits is an insurance agency licensed to sell life insurance in Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Michigan. The policies below cover different needs. Some cover a set number of years while children are young or a mortgage is being paid. Some last a lifetime, and some are smaller policies meant for funeral and end-of-life bills.
Term Life Insurance
Coverage for a chosen period, often 10, 20 or 30 years. The premium stays level for the term and the policy pays only if death happens during that term. Many term policies can be renewed or converted to permanent coverage without a new medical exam.
Whole Life Insurance
Permanent coverage with a level premium paid on a set schedule. Part of each premium builds cash value that the owner can borrow against or take if the policy is surrendered.
Final Expense Insurance
A smaller whole life policy, sometimes called burial insurance, bought to pay funeral and burial bills, medical bills and small debts. Many are issued after a short set of health questions with no medical exam.
Mortgage Protection Insurance
Life insurance sized and timed to a home loan, so the family can pay off the mortgage or keep making payments if the borrower dies. It is usually level or decreasing term coverage.
Indexed Universal Life Insurance
Universal life coverage with flexible premiums whose cash value earns interest tied to a stock market index, within a cap and a floor set by the policy.
Term or Permanent Life Insurance
The first choice on any application is how long the coverage needs to last. The NAIC's Life Insurance Buyer's Guide puts it plainly: term insurance gives lower-premium coverage for a specific period, while cash value insurance may make more sense for coverage that lasts your whole life.
Term fits needs that end: a mortgage with 22 years left, children who will be grown in 15. Whole life and universal life fit needs that do not end, like final expenses or money left to a spouse or heirs. Some families carry both, a permanent policy for the long run and term coverage for the years the house and the kids depend on one or two paychecks.
The amount depends on what would still need paying: income the household would lose, the mortgage balance, debts, college and funeral bills.
Life Insurance by State
Residents of all four of these states can apply. Each state's insurance regulator sets its own consumer rules, and each state page covers them.
Texas
Regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance. Claims are paid within two months of proof of death.
Colorado
Overseen by the Colorado Division of Insurance, part of the state Department of Regulatory Agencies.
South Carolina
Regulated by the South Carolina Department of Insurance in Columbia.
Michigan
Regulated by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, which also runs a lost policy search.
Life Insurance Questions
How does life insurance work?
You pay premiums to an insurance company, and the company pays a death benefit to the people you name if you die while the policy is in force. Term policies cover a set number of years. Whole life and universal life are permanent policies that can last for life and build cash value. The NAIC buyer's guide lists common uses for the money: replacing lost income, funeral bills, medical or nursing care bills, debt payoff and child care.
Is life insurance considered income?
Usually not. The IRS says life insurance proceeds a beneficiary receives because the insured person died generally are not included in gross income and do not have to be reported. Interest paid on top of the death benefit is taxable, and a policy that was sold or transferred for value follows different rules.
Is life insurance the same as health insurance?
No. Health insurance pays medical bills while you are living. Life insurance pays a sum of money to your beneficiaries after you die. Some life policies add riders. An accelerated death benefit that pays part of the benefit early after a terminal illness diagnosis is one example, and the policy is still life insurance.
How does life insurance beneficiary work?
The beneficiary is the person or organization you name to receive the death benefit, and you can name more than one. The insurer will ask for each beneficiary's Social Security or tax ID number. Insurers will not pay a minor directly, so naming a trust or your estate for young children is common. The policy owner can change beneficiaries at any time, and it is worth checking them after a marriage, divorce, birth or death in the family.
More answers are on the life insurance questions page.