Jonathan Chua

When is Universal Life Insurance a Good Option and What to Look Out for When you are starting out, protecting what you are building is important. Insure your life, insure your dreams. Credit: CaiaImageCLOSED / CaiaImage / Getty Images Universal life insurance (UL) is a hybrid life insurance policy which combines elements of term life insurance with an investment savings option. Universal life combines the ability to build savings at the same time as providing you a life insurance policy. This allows flexibility in what you can do with the savings or investment portion of the premium. Universal life insurance also contains an element of long-term investment strategy because it required you build the values in the investment portion through part of the amount you pay monthly. Universal Life Insurance Options: Indexed Universal Life Insurance (IUL) vs UL The success of a universal life insurance plan depends greatly on the investments in the plan you choose and market performance....

The principle behind life insurance is simple, in theory. It's also morbid, at least compared to other financial services. You pay small amounts at monthly intervals, so that when you die, a beneficiary of your choice gets a sum of money approximating what you would have earned had you stayed alive. That's the stark truth right there, which a lot of life insurance customers fail to comprehend: the service is supposed to be nothing more than a replacement plan. The idea is that should your family suffer a crisis that transcends finances, at least their finances won't be impacted too negatively. If you die, your spouse and kids won't have to take on multiple jobs, beg for alms, nor lose the house and car. Hedging Your Bets It's important to remember that life insurance isn't really "insurance" in the dictionary sense. When you buy life insurance, you're not "insuring" anything. No matter how much money you give them, Ameriprise can...

Emerging markets shine for yield seekers Contrary to popular belief, emerging markets are returning to favour as investors seek yield away from mature and often expensive financial markets in the developed world. While many retail investors are yet to realise the opportunities presented by emerging markets, professional investors are increasingly tapping into the potential for these markets to deliver a level of yield that is no longer possible from many developed economies, notably the US and parts of Europe. Emerging market bonds in particular have gained traction in recent months, with the JP Morgan EMBI Global Core Index, a benchmark index of US dollar-denominated emerging market government bonds, achieving total returns of 10.2% in 2016. read more

It may be an integral part of the modern world but many find the ins and outs of insurance relatively confusing. One is often left to draw necessary information from sales agents in the field, a group notoriously and justifiably known for harbouring vested interest in keeping their KPIs and sales targets healthy. One area of the industry that is touted as a necessary add-on to the likes of basic health cover is life insurance. As of May 2016, Singaporeans collectively possess 13.1 million life insurance policies with overall insurance accounting for 9.3% of the country’s households’ net worth. We explore the basics of this sub-sector as well as the reasons why it may not always be the best option for everyone. Life Insurance Explained The industry is equipped with more plans than one can keep up with. This article will concentrate on two popular life insurance covers – term life insurance and universal life insurance. The term life insurance variant is basically what comes t...

Single people with no children often don't need life insurance because no one is relying on their income. But there are some reasons why you might need life insurance if you're single. If you died, who would pay for your funeral? Even a simple ceremony could be costly. If you don't have life insurance, someone else (e.g., your relatives) may have to foot these bills. Even if you have only a small policy, the death benefits could be used to cover these expenses. Do you have debts in excess of your assets, or do you owe money together with someone else? Perhaps you're a joint debtor with your sister on her mortgage. If you died, she'd be responsible for the entire debt. Would she be able to make the monthly payments on her own? A life insurance policy naming her as your beneficiary could give her enough funds to cover your share of the mortgage, or perhaps to pay off the entire debt. Finally, is it possible that your health will deteriorate? Maybe you have a fam...