Buying life insurance is one of the best ways to protect your family against financial hardships. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize the importance that adequate life insurance coverage plays in a family’s financial well being. Talk with a Cotton States agent about your life insurance needs so you can protect your family’s future.

Why do you need life insurance? Life insurance can:

Understanding Life Insurance

Universal Life Insurance is a permanent life insurance program that provides flexible premiums and an option of two adjustable death benefits. It also accumulates cash values and offers competitive tax-deferred interest. Loans and withdrawals are available on a tax-favored basis.

Term Life Insurance offers low-cost protection for a specified period of time. It is a temporary solution to a short-term need such as a housing loan, business expansion or large debt. This type of policy provides large death benefits at an initial low premium that increases as you get older. Some term policies, however, have an option that allows you to convert the policy into permanent insurance.

Whole Life Insurance provides permanent protection at an economical price. It offers moderate premiums that are locked in at the time of purchase. The death benefits cannot fall below the initial face amount. There are guaranteed cash values and paid-up options. In addition, the following are some attractive reasons for choosing permanent life insurance:

• Guaranteed insurability options for future life insurance purchases
   
• Buildup of cash value and equity
   
• Collateral for borrowing money against cash values
   
• Options to stop making payments in later years

Participating Life Insurance is a stable insurance program with guaranteed death benefits, tax-deferred cash accumulation and the flexibility to meet a wide range of financial goals. The participating life insurance guarantees that your premiums will never increase, your death benefits will not decrease and your coverage won't expire regardless of your age or health. This policy increases in value as cash accumulates. And, unlike other types of whole life insurance, this policy can pay dividends.

Graded Benefit Life Insurance provides coverage for individuals who have experienced difficulty in obtaining insurance. No medical exams are required and there are only a few health questions. Since limited underwriting is done, death benefits are usually graded, or otherwise limited, during the first few policy years and the maximum death benefits available are usually low.

Simplified Issue Life Insurance provides coverage that is underwritten from a simple application, consisting of just a few health questions. Usually, medical exams are not required. Death benefits are not graded or otherwise limited. Due to the limited underwriting, the maximum death benefits available are usually low.

Accelerated Benefit Rider - This rider advances a portion of the death benefits if the insured has been diagnosed with a terminal disease and has a life expectancy of 12 months or less or is permanently confined to a nursing home.