Life Insurance

What is it?Whole Life is the most basic type of permanent life insurance. Depending on your age and health, your premium will purchase a specific face amount and accumulate cash value, as long as your premiums are paid. Generally, Whole Life premiums, while higher than term premiums, especially for younger individuals, are guaranteed not to increase. In addition, Whole Life policies can earn annual dividends which are based on MetLife's investment, mortality, and expense experience. Dividends are not guaranteed.
Who's it for?People who:
Have a lifetime need for insurance protection
Prefer the high degree of safety provided by the policy's guarantees
Are attracted by the policy's ability to build tax-deferred cash values
Like to know that their premiums will never increase
Over time, whole life insurance may be more economical than term insurance since premiums do not increase with age and the policy builds cash value.
Earnings, and certain withdrawals and loans, may qualify for tax-favored treatment.
Policy loans and withdrawals provide access to your cash value. Loans, withdrawals and any unpaid loan interest generally reduce the death benefit, which could leave beneficiaries inadequately protected. Loans reduce the cash value and death benefit by the amount of the loan outstanding plus interest and may affect them permanently.
If you cancel the policy, the accumulated cash value is yours to use as you wish. Taxes may apply.
Dividends can be taken in cash or used to increase the policy's cash value and death benefit. This means that certain "dividend options" may be used to purchase additional insurance coverage each year, regardless of your health.
Premiums are initially more costly than term premiums, although they remain level for the life of the policy. Premiums are guaranteed not to increase over the life of the policy.
A minimum death benefit is guaranteed.
The cash value is guaranteed to grow at a specified, minimum rate.

Like most insurance policies, MetLife's policies contain exclusions, limitations, reductions of benefits and terms for keeping them in force. For complete costs and details, see your MetLife Financial Services representative.
L-98 Whole Life Insurance [Life Paid-Up at Age 98 (L-98) Form No. 8-90(95) ] is issued by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 200 Park Ave., New York, NY 10166.

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event which is being held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from August 8 (except football, which started on August 6) to August 24, 2008. A total of 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events in 28 sports, one event more than was on the schedule of the 2004 games.[2] The 2008 Beijing Olympics will also mark the third time that Olympic events will have been held in the territories of two different National Olympic Committees (NOC), as the equestrian events are being held in Hong Kong.
The Olympic games were awarded to Beijing after an exhaustive ballot of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 13, 2001. The official logo of the games, titled "Dancing Beijing," features a stylised calligraphic character jīng (京, meaning capital), referring to the host city. The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five Fuwa,[3] each representing both a colour of the Olympic rings and a symbol of Chinese culture. The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. Several new NOCs have also been recognised by the IOC.
The Chinese government has promoted the games and has invested heavily in new facilities and transportation systems.[4][5] A total of 37 venues will be used to host the events including 12 newly constructed venues. Earlier in 2007, former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch had said that he believes that the Beijing games will be "the best in Olympic history,"[6] and current president Jacques Rogge asserts that the IOC has "absolutely no regrets" in choosing Beijing to host the 2008 games.[7] The choice of China as a host country has been a subject of criticism by politicians and NGOs concerned about China's human rights record.

The term health insurance is generally used to describe a form of insurance that pays for medical expenses. It is sometimes used more broadly to include insurance covering disability or long-term nursing or custodial care needs. It may be provided through a government-sponsored social insurance program, or from private insurance companies. It may be purchased on a group basis (e.g., by a firm to cover its employees) or purchased by individual consumers. In each case, the covered groups or individuals pay premiums or taxes to help protect themselves from high or unexpected healthcare expenses. Similar benefits paying for medical expenses may also be provided through social welfare programs funded by the government.
Health insurance works by estimating the overall risk of healthcare expenses and developing a routine finance structure (such as a monthly premium or annual tax) that will ensure that money is available to pay for the healthcare benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization, most often either a government agency or a private or not-for-profit entity operating a health plan.[1]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A judge in Los Angeles has sentenced two elderly women to life in prison without parole for murdering two indigent men to collect insurance policies taken out on their lives.
Superior Court Judge David Wesley on Tuesday sentenced 77-year-old Helen Golay and 75-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt to two consecutive life terms each.
The judge denounced the women for their greed. He says the men they killed needed only food, water and shelter and thought the women were going to give them a helping hand.
Prosecutors say the women collected $2.8 million before their scheme was uncovered.

WEST ROCKPORT (May 9): How should I choose what type of life insurance to buy?
You should consider term life insurance if:
You need life insurance for a specific period of time. Term life insurance enables you to match the length of the term policy to the length of the need. For example, if you have young children and want to ensure that there will be funds to pay for their college education, you might buy 20-year term life insurance. Or if you want the insurance to repay a debt that will be paid off in a specified time period, buy a term policy for that period.
You need a large amount of life insurance, but have a limited budget. In general, this type of insurance pays only if you die during the term of the policy, so the rate per thousand of death benefit is lower than for permanent forms of life insurance. If you are still alive at the end of the term, coverage stops unless the policy is renewed. Unlike permanent insurance, you will not build equity in the form of cash savings.
If you think your financial needs may change, you may also want to look into “convertible” term policies. These allow you to convert to permanent insurance without a medical examination in exchange for higher premiums.
Keep in mind that premiums are lowest when you are young and increase upon renewal as you age. Some term insurance policies can be renewed when the policy ends, but the premium will generally increase. Some policies require a medical examination at renewal to qualify for the lowest rates.
You should consider permanent life insurance if:
You need life insurance for as long as you live. A permanent policy pays a death benefit whether you die tomorrow or live to be 100.
You want to accumulate a savings element that will grow on a tax-deferred basis and could be a source of borrowed funds for a variety of purposes. The savings element can be used to pay premiums to keep the life insurance in force if you can’t pay them otherwise, or it can be used for any other purpose you choose. You can borrow these funds even if your credit is shaky. The death benefit is collateral for the loan, and if you die before it’s repaid, the insurance company collects what is due the company before determining what’s goes to your beneficiary.
Keep in mind that premiums for permanent policies are generally higher than for term insurance. However, the premium in a permanent policy remains the same no matter how old you are, while term can go up substantially every time you renew it.
There are a number of different types of permanent insurance policies, such as whole (ordinary) life, universal life, variable life, and variable/universal life.

BANKINGBANKING AND LENDING LAWSections within this essay:• Background• Bank Transactions- Checks and Other Negotiable Instruments- Checking Accounts- Funds Transfers- Letters of Credit- Secured Transactions• Federal Reserve System• Insurance of Deposits• Interest Rates Charged by Banks• Truth in Lending• Usury Laws• Crimes Related to Banks and Banking• State Laws Governing Banks, Banking, andLending• Additional Resources
BackgroundThe law governing banks, bank accounts, and lending in the United States is a hybrid of federal andstate STATUTORY law. Consumers and businesses may establish bank accounts in banks and savings associations chartered under state or federal law. The law under which a bank is chartered regulates that particular bank. A mix of state and federal law, however, governs most operations and transactions by bank customers.
Article 3 of the UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE, as adopted by the various states, governs transactionsinvolving negotiable instruments, including checks.

INTRODUCTIONLife insurance is a unique product. Like other insurance products, its primary purpose is to protect against loss. But unlike other kinds of insurance products, life insurance isn’t for you; it’s for your survivors. Life insurance has no uncertainties; if you’re covered by a life insurance policy — andthe company holding the policy has the resources to pay — you can pretty much bet that someday your survivors will receive a benefit. Knowing how much life insurance coverage to buy isn’t an easy decision; evaluating a car or a house is fairly simple, but how do you figure the value of your life?.
CHAPTER 1HOW LIFE INSURANCE DIFFERS FROM OTHER TYPES OF INSURANCE
 Dispelling life insurance myths Looking at the purposes of life insuranceLife insurance is simple, right? You buy a policy to protect your family, you die, your family gets some money. Simple. Direct. Easy. Not so fast. Life insurance is much more complicated than that. This chapter describes some of the myths that surround life insurance and takes a look at the main purposes of having a life insurance policy — not just as income for your survivors, but also as part of your investment portfolio, as a tax shelter, and as part of your estate planning. Myths about Life Insurance The following sections work to dispel the three main myths about life insurance.
Myth 1: I only need life insurance if I have kids Most people think that they need life insurance only if they have a family — to ensure that their survivors aren’t left hanging if they die prematurely.Life insurance is important for several other reasons, which you can read about in greater detail later in this chapter. Briefly, these other purposes are income replacement for a spouse to help him or her through a difficult adjustment period, as an investment, as a tax shelter, and as an estate planning tool.
Myth 2: Life insurance is a bad investmentLife insurance may not be the most profitable investment you can make with your money, but rarely is it a bad one. If you measure an investment only in how much you get in return, life insurance may or may not be a good investment. When you buy a life insurance policy, you put money into an account that will pay your survivors that same money, a portion of that money, or that money plus more when you die. If your survivors get more than you put in (or more than what the money could have earned elsewhere), life insurance is a good investment. If your survivors get less, it isn’t such a good investment. However, life insurance is much more than return on investment. Life insurance provides
 Protection for your dependents Peace of mind for you
If you’re looking for a pure return on capital, you can find many more lucrative investments — even tax-deferred or taxfree options — that can yield considerably more than your life insurance policy. But the primary function of insurance is not as an investment but as protection. No other investmentcan offer the same amount of protection. 4 CliffsNotes Understanding Life Insurance
Myth 3: Life insurance is unnecessary for older peopleNot very long ago, older meant “over 50.” But many people need life insurance at 50, 55, 60, or 65. Age is not always a reason to abandon life insurance. Even so-called “older” people may need income protection for their survivors if these heads of household or primary caregivers die prematurely. Peoplein their 50s and 60s (and sometimes into their 70s) are in their peak earnings years and have family responsibilities. You may want to give your loved ones the time to adjust to your death without having to change their normal standards of living. Today, many more people in their 50s and 60s are still supporting young children. If a woman has a child when she’s 40 or 42, for example, that child won’t finish college until Mom’s at least 62. Or suppose you have a non-working spouse and you die at the age of 60; he or she may not be able to find a job that brings in a comparable income to maintain the same standard of living. Many older people actually need more life insurance for a number of reasons: You may have less time to make up for the loss of income. You may find that inflation has cut into the value of the life insurance benefit. You have a greater need for estate planning as you get older because you have less time to carry out your plan. You have a greater need for tax planning as you age because you’ll most likely earn more, and life insurance can play a significant part in your tax planning.

Ryan Giggs can see major similarities between Manchester United's 1999 Euro kings and the 2008 hopefuls.
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After securing his 10th league title at the weekend, Giggs will be an integral part of Sir Alex Ferguson's squad for the showdown with Chelsea at the Luzhniki Stadium on May 21.
And, while the faces, with the exception of his own, may be different, Giggs is getting a similar vibe.
'There are similarities to 1999,' he said.
'The team spirit is the same and there is a good balance within the squad.
'The enthusiasm the young players have shown this season is great for the older ones like me and Paul Scholes, while we give experience to the younger ones.
'We had a great squad in 1999, which the manager used throughout the season.
'It is the same again this year. It is about the squad, not 11 players, just as it was then, so there are similarities.'
One of the other major similarities is their durability. In 1999, United famously came through a campaign that included double-headers with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Juventus, plus two group clashes and the never-to-be-forgotten final with Bayern Munich.
This time, United have played Roma four times, as well as Lyon and Barcelona before getting to Chelsea, so Giggs is reluctant to concede it is harder or easier than it once was.
'It was tough to win it then but it is equally so now,' he said.
'You have to be physically and mentally strong all the way through and retain your consistency. If you get to the final you deserve it.'
Giggs does not believe Chelsea have gained a vital edge through their victory over United three weeks ago.
Instead, the Welshman prefers to think about the way his side responded to being behind at the interval rather than reflect on a dismal first-half display.
'We did really well in the second half,' he said.
'I would like to think we came out of that quite positively.'
As he did at Stamford Bridge, Giggs is likely to be used as an impact player from the bench in Moscow.
Not so fellow veteran Scholes, who has already been assured of his starting spot by Ferguson - a move Giggs is in full agreement with.
'I am not picking the manager's team but Paul deserves to play because he is a great player,' he said.
'He can do things other players cannot do and his recent form has been brilliant.
'Obviously his disappointment in 1999, after being such a big part of that season as well, was massive. He has another chance now.'

Rachel Nance has the 1966 American Football League Most Valuable Player trophy on a pedestal in her New York apartment. There is also an old Boston Patriots helmet nearby.
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They are her connection to the father she lost at age 12, and they help her keep his memory alive with pride.
She never saw her father burst through the line of scrimmage for the Patriots, his powerful legs churning, but she felt his impact in other ways - like when the family would be eating at a restaurant near their Milton home, only to be interrupted by a patron looking for Jim Nance's autograph.
No one was turned down, because her dad, a Patriots star from 1965-71, always seemed to have time for everyone.
"I have so much pride for who he is and what he did," she says. "I never got to see him play, but I lived vicariously through those types of moments."
Yet as time passed, and a new generation of Patriots stars emerged, playing with a new logo on their helmet, the scope of Nance's accomplishments seemed to dim.
Rachel, now 28 and working for a publishing company in New York, couldn't help but wonder whether things would be different if her dad were alive. She wondered if anything could be done to ensure that his achievements wouldn't be forgotten. The family had essentially lost contact with the Patriots organization, and couldn't figure out the best way to reestablish connections.
"Once you get detached, it's hard to reconnect," she says. "Him not being around, it's harder to stay in touch."
So one can imagine the emotion that swept over her last Thursday when she opened her e-mail and a friend had relayed word that her father had been voted one of three 2008 finalists for induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
There were chills, then tears. Never a day goes by when she doesn't think about her dad, but to know that others had not forgotten him, it was almost too much to handle.
"Very, very emotional," she says. "For it to just kind of come, I'm just so happy for him. I only wish he was here to experience it."
After his standout career as a football player and wrestler at Syracuse, Nance played in 94 games over seven seasons for the Patriots, and his 45 rushing touchdowns remain a franchise record. He churned out 5,323 rushing yards, which ranks second in team history, and authored one of the great individual accomplishments of the AFL era when he totaled 1,458 rushing yards in 1966, earning him MVP honors. No AFL back ever surpassed the mark.
"That season might be the single greatest season of any Patriots running back I've ever seen," said longtime radio play-by-play man Gil Santos, who was a color commentator in 1966 alongside Bob Starr. "He was just unstoppable, a powerhouse fullback who would blast through the line of scrimmage - just so explosive, and at the same time, the nicest guy."