I'm surprised at the attitudes of so many homeowners and car owners, who think nothing of spending hundreds of dollars a month on insurance coverage, without really considering how much they're really spending, and what they're getting for that money. They're content to accept the analysis of a friendly insurance agent (who may or may not be working on a commission basis), who recommends what type of insurance coverage is required, and how much that will cost. Seldom will the insurance policy holder challenge the rates offered by the insurance provider, and will not bother to find comparative rates from other insurance companies. They'll rely solely on the judgement of the insurance representative, who of course has their best interest in mind.

But there are more and more smart consumers who are willing to take the time to shop around for the best rates for home insurance, auto insurance, and life insurance. They understand that there is no "set price" for coverage, and that many different insurance providers take in many different factors in order to determine what their services will cost.

People often underestimate the need for health insurance, and often don't figure it out until it's too late. Much like your home or auto insurance, you can't just go out and purchase insurance after there's a fire in your house, or an accident with your car. There's absolutely no reason or excuse to ignore the need to secure medical insurance for yourself and your family, to protect against the day when there comes a need for medical attention, whether it's from a serious accident, or a minor condition. And you don't wait until you're sick to get it, Health insurance is just important when you're young as when you're old.

The issue that many people have is the affordability of health insurance, whether it's a family insurance plan or individual health insurance. Well, there's no need to explain that the health insurance is easier to finance than the medical costs associated with no insurance. But affordable individual health insurance isn't a fantasy. There are medical health plans with options that are designed to meet many particulars needs and requirements, and the coverage is designed to protect you when the medical situation arises. It's not necessary to go bankrupt just to secure medical coverage for yourself and your loved ones because whether it's medical insurance, life insurance, or vision insurance plans that you're looking for, there is almost always plans designed to match your needs.

I was standing in the line-up at the bank recently, when I overheard a discussion from two people in front of me talking about borrowing money in order to investment in some business fund or another that was going to cost them a lot with a small promise of return. The idea that someone would borrow money against other money didn't make much sense to me, except that I realized that I do the same thing with my retirement investments. I borrow money in order to investment in these retire plans and thus it reduces my annual net income and reduces my taxable income. The money I save on the taxes offsets the RRSP money and I have that money available for me when I retire.

The concept is sound, and people practice it every day, but sometimes it is in different forms. There might be the person who get his oil changed in his car regularly in order to prevent paying a costly mechanical repair. Or there might be the individual who borrows money from one of those payday advance companies in order to preserve the cost of a bounced check, or to protect against the need to cash in one of those RRSPs (thus losing some of the taxable savings).

Permanent life insurance is a form of life insurance such as whole life or endowment, where the policy is for the life of the insured, the payout is assured at the end of the policy (assuming the policy is kept current) and the policy accrues cash value.

This is compared with Term life insurance where insurance is purchased for a specified period (typically a year, or for level periods such as 5, 10, 15, 20 even 25 and 30 years) where a death benefit is only paid to the beneficiary if the insured dies during the specified period.

Universal Life is a type of permanent life insurance based on a cash value. That is, the policy is established with the insurer where premium payments above the cost of insurance are credited to the cash value. The cash value is credited each month with interest, and the policy is debited each month by a cost of insurance (COI) charge, which is drawn from the cash value if no premium payment is made that month. The interest credited to the account is determined by the insurer; often it is pegged to a financial index. Because only the amount of interest credited and not the cash value itself varies, UL policies offer a stable investment option.

Critical illness insurance is an insurance product, where the insurer is contracted to typically make a lump sum cash payment if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses listed in the insurance policy.

The policy may also be structured to pay out regular income and the payout may also be on the policyholder undergoing a surgical procedure, for example, having a heart bypass operation.

The policy may require one to survive a minimum number of days (the survival period) from when the illness was first diagnosed. The survival period used varies from company to company, however, 28 days and 30 days are the most common survival periods used.