Assess your insurance needs
Your insurance needs change based on where you are in life. Preparing to purchase life insurance is an opportunity to take stock of your current situation and future plans. Who relies on you now, and how secure will their futures be? Are you planning on starting a family soon? HSBC Financial Professionals1 are here to help determine your coverage needs.
How does life insurance work?
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance company and policy holder. In exchange for the policy holder’s premium payments, the insurance company will pay a death benefit to designated beneficiaries at the time of the insured’s death. Two major categories of life insurance are term and permanent.
- Term life insurance provides protection for only a specified period of time.
- Permanent life insurance has options including whole life, variable life, universal life, and single premium life.
Who needs life insurance?
When you are just starting out – getting married, planning for a family – you are in what we call the "wealth protection" stage of life. While these may also be wealth accumulation years, insurance can be an important part of protecting what you're building.
Your family requires coverage that can expand with your financial demands. You may want to build wealth for your children. Consider costs such as mortgage payments and savings for college to determine what your spouse or children's guardian would need in order to cover expenses without you. Should anything happen to you, life insurance can help ensure they're able to continue the life you want for them. An optional Child Rider can provide even more financial protection by insuring dependent children.
It's important to consider the beneficiary of the policy. Many choose their spouse, but naming any adult beneficiary for whom you have a financial obligation or duty of care is acceptable. Generally, it is not advisable to name minor children as beneficiaries, but arrangements can be made through trusts or by appointing a guardian to manage assets on their behalf. That way, they'll still benefit should something happen to you or your spouse. Either term or permanent life may be appropriate based on your financial goals.
If you're single and responsible for other family members, such as aging parents or siblings, your financial plans should provide for their needs as well. Life insurance can help provide the coverage you need, so that those who rely on you will be taken care of. If you have debts guaranteed by someone else, get coverage so that your guarantor will have help to repay the debt.
If you're married, you and your spouse have committed to sharing in the financial obligations needed to secure your desired lifestyle. Life insurance is key to that commitment, helping ensure that your spouse is taken care of and the wealth you've built together is protected.
Life insurance products offered by HSBC
Term life
| Term life insurance provides protection for only a specified period of time – usually 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. There is no cash value associated with term life coverage, which is why premiums are often lower than for other types of insurance. Some term life policies may offer greater flexibility such as terms for return of premium and the potential to convert to whole life insurance. |
Whole life
Whole life insurance provides protection for the entire life of the insured and provides a set level of security for your loved ones. You can borrow against the policy's cash value, as it accumulates over time, to help cover unforeseen expenses.
Variable Universal life
Variable universal life insurance is a policy whose cash value is based on the performance of an investment sub account. The cash value can be invested in a variety of investments that can include stocks, bonds, and money market funds. There is no guarantee on the cash value of this type of policy as you are subjected to investment risk. However, capital gains and other investment earnings may accrue tax deferred as long as the funds remain invested in the insurance contract.
Universal life
Universal life insurance provides protection for the entire life of the insured and builds cash value over time while offering flexible premiums and a flexible face amount. This type of insurance may be ideal for retirement planning or any number of other long-term goals.
Evaluate your finances
Insurance serves you best when the benefit amount is sufficient to help protect your assets. Understanding your finances is an essential step in the process of creating a comprehensive insurance strategy.
Wealth protection begins with understanding where your money is going. Monthly bills, credit card payments and other expenses are a fact of life. But careful planning today can help ensure that your assets will – and your debts will not – be passed onto your loved ones.
Life insurance can help to cover outstanding medical bills, monthly mortgage payments to your home, and funding continuing education of college tuition for dependents.
When to plan
The sooner you start to plan for the transfer of your assets, the more flexible your options may be. A financial professional from HSBC Insurance Agency can help you understand how life insurance strategies can help fulfill your lifetime and legacy goals.
The HSBC approach
HSBC Insurance Agency offers a variety of life insurance solutions, and we make the process of choosing the right one easy to understand. We also offer simple issue insurance, which usually does not require a medical examination. This will generally allow you to become insured within a short period of time.
Our trained financial professionals can conduct a thorough needs analysis to help you determine what type of life insurance is right for you.
Call us at 866.586.4722 to get started.
Insights and resources
Investment, annuities, and variable life insurance products are offered by HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (HSI), member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC. In California, HSI conducts insurance business as HSBC Securities Insurance Services. License #: OE67746. HSI is an affiliate of HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Whole life, universal life, term life, and other types of insurance are offered by HSBC Insurance Agency (USA) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Products and services may vary by state and are not available in all states. California license #: OD36843.
Investments, Annuity and Insurance Products:
| ARE NOT A DEPOSIT OR OTHER OBLIGATION OF THE BANK OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES |
ARE NOT FDIC INSURED |
ARE NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY |
ARE NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES |
MAY LOSE VALUE |
All decisions regarding the tax implications of your investment(s) should be made in consultation with your independent tax advisor.
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1 Financial professional refers to Financial Consultants (FCs), Investment Counselors (ICs), and High Net Worth Relationship Managers (HNWRMs). All offer bank products through HSBC Bank (USA) N.A, investments, annuities, and variable life insurance products through HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and traditional insurance products through HSBC Insurance Agency (USA) Inc.