Value of Australian Personal Loans Tops $7 Billion In August
Demand for personal loans not including mortgages surpassed the $7 billion mark during the month of August for the first time in 18 months, underlining a further increase in consumer confidence over the Australian economy.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the August data on Monday, showing that personal loans, which include fixed and revolving credit facilities increased by 4.1 per cent in August compared with July and stood at $7.18 billion.
There was a parallel increase in commercial lending as well, which rose by 5.6 per cent to $28.51 billion in August. Commercial lending however remains at about half the peak level of $50.18 billion that was set in January 2008.
Despite the increase in personal and commercial lending, lease finance declined by 9.4 per cent to $398 million whilst home loans for owner occupied accommodation fell by 1.7 per cent to $16.54 billion in August.
The data release was somewhat overshadowed by last week’s move by the Reserve Bank of Australia, which hiked official interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent, a move that was replicated by retail lenders.
Wednesday’s Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment survey will gauge the response to the rate increase, the first in 19 months.
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One In Six Australians Have Problems Repaying Debt
One in six Australians is having problems with repayment of debt aside from the additional burden of increasing interest rates, the result of a new survey has found.
The survey conducted by market intelligence firm Veda Advantage, also suggests that more than 20 per cent of Australians applying for additional credit during the next six months will have problems paying off their debts.
25 per cent of those who are having trouble meeting their obligations, now carry more debt than they did a year ago.
Russell Evans, general manager Veda Advantage, said that though the majority of Australian families were using credit in a responsible manner, a small but sizeable minority are having problems.
“Under current laws, this group can be invisible until it’s too late,” Mr. Evans said.
Mr. Evans said that though the Federal Government should be lauded for enacting responsible lending laws, financial institutions that provide credit were operating in the dark.
“A simple change to the credit reporting laws will allow credit providers to check a borrower’s current credit commitments and repayment history before additional credit is granted. This would protect families from taking on more debt at a time when they need assistance to help them out of debt.” Mr. Evans said.
Mr. Evans says he believes that the Federal Government’s responsible lending legislation will be ratified by the Australian parliament later this month, but added that the new regulations will still be inadequate without creditor access to more transparent information.
“Lenders will struggle to identify families and individuals who are in financial difficulty.” He said
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Richard Branson To Give Australian Banking Majors A Run For Their Money
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money, part of his Virgin Group intends provide robust competition to the Big Four banking groups in Australia, and is launching a car insurance product followed swiftly by deposits and lending facilities in the coming months.
On Wednesday, Branson launched Virgin Car Insurance in Sydney, and sent a message to incumbents, telling consumers his company could offer Australians car insurance at rates which were 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than their current providers.
“We have a team in Australia who look for businesses where consumers are being taken for a ride. The challenge is to get people to compare, but we have a strong brand and we’ve done this before.” Sir Richard said.
Last week Virgin Money inked a deal with Citibank to use their balance sheet and platform for provision of banking services such as deposit taking and lending. Sir Richard said Virgin Money would begin offering services within the next 12 to 24 months, which would include personal loans, deposits, home loans and credit cards.
In Australia the general insurance market is dominated by a few incumbents, and in car insurance just two players, Insurance Australia Group (IAG) and Suncorp-Metway have captured about 75 per cent of the market according to a report by AAP.
Virgin Money intends to procure between 40,000 to 50,000 new car insurance customers within its first 12 months of operation. The company would offer its customers products which are capped over two years and 12 months.
Virgin Money’s car insurance will be underwritten by Auto & General Insurance Company Ltd, one of South Africa’s biggest general insurers, which is aiming to expand in Australia.
Branson said he wanted to leverage the strength of the Virgin brand in Australia to market financial products.
“The Virgin brand is strong and we will be tying the brands together,” he said.
That may involve offering deals on flights with airline V Australia for customers of the financial products, Sir Richard said.
Virgin Money managing director Matt Baxby said the company’s aim was to sell products mainly online, backed up by call centers. The company also may open retail stores.
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The Top Ten Worst Credit Card Mistakes Part 2
In the second part of our two part piece on the ten worst credit card mistakes, we look at mistakes numbers 6-10, and see how easily they are avoided, by doing something as simple as reading credit card statements as soon as they arrive.
6. Making minimum payments
Often the an obvious mistake that consumers and borrowers make when using their credit cards is paying only the minimum amount required for their credit card.
Borrowers should endeavour to pay off the entire balance, and if they cannot do so, that at least more than the minimum monthly payment. Paying off only the minimum perpetuates the debt and the borrower ends up paying far more interest on the amount than is necessary. The longer the debt is carried for the more interest is paid.
7. Paying your bill late
Mistake number 7 can easily be avoided. Though making a late payment is better than no payment at all, it still negatively affects the borrower’s credit report, making it more difficult for the delinquent borrower to obtain finance on good terms a later date. The card issuer will also levy charges for late payments.
8. Ignoring your monthly statement
Avoiding late payments is easy and can be done simply by regularly checking monthly card statement. Not checking credit card statements is a serious mistake and result in self inflicted wounds on borrowers or consumer, since they are unaware of how much is owed on the particular card is, when its payment is due and what interest and other charges are being levied by the card issuer.
If there is any discrepancy between what the borrower believes should be, and what the card issuer is charging, then the only way to be aware is to check and dispute the charge is to read the statement and do it promptly. Borrowers who query charges well after they were made, because they failed to read the statement when it first arrived will have problems. Consumers should make the effort to read their monthly statement as it arrives
9. Exceeding your credit limit
Mistake number 9 can also be avoided by simply checking credit card statements promptly. For consumers who are near their credit limit, they should start paying in cash for purchases. Exceeding credit limits invokes punitive charges which are expensive and look bad on credit reports.
10. Buying things you don’t need
Examining statements also allows consumers and borrowers to avoid mistake number 10 which is something that nearly everyone does, which is buying things we don’t need. Going through a card statement regularly allows a card holder to examine what it is they are buying and isolate those expenses that are wasteful.
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The Top Ten Worst Credit Card Mistakes Part 1
When individuals face financial problems it is not surprising that credit card offers suddenly start to look very appealing. Here are the first 5 of 10 commonly made credit card mistakes.
1. Having Too Many Credit Cards
The most obvious mistake that consumers make is having to many credit cards. If consumers were to ask themselves whether a new credit card was needed, 95 per cent of the answers would be no. Having to many credit cards is a temptation that consumers don’t need, a lot of times consumers end up carrying more debt than they can afford largely because they don’t know when to stop spending on credit. Therefore having to many credit card is never a good thing.
Even having cards which carry zero balance is not good. Multiple open accounts could cause lenders to question whether the account holder is in danger of over extending themselves.
2. Misunderstanding introductory rates
The most common mistake borrowers can make is obtaining a balance transfer card under the assumption that transferring interest bearing debt from existing cards on to a zero interest rate balance transfer cards is good money management. It is good management so long as the borrower is acutely aware of when the introductory offer of zero interest rates cease.
A lot of borrowers are simply unaware when the teaser rate is no longer valid, and assume that when they get beyond the offer the interest rate will be reasonable or no different to other cards. That is not always true, and borrowers should always strive to be aware of how long the offer they take advantage of is valid for and what the interest rate on the debt carried beyond the introductory rate is.
3. Not Reading The Fine Print
Borrowers failing to read the fine print when getting into debt on a credit card is mistake number 3 and something that is easily avoidable.
Buried in the fine print is how long introductory interest rates validity is buried, the fine print also contains information and charges relating to balance transfers and specify offer limitations.
4. Choosing A Card For The Wrong Reasons
Many consumers opt for cards based on non material attractions such as rebates or rewards programs. These type of bells and whistles often cause consumers to ignore the fine print and not bother with learning what their fees and interest charges are or how long their introductory rates are valid. This type of behaviour is choosing credit cards for all the wrong reasons
5. Failing to Shop For Rates
Consumers are often too lazy to shop around for the card with the best interest rate, and this is mistake number 5
It’s especially important to note the rate on unsolicited offers. When borrowers struggle financially, they are not likely to be able to get the most favorable rates or terms. So borrowers and consumers should comparison shop for a credit card.
Nine things To Know About Balance Transfers
The obvious solution for a borrower who has incurred a lot of debt on high interest credit cards is to transfer the balance to card which bears a lower interest rate. Though it sounds really simple there are certain things borrowers should be aware of, otherwise they may find they have replaced one Faustian deal with another.
1. Get A New Card To Pay Off The old.
Transferring a balance from a higher interest card to one which charges a lower interest is essentially paying of an existing credit card with a new one. The only real benefit of a balance transfer is if the borrower seeks to pay of the older debt at the new lower interest rate.
2. Consolidating Debt Simplifies Payments.
Balance transfers serve another important function, they enable and help borrowers consolidate debt which may be carried on multiple cards from various issuers on to a single card at a lower interest rate. Have a single or very few statements every month, with only a few payments being made enable consumers to maintain control over their credit utilisation, the proportion of their credit limit they are using, it enables them to rein in spending and keep closer control of finances if they are able to get an accurate picture because there are very few statements to look at.
3. Borrowers Can Transfer Other Kinds Of Debt.
Certain credit cards offer deals for balance transfers from different sources and not just other credit cards. Borrowers may be able to move car loans, loans for appliance and other monthly instalment balances on to a zero per cent balance transfer credit card. It is worth shopping around for cards at various issuers and finding cards that offer these kind of deals.
4. Fees Are Inevitable.
Borrowers should not expect that transferring a high interest loan to a zero per cent card will mean they are not immune from fees. Balance transfer cards almost always charge a balance transfer fee which is levied as a percentage of the total amount of debt being transferred. Therefore borrowers should calculate the cost of transferring any outstanding balances inclusive of fees and compare it to their interest rate fees should they continue to carry it on their existing card and make regular payments. In some cases it may not be worth doing it.
5. Transfer Rates Expire.
Zero per cent balance transfer cards seek to attract borrowers with low interest rates. These rates are introductory and do not last forever. Often they are only valid for between six to nine months. Once the introductory offer expires, interest rates can revert back to as high as the rate of the card that the balance was transferred from. If a borrower does undertake a balance transfer, they should seek to take as much advantage of the introductory interest rate as is possible and try and pay off their balance before the rate reverts to standard interest rates. If they fail to do so once the fee for transferring the balance has been included the whole exercise may end up costing them more in interest rates and fees than had they not undertaken the exercise to begin with.
Borrowers should also be aware that balance transfer deals can be lost altogether if they make the mistake of making a late payment.
6. Great Transfer Rates Do Not Apply To Everything.
Balance transfers usually apply only to the amount that is transferred to the new card, and does not mean that new purchases made with the balance transfer card will incur a zero per cent finance charge. A lot of cards though do offer interest free periods for new purchases, but in general balance transfer cards will not provide that kind of financing. Borrowers should read the fine print of their credit card contract to see whether there are rules which specify only transferred balances incur zero per cent interest, whilst newer purchases incur interest at the regular rate.
It is helpful to keep a different card just for new purchases, one on which no balance is transferred or carried and offers attractive interest free periods. Some balance transfer cards do offer introductory interest rates for new purchases, but the borrower needs to have checked the fine print to have made sure, this is the case, and they should know how long the introductory periods are valid.
7. Borrowers Do Not Always Have Power Over How Their Payments Are Allocated.
Borrowers should not expect to be able to make payments to their higher interest debt. Some card issuers have a negative payment hierarchy policy, which means that the oldest debt gets paid off first, so if a borrower makes a purchase on a balance transfer card, and has existing debt which incurs zero per cent interest, whilst the new purchase incurs say a 109 per cent interest rate. Then any payment made on the card, goes towards paying of the interest free balance first rather than the interest bearing purchase. This is known as negative payment hierarchy and borrowers should strive to be aware whether the issuer has this kind of policy.
Having to separate cards from different issuers for new spending and carrying balances at zero or low interest rates is an easy way to avoid this problem.
8. Borrowers Should Not Expect To Transfer Again and Again.
Borrowers who think they can continue transferring balances and maintain high debt levels perpetually at low interest rates will be disappointed. Lenders tend to take negative views of borrowers who consistently carry high debt levels. Lenders taking a negative view means that the consumers ability to borrow can become limited.
Also such behaviour can in certain cases have a negative effect on credit scores.
9. Borrowers Must Have Good Credit To Qualify.
Zero interest balance transfer cards were once widely available. In the wake of the global banking crisis and rising default rates all over the developed world, they are now harder to come by and usually available only to those with good or excellent credit. If you can qualify, and if it’ll save you significant cash or help you pay off your debt sooner, it might be the way to go.
Eight Things Consumers Should know about credit card debt
Having a credit card doesn’t automatically mean that the holder must get into debt which can later become unmanageable and overwhelming. Many people, in fact millions of people charge purchases to their credit cards, and never pay a single cent in interest. Here are 8 credit card tips.
1. Owing Money Is Not Inevitable
It is completely possible for an individual to use their credit card regularly yet avoid being in debt. The secret to being able to do this, is charging only what one can afford to pay when the bill finally arrives. Credit cards when used simply as a payment mechanism rather than a funding source ensures that the individual can manage to stay out of debt.
To be able to do this the consumer should be acutely aware of their cash flow situation, tracking whatever charges they do make and ticking it off against income, and they must maintain the monitoring of income and expenses on a continuous basis. People who do not maintain knowledge of their cash flow situation, and use credit cards will most likely end up in debt to the card issuer.
2. Know When Short Term Debt Makes Sense.
Financing a purchase through debt can sometimes make sense, and therefore the use of a credit card can be a wise and useful option. The key is the repayment period, which should be as short as possible. If the consumer can make the repayment as quickly as over a couple of months, then they may pay no interest whatsoever if they stay within the interest free period, sometimes as long as 60 days, or whatever interest they do pay, is numerically small, even if the APR is high.
3. Owing Is Easy, Repayment is hard.
Individuals who do not pay close attention to their spending habits on their credit cards can easily sink into overwhelming debt. Typically consumer start of spending small amounts or borrowing only a little from their credit cards because their credit limits are low. As time progresses the card issuer increases the limit and the amounts borrowed end up increasing as well. Paying down debt is difficult because as the balance climbs, the interest compounds, and payments increase. With funds promised to past spending, less money is available for current and future expenses.
4. Debt Affects Credit Scores.
Remaining free from debt is not only advisable from a financial perspective, but holding on to high balances on credit cards, negatively impacts the borrower’s credit score. In order to score well, consumers should endeavor to hold under 35 per cent of their available credit limit. For example if an individual has a $1000 credit limit, in order to maintain a high credit score, they should not carry more than $350 in debt at any point of time.
Making repayments on time is also critical, falling behind or skipping payments will mean creditors reporting the borrower to the credit bureaus, which will mean an extremely negative impact on the borrower’s credit score, which in turn negatively impacts their ability to borrow.
5. Develop A Repayment Plan.
For those consumers who find themselves mired in debt, there is hope for being able to climb out. Being committed to being debt free and having a plan is the best way to do so. Here are a few tips.
• Limit spending to basic needs to free up cash to pay down debt.
• Ask creditors if they will reduce your card’s interest rates.
• Prioritize payments by interest rates (pay the high-interest balances first).
• Suspend charging while in repayment mode.
6. Talk To Creditors.
Credit card issuers are not under obligation to accept less than the minimum monthly payment. However it is in their interest to help customers or borrowers who are having trouble making their payments, avoid a default. Often card issuers will help, and offer a solution such as forbearance where the monthly payment is frozen for a short period of time, or they may agree to a lower repayment
7. Settle Cautiously And Be Aware Of The Consequences.
It is possible for a borrower is having serious problems with their debt and feels they simply will not be able to meet their obligations, to settle the debt with the card issuer for less than the amount owed, so long as the amount agreed is paid as a lump sum.
Debt Settlement is a step short of declaring full bankruptcy, and has a dramatic negative effect on the borrower’s credit score and should only be used as final solution after everything else for asset sales to forbearance programs have been used.
In order to be able to settle with a creditor such as a credit card issuer, the borrower needs to be several months behind on payments and be able to offer a lump sum. It is better to negotiate a deal with the creditor directly, though there are debt settlement companies which will do this for you, but charge fees.
8. Borrowers Cannot Go To Jail For Non-Payment.
People who fail to honour their financial obligations will not be arrested or put in prison. There are however some legal implications which borrowers should be aware of. Most importantly creditors can sue defaulters in a court of law and should they win be able to collect the defaulters income at source, or take non exempt property and assets as repayment.
Living debt free is within every card holder’s capability. The key is to always be aware of charging and balances, and address credit problems immediately.
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Four Tips On How To Obtain Cheaper Unsecured Financing
Often Annual Percentage Rates (APR’s) and fees do not provide consumers or borrowers with the complete picture of the costs involved in borrowing money, many times they are manipulated by lenders to make the loan sound more attractive. Here are five tips to borrow cheaply
1. Borrowing for absolutely nothing
Obviously the most inexpensive way to borrow is to use 0% purchase cards. Provided borrowers make the minimum monthly payments and ensure that the balance is paid before the interest free period expires, and the card is not used for any other purpose such as balance transfers or cash withdrawals. This method is the cheapest way to borrow money, because it does not carry any interest charges.
2. Borrowing for less than 6% Using A Mortgage
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates to their lowest in 45 years and they now stand at 3 percent, which means most lenders are offering mortgages below six percent. Therefore adding debt to a mortgage is a very cheap way of borrowing money with interest rates being at record lows.
This type of borrowing however is only cost effective is the borrower has competitive deal on their mortgage and they overpay their mortgage with the intention of clearing the additional debt quickly.
Before a borrower considers this method, they should check that the bank allows them to overpay their mortgage without imposing a penalty.
Re-mortgaging generates additional fees, but for borrowers who want to take advantage of low interest rate finance and plan to re-mortgage anyway, then adding an additional sum should not cost more.
Borrowers should strive to overpay and clear the additional debt, failure to do so means it will remain for much longer than debt which is carried on credit cards or as a personal loan, and though the rate of interest may be lower than either of those two products, the fact that it is carried for longer means that it will end up costing more than other forms of borrowing.
If you don’t overpay and clear the extra debt, it’ll linger for much longer than with an ordinary loan or credit card. Even if you have a competitive deal, and even though your monthly costs might seem low, the total interest you’ll pay over that time will likely end up being far higher than most other forms of borrowing.
3. Borrowing for less than 6% APR
Another method that is also very cheap is transferring existing debt to a new credit card which offers 0% interest on balance transfers. This type of transfer, despite the 0% interest are not really free, and borrowers should be aware of implied charges.
Usually the fee is 3% which is not charged as an APR but rather an upfront fee on the entire amount transferred.
If you compare an APR of 10%, which means that approximately the interest rate is 10 % over the year that translates to a monthly interest rate of 0.8 %.
The big difference between an upfront fee and an APR is, so long as the borrower is reducing the amount owed over time, the amount of interest paid every month will also reduce, so in this example 10 per cent is not paid on the entire debt, whilst an upfront fee charges a rate across the entire debt.
Expressing upfront fees as an APR is a useful way of comparing the true cost of a balance transfer. If a 3 percent fee is incurred and the balance transfer has an interest free duration of 12 months, and the entire debt is paid off within that time frame, that is the equivalent APR of 5.6 %. If the debt is paid off in half that time say six months, then that is the equivalent of 10.7%
If the borrower has debts which are too large to pay off over a year, they could try to obtain successive deals.
Two twelve-month deals in a row, both charging 3% fees, with the debt off over 24 equal installments, would mean still paying the equivalent of 5.6% per year, which is a reasonable rate of interest.
Again, when using balance-transfer deals, borrowers should always pay at least the minimum and should not use the card for any other purpose, otherwise they will likely be caught out by expensive fine print.
4. Interest rates of less than 12%
Another method a borrower could use to obtain financing cheaper than the usual method is to use a combination of personal loan and long-term balance transfer deals. The best personal loan deals in Australia are just under 11 per cent, whilst credit cards have best offers at just under 10 per cent for long term deals.
The headline personal loan interest rates is often misleading. Compulsory payment holidays on most loans add to the cost, so that they actually work out to be more like 11 to 14% per year.
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Two Tips For Taking A Personal Loan
Before taking out a personal loan here are three tips to lower the monthly repayments. The golden rule when it comes to borrowing money is, Keep the interest bill to a minimum by borrowing as little as you can for as short a time as possible.
It is also key, to read the small print in any loan agreement, so that the borrower is aware of any additional fees and charges. Consumers should never borrow more than they can afford, and although it is very difficult for a lender to try and repossess a house when they make an unsecured loan where the consumer starts defaulting. Defaulting on a personal loan will at the very least result in an adverse effect on a consumers credit score and at worst may result in legal action and even bankruptcy.
Here are three tips for minimizing the monthly repayment on a personal loan
1. Check the TAR, not the APR
Lenders, by law have to display the annual percentage rate (APR) for loans that they make to consumers. The APR is a rough guide an approximation of the amount of interest a borrower will have to pay for credit over the year.
APR’s are not perfect, the exact yearly interest rate is a complex mathematical calculation, and therefore the APR is used instead for its simplicity. APR’s however can be manipulated as a result. An example would be the use of repayment holidays which increase the time before the first repayment is due, which therefore brings down the APR, but at the same time increases the total interest bill.
APR’s should be checked before taking out a personal loan, but borrowers should pay more attention to the total amount repayable (TAR), which is the most accurate cost of a personal loan because it takes into consideration everything that the borrower must pay to the lender, totaling the interest bill, and any fees payable.
2. Watch out for tiered rates
It is cheaper to borrow larger amounts of money than smaller sums, that is to say that lenders charge their lowest interest rates to customers who borrow the largest amounts of money. May lenders have a tiered system of interest rates which fall as the customer borrows more money. For example the APR for a customer who borrows $5000 might be 9.9 per cent, which when the customer borrows over $10,000 drops to say 5.9 per cent.
Borrowers should seek to exploit this when borrowing money, and if they can increase the amount they borrow moderately enough, without materially affecting the amount the borrow, they can lower the total amount of interest payable. For example if the boundary for reduced rate of interest lies at $5000, say to borrow up to $5000 it costs 6.9 per cent, beyond which the interest rate drop a full percentage point. If a consumer is at the upper end of the boundary and they increase the amount borrowed moderately to $5,000 it could result in the whole loan becoming cheaper since the interest payable falls. Borrowers should be aware of the tiers in interest rate, and what the boundaries are for those rates to kick in before deciding how much to borrow.
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Four Mistakes To Avoid When Buying Life Insurance
Life Insurance is one of the oldest types of insurance, its theory is fairly simple, individuals pay premiums, and payouts are made as death benefits. Since it is simple to understand it follows that it should be fairly simple to buy. Unfortunately that is not how the cookie crumbles, there are a myriad of life insurance products on offer. Being one of the oldest types also means life insurance is probably also one of the most sophisticated financial products out there with a myriad of types to suit every kind of need. When buying life insurance individuals need to ask three basic questions:
Whether they need the insurance to begin with
If they do need insurance, how much cover do they require
Where or from whom should they buy it.
Here are four mistakes to avoid.
1. Buying Cover That Individuals Do Not Need
Individuals who do not have dependant family members, spouses, partners or children, will find that in the event of their death, it is unlikely that anyone else is going to be affected financially negatively. What is more is that whilst debts cease with the death of the borrower, so if an individual has no dependants, there is no need to purchase to insurance to ensure that any outstanding debts have been covered.
2. Buying Insurance From Mortgage Lenders When Arranging A Loan
Another common mistake is buying life insurance from a mortgage lender or bank who is lending the individual money to buy a home. Banks like to cross sell a variety of products to their customers, and when individuals seek financing for the purchase of a home, they suddenly become a captive audience to the bank who is making the loan. The financial institution will try and add on a variety of insurance products in addition to the mortgage or loan they are making, and the deals on offer are almost always not the best deals that can be picked up were the individual to approach an insurance broker or a specialist.
It is better to buy life insurance from a specialist independent broker, largely because they have a better understanding of the products on offer, and how they compare to rival products and probably have a bigger offering.
Individuals should also not be afraid to make a broker work for their money and feel no pressure to commit. Brokers are commission driven and financial products such as life insurance offer amongst the highest commissions.
3. Ignoring Cover Offered By Employers
Buying more insurance cover than is required results in extra premiums. Individuals often fail to consider the death benefit provided to dependants which is offered by employers which can be as high as three to four times the annual salary before deductions. When individuals calculate how much they should leave their dependants they should be sure to include any cover be offered by employers
4. Choosing The Wrong Type Of Policy
Once an individual has decided upon buying life insurance the most common mistake that is made is choosing the wrong type of policy. For example someone who wants to ensure that their mortgage is paid in the event of their death should look at decreasing term insurance. If a person thinks they are going to live for a while but wants some kind of retirement benefit as well as a death benefit, should be looking at variable whole or variable universal life policies.
Individuals should consult a registered broker who can explain the different types of insurance available and help the individual choose the right type of policy for their needs.
Often individuals make the mistake of buying a single policy of joint life first death in order to cover two people. Though this seems to be convenient way to ensure that both spouses are covered, it is more flexible to buy to separate policies for each partner in the relationship or spouse in the marriage and results in two payouts rather than one.