Life Insurance And Taxation

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If your company owns life insurance policies on your executives or any key people for that matter, you need to be aware of the potential tax ramifications and the requirements to avoid taxation of benefits. Important changes have taken place in the last few years that can significantly impact the taxation of corporate owned life insurance. The information below is designed to inform you of the IRS regulations that have been implemented over the last few years and what is needed to comply with these IRS requirements so that policy proceeds avoid needless taxation.*

Pension Protection Act of 2006 and Life Insurance Taxation

On August 17, 2006, President George Bush signed tax legislation containing provisions that significantly impact key man and other employer owned life insurance purchased after August 17, 2006. The legislation, known as the COLI (Corporate Owned Life Insurance) Best Practices Act (which is part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006), includes the proposed IRC Section 101(j). Under this proposed law, life insurance death benefits for business-owned life insurance policies issued after the effective date of August 17, 2006 are income taxable (to the extent the death benefit exceeds the employer’s premiums) unless certain requirements are met.

This new legislation applies to all employer-owned policies issued after August 17, 2006 and includes policies used for key man insurance, stock redemption plans, Corporate Owned Life Insurance and Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (among others). It may also extend to collateral assignment (economic benefit) regime split dollar and split dollar loans. With this law, all situations where an employer will have full or partial ownership of a insurance policy that is issued after August 17, 2006, regardless of the purpose of the policy, will need to meet certain requirements and follow specific guidelines to avoid potential taxation.

Avoiding Taxation of Key Man Life Insurance

In order to prevent policy proceeds (death benefits) from being income taxable, both of the following requirements must be met:

1. Notice and Consent Requirements:

a) The employee must be notified (in writing), prior to the life insurance policy being issued, that the employer intends to buy a policy on his/her life and disclose what the maximum face amount that is being applied for on his/her life is;

b) The employee must provide written consent to being insured and agree that the employer may choose to keep the policy in force even after the employee separates employment; and

c) The employee must be notified in writing that the employer is the beneficiary of all or part of the death benefit proceeds.

Under the COLI Best Practices Act, unless the employer provides written notice and obtains the employee’s written consent prior to the issuance of the policy, the death benefit of the life insurance policy will be taxable from day 1. Notice and consent may not be obtained after the life insurance policy is issued to remove this taxable death benefit status.

2. Once the “Notice and Consent Requirements” are met, there are two “Exceptions” to the rule taxing death proceeds payable to an employer, one of which must be met:

a.) Exception #1:

1) The insured was an employee at any time during the 12-month period before the insured’s death OR

2) The insured was a Director or “highly compensated employee” at the time the contract was issued.

b.) Exception #2:

Any amount received by the employer as a result of the insured’s death is paid to:

1) A family member of the insured;

2) A designated beneficiary of the insured under the contract other than the employer;

3) A trust established for the benefit of a family member, other designated beneficiary, or the insured’s estate; or

4) A family member, designated beneficiary, trust, or estate in exchange for any interest they hold in the corporation / employer (i.e. buy-sell agreement).

If both the “Notice and Consent Requirements” and one of the “Exceptions” above are met, Corporate Owned Life Insurance proceeds would be received income tax free if the policy death benefits would otherwise be eligible for favorable tax treatment.

COLI Best Practices Act- Reporting Requirements

All employers are required to report annually all corporate-owned life insurance policies to the IRS. The annual reporting requirements imposed under the IRC Sec. 6039I include:

1) The total number of employees at the end of the year;

2) The number of employees insured under COLI arrangement at the end of the year;

3) The total amount of insurance in force on all insured employees at the end of the year; and

4) The employer’s name, address, tax payer identification number and type of business, and

5) A statement of valid consent for each insured employee (or, if all required consents are not obtained, number of insured employees for who consent was not obtained).

The IRS requires this reporting annually on Form 8925 ” Report of Employer-Owned Life Insurance Contracts.” It is a simple form and must be completed to comply with IRS Code. You should consult your CPA or professional tax advisor immediately for more information on Form 8925 and the IRS reporting requirements.

If proper record keeping and reporting is not maintained, any and all key man life insurance policy proceeds or other corporate owned life insurance death benefits may be subject to income taxation

In Conclusion

Corporate Owned Life Insurance Policies including key man insurance policies issued after August 17, 2006 may have death benefits that are subject to income taxation if certain requirements are not met. The Pension Protection Act of 2006, which includes the COLI Best Practices Act, includes provisions that have significant consequences for key man and other employer owned insurance purchased after August 17, 2006. You need to understand the Notice and Consent requirements and well as the Exceptions and Record Keeping and Reporting requirements and comply with the IRS so that key man insurance policy proceeds avoid needless taxation. Unfortunately, if you have a key man policy issued after August 17, 2006 and you have not been compliant, your best bet to avoid potential income taxation may be to scrap your current policy and start over!

* All of the above tax information is for information purposes only and is provided to explain the basic tax treatment of life insurance based on the Internal Revenue Code. Any individual or entity considering any life insurance policy should consult with their own CPA or tax/legal advisor that understands their particular tax circumstances and the rules governing their state. In no way is this information intended to be tax or legal advice.

rd Party Car Insurance – How Much You Can Be Expecting To Pay Out

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rd party motor insurance or liability insurance plans in the United States features harms performed to other people once a driver has caused a crash. When an automobile accident occurs, the insurance providers, through the help of police force, will pick which driver was to blame. The at-fault driver will be the person who will be in charge of all health care charges and property destroys caused by the accident, so this is what third party vehicle insurance contains.

The way in which does 3rd party automobile insurance work?

Third party vehicle insurance varies from optionally available types of vehicle insurance due to the fact 1st party car insurance, like collision and comprehensive insurance coverage, apply for damages made to the actual at-fault drivers car. Because at-fault drivers are unable to get third party auto insurance to fund theirs vehicles harms, they require to buy additional insurance coverage that will have the funds for their own cars repairs.

Each state has fixed specifications depending on how much liability coverage people should have to become licensed drivers. They’ll be needed to have a the bare minimum volume of insurance to cover the medical bills of folks hurt in a car collision that they can cause, called bodily injury liability. They also must be liable for the property damages they cause during the accident with property damage liability. This specific coverage covers car repairs, landscaping damages that take place and city property that could be damaged for example the street lights. In cases where the third parties harmed by the crash elect to file a claim the at-fault driver, the third party auto insurance covers the legal defense and no matter what judge or jury orders them to pay in damages.

Just how much do you anticipate paying for 3rd party car insurance?

The standard expense of liability insurance in the USA is $1,446.49 each and every year, but the average differs from region to region and even city to city. A states drivers may perhaps be paying of the ordinary amount regarding liability insurance, but one particular city could be a place where citizens are paying far beyond the normal. To provide an example, in Nevada, the drivers pay near to the national amount that has a statewide average of $1,526.09. Reno pays about the average with $1,449.24, but Las Vegans pay $2,027.26 yearly.

In order to get liability coverage, people needs to be able to legally get a drivers license. When they are planning to drive on the public roads and highways, they’re required to purchase liability coverage by their particular states. If he or she doesnt do this, they might lose their driving a car privileges. Because its the law that people must get liability coverage, each and every insurance company that provides auto insurance is needed to offer you their states minimal requirements in the insurance package to each driver.
In order to drive, people must purchase liability coverage which will allow them to take on finance responsibility for hurting someone or harming property in an accident they have caused. Under this feature, people have to present proof that they have invested in this insurance when they are stopped by police force. This will make liability coverage an extremely important part of being a responsible driver.

Tips For Getting The Best Mission Insurance Quote

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Getting the best mission insurance quote is not an easy task to manage especially when you are looking for it the first time. You can consider both offline and online insurance quotes but it requires fuel and time to visit physical offices than virtual ones that remain accessible all the time. So you need to do an extensive search on these companies as that can deliver you the best possible quote online. The quotes of online companies greatly vary. So, reviewing or comparing these policies will enable you to find the best deal on mission trip insurance.

Below are given some tips for getting the right mission quote:

1) Target companies offering profitable coverage with a reasonable premium – You may be able to find a cheap mission insurance policy but it might not include the coverage you want. Dont take a decision based on the price of the policy. Take a look at other profitable options on offer and decide whether you should look upon the insurance value or not. You should make sure that the policy gives exactly the coverage you want in your mission trip and qualifies to minimum benefits required in the area where you are going. Moving around with insufficient insurance coverage can be risky, especially if undergo an injury or meet accident and your local insurance does not support your compensation claim.

2) Send your request to an insurance company that is specialized in mission trip coverage You should not buy an insurance plan from any such company that is inefficient and is likely to go out of this business very soon. Many agencies dont go for major amounts particularly if they are start ups. Its better to opt for companies that have been in mission trip insurance business for long. In this way, you will get assured of getting assistance especially when any unexpected thing happens and you need money to get over the situation fast. However, you will have to find out complaints lodged against the company with Better Business Bureau and choose it if it is found clean. If any negative report appears about the site then you need to leave it and search the more reliable ones.

3) Avoid mission trip insurance companies that offer insurance coverage through third party – Basically such companies are insurance brokers and in no way involved if you want to file a claim. Again, an insurance broker will charge you more premium than any online insurance firm. They may have their own websites to attract buyers but in reality they are no different than middle man. So, think of dealing with online insurance agencies which provide you the best coverage features with the best premium rate.

Ideal Way in Finding Low Cost Auto Insurances

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In today’s world, we should not forget our current financially viable situation. And car insurance is considerably a fast becoming a business with tough competitions. One of the ideal things to do to get hold of insurance provider with reasonable plans and best auto insurance coverage is by getting free auto insurance quotes. By doing it, you will perhaps see the best deal and coverage that will surely suits your own needs.

If you are really into getting free auto insurance quotes, here are some of the tips with the purpose of will surely help you.

Firstly, you have to know that shopping online is the superlative way to take free insurance quotes. All you have to resolve is to use the search engines such as bing, google and yahoo in searching what you need. This will help you to make the whole process very easy.

Using the internet gives the opportunity to shop for car insurance quotes by simply inside in an online form. This is really easy compared to searching it from one insurance inflexible to another. It is recommended with the intention of you obtain as many quote as possible to enjoy the benefit of getting affordable rates.

Not all insurance providers give their customers high-quality rates, their rates vary from one company to another. A regard rate can be low cost for a number of customers, but not for you. The amount of the quote is derived from some relative factors.

One example is your being a high risk driver, if you are being the cause of a specific car accident then expects a much higher rate of quote. However, one thing you can do is to acquire all the benefits from free quotes to reduce your premium. You resolve also be surprised that you are likely to prevail on cheap offer if only you took your time to compare from various car insurance companies.

Free auto insurance quotes online will also assist in deciding what plan you need to purchase. Just simply tell what you need and they self-control help you on how to meet an absolute decision. It will moreover help you to manage your time as the process can only take some of our times.

There are lots of websites with the purpose of offers auto insurance quotes as well as they provide some tips and information used for you. You are provided with great information and feedback which help you to be well-informed going on for what they are planning to purchase.

Therefore, shopping for car insurance online is absolutely the best way and the generally excellent procedure to make. Everyone is in search of affordable and cheap auto insurance with great offerings and many settlements. These must be you main goal and objective.

The Benefits Of Having Travel Insurance

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The best health care system in the world can be found in Canada and so Canadians are not as worried when it comes to getting sick in the future. It is alright if they do not consider this whilst at home but when they travel outside Canada then this becomes an issue. Considering that you might encounter unexpected illnesses or injury even in the United States, aside from financial hardship you will also encounter real emotional and psychological stress. As a lot of mature travelers would say, always see to it that you have enough comprehensive global health insurance before leaving Canada just in case.

Where to purchase insurance is something the readers want to know as well as when their health insurance is enough. Considering the people who might be traveling to the U.S.or Europe, it has been mentioned by the manager of Winnipeg’s major bank that although there are provisions for a comprehensive package at a reasonable cost there is nothing that can replace total health coverage.

If possible, another insurance package should be purchase to supplement these benefits when it comes to the older card members. Two major insurance companies recommend travel health insurance of at least $1 million, and both those companies scale the cost of their packages because their studies have shown that there are more claims from long stays and from people over 60. Certain costs only made it possible for a company to extend their maximum coverage to those between 60 and 65 and nothing beyond this.

Taking travelers into consideration, they can ask for help when looking for an insurance health plan. Your best bet will be an insurance agent when it comes to a comprehensive overview but for information on the larger companies, talk to a travel agent. One major insurance company bases its rates on age, those 60 and under and those 61 and over, and length of stay. A 10 day trip coverage would cost a person over 61 $17 while a single traveler under 60 will only need to pay an amount of $9.10.

Costing $23.50 for someone under 60 and $67 for someone over 61 is the same policy but this time for a 30 day trip. Respectively costing $95 and $220 is coverage for a 48 day trip. Rates continue to climb for longer periods away from home. A couple over 60 who planned to be away for two months would pay $540, or $270 per person, for a comprehensive health insurance package or $1,350, if they planned to extend their winter holiday to four months.

When it comes to a Winnipeg couple, they were able to bend the long term health insurance rates to their advantage. Two 60 day coverage plans are what they purchase instead of 120 day health packages for the four months they spend in the southern states every year. This well known insurance company also provides other options that are less expensive. From another company come substantially lower rates even if their scales depend on age as well. About $330 is how much a couple over 65 will need to pay for a sixty day coverage. Expect to receive a disclaimer when it comes to some insurance policies and this will mention how the contract will not be able to provide coverage for any medical condition which commenced prior to the effective date of the policy.

Offered by several companies is coverage designed to take effect after those from various credit card plans expire. Several companies will advise you to purchase enough insurance to last for the duration of the whole trip. Inexpensive plans are available from some companies and some of these do not consider age as a factor. For these kinds of plans, coverage is not always provided if a trip last over 60 days. There is a company that may be able to help you by giving a money saving tip that can help you offset the costs of health insurance for when you travel. Remember that the travel health premium can be included in medical expenses and included in your tax credit calculation for income tax purposes.