A top priority for you is the care and support that your loved ones receive. Life insurance can help take care of the important people in your life by ensuring that they will be protected after your passing. You can find some invaluable tips here for choosing the right policy for you and your loved ones.
When it comes to Life Insurance, purchase it when you are young. Typically, a younger person is in good general health, so you will be able to lock in a great rate for the length of the policy. As a person gets older, they start to present more of a risk to an insurance company, and not only will the premium be more but, you may be denied coverage entirely.
A person should not wait until they are sick to consider life insurance. Many preexisting conditions can make you ineligible for a life insurance policy. If you are eligible, premiums will likely be higher than they would be for a healthy individual. Taking out a policy while you’re healthy is the best way to protect yourself, and your family.
Term life insurance is the most effective for a single parent. Whole life completely disregards the reason you are looking for insurance and that is to take care of your children in case of tragedy. Term life is much more affordable than whole life and it provides all of the protection you need to care for your family.
Purchasing term life insurance, as opposed to full-life insurance, is a wise choice for most consumers, but selecting the right term length is key. Factors to consider as you select the term is your own age, the age of your dependents, the nature of your financial commitments, as well as what you can reasonably afford. You may want to consider basing the term around fulfillment of milestone expenses like when your youngest child will have graduated from college or when the house will be fully paid off. Alternatively, many people choose a term that covers them until they can access their retirement resources. Whatever your own considerations may be, choosing your term length thoughtfully will bring many years of peace of mind.
Before purchasing life insurance it is important to understand why you need it. If a parent or spouse dies, life insurance money can be used to pay for mortgage bills, retirement, or a college education. If other people depend on your income for support, it would be wise to take out a life insurance policy.
You should have your life insurance policy amended as things change in your life. Some examples of things that you may want to report to your life insurance company is if you have new children, an increase in the amount of debt that you have accumulated or if you have gotten a divorce. You can typically change information over the phone.
Check to make sure if you can enter into a group plan insurance policy or not through your employer. It is often the case that the same companies offering group health insurance will also have group life insurance policies available for a fraction of the cost of purchasing the policy solo.
After a significant life event like marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child, make sure you update your life insurance. If your family is increasing, you may need to increase the amount of coverage. If your family is decreasing, you may be able to reduce the total amount. In all cases, make sure to keep your beneficiaries current and limits appropriate to your current lifestyle.
Make sure you get enough coverage. $500,000 can seem like a windfall of cash for your family in the event of your passing. But when you take into consideration a $300,000 mortgage, car loans, student loans, burial and funeral expenses, credit card debt and the like, all those can add up fast.
Check your life insurance policy contract very carefully. When you receive the policy, you normally have 10 days to cancel for a full refund if you find it to be unsatisfactory. Make sure that all the benefits you applied for are included, and the premiums are what you agreed to pay. If there is anything you don’t understand in the policy, you should call the company for clarification. If you are still not satisfied, remember to return it within 10 days.
If you are buying a life insurance policy for the first time, beware of advisors who claim to know everything. An advisor who makes this boast from the start is likely, quite the opposite of what he or she may say. Insurance policies are varied and complicated and no advisor understands every aspect of them all.
As you read earlier, the importance of choosing a good life insurance policy as protection for your loved ones simply cannot be overstated. You can’t cheat death, but by following the above advice, at least you can protect your family from the financial burden of the unexpected.
