If you have a spouse and children and are the main income earner of the family, you do not want to leave them in a position of hardship should anything happen to you. Yet without considering the purchase of a life insurance policy, this is a situation that could become a reality. Here are some things you need to know.
When looking for a life insurance plan, it is beneficial to compare costs between many different insurers because your value and payment may vary greatly. This is the one aspect of insurance cost that you can have the most control over. When comparing companies, compare rates and also do not forget to check out what other perks they may include.
Read all of the fine print of the policy before you sign on the line. Know what discounts, exclusions, inclusions, and any other fine print is included on the agreement. You may find that there is a no payment clause for pre-existing diseases. Careful reading will help you be sure that your spouse will get the money they will need.
Having a life insurance policy can be a nice way to leave money for the family that you are leaving behind. This extra money can help out greatly to assist your family’s needs. The right life insurance policy can give an individual a wonderful peace of mind, knowing that his or her family is going to be okay, financially.
Before buying a life insurance policy, make sure to ask the right questions. Find out if your term life insurance policy is convertible and for what length of time. Likewise, find out if it is renewable, and, if so, do you have to re-qualify? Can you cancel your life insurance policy? Does it include a rider for accidental death? Are there exclusions? Are your premiums variable? The more you know about a policy, the better prepared you’ll be to choose one that adequately provides for your dependents.
You should beware of an advisor who claims to know everything before purchasing life insurance. An advisor who answers every single one of your questions without researching anything, then it’s likely that he or she is incorrect about certain details. Because insurance policies are very complicated, even top-notch insurance advisors do not know everything without research.
The last thing your life insurance has to be is complicated. Make sure that you’re always keeping things as simple as possible. If and when you pass on, your family should be able to get the money quickly without anything there to hold the payments back. The simpler things are, the easier the money comes in.
One of the most common mistakes people make when purchasing life insurance is accidentally skewing the results of the required physical exam. Your impulse may be to go for a jog or spend time at the gym immediately before your appointment in an effort to appear more physically fit. This will only make your blood pressure go up and give a wrong impression to the doctor.
Calculate the appropriate level of life insurance coverage needed before purchasing a policy. A good rule of thumb is to consider what the loss of your income would do to your family if anything happened to you and insure yourself accordingly. On average, coverage amounts should be high enough to equal about eight years of salary plus any other one-time expenses your family may face.
Know how your life insurance policy will cover your home in the event of your passing. Your benefits will first go to cover your outstanding debts and a mortgage could easily engulf the potential benefit for your family. Check with your insurance company to make sure your policy is sufficient.
When purchasing life insurance, the issue of term or whole life insurance is one of the first decisions you need to make. Generally, term insurance is much cheaper but whole life policies have a cash value. The question you need to ask the agent is what are the fees and cost associated with cashing in a whole life policy? In most cases the fees are very expensive, and term life ends up being a much better value for your money.
Consult with an independent insurance broker to find the right policy for your needs. An independent broker can leverage your needs with many different policies from more than one company. Instead of you just getting a consultation from one firm, you could get rates from several through this broker.
Using the advice above, you should now be a little wiser as to whether buying a life insurance policy would be beneficial to you and your family. While it may have a monthly cost that seems like an extra burden, is the financial burden your family would face without you not just as much, if not more?
