Purchasing life insurance may feel morbid, but it’s a very important investment. It’s not pleasant to think about dying, but having life insurance will make sure your loved ones are taken care of if the worst does happen. Here is some advice that will make buying life insurance a little bit easier.
Drop bad habits and get into good shape prior to opening a life insurance policy. If you are in good physical health, you are likely to get a better rate from your provider. Smoking, high cholesterol, blood pressure, as well as depression, can drive up your rates more than you would think.
It is important to know that you have 30 days to look at and understand your life insurance. This way, if you decide that this is not the right plan for you, you are able to cancel your policy and most of the time, you can even get your premium back.
Buy more life insurance to save money. When you spend more on coverage a lot of insurance, some companies actually charge you a lesser amount, so you save money and give your family better coverage if something were to happen.
Most life insurance policies are long term contracts. This means that once you sign the contract, you have a responsibility to make payments toward your policy. Therefore, when you are obtaining life insurance, make sure you have a firm understanding of your needs, what you are receiving and that you will be able to afford your payments. If there is anything you do not understand, do not contract yourself to the policy. Ask questions first.
You will want to find a life insurance company that cares. There are some life insurance companies that will offer competitive rates for some medical conditions (diabetes, heart disease and cancer). These companies are much more family friendly and don’t just put everyone in a group. Their charge is based off of what you really need.
When consulting an advisor about a life insurance policy, do not be afraid to ask tough questions. You should completely know all the different policies before purchasing one. For example, you should know if your policy is renewable, and how long the premiums will last. In addition, you should know if there are exclusions. These are important things you must consider before purchasing life insurance.
Before going into a medical exam for your life insurance policy, you should attempt to fast for at least 8 hours. This will give the doctors an accurate reading of your blood chemistry so that there aren’t any mix-ups. A wrong reading could end up costing you big on your premium payments.
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.
Buy your life insurance when you are relatively young and healthy. If you are older, and you’ve had health problems, you will have a harder time getting approved, and you will pay a much higher premium. So don’t wait to get your policies when you are older and think you’ll be able to afford it.
If you are applying for life insurance that will be effective for a certain number of years, look for a return of premium rider feature. This means that you will get everything you paid in premiums back if you do not die during the period of time covered by your insurance.
Did you realize that there are some life insurance policies that can aid in financing your retirement? Consider a whole life policy that offers “return on premiums”. With this policy, you will pay premiums for a given period of time, then receive all of your money back when your plan expires. Once you reach the expiration date, you will receive one lump sum for use as you see fit.
Here is a simple way to calculate how much your life insurance should cover: ask yourself how much you earn in a year, and multiply this amount by how many years you want your family to benefit from this same income. You should add to this amount how much you expect your funeral and related expenses to cost.
Life insurance isn’t an investment you make for yourself. It’s one you make for the people that you care about. With these tips, you’ll have the knowledge you need to choose the life insurance plan that’s right for you. Life insurance will help you and the people in your life feel more prepared for the future.
