Life insurance is something that we buy not for ourselves, but for the people that we love. We want to make sure that our family is taken care of in the event that tragedy strikes. If you are wanting to know more about life insurance, what you can expect and what you should be doing or looking out for, then you’ve come to the right place. You will find lots of tips and answers to your questions.
If you are looking to purchase a life insurance policy and you are a smoker, try to quit. This is because most life insurance companies will not provide insurance to a smoker, as they are more at risk to getting lung cancer and other smoking-related conditions. Companies that will provide insurance to a smoker will usually charge higher premium rates.
You’ll find there can be tremendous variation in the cost of insurance companies. Some insurance companies charge almost half again what others charge for the same coverage. In order to compare quotes of different insurers, utilize an online service, and ensure that you select a site that will determine quotes based on your medical history.
You should review your life insurance coverage needs at least once a year. As your family changes, so do their financial needs. If you have another child, your coverage needs will increase, while you might be over-insured as an empty nester. Check periodically on what you need to avoid paying too much or leaving your family in the lurch.
Before shopping for life insurance, put together a budget to project the amount of financial coverage you might need. Include your mortgage payoff, college costs for the kids, money to pay any other large debt obligations, funds to cover funeral and medical expenses and enough money to supplement your remaining spouse’s retirement funds.
Most life insurance companies require you to take a medical exam before they give you coverage. They look at blood pressure, cholesterol levels, an EKG of your heart rate activity, and many other indicators that reveal the presence of any type of disease or risk factors. You can perform better on the test, even put yourself into a higher rate class, by eating low-fat foods for the two days before your test. Drink extra water to maintain hydration, and avoid alcohol for three to four days ahead of the test. Also, make sure you get plenty of sleep for the week leading up to the exam.
Try to avoid the “guaranteed issue” life insurance policies. These policies are given to almost everyone who applies and they don’t require medical exams. The issue is that the issuing company doesn’t know if the policy holder is healthy, which makes these risky to the company. While this policy could be convenient, these risks mean that they will be more expensive for the customer. They tend to only be beneficial when a person is in poor health and cannot get any other type of life insurance policy.
Your insurance agent may try to sell you additional riders to add to your life insurance policy. However, these are often unnecessary, so make sure you fully understand the purpose of each one before deciding if it would benefit you. For example, a family benefit rider allows for your death benefit to be paid in monthly increments rather than one lump sum, so your family receives a steady source of income.
Buy your life insurance policy from a reliable company that is still likely to be around to pay your death benefit should you pass away 10, 20 or 50 years from the time you purchase it. Avoid unfamiliar insurance companies that don’t have a proven track record. You’re much safer going with one of the well-known companies that have been in business for decades.
Think about getting term life insurance. It will give you the highest coverage for the least amount of money. While there is no saving with this type of plan, you could just invest the savings on your own, and earn more than you would have with the insurance company save it.
Do your research on the prices of life insurance. Compare the policies and the prices from many different companies. Every company will have their own price, so you want to make sure you are getting what you need in a policy, for the lowest posible price. You can compare most companies at home on the internet.
Prior to buying life insurance coverage, it is important to do some comparison shopping. For instance, Company A’s policy might be renewable in one-year increments, while Company B’s might be renewable in two-year increments. Two policies can offer the exact same benefits, but the one might be cheaper. You must be willing to learn as much as possible about all of your options, so that you can choose an ideal policy.
As was stated in the beginning, we don’t buy life insurance for ourselves. Hopefully now that you have had a chance to read the advice of this article, you can see the importance of it and ways that you can best serve your family by purchasing life insurance for yourself.
