A life insurance policy is a big investment. There are many pitfalls on the path that the buyer need to follow, for good coverage and reasonable rates. A little knowledge can pave over some of those pitfalls and make the path much easier to walk. This article presents some good ideas that the life insurance buyer needs to keep in mind.
If you are between the ages of 20 to 50, term life insurance is the simplest and most effective type of insurance. Cash value insurance truly makes sense for those who are wealthy and over the age of 50. A cash value plan may be tempting, but it won’t be as effective.
Some people can save money by purchasing their life insurance from a financial adviser. If a broker convinces you to take out a life insurance policy, he or she will earn commission. Financial advisers, however, are simply given a flat fee. For this reason, financial advisers are more highly motivated to help you find the policy you need, rather than the one that will pay the highest commission.
Term life insurance is a more affordable option for life insurance. It only covers you for a set period of years; it is usually sold for 10, 20, or 30 year periods. A term life insurance policy is usually much less expensive than a whole life insurance policy per month.
Familiarizing yourself with some common life insurance terms can help you determine which type is best for you, as well as how much coverage you want to purchase. Cash value refers to the portion of your policy that is available for you to withdraw as loans for various purposes, such as education costs or credit card debt. A premium is simply the periodic payment that you make to keep the policy active. Another term you might see is dividends, which refers to the money you may receive back on your premiums if the insurance company overestimated their expenses and ended up with a surplus. A dividend is not guaranteed.
Take advantage of the accelerated death benefit option if it’s offered by your insurance company. This life insurance benefit allows the policyholder to receive a substantial amount of the death benefit of the policy, in the case of a terminal illness. This can allow the insured to use this benefit to cover things such as medical costs, experimental treatments, a trip, home improvements or nursing staff.
Before you purchase a life insurance policy, you should look at that policy for thirty days before you purchase it. You have thirty days to look at a policy for free before making a decision. You should study it to make sure you understand it. If you do not like the policy during this time period, you can cancel it, and your premium will be reimbursed to you.
Don’t shy away from the old-fashioned life insurance salesmen out there. They might not show up at your door these days, but speaking with a live insurance agent as opposed to dealing with a computer could end up saving you some big money over the life of your insurance policy. No pun intended.
Never wait until you actually need the coverage. This could lead to desperation and will certainly result in higher premiums and less of a package. And if you’ve already encountered a health issue, you might not even be able to get a good policy.
If you have a property settlement agreement with a former spouse, setting forth an expectation that the other partner pays all or part of your children’s expenses or alimony, factor this into your life insurance decisions. Should your former spouse die, unless it is clearly in the estate documentation, there is no requirement that the estate will continue to pay those expenses. Instead, it may make sense to insure your ex spouse and list yourself as beneficiary, in order to protect yourself and your children.
Be careful when considering purchasing extra riders to a new policy or an existing one. An adviser may be pushing you to purchase extra riders just for the benefit of compensation. Until you fully understand what a rider can do for you, don’t purchase them. Instead, ask for a second opinion from another expert.
One tip when purchasing life insurance, always tell the truth about your health issues. Even if you are able to make it through the medical tests and reviews done by the insurance company and get the policy issued, it is not a good idea. Insurance companies investigate claims and if they suspect your information is not valid, the claim will not be paid and your heirs could be tied up in court for years.
To save money on your life insurance policy, figure out your specific needs. Use an online calculator to get a sense of the amount of money it will take to cover your spouse until retirement and your children until they graduate college. You can find such calculators at MSN and The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education website.
If you are buying a life insurance policy for the first time, remember that insurance is for protection, not for investment. Term insurance provides only protection without a savings component, and is therefore much less expensive than whole or universal life insurance policies. It is almost always better to purchase term insurance.
Burial expense insurance is important so when choosing life insurance, you may also wish to look into purchasing burial insurance. This is fairly cheap insurance and will cover things such as your casket, funeral home costs, transportation and other such things. This is well worth it as the costs for these items can be extraordinary, if they come from out of pocket.
