Content by-Malling Jespersen
Purchasing life insurance is similar to renting a comfort zone to ensure your families fortune. There are many complex issues that must be considered when deciding upon a life insurance policy. The following tips are guidelines to get you started in making the right decision and choice for your individual needs.
When you are thinking about how much life insurance to purchase, it's a good idea to get at least eight or ten times the amount of your annual income. With this amount, if something happens to you, your dependents will be able to invest wisely and continue to take care of their living expenses in the long term.
Try getting your life insurance from a financial adviser and not an insurance broker. Any broker will be entitled to a commission payment once you buy an insurance policy. However, financial advisers receive a flat fee. Due to this, financial advisers have much less incentive to engage in pressure selling tactics, and they are more inclined to be straightforward with you.
When choosing an insurance amount you should consider one-time expenses, as well as the ongoing needs of your family. Your life insurance benefits will also likely be needed to cover your funeral costs.
Avoid the whole life policy and go with the term life policy instead. Whole life policies combine an investment with the standard term policy. The term life policy will pay out the amount of coverage that you have selected either in a lump sum or over the course of 20 to 30 years.
One of the more common life insurance pitfalls is viewing a policy as an investment. Many whole life insurance policies come packaged in such a way that a part of your payment is saved and invested to be paid out upon your death. This is a mistake because there are better places to invest your money. You should view life insurance strictly as protection against death and not as an investment.
Get an idea of what you are going to pay before choosing a policy plan. You can accomplish this by getting your quotes online. There are plenty of sites such as Accuquote.com, FindMyInsurance.com, LifeInsure.com and many more that can offer you quick pricing information. Many will require more detailed applications and medical exams due to being online and not face-to-face.
Paying once every year instead of once every month might present a better way for you to handle your life insurance premiums. Not only can you keep better track of the payments this way, but it also allow you to pay in a lot less money by paying bulk per year instead of once every month.
Life insurance policies aren't just for the elderly. If you are young and concerned about what might happen should something happen to you it doesn't hurt to look into it. Actually, being younger, usually life insurance companies offer you the lowest rates because they face a lower level of risk in insuring you.
If you find life insurance too expensive, you should consider term life insurance. You can subscribe to term life insurance for a certain number of years, which is perfect if you do not expect to live beyond this point. If you do, you can always renew your term life policy.
When shopping around for a life insurance policy, be aware that certain occupations and hobbies are considered risky and can increase your premium. Some of these occupations include commercial fishing, logging, helicopter or airplane piloting, and roofing. Even a business executive position can be considered risky if it requires you to travel to certain perilous countries. Hobbies that are considered hazardous to your health include hang-gliding, parachuting, skiing, and motorcycling. Make
related web site to disclose this information to prevent your claim from being denied if the insurance company decides to investigate it.
No matter how many times you've read it somewhere, it bears repeating that knowledge is truly power when attempting to make a decision regarding your life insurance. Understand what you're getting into, what your family needs after you're gone and also how much of a burden the policy payments will be going forward.
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.
Make sure you have detailed health history information with you when you go for your life insurance medical examination. Often, you must provide details about prior surgeries, accidents, medication and dosage, existing conditions or other medical conditions. Having the information on hand makes the process quicker and simpler both for you and the examiner.
Pay for your life insurance each year rather than every month. Many companies include an extra fee for individuals who make monthly payments. You will save money if you are able to pay the policy off in one lump sum every year. You will also have one less bill to worry about paying each month.
When purchasing life insurance, remember that insurance agents make much higher commissions from whole-life policies than they do for term policies. The cost of whole-life insurance is much greater, thus agents are pressured to push you toward buying these policies. If you know that term life insurance is the best deal for you, stick to your guns and resist high-pressure sales tactics--or buy online to avoid them.
Review your life insurance policy yearly. You should look over your life insurance policy once a year. If you have had a major change in your life you need to contact your insurance agent, as it may have an impact on your insurance needs. Examples of this include the birth of a child, marriage or divorce, or a change in the health of your partner.
If you have health problems, consider buying "renewable" term life insurance. This is a type of policy that you can renew at a set price without having to take another medical exam. With this type of policy, even if you become ill, you won't have to pay an excessive premium to retain your coverage.
Deciding who to put on your life insurance policy is a tricky business. You don't want to choose person X,Y, and Z and have person I get upset and ask why they weren't chosen should you pass. However, as a general guideline, you should choose those you trust the must, as they will be responsible for carrying out the policy and your will.
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.