Many families wonder what they would do to survive financially if they were to lose the main breadwinner. With a tough job market and skyrocketing costs of just about everything, it’s a very valid concern. Life insurance provides a safety net to protect your loved ones in the event that something happens.
When considering life insurance, be sure to adopt a healthy lifestyle, as this will greatly effect your rates. Give up smoking and lose weight. Be sure to be forthcoming with this information, as well as any other healthy activities that you can name. Your rate is often time negotiable.
Life insurance is set up to provide families with financial security upon the death of a loved one. To determine the type of policy and financial amount needed for your family, consider your mortgages, debts and all final expenses, as well as living allowances, college education expenses, etc.
Try to lead a healthy lifestyle. The healthier you are the cheaper your life insurance will be as insurance providers assume that you will live longer. Remember, you will be expected to pay a high premium on a life insurance policy for anything that shortens your life expectancy, for example being overweight, smoking, taking certain medication, etc.
If you’re healthier, life insurance will cost less. If you are healthier, you will more likely get a good deal on your insurance rate since you are expected to live longer.
When purchasing term life insurance, consider how long it will be until your children are financially independent and your debts are paid off. The point of life insurance is to protect family members such as children who are totally dependent on your income. Take a policy that will outlast the period of your children’s dependence and any long-term loans such as a mortgage.
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.
Life insurance is a premium you will pay (we hope!)for a long time. Therefore it is important to consider affordability. But you don’t want to let cost blind you to an equally important concern: trust. Can you trust this insurance agent? Does his company have the longevity and reliability you need?
People under the age of 50 may want to opt for term life insurance as opposed to whole life insurance. Once you’re 50, the rates are fairly steep and hard to keep up with. Under 50; however, and the term payments are reduced significantly and the policies are much easier to carry.
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.
It is advisable to refrain from caffeine consumption before being examined for life insurance. While caffeine is legal, it can increase your heart rate and blood pressure to the point that it might reflect badly in your exam.
Check with your employer before purchasing life insurance from another source. Often various types of life insurance may be available through employee benefit packages. These policies are frequently less expensive because the employer is able to obtain a group rate for employees purchasing life insurance through this channel. These policies frequently can be expanded to include family members as well.
Do as much research into life insurance as you possibly can. It doesn’t matter whether you buy a policy by yourself or with the assistance of a professional, you need to know what you are talking about in order to feel confident and sure of the decision you are making.
To obtain your life insurance policy in the quickest and easiest manner, first decide the way in which you are going to purchase your policy. There are several different options, such as purchasing directly from the insurance company, or going through a financial planner or insurance agent. Deciding beforehand will save you time.
Even if you are done raising your children, you should still think about life insurance. A good life insurance can help your spouse for instance. If you are not married, life insurance can cover your credit card debt or your unpaid mortgage, instead of your children or spouse inheriting this debt.
Continuing to build savings has been difficult for many families over the past few years, and some that could afford to self-insure, may not be able to do so any more. Life insurance can fill that gap and provide the means for families to carry on if disaster should strike them.
