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.
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.
Improve your fitness and mental health and quit bad habits before applying for a life insurance policy. Many life insurance providers will offer you a discount based on your physical and mental health. Smoking, being overweight, having high blood pressure and suffering from depression, can all increase the cost of your policy.
Before you secure a policy of life insurance, you should work on improving your health. It can be expensive to enroll in a life insurance. When your health is compromised or you have made poor life choices, the costs can increase even more. You should do as much as you can to whip yourself into shape before purchasing life insurance. Improve your diet, lose weight, do anything it takes. Your insurance premium will reflect your efforts.
When pursuing a broker to give you options for your life insurance policy, you should never accept a one-meeting recommendation. This is because after just one meeting, a broker has not analyzed your situation very carefully and considered all options for you. Therefore, you should not accept the offer and continue researching on your own.
Improve your credit score to save money on life insurance. Statistics have shown insurance companies that people with poor credit are higher risks. Raising your credit score could affect your rates differently depending on which insurer you choose, but it’s always a good idea to get several quotes since every insurer evaluates new policies differently.
You should have your life insurance policy amended as things change in your life. Some examples of things that you may want to report to your life insurance company is if you have new children, an increase in the amount of debt that you have accumulated or if you have gotten a divorce. You can typically change information over the phone.
You need to find out if there is any way to defer a payment on your life insurance policy if you find yourself in a financial bind. There are some insurance companies who are willing to work with their customers and may give you an extension on the due date for your premiums. You will need to talk to your agent to find out.
You may need to amend your life insurance policy if you have changed your occupation. The insurance policies are meant to help your family when you pass away. They take into account how much money you are making annually but if you do not report a change, it may be based off of your old income. If you are making $30,000 more a year that could make a big difference in the amount of money that your family gets.
When you are looking into life insurance, you will want to determine how much coverage you will need. While there are online calculators that will help you find a more exact figure, the easiest way to determine the amount of coverage you need is to take your annual salary and then multiply that number by eight.
You should only purchase your life insurance from the most reputable companies out there in the market. You can find some great companies with stellar reputations. Since you won’t be around to see that your payments go through after your death, you need to research well beforehand to make sure they’re legitimate.
Naturally, you’ll probably want to exercise prior to having a medical exam in order to appear healthier, so that you can receive a better life insurance policy. However, doing this will increase your blood pressure, which could give the doctors a false reading of your health.
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.
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.
