Life insurance products have come a long way over the years. They have developed into sophisticated instruments that provide a variety of ways for families to protect themselves. Life insurance comes with many different options that can help you tailor a policy to fit your exact needs and desires.
If you are considering purchasing life insurance you may want to look into possible coverage that is already offered by your employer. It’s common for employers to offer basic life insurance plans at good rates for their employees. You should make sure that the coverage is adaquate for your needs and purchase supplemental policies if additional coverage is desired.
It is important to have sufficient life insurance. You should have enough insurance to cover at least five years of your current salary if you are married. If you have children or many debts, you should have upwards of ten years salary’s worth of life insurance. Insurance will help your loved ones to cover expenses when you are gone.
Sometimes in life insurance, more coverage is actually cheaper. As the amount of coverage increases, the cost per thousand dollars of coverage will decrease. For some companies, the math works out such that buying a bigger policy actually costs you less per month in premiums. Always ask for price quotes for multiple levels of coverage when shopping for insurance.
If you plan on buying a life insurance policy, make sure you purchase sufficient coverage to provide for your family. Financial professionals propose that you calculate this amount by multiplying your yearly income by seven. If you have children, it is suggested that you increase this number to 10.
It is crucial that you ask if a potential life insurance policy covers accidental death, as some insurance companies will not cover this. Anything can happen to you and want you to be assured that your family will be able to pay for your final expenses. If you are unsure, ask your insurance company.
Buy life insurance as early as you can afford to. The older you get, the higher your rates rise. Insurance companies base their rates on the probability of the insured contracting an illness or other condition. Additionally, you run the risk of being turned down for coverage if you happen to become ill before you apply for life insurance.
Make sure that you are aware of how the insurance agents and financial planners make their money. They have to sell a policy or other insurance products to you in order to make a profit. The ones that work fee-plus-commission charge a fee and a commission for their products. The ones that work fee-only do not sell products. They sell guidance. In turn, you’d use that guidance to purchase your own policy.
Before purchasing life insurance it is important to understand why you need it. If a parent or spouse dies, life insurance money can be used to pay for mortgage bills, retirement, or a college education. If other people depend on your income for support, it would be wise to take out a life insurance policy.
When getting life insurance, you will need to find out how much the premiums are. All insurance policies have different premiums and you need to be certain that you will be able to afford the coverage. If you lapse on payment for the policy and someone passes away, you could find that the coverage you were counting on is not available because of the lapse.
You should beware of an advisor who claims to know everything before purchasing life insurance. An advisor who answers every single one of your questions without researching anything, then it’s likely that he or she is incorrect about certain details. Because insurance policies are very complicated, even top-notch insurance advisors do not know everything without research.
If a relative of yours recently died and named you as the beneficiary on his life insurance policy, but the policy itself is missing, there are steps you can take to locate the policy, even if you don’t know which insurance company issued it. Examine the deceased’s canceled checks for any that were written to insurance companies. Look through any mail you can find for insurance bills or policy status notices. Check with former employers or organizations that the deceased belonged to which may have offered the policy. Look at tax returns for expenses or interest earned in regard to life insurance. Finally, check with the Medical Information Bureau, which has a database that can inform you if the medical records of the deceased were requested by any insurance companies since 1996.
Even though life insurance may not seem like a critical item, we never know what the future holds for us and it’s easier to sleep at night knowing that a backup plan is in place should something happen to the family breadwinner. Take a look at different life insurance policies — there is sure to be one that fits your needs and budget.
