Tragedy can strike at the most uninvited times. Leaving your family without money or benefits is out of the question. Life insurance helps take care of what you can’t when you’re no longer around. More and more people take on a life insurance policy everyday to help their families through a time of crisis. There are many questions that you may need to answer and companies to interview for your future life insurance. The tips below are there to help you make the right decisions.
When getting life insurance, make sure to get a policy that offers mortgage protection. What this does is help pay off your mortgage or any other debts when you pass away. This is important because it helps relieve your loved ones of your financial debts when you are no longer alive.
Choose permanent life insurance if you want to build cash value. Building cash value in a life insurance policy helps you have additional cash for the future. The insured can borrow the cash value at a low interest rate. They can also use it to pay the premiums. The cash grows tax-free, and some financial planners recommend it as a way to cover estate taxes as part of a comprehensive financial plan.
Lower the cost of life insurance by quitting smoking. Smoking is one of the biggest health risk factors from an insurance standpoint, but some life insurers will reduce your rates with just one year of being smoke-free. After two to three years of non-smoking status, some insurance companies will put individuals into the standard rate class, reducing premiums substantially.
The first thing to consider when obtaining your first life insurance policy is determining the amount of coverage you need. A simple way to do this is to multiply your current annual income by eight. However, this is far from perfect, as each person along with their dependents’ situations and therefore needs are unique. For example, your specific situation could be unique in that you have a child planning to go to college in the next four years. There are various tools available online that can help you determine a more appropriate amount of coverage. Insurance companies generally have representatives that can consult you on your needs also.
When you determine the amount of life-insurance coverage you will need, then you will want to decide what type of policy to get. There are four main types of life insurance. They are term life, whole life, universal life and variable life. Depending on your situation, one of these will fit your needs.
To save some money on life insurance, pay your premiums one time a year. Many life insurance companies will charge you a little less because there usually is some type of small fee to receive the monthly bills. Just make sure you only do this if you can afford it.
When looking into getting life insurance, there are two separate rate groups that are called standard and preferred. When you are comparing prices don’t mix these up and compare a standard policy with a preferred one. They will cost very different and only about 1/3 of the population get a preferred rate!
If you want to have some control and decision-making power over the money you invest in your life insurance, consider a variable, universal life insurance policy. With these policies, you have the ability to invest part of your premium in the stock market. Depending on how wisely you invest this portion of your money, your death benefit can increase over time. You should have some knowledge of the stock market if purchasing this type of policy or enlist the aid of a financial professional.
You have taken the first step to finding life insurance that is right for you by reading this article. Choosing to apply the tips in your journey towards the right company and policy will help ensure your future success. Don’t let information overwhelm you, instead apply it where it’s due.