Does Life Insurance Provide Peace of Mind?
If you're unsure if it's worthwhile to purchase life insurance, ask yourself this question: "Would my death leave anyone in financial difficulty?" If you answered "yes," it may be time to get serious about shopping for insurance.
Life insurance can provide peace of mind by ensuring that your debts are fulfilled and your loved ones are financially supported in the case of your death. However, before applying, you should consider how you will qualify and what sort of coverage will best suit your budget and needs.
Who Needs Life Insurance?
If you have children, you should probably get life insurance until your youngest child finishes college. That way, even if you die before your children reach adulthood, your life insurance will continue to provide for them. This applies even to stay-at-home husbands. You do valuable chores around the house that your family would have to employ if you died suddenly.
Life insurance can also be beneficial if you have major financial responsibilities, such as excessive credit card debt or a mortgage. You can use life insurance to ensure that debt is covered and not passed on to your loved ones. In these instances, purchasing life insurance protects your family from the financial impact of your death and can provide significant peace of mind.
If you're single and don't have any substantial financial obligations, inquire whether this may change in the future. You might start life insurance at an earlier age and qualify for a lower premium. That way, when you get married, have children, and buy a house, you'll already have your coverage in place and won't have to worry about qualifying. Finally, life insurance may be valuable for establishing a future inheritance. Your heirs receive death benefits free of income tax.
How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
Not only does having life insurance provide peace of mind, but it is also important to have enough life insurance. If you have a family with young children, a $10,000 death benefit will not go far. An easy rule of thumb is to double your annual income by ten, then add the expense of college for any children. Assume you earn $50,000 per year and anticipate that your one child's education expenses will total $100,000. You'd need at least $600,000 in life insurance.
You could also go through a more formal needs assessment. You determine how much your family will need to pay for both your immediate needs, such as the burial and debt repayment, as well as ongoing costs to sustain their lifestyle. A life insurance advisor can guide you through this computation. Knowing you have the appropriate quantity of life insurance might boost your confidence in the future.
Can I Qualify for Life Insurance?
Most life insurance policies require a medical exam to determine if you qualify. Prior to issuing a policy, the insurance company will investigate your medical history, hobbies, credit score, and driving record. Age, smoking, and prior health conditions can all contribute to higher coverage premiums.
The younger and healthier you are when you apply, the more likely you are to qualify and pay a low rate. While you cannot change your medical history, you can prepare yourself for a more favorable medical exam. Avoid sweets and coffee for 24 hours prior to your medical exam. It's best to schedule your exam early in the morning, when your blood pressure is low before starting the day, and to stay hydrated for at least eight hours beforehand.
If your premiums are too high owing to medical reasons, or you have been denied coverage, see if your employer offers a group plan. These group plans do not require a medical exam or physical. You could also apply to several insurance companies, as some are more welcoming than others. Finally, there are guaranteed-issue policies. These insurances cost more and provide lower death benefits. However, they do not require a medical examination.
What Type of Life Insurance Should I Get?
You should think about the form of life insurance to purchase based on your goals. Purchasing the appropriate type maximizes your insurance budget while adequately meeting your insurance demands.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance provides just brief coverage. The term refers to a certain period of time. The term can be one, five, ten, twenty years, or more. If you die during this time, your beneficiaries will get the death benefit.
If you outlast the period, your coverage will lapse. You might be allowed to renew then, but the cost will increase because you're renewing at an older age. Term life insurance is less expensive to purchase because it provides only temporary coverage. Term life insurance is ideal for temporary situations that require a substantial level of coverage, such as obtaining insurance until your children reach adulthood or you finish paying off your mortgage.
The following are the main characteristics of term life insurance:
- Temporary insurance protection.
- Low cost.
- No cash value.
- Usually renewable.
- Sometimes convertible into permanent life insurance.
Permanent Life Insurance
Permanent life insurance does not expire and can last your entire life, as long as you pay your premiums on time. Most permanent policies have a cash value component that allows you to save or invest in addition to your insurance. You can borrow or withdraw cash while alive.
There are several types of permanent life insurance, including whole life, variable life, and universal life. They use distinct configurations for premiums and cash value. Whole life insurance, for example, levies the same premium and generates a fixed interest rate on the cash value. Variable life allows you to invest your cash value in market investments such as mutual funds.
Permanent life insurance is substantially more expensive than term. It may make sense for insurance needs that never expire, such as leaving an inheritance. Permanent can also make sense if you have a higher budget and want to save for the future in addition to paying for insurance.
Here are the main characteristics of permanent life insurance:
- Permanent insurance protection.
- More expensive to own.
- Boosts cash value
- Loans are allowed against the policy.
- Favorable tax treatment for policy earnings
How Can I Find the Right Insurance Company?
You could be with your life insurance provider for years or even decades. That is why you may have peace of mind knowing you have chosen the correct partner.
When applying for life insurance, obtain estimates from several insurance firms. Getting quotes is free, and you are under no obligation to sign up. You can discover who has the best rate. If you desire a permanent policy with monetary value, request an illustration. This paper predicts how much your cash value will grow over time, allowing you to compare companies.
You should look into each insurer's credit rating. This demonstrates whether they are financially secure and able to pay out their insurance payouts in the future. You should also review each company's complaint index from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). This demonstrates how successfully a company serves its clients.
Consider your feelings about the agents representing each insurance firm. You'll be turning to this individual for assistance and advice on your policy, so make sure you get along well. Another alternative is to engage with an insurance broker, who represents several companies and can provide you with multiple quotations at once. By conducting this research, you can select the finest life insurance provider for your circumstances.
What Will Life Insurance Not Pay For?
Exclusions in life insurance contracts specify when the policy will not pay out in the event of death. Policies do not cover death resulting from criminal behavior, such as a bank robbery. Insurance will most likely not pay if you lied on the application, such as hiding a serious disease, and it resulted in your death. Finally, most policies do not cover suicide during the first few years after purchase.
What Are the Advantages of a Life Insurance Policy?
The primary benefit of life insurance is that it can provide a significant death benefit to your heirs in exchange for a low monthly premium payment. Your heirs receive this death benefit tax-free. Permanent life insurance policies can generate cash value that can be used while you are alive.
Can You Cash Out Life Insurance Before Death?
Permanent life insurance policies that have built up cash value can be cashed out. These policies allow you to take or borrow the cash value, as well as terminate the policy and cash out everything at once. Term plans do not accrue monetary value, hence they cannot be cashed out before death.
The Bottom Line
Life insurance is the type of thing you acquire with the hope that you would never need it. But if others rely on you, you want to make sure they are safe. You can have peace of mind knowing you've provided for your family in the case of your untimely death by researching your options and selecting the best life insurance policy.