Insurance World

So, you’ve decided to purchase life insurance. Well then, you have made a good decision! If you have dependents, you know that you must provide for them long after you are gone. Buying life insurance shouldn’t be a budget buster either. Take a look at the following options which can help you save big time!

Shop Online: There are several companies that will give you free life insurance quotes right online. By entering your personal information, the amount of insurance coverage desired, and policy terms, you will receive within moments sufficient quote information. Naturally, you will want to talk to an agent at some point, but at least you will get a very good ballpark figure to consider. Some good sites for you to visit include: Insure.com; SelectQuote.com; ReliaQuote.com, IntelliQuote.com; and InsWeb.com. There are many others, so do some comparison shopping.

Types of Life Insurance: There are four types of life insurance plans from which you can choose: Term Life, Whole Life, Universal Life, and Variable Universal Life.

Term Life is the most affordable as it lets you lock in a fixed rate for the length of the policy [typically 10 or 20 years], but it does not have any cash accumulation. So, the only way it pays is if you die!

Whole Life offers policy holders lifetime coverage, guaranteed level premiums, tax-deferred accumulation of cash values. In other words you can borrow off the policy if you need the cash.

Universal Life offers policy holders Lifetime coverage, flexible premiums and death benefits, tax-deferred accumulation of cash values. Rates are adjustable.

Variable Universal Life offers lifetime coverage, flexible premiums and death benefits, tax-deferred accumulation of cash values, a selection of investment options. Rates are adjustable.

Contact an Agent: Once you have determined which type of insurance is best for you and your family, contact an agent for further guidance. If you received an acceptable life insurance quote online, follow through with it to allow an agent to contact you personally. This person will go over your policy and discuss with you the various types of companies offering coverage. If you are satisfied and want to proceed further, the agent will order a comprehensive medical exam that can be done in the convenience of your home or office at no charge to you! About four to six weeks later the results will be in and if all goes well, coverage will begin almost immediately thereafter. At no point are you obligated to accept coverage until you sign a contract.

More Savings: Do you want to save even more money? Pay the premium all at once. Monthly or quarterly payments usually carry a surcharge. By paying the entire premium in advance you can save around 5%.

Providing for family members after your death is one of the most important reasons to include life insurance as part of your financial planning. You can receive your free life insurance quote by shopping online today; don’t delay!

(c)2005; Matthew C Keegan, LLC

Life insurance policy rates are determined by insurance company actuaries. They use mortality tables and other statistical information to determine the actual rates. The insurance shopper is usually oblivious to life insurance rating procedures but there are a lot of factors that you can evaluate before making a purchase. The purchase of life insurance has to have some planning in order for it to become effective and meaningful. There is a lot of life insurance purchased that eventually lapses because the need was not clearly defined from the beginning. This can cause repeat purchases and the lost advantage of keeping a policy in force. Permanent life insurance accumulates a cash value over the years and so it is particularly harmful at times to cash surrender your policy and start over again.

Things to Consider

1. What is the Purpose? – This question is the most important question that you will ever answer before you purchase life insurance. You need to be very clear on the purpose of the life insurance or you will allow the policy to lapse when your budget needs relief. There are multiple needs for life insurance and so it is important to do some kind of needs analysis so that you are satisfied with the amount of life insurance and the type of life insurance that you purchase.

2. What kind of Life Insurance? – Once you have determined your needs then it is a good idea to budget a certain amount of money for life insurance. This is important because it will help determine how much permanent or term life insurance to purchase.

3. What Kind of Service? – There are some people that want to purchase life insurance from an insurance agent because they want the agent to service the policy and keep them informed about future needs. There are an increasing number of people who do not want an agent and prefer to do business over the internet or by telephone.