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Education Centre Life Insurance Experience
Education Centre Life Insurance Experience
Life Insurance ExperienceLife insurance decisions can be time-consuming and difficult to understand. There are so many different life insurance choices, with different policy forms; how can the average person make such a big decision regarding life insurance? When we went to buy life insurance in 2000, after losing five family members in five months to unrelated—but unexpected—deaths, we decided it was time to get insurance. Here are some ideas on how to select the life insurance policy that is right for you.“Term” life insurance is the most popular and least expensive choice. Term life insurance is cheap for a reason: it´s designed to give you a sense of peace should an unforeseen death take place. Term life insurance is affordable even for younger families. Most term policies last twenty or thirty years, and if you die during the period covered by term life insurance, your spouse or child or designated beneficiary will get one big chunk of money. Most families use this one-time payment to pay off a mortgage, put away college money, and to give the surviving spouse enough money to take time off work. In addition, term life insurance gives your loved ones money to pay for funeral and medical expenses. Term life insurance is cheaper than other policies because the premiums are never saved for you, as in “whole life” insurance options; your family only gets money if you die during the life insurance term. We chose term insurance because we were in out 30s, had one small child and hoped to have another, and decided that it was the best vehicle for us. “Whole life” insurance is another popular product. Under whole life insurance, a percentage of your premiums is put away into an investment for you and your family. You also are guaranteed a payout if you die during the term, but if you cancel the life insurance you get your investment back. With term life insurance, you never receive any money if you cancel. Whole life life insurance costs more than term, so keep this in mind when budgeting for life insurance products. There is a wide array of policies to choose from in the marketplace, both term and whole, so no matter what your budget may be, most families can find a solid life insurance product. In addition, policy holders can add different features, such as illness and accident insurance, to their selections. These products will increase premiums. Once we’d determined our choice (term), we went through the application process, and a nurse came to our home to administer physicals. We learned that weight really matters—one more pound and I would have bumped up into a more expensive life insurance bracket! After the physical the process was smooth. We selected the dollar amount by determining mortgage, college accounts, and income amounts we wanted to replace should one of us die. Then we signed the papers, gave one month’s insurance premiums, and set up direct withdrawals from our checking account. We have tremendous peace of mind with out life insurance, and we’re doubly glad we got the insurance when we were younger; we’ve both been diagnosed with autoimmune disorders over the past few years, and could never qualify now for the premiums we pay and the amount of insurance we purchased. Term life insurance is much cheaper when you are younger and in better shape, so locking into a twenty or thirty year premium rate is key. Whatever form of life insurance policy shoppers choose, it is important to investigate and research different products before settling on any particular policy or company. Savvy shoppers use online life insurance websites to comparison shop. For some shoppers, meeting life insurance brokers in person is crucial to have questions answered and to understand life insurance specifics, while others prefer to buy online. Be certain to do due diligence before settling on such an important financial product. |
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