How To Insure Your Life The Right Way

By Author: Norris Rios
Total Articles: 572
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Why insuring your life?

The major reason for insuring one's life is taking responsibility. People tend to have more responsibility over their family, their debts, their property and other things as the life goes on. And when it ends, these responsibilities are left over without security. When you insure your life you take care of your responsibilities when you're gone, providing the necessary support to your family or those who need it.

Term or permanent policy?

When insuring your life you are likely to encounter two distinct types of policies: term and permanent (also known as cash value). The first provide less costly coverage for a specified amount of time and can be renewed after the term expires. The second usually pay out more money upon the person's death but are more expensive in general. There are also convertible types of policies, which let you switch from term to permanent when needed without canceling it. Cash value insurance policies cover the person throughout the whole life and are sometimes used more like investments and financial tools rather than simple insurance. Some people use them ...
... as retirement plan funding source. So choosing whether to go with term or permanent insurance, you have to decide what you really want from your policy.

Defining the amount of coverage

How much coverage to take with your policy is defined by the amount of income to be replaced when you're gone. Life insurance in that sense is your replacement in terms of financing, so you should take your usual earnings as a starting point in defining the final amount. Think of the money amount your family would need to sustain a good life when you're gone - this should be the approximate amount to take with your insurance policy.

For what period?

When getting term life insurance the duration of the policy usually varies between 1 to 30 years. Defining the term means thinking about your exact insurance needs you have in the first place. Want to make sure your new-born child is going to college no matter what? Make it 20 years then! There are also additional benefits provided by different types of policies, so make sure to learn more from your life insurance provider when choosing the policy.

Premiums

The price you will have to pay for life insurance (premiums) strongly depends on your age, health, marital status and several other factors. That is if you're a smoker, have bad habits and are well in your 50's this means that your premiums will be higher than in case of a younger individual with no bad habits. Take not that some policies will change premiums over time and some won't. So it's better to clear things out before you actually sign the policy, or you may find your efforts in smoking cessation and improving your lifestyle senseless as the premiums won't change because of these actions.

Comparison shopping

Never get life insurance from the first company you encounter. Try getting as much insurance quotes as possible to get a good picture of the whole market and your options. Choose wisely, because life insurance is a long-term product and your decision can make you pay less or turn the policy into a financial burden. And who needs that?