Protecting your family is the single most important thing any individual can plan for during his or her life. Buying life insurance can be confusing, and a frustrating process. As an insurance agent, I am well aware of the details a customer must know to make the decision easier. In this article, I will offer practical advice on how to simply purchase life insurance.

Look for a company that has at least an AA-rating or above. Independent agencies such as Moody’s and Standard & Poors rate insurance companies on financial strength., there’s little or no difference in two companies with the same exact financial rating. You should feel comfortable with any company that has an AA or higher rating.

When it comes to pricing, don’t be fooled into thinking that insurance agents determine prices and that you can negotiate. Insurance companies set prices and they depend on age, gender, health, smoking status, family history, activities such as scuba diving, auto racing, foreign travel, etc. Insurance agents are not allowed to offer customers any pricing discounts or incentives. Insurance companies offer different versions of the same product. Often you will see what appears to be the same product, but at a lower price. Normally, the reason for this is that the lower priced policy offers a weaker guarantee where the policy is not guaranteed for the full period. For example, a 10 year policy that is only guaranteed for the first 5 years.

When choosing a policy there are important details to consider such as selecting the guarantee period, determining whether or not the policy is convertible and if re-entry is available. The guarantee period determines how long the premium remains at a level rate. Once the guarantee period is over, the premium will increase. It is important to determine how long you will need the coverage and choose accordingly. Guarantee periods range from 1 to 30 years.

Most, not all, insurance companies will offer the ability to convert your term policy into a permanent policy during a given period of time. During this period, if you choose to convert your policy, you are not required to prove medical insurability. You will only be required to pay the new premium at your older age. The period of time you have to convert may be the guarantee period or less. It is important to check the policy description or ask your agent to make sure.

Re-entry refers to the point at which you want to extend or purchase a new policy with the same company. It is important to know if you will be required to take a new medical exam or simply pay the new premium. All companies have different rules and you should understand them before you make your choice.
Another important consideration is choosing your beneficiary. It is normally an easy decision when it comes to your spouse or partner, but not if there are minor children in your family. Minor children named as a primary or secondary beneficiary must have a guardian/custodian appointed to handle and distributions of funds according to state laws.

Choosing a life insurance policy does not have to be a difficult process. It also does not have to be done alone. Today, you have the choice of working with a local agent or shopping online. Internet websites such as CompleteLifeQuote.com allow you to search hundreds of products and offer you the final decision as to which one to apply for. The companies work with you to process your application and send your policy once approved. Customers can expect to save money this way simply because they are able to choose for themselves instead of having an agent push his/her company’s products. I hope this article has shown you that making this important decision does not have to be a difficult process. Best of luck!

Mark F. Simmons

CFO, Complete Life Quote, Inc.

http://www.completelifequote.com

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Before you can start requesting quotes for life insurance online you first have to determine how much insurance it will take to cover your needs. Everyone’s life insurance needs are different depending on their own unique personal situation. A young couple with several children will have drastically different needs than a middle aged man with no dependents.

One of the simplest methods for figuring your life insurance needs is to simply multiply your current annual earnings by the number of years you expect to work before you retire. For example if you are currently 35 years old and plan on retiring when you are 65 then you have 30 years left that you are expecting to be working. If you currently gross $50,000 a year then you would expect to make $1,500,000 or 1.5 million over your working life time. To directly replace that means that you will need a life insurance policy worth 1.5 million. Now this may seem like an extremely high level of insurance but as you will see there are some factors that can increase the amount needed as well as factors that will reduce the amount needed.

The number we came up with using the above calculation is simply a starting point, now we will discuss some factors that can actually increase the amount you should purchase. The first thing to consider are the costs involved with death, the most obvious one is the cost of an actual funeral. The cost of an average funeral today runs between $6,000 and $10,000, this is an added expense that you should figure in when determining how much insurance to purchase. The other possible death expenses you need to consider are medical bills, legal costs, and any applicable taxes.

The other thing to keep in mind are the other benefits of your job that will be lost when you pass. Probably the largest and most important one to consider is health insurance. If you health insurance is currently provided by your employer then you need to figure what it will cost your family to purchase health insurance somewhere else and add that to the amount of life insurance that you purchase. For example if you determine that a non-employer subsdized health insurance will cost your family $300 a month then you will need to add $108,000 ($300 X 12 months X 30 years) to the amount you need.

Now for some good news, we will discuss the factors that will reduce the amount of insurance you need to purchase. In most cases people will subtract the amount of money they have in any current savings plan from the amount of insurance they need to purchase. Probably the most significant factor is social security death benefits. If you have dependents and have paid enough into social security then they will be eligible to receive monthly payments. The amount of benefits that your dependents can receive is based on many factors to find out exactly what your family could receive you will need to contact the social security office. For our example we will use a total monthly benefit of $2000 for the family. In this case you take $2,000 X 12 months X 30 years for a total pay out of $720,000. Now if you take our original 1.5 million and add the $108,000 for health insurance and then subtract the social security benefit of $720,000 you end up with: $888,000. This has dropped the amount you need to purchase by nearly 50%.

This is just one method of figuring your life insurance needs, everyone will have different needs for life insurance.

Get your free Term Life Insurance Quote at http://www.term-life-4u.com.

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Most people choose to purchase a level term life insurance policy because
they only want life insurance coverage for a specific amount of time. Unlike a
whole life insurance policy, which provides life insurance coverage for the
duration of your life, a level term life insurance policy will provide this
coverage. But how long should you have a level term life insurance policy?

There is no single correct answer to that question - all answers will be based
on your individual needs and factors. For example, take into consideration why
you are purchasing the level term life insurance policy in the first place. Are
you suffering from a potentially fatal health condition? Or do you just want the
comfort that comes along with knowing your family will be financially protected
in the event of your death? The former will probably prompt you to purchase a
level term life insurance policy that will fit the factors that go along with
your health condition, and the latter will probably prompt you to purchase a
level term life insurance policy that will last for many years.

Before you purchase your level term life insurance policy, try looking into the
future. You are not psychic, we know, but when deciding how long your level term
life insurance policy should last, it is important to consider not only what
makes sense in the present, but also what makes sense in the future. Uncertainty
about the length of your level term life insurance policy usually means you
should purchase a longer period. This will most likely raise your level term
life insurance policy costs, but not by much. It will be worth the longer
coverage.

When considering the length of your level term life insurance policy, always
talk with your doctor as well as your level term life insurance company agent.
They will be able to assist you in your decision regarding your health and your
coverage.

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