Compare Life Insurance Quotes

Have you ever used an insurance quote system and thought, “This should be easier”? If you let the system and the insurance quotes manage you then you will quickly find yourself lost in a sea of mismatching information.

Turns out, comparing apples in a bushel to nuts on a tree is confusing and off task from buying insurance.

Get yourself back on task in the following ways before making a quote request:

1. Determine the type of life insurance you want
2. Decide upon benefits, or how much life insurance you need

Making key decision prior to putting in for quotes makes for more targeted results for a successful comparison. The top reason to purchase life insurance is to have benefits to pay out to your loved ones, or beneficiaries, if you pass away.

Be sure to always compare rates before making any decisions. By using a FREE search tool, such as the one above, you can narrow down the best option for your needs.

Beneficiaries and Life Insurance Claims

The first situation that comes to mind is that of parents, typically working father, supporting family of young children. A single mother, single father, grandparents, anyone you know needs financial support to care for themselves or other dependents is who life insurance is intended.

Others buy life insurance whether they need the money for survival or not.

You may decide on whomever you like to be among the beneficiaries. Just make sure you have the policy on file with your estate attorney and give a copy to your named life insurance heirs.

The insurance companies are not actually responsible and will not notify your loved ones if you had a life insurance policy.

After all, where insurance is concerned, the beneficiaries submit a claim for benefits.

Deciding How Much Insurance to Buy

Term life insurance holds the face value of the policy you buy for its entire duration, or term.

When you buy coverage, there are some options that are cheaper than others. The main idea is to get benefits such as wage replacement and funeral covered for the now missing breadwinner.

Term life is least expensive because the only benefit it pays is the cash if you die. Statistically speaking, the insurance companies pay out on approximately one percent of policies they underwrite. It just means that they are unlikely to have to part with the policy premiums you pay them.

It is not a compelling reason for you to skip coverage. After all, you are responsible for your dependent’s financial future, whether you are here or not. Life insurance ensures family’s financial future if you are taken out of the equation.

Terms come in different lengths, from five years to 30 years. While you might assume someone with a newborn would pick a 20-year term, that is not always the case. Some policyholders prefer to start with a shorter policy, which they can later modify at renewal time.

As you get older, you may decide to convert to a whole, universal, or variable life insurance policy.

All of these involve investment and changes from the straight-forward term life policy. With term life, the time period and the premiums are all even.

Different types of term life insurance include the following:

1. Level term means the premiums and benefits are the same throughout the policy term.
2. Annual Renewable Term includes a level death benefit, but the policy renews annually, which means the premium generally increases over the lifetime of the policy.
3. Decreasing Term has an annually decreasing benefit while you enjoy a stable premium cost from year to year. The policy ceases when the death benefit hits zero.

Quick Life Insurance Facts

The following facts help define life insurance:

1. Young people pay less for their premiums because they are less likely to die.
2. People with dangerous jobs usually pay higher premiums.
3. Dangerous hobbies usually increase policy premiums.
4. General underwriting means you skip the medical tests and many background questions in exchange for generally higher premiums.
5. Smokers pay more than non-smokers for coverage.
6. People with pre-existing conditions usually pay higher rates.

Converting from Term to Other Life Insurance

When you purchase your policy you need to make sure that you have some wiggle room. For instance, you probably want to work some room in to convert to an investment policy at some point.

Here’s an overview of whole, variable, and universal life insurance.

1. Whole life has a fixed death benefit and your premiums build cash value.
2. Cash value is similar to whole life, with cash investments building for you. You may borrow cash from this type of policy tax free.
3. Universal policies provide term life with a money-market aspect for the investment arm.
4. Variable life is the one life insurance product that does not have guaranteed return on investment. It is riskier, but is a permanent policy, which means it does not end, usually unless you reach more than 100 years of age.

It is always important to read the policy details to find out exactly what you are buying. If you intend on building cash value for your kids college, while giving you life insurance coverage while the kids are growing up, consider cash value or universal policies.

Another tip for those buying life insurance for their dependents’ welfare: buy what you need for how long you need it.

Identify how much money you need to cover your family for however long they are going to need your financial help.

Generally, you would determine how many years until your last kid reaches 18 and multiply that out times how much money it costs for your family to live yearly.

Factor in funeral costs as well. You may want to consider the costs of college, because surely they are not going down. Some households opt for mortgage payoff insurance, which would pay off the mortgage if the homeowner died. Though, it is actually a lot more costly than traditional term life insurance products.

That means, consider how much you need to pay off your mortgage. Decide if you would like to offer that up as part of your death benefit too.

Finally, decide the death benefit amount you need and the premium you can afford to pay. Now you can go ahead and compare insurance quotes.

Make sure that the insurers are all A-rated by corporate credit rating agencies. Such companies include Weiss Ratings and Moody’s.

Use our FREE comparison tool below to start your search for life insurance!