Wednesday 30 November 2011

The Best Way To Know Your Term Life Insurance Coverage

By Erin Garcia


There are plenty of good reasons to consider buying a term life insurance policy, like a recent marriage, a brand new baby, or a huge debt purchase (like a mortgage) that loved ones would have trouble paying in the event that something happened to you. Or, maybe you have experienced first-hand the impact a death has on a surviving family's financial situation. If you're in the market for life insurance or have newly purchased a policy, make sure you don't put your family's financial situation in jeopardy by making the common mistakes. Lots of people mistakenly believe that price is the sole differentiator for term life insurance. There are actually important policy provisions that you should investigate before going with the most affordable price. Getting the cheapest policy is not for everyone, though. While it is very important shop for a policy that is priced in line with the rest of the marketplace, that should not be the sole consideration in your decision-making process.

Many term policies are "convertible," which means they may be swapped for a permanent type of life insurance policy at a later date regardless of your future health condition. A few policies also offer more generous conversion privileges than the others. Have an understanding of how long the conversion option is available; the most generous conversion privileges are offered for as long as you pay term policy premiums or to a specific age. Also, be sure to check if there are any restrictions on the type of policy available for purchase under the conversion privilege. A few insurance policies provide just one type of permanent policy at conversion, while some provide several.

With life insurance, you want to avoid a scenario in which the insured is either under-insured or over-insured. Under-insuring means that there won't be adequate money left over for relatives and over-insurance is really a waste of money in the unlikely event of a death. There are many considerations when computing life insurance. A few of those factors include marital status, dependents, earnings of each spouse and how much time they have left to work.

Numerous life insurance companies and advisory firms offer free life insurance calculators for customers to use to determine exactly what amount is the appropriate amount for them. Many insurance companies say that a rule of thumb for life insurance is 6 to 10 times the amount of yearly income. One other way of computing the amount of life insurance needed is to multiply annual salary with the number of years left until retirement. For example, if a forty year old man currently earns $20,000 per year, under this method, the man will need $500,000 (25 years * $20,000) in life insurance.

Getting term life insurance could be complicated and also confusing, but knowing the conditions of your insurance policy is your responsibility. Your insurer may not provide you with the liberty to modify your insurance policy according to your own needs, but riders empower you with much-needed control over your ever-changing life situations. So sit down with your insurance consultant to evaluate the benefits of the rider and get the one that is best-fitted for you and your family.




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