Getting married recently, having a baby, or taking on a significant debt like a house are just a few of the many valid reasons to think about purchasing a life insurance policy. Family members would struggle to make ends meet if something happen to you. Or maybe you have personally seen how a death affects the financial situation of remaining family members.
If you recently purchased a life insurance policy or are in the market for one, be careful not to make any of these blunders that could endanger the financial stability of your family.
Getting Life Insurance
In the case of a policyholder’s death, life insurance provides a death benefit to their heirs or other designated beneficiaries. This death benefit is intended to pay off the deceased person’s outstanding debts and obligations, replace any lost income—both current and future—and leave behind a little amount of money as an inheritance or legacy.
Today’s life insurance industry is competitive, with numerous businesses providing a variety of products and plans. The most fundamental type of insurance is term life, which offers a fixed death benefit for a predetermined number of years (e.g., 20 years). You will have to reapply for new coverage if you’d like when the term expires. Your whole life might be covered by permanent life insurance, which frequently includes a cash accumulation feature. These policies have premiums that are often higher than those of term insurance, but they also have greater perks and value.
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Whichever kind of insurance you choose, the application procedure will be the same. You will be required to submit a health survey, your financial picture, and your basic information. You will frequently be required to complete a paramedical exam in addition to the survey. During this exam, a qualified healthcare provider will examine you and may ask for a sample of your blood or urine for analysis. This is due to the fact that life insurance prices are determined by the statistical likelihood that you will pass away and require payment of a claim by the insurer.
You will be required to pay the policy premiums on a regular basis after approval (which can be set anywhere from monthly to annually). The policy will stay in effect as long as you keep paying your premiums; if not, it may lapse and your coverage will be lost.
6 Life Insurance Mistakes That You Should Avoid
1: Waiting to Buy Insurance
It’s critical to weigh the cost and desired level of coverage when buying life insurance. Your age and general health are two of the many factors that determine your life insurance premiums.
If you want to get a policy at the best price, it may be advantageous for you to purchase a life insurance policy sooner rather than later. Rates for life insurance typically rise as people get older or their health deteriorates. Furthermore, certain diseases or health issues may prevent you from being eligible for coverage. If you can afford insurance at all, the longer you wait to buy it, the more likely it is to cost.
2: Buying the Cheapest Policy
While finding a reasonably priced policy is important, it’s also important to think about the coverage you’re receiving in exchange. Understanding the features and benefits of life insurance policies is a good idea because they can be somewhat complex.
Term life insurance can be a cost-effective choice if you think you’ll only need life insurance for a certain amount of time, like 20 or 30 years. However, it might be worthwhile to pay a higher premium for permanent coverage if you’re interested in lifetime coverage or if you want to own a life insurance policy that increases in value as an investment vehicle. To find out what you might be giving up for a better deal, try comparing the quotes from several life insurance plans.
3: Allowing Premiums to Lapse
You are required to pay a premium when you buy life insurance in order to receive coverage. Once more, your insurance risk class—which is correlated with your age, health, and other factors—may determine these premiums. A late payment may affect the benefits of your universal life insurance policy if you’re thinking about purchasing one with secondary guarantees, such as low-premium guaranteed death benefits for life or for a predetermined amount of time.
A unique kind of permanent insurance known as universal life is promoted as offering long-term, guaranteed protection at the lowest cost. Compared to term insurance, it is very different. The goal of universal life with secondary guarantees is to maximize the amount of insurance available per dollar of premium, even though many of these policies have a cash surrender value.
The timely payment of premiums may have an impact on certain of these policies. For instance, your guaranteed policy might not be guaranteed if you happen to miss a monthly payment or send in your check more than a month late. If one payment is missed or is late, a policy that was purchased with guaranteed coverage to age 100 may only protect you until age 92, which could be an issue if you live a longer life.
4: Forgetting Insurance is an Investment
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) considers a variable life insurance policy an investment, so it is important for you to treat it as one too.
A variable life insurance policy is a permanent type of policy that provides life insurance protection with cash value. Part of the premium goes toward life insurance, and part goes into a cash-value account that is invested in various investments similar to mutual funds that you choose.3 Like mutual funds, the value of these accounts fluctuates and is based on the performance of the underlying investments. People often look to these policy values in the future as a source of funds to supplement their retirement income.
You must fund a variable life policy sufficiently to maximize its cash value growth. This means continuing to make adequate premium payments, especially during times of poor investment returns. Paying less than originally planned can have a big impact on the cash value available to you in the future. It’s also important to monitor your policy’s performance and periodically rebalance your accounts to your desired allocation, just as you would with any investment account. This will help ensure you’re not taking on more risk than you had planned when you set up your account.
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5: Borrowing From Your Policy
Cash-value-building permanent life insurance policies might provide you with funds if you ever need a loan. If done correctly, you can typically use the cash value of a permanent policy for any purpose, including loans and tax-free withdrawals.
Although this is a great benefit, it needs to be handled with caution. All of your gains will be subject to taxation if you withdraw excessive amounts from your policy and it lapses or runs out of money. Not to mention, you might drastically lower the death benefit your beneficiaries will receive upon your passing.
If you have taken too much money out and your policy is about to lapse, you may be able to maintain the policy by making additional premium payments, assuming you can afford them. When accessing your life insurance policy’s cash value, be sure to monitor it closely and consult your tax advisor to avoid any unwanted tax liability.
6. Not Reading the Policy Document
Another common mistake many individuals make when buying health insurance, is that they skip going through the policy’s terms and conditions. Every insurance policy comes with inclusions and the exclusions, and while it is important to know what is included, it is just as important to know the exclusions.
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