If you have a family, purchasing burial insurance for seniors is a good idea. In the unfortunate event that something happens to you, having life insurance will insure that your family is taken care of financially. This article will give you some great tips to decide if purchasing life insurance is right for you.
When shopping for life insurance, be sure to know the differences between the two main types: term life and permanent. Term life is a chosen amount of years that your benefactors are eligible to receive your insurance money. If you outlive these years, then the plan is void. Permanent life insurance stays with you until you die, but rates will generally be higher.
Term life insurance may cost much less, but the fact that it is not permanent is a major drawback. Term life insurance is only designed to protect you during the years when you have large home and family expenses, and premiums are much less because you are expected to self-insure when the policy expires. Keep in mind that permanent life insurance serves as a financial asset that never expires, and you can always borrow money from it with no tax consequences. A term life policy will only last for the time period agreed upon.
It is important to have a sufficient life insurance policy. You should have enough insurance to cover at least five years of your current salary, if you are married. If you have children or many debts, you should have upwards of ten years salary’s worth of life insurance. Insurance will help your loved ones cover expenses when you are gone.
You may be able to save a significant amount of money on your life insurance by paying your premiums annually instead of monthly. Insurance companies often have extra fees for customers who pay every month instead of just once a year. Ask your insurer if you can switch to an annual payment.
Make adjustments on your plans as needed. Life changes to your policy can greatly affect it. Things that can cause a change to coverage, include marriage, divorce, birth of a child or the beginning of caring for an elderly parent. You could even reach a point, most likely after your kids reach adulthood and your retirement amount is achieved, where you could stop life insurance coverage altogether.
Work on improving your health before applying for a life insurance policy. Poor health equates to higher health risks and higher life insurance premiums. To get the lowest premiums, stop smoking, reduce your weight, work more exercise into your lifestyle and eat healthier meals. Your body and your wallet will thank you.
Before purchasing life insurance you should determine the amount of coverage that you need. The easiest way to do this is to take your average yearly salary and multiply it by eight. There are also a number of simple to use online calculators that will help you figure out how much life insurance you need.
Many people research life insurance on the internet to learn more about the different types of policies that are available and which one would be right for them. However, much of this information is posted by insurance companies or internet marketers that may try to steer you toward a policy that is most profitable for them. Try to conduct your research on unbiased websites such as Publications.USA.gov, which is hosted by the Federal Citizen Information Center, a U.S. government service, or AARP.org., a non-profit organization catering to people over 50 years of age.
Burial
When choosing life insurance, be sure to have a good idea of how much money your loved ones will require. This is important because of the amount of debt that they might be left with the burden of paying off after you die. Consider car payments, mortgage, credit card debts, funeral and burial costs, and the cost of raising children.
When choosing life insurance, you may also wish to look into purchasing burial insurance. This is fairly cheap insurance and will cover things such as your casket, funeral home costs, transportation and other such things. This is well worth it as the costs for these items can be extraordinary, if they come from out of pocket.
Life insurance can help ease the burden to your family by helping with funeral and burial expenses. Policies also pay your family an amount that you designate. For a relatively low monthly cost, your family can be covered $100,000, $250,000, $500,000, or another amount that is right for you.
Make sure you get enough coverage. $500,000 can seem like a windfall of cash for your family in the event of your passing. But when you take into consideration a $300,000 mortgage, car loans, student loans, burial and funeral expenses, credit card debt and the like, all those can add up fast.
Don’t buy shady or cheap life insurance. If your life insurance policy is especially cheap, it might not be enough to help your family after you’re gone. Make sure that your policy will, at least, cover any debt and expenses left to your family, including funeral and burial costs.
Determine the amount of coverage you will need, the amount of money your family will receive after your death is called a death benefit. To determine the amount of life insurance you need simply take your annual salary and multiply by eight. Add to that amount the money you’ll need to cover one-time burial expenses and you’ll have an estimate of the amount of life insurance you need.
Life insurance is never a bad idea. If you are young, you may be able to purchase a small life insurance policy to cover the costs of funeral and burial expenses for just a few dollars per month. In any event, you may be able to provide yourself with peace of mind at a low cost, all you need to do is ask for a quote.
As stated in the beginning of this article, purchasing life insurance is a good idea, especially, if you have a family. Insurance helps to provide for your family, in the unfortunate event that you pass away. Hopefully, this article has given you some great ideas to decide if purchasing life insurance is right for you.