How to Get Life Insurance

Getting life insurance is not actually that difficult, you can simply select an insurance carrier, call them up, and ask to purchase a policy. But selecting the best policy for your needs or the needs of a loved one can be considerably more complicated, and that is where authorized life insurance agents make a very good living advising customers towards products that may be a better fit for their life insurance needs. 

However, like with any other business, there may be an inherent bias where the insurance agent may have a vested interest in steering a consumer towards one type of life insurance product versus another. 

Therefore it can be helpful to enter the arena of available life insurance policies with an idea of what type of policy might best fit your needs already in place. Learn more about the different types of life insurance policies and select the one that will best meet your insurance needs.

There are three main types of life insurance policies. Learn about each and decide which type of life insurance might best suit your current insurance needs.

Term Life Insurance

The first type of life insurance is called term life insurance, and it is generally considered to be the simplest of all types of life insurance policies. Term life insurance is by far the cheapest as well as the simplest, and its purpose is simple. 

Term life insurance is designed to cover the death and funeral costs should the covered individual pass before the policy's expiration date arrives. Additionally, it is quite easy to select a term life insurance policy, and most of the research can be done online until you get to the point where you are ready to actually purchase a term life insurance policy.  

Disadvantages to a term life insurance policy are that it is not designed to be used as an investment vehicle, and when the term expires or you cancel your policy, the benefits end. It is also difficult to get term life insurance if you are older, are in ill health, or want to renew your policy, you will start all over again, and at any rate increase that may have occurred due to the market or your changing risk for coverage levels.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance's biggest advantage is that as long as you deliver the premium payment at the scheduled times, and on time, you will have it until you need it. You get the peace of mind as well in knowing that your survivors will be cared for financially and will not bear the burden of paying your death expenses. 

Whole life insurance can be treated less like a straight life insurance policy and more like a savings plan, as funds accrue and may be withdrawn from when your retirement years come. Additionally, any death benefit payout that is made will be exempt from taxes, which can significantly reduce the burden surviving family members may bear to meet your estate tax. 

However, a whole life policy will be significantly more expensive than term life, so that can be a consideration, especially if you already have other savings vehicles in place and operational.

Return of Premium Policy

A lesser known third type of life insurance policy is what is called the return of premium policy. The name is self-explanatory in that if the policy is unused upon expiration, the premium payments are returned to you. 

The return of premium policy functions like a zero interest savings account, and for that benefit you will pay half again as much more than you would for a term life policy, but still significantly less than a whole life policy will cost you.

How to Get Life Insurance

After you have reviewed your available options and assessed your current life insurance needs against your budget, you will be ready to select a life insurance product and seek out an insurance agent who can sell you a policy. 

Here it can be important to shop around and discover which carriers offer the best terms, the fewest fees, and especially auto renewal options, which can keep your policies from being hiked at renewal time. 

You may wish to ask for referrals from friends and colleagues before shopping blindly online or in the local advertisements for an insurance broker. If you already have another type of insurance product with an insurance company, also be sure to ask if you can get a discount by purchasing your life insurance through the same carrier.

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