Life Insurance

 There are many answers to the question of why is life insurance important. But by and large, the most important one is ensuring your family’s financial security and peace of mind.

If anyone depends on your income, they would most likely struggle if you were to pass away. That’s why life insurance is so important to have. There are different types of life insurance policies, but essentially they all pay cash to your loved ones when you die. Money from life insurance can be used to cover daily living expenses, a mortgage or rent payments, outstanding loans, college tuition and other essential expenses. Life insurance is the best way to ensure that your loved ones would be in a good financial place if you and your income were no longer in the picture.

• Immediate Expenses
  • Funeral and burial costs
  • Uncovered medical expenses
  • Mortgage or rent
  • Car loans
  • Credit card debt
  • Taxes
  • Estate settlement costs
• Ongoing Expenses
  • Food
  • Housing
  • Utilities
  • Transportation
  • Healthcare and insurance 
  • Continue a family business
• Future expenses
  • College Costs
  • Retirement

If someone depends on you financially, you are most likely someone who needs life insurance.

Life insurance provides cash to your family or loved ones after your death. This cash, known as the death benefit, replaces your income and the many non-paid ways you support your household. Your family can use this cash to pay for expenses like funeral costs, a mortgage, college tuition and more.

In most cases, the life insurance pay out is a lump sum paid to beneficiaries when the policyholder dies. To receive the life insurance pay out, you will have to file a claim with the insurer. They will need a certified copy of the death certificate in order to process the claim.

It can vary on how long it takes to get a life insurance check. Most insurers take between 30 and 60 days after receiving the claim. However, there can be delays. This is especially true if the policyholder dies within two years of taking out the policy or if there are unusual circumstances. Other insurers deny coverage if the policyholder died doing something illegal or lied on the life insurance application.

A life insurance pay out works differently if there’s an installment-payout option or an annuity option.

Living benefits of a life insurance policy let you access your life insurance proceeds before you die. This is typically reserved for situations in which someone faces a terminal illness or injury. Many people use cash from living benefits to get their family’s finances in order or to take a special trip.

Living benefits, which are also known as accelerated death benefits, are typically available as a rider (or endorsement) to your life insurance policy.

When you apply for life insurance, your life insurance application goes through a process called underwriting. Underwriting is when your insurance risk is evaluated. Approval and costs are based on your risk class.

There are two types of underwriting: traditional underwriting and simplified underwriting. In traditional underwriting, you fill out a formal application and typically undergo a short medical exam. It can take several weeks to be approved when the life insurance application undergoes traditional underwriting.

In contrast, simplified underwriting is usually a quick online life insurance application that does not require a medical exam. You can often receive instantaneous life insurance coverage. Just be aware that the coverage amount may be limited as well as more expensive with simplified underwriting.

A life insurance beneficiary is the person, people, trust, charity or estate who gets the payout on your life insurance policy after you die.

You’ll typically be asked to pick two kinds of beneficiaries: a primary and a secondary. The secondary beneficiary, also called a contingent beneficiary, receives the payout if the primary beneficiary is deceased. You can name more than one beneficiary, as well as the percentage of the payout you want to go to each one—for instance, you could designate 50% to a spouse and 50% to an adult child.

There are special considerations when it comes to providing for minors as well as naming a charity or your estate as a life insurance beneficiary.

A life insurance beneficiary is the person, people, trust, charity or estate who gets the payout on your life insurance policy after you die.

You’ll typically be asked to pick two kinds of beneficiaries: a primary and a secondary. The secondary beneficiary, also called a contingent beneficiary, receives the payout if the primary beneficiary is deceased. You can name more than one beneficiary, as well as the percentage of the payout you want to go to each one—for instance, you could designate 50% to a spouse and 50% to an adult child.

There are special considerations when it comes to providing for minors as well as naming a charity or your estate as a life insurance beneficiary.

Types of life insurance generally fall into two categories: term life insurance and permanent life insurance.

Term life insurance provides protection for a specific period of time (the term). This is often 10, 20 or 30 years. Term life insurance makes sense when you need protection for a specific amount of time--for instance, until your kids graduate from college or your mortgage is paid off.

Term life insurance typically offers the most amount of coverage for the lowest initial premium. This makes this type of life insurance policy a good choice for those on a tighter budget.

Permanent life insurance provides lifelong protection for as long as you pay the premiums. It also accumulates cash value on a tax-deferred basis, which you can tap into to buy a home, supplement your retirement income, cover an emergency expense and more.

Because of these additional benefits, initial premiums are higher than what you’d pay for a term life insurance policy with the same amount of coverage.

Depending on your circumstances and financial goals, sometimes a combination of term and permanent insurance is the answer. 

The price of life insurance depends on four main factors: your age, your health, the type of policy and how much coverage you buy. In general, you’ll pay less the younger and healthier you are. You also typically pay less for a term life policy than a permanent life policy.

That said, don’t let your age or health status discourage you from considering life insurance. There are policies available for people of any age as well as those with high blood pressure, diabetes and a smoking habit. (Just know that you’ll generally pay more for your policy if you’re in poor health and/or smoke.)

Still wondering the answer to the question of how much does life insurance cost? If so, here’s a working idea:

A healthy 30-year-old can get a $250,000 20-year level term policy for just $13 a month.

That means that if you purchase that policy and pay the $13 a month without fail, your loved ones would get $250,000 if you were to die at any point during those 20 years.