Finding a great life insurance policy can be difficult. It costs money and most people don’t see it as an immediate need. We’d like to explain why you should have life insurance when you should get life insurance and the many different types of life insurance. This will help you quit wondering, “When should you get life insurance?” and help you create an action plan!
Here Is Why You Should Get Life Insurance
A lot of people wait to get life insurance until they have to to cover their income, past debt, or to cover inheritance. These are all great reasons to have a life insurance policy, but there are a couple more that should be considered.
Most people don’t think about the costs that happen when someone passes away. The costs of the funeral, transporting the body, and any hospital bills are the most common financial issues that happen when someone is no longer with us.
Having a small policy to cover these costs will help your family and friends focus on grieving and moving forward instead of how to pay for all of the services.
As we mentioned above, there are a number of other reasons to get a policy and debt is one of the big ones. A good agent can help you determine the worth of your assets and debt to see how large of a policy you should take out.
Knowing the exact amount you need to cover when considering your passing is very important to make sure that your family is left in a better place financially. It is easy to forgo life insurance because it doesn’t seem like an immediate need, but anything can happen.
Any person’s passing is immensely difficult to deal with. Thinking ahead and removing the financial burden is a gift to your loved ones.
When Should You Get Life Insurance?
The answer to “when should you get life insurance” is fairly simple. You should get it as soon as possible! You can even have life insurance for minors to cover anything unexpected.
It is always better to be prepared for any situation. With so many different types you can match your situation perfectly.
With the flexibility in cost, it should be achievable for everyone to have life insurance. You insure your car, your house, and your health, but most people don’t insure the most important thing- a life.
Underwriters take a lot into account when evaluating the cost of a life insurance policy, and age is one of the top factors. This means that the bonus to having it as soon as possible is that your monthly payments will significantly lower the younger and healthier you are.
Types of Life Insurance
Now that we’ve gone over the reasons you should have insurance, we need to go over the top three different types of life insurance. As with anything, there is a good time to use any of these types of insurance. None of them is one size fits all.
You will want to evaluate which type is the best for your current situation. Then you can discuss with an agent the type of insurance policy you’d like to take out.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is typically the cheapest option for people. This is because the policy is only good for the term you’ve selected.
Once that term is over, the company can re-evaluate your pricing based on your current health and age. Terms can include nearly any period of years, but one of the more common selections is 20 years.
There are 3 different types:
- Decreasing
- Increasing
- Level
You can choose each one respectively based on your situation and whether you think you’ll need to cover more, less, or the same finances in the future.
This insurance is typically recommended for younger people that are looking to cover larger debt like a mortgage. Once your 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s are over, you typically don’t have nearly as much debt and your family is more self-sufficient.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole life insurance, despite its name, typically covers you until the age of 100 typically, but the payout age can be negotiated. This policy will typically cover the same costs as term life insurance, but it is more expensive because it covers a larger period of time.
Despite paying more money for the same cost as a term, whole life does have a place for some people. You are able to borrow money against your whole life policy. This turns your policy into a type of assets like a house or car.
Once the policy expires, you receive the amount of life insurance money that is on the policy. This is a great benefit, but typically people don’t live long enough to receive the payout.
This insurance is good for older people with little to no financial assets. You can also buy this at a younger age for less worry about renewing your policy when your terms are up.
Joint Life Insurance
Joint Life Insurance has a name that tells you exactly what it is. If you have a codependent relationship with someone, you can take out a policy together.
This lets you take out the cheapest of the three policies mentioned here, but it will only payout in the event of one of the two people passing.
This type of insurance is great if you want quick, cheap coverage for a specific term, but if you both pass at the same time, the tertiary beneficiary will only have one payout instead of two to cover costs.
Find an Agent and Insure Your Life
Now that you know the when, what, and why, you should go find out who can give you the best policy to cover your life. So, when should you get life insurance? Right away.
We are always more than happy to discuss your situation and what policy is the best fit for you. Feel free to reach out to us at any time to get proper coverage!