How do I know if I need life insurance?

If someone will suffer financially when you die, chances are you need life insurance. It’s really no more complicated than that. Simply ask yourself, if you died tomorrow, how would it affect your loved ones financially?

Life insurance provides a tax-free cash payment to your beneficiaries after your death.

If you are older, your focus might be providing money so your funeral and burial costs, medical and other bills, taxes, debts, lawyers’ fees and other final expenses won’t be a burden left to your loved ones.

If you are in your working years, you’ll also want to consider how your family would meet ongoing living expenses with your paycheck suddenly gone. Where would the money come from to pay for rent or your mortgage, food, clothing, utilities, transportation, healthcare, etc.? Without your contribution to the household, would your surviving spouse be able to save enough money to put the kids through college or retire comfortably?

The fact is, the death of a loved one is tragic enough, without being compounded by financial difficulties. Life insurance helps make sure the people you care about will be provided for financially, if you’re not there to care for them yourself. Back to the top.

How do I know how much coverage I need?

Sometimes the answer to this question is straight-forward, but not usually. A 72-year-old widow looking solely to provide money to someday pay for her own final expenses, for example, could estimate what those expenses will be, and buy that amount of coverage.

But most often, it’s not that simple. To protect against lost income, is coverage equal to six times annual income enough? Ten times income? Even experts disagree.

So it’s no wonder research shows this question to be one of the most common stumbling blocks for people considering life insurance. Unable to determine the “right” amount, they instead arrive at the only “wrong” answer – to buy no coverage at all, and hope things work out for the best!

To make sure that doesn’t happen to you, we encourage you to talk with your LifeHelp agent, and be open about not only the amount of coverage you’d like to have, but also what you can realistically afford.

Above all, keep in mind one simple truth – if your loved ones need the protection life insurance provides, then providing (or adding) any amount of coverage now is better than worrying about choosing the mythical “right amount,” only to end up buying none, and leaving your family no better protected than now. Back to the top.

What do I have to do to qualify?

We’ll first ask you some brief questions about your health history. Sometimes that’s all we need to shop the market and get you the coverage you need. If you’re one of our many applicants whose health history includes treatment for such common conditions as high blood pressure, diabetes or other conditions, or whose physical build is outside of “standard” guidelines, we’ll let you know what else the insurance company will need to qualify you, such as physician contact information, prescription medications, etc. Back to the top.

Is my information kept private?

Absolutely. All information is treated confidentially and secured in accordance with federal and state privacy rules and regulations. Back to the top.

What’s the difference between term and permanent life insurance coverage?

As the names imply, term life insurance provides protection for a specific period of time, such as 10 or 20 years, and permanent life insurance can remain in force throughout your life, as long as you continue to pay your premiums.

The primary advantage of term insurance is its lower initial cost compared to permanent insurance.

Term insurance is often a good choice for people in their family-raising years, especially if they are on a tight budget, because it allows them to buy high levels of coverage when the need for protection is often greatest. Term insurance is also a good option for covering needs that will disappear in time.

Remember that term insurance can, of course, be outlived. If you then want to continue to be insured, you’ll have to re-qualify, and the cost of a new term life policy at your older age will be much more expensive.

So for lifetime protection, permanent insurance is generally the better option. For that reason, it’s often a good option if you are older, and want to be sure the coverage will still be there when needed, to help pay for your final expenses. And on the other end of the spectrum, permanent insurance can also be a great option for younger people, to lock in an economical rate that will remain level even as they grow older.

In other cases, a combination of term life and permanent coverage is a good solution. Your LifeHelp agent can give you the information needed to help determine if that’s the case for you. Back to the top.

What kinds of permanent insurance are available through LifeHelp?

Whole life and universal life.

Whole life is the simplest, and most traditional form of permanent insurance. With it, the death benefit and premium are fixed at the time you buy your policy, and stay the same for the life of the policy.

With universal life you can reduce or increase the amount of the death benefit, and vary the amount or timing of premium payments, subject to certain limitations.

Your LifeHelp agent will be pleased to tell you more about these plans, including the cash value aspects of both. Back to the top.

How long does it take to get a policy in place?

Generally between one and six weeks, depending on the type of policy and the underwriting requirements for that coverage. Back to the top.

What should I consider in naming my beneficiaries?

A primary beneficiary is the person or entity (such as a foundation, charity, trust, etc.) you choose to receive the cash benefit from your life insurance policy. You can name one primary beneficiary or many. Should you choose to have more than one primary beneficiary, you also decide how the cash benefit will be split between them.

You should also name a “contingent,” or secondary, beneficiary just in case you outlive your first beneficiary. As with your primary beneficiary, benefits can be split among more than one contingent beneficiary.

As your life situation changes, so could your choice of beneficiary. It is a good idea to regularly review your beneficiary designation to make sure your choice is still appropriate.

Due to the various issues involved, your LifeHelp agent will be pleased to help you properly set up your beneficiary designation. Back to the top.

Have questions not covered here?

Your LifeHelp agent will be pleased to help. That’s what we’re here for!
Click here to start a conversation.

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