This week I would like to dive a little deeper into the aspects to consider when choosing life insurance policies because when it comes to long-term financial planning, life insurance can play a key role.
Planning for your future and retirement is important. Life insurance is a good planning tool, which has different options depending on your needs and plans. Navigating which type of insurance is right for you can be a difficult task since everyone is different and everyone’s needs are different.
There are many factors to consider with your life insurance policy. Do you have small children? No children at home? Debts to pay off? What amount of salary would you need if something happened to you? Did you know that if you are a parent, you can purchase your child a permanent term life insurance policy? The rates are very cheap because they are young, and fall under your policy. You could get them a policy for around $100 000 for about $10.
An important aspect to consider in life insurance policies is what your current income level is and what your family would need to survive. I am able to assist you in working out the numbers of the payout, how much money your family would need to live on per year, and how long that would then last. Often, the amount you’re covered for just isn’t enough.
It’s important to shop around and compare quotes. I recently had a client who was insured with a $500,000 policy and asked me for some quotes for a million-dollar policy because he wanted to have more life insurance. The million-dollar quote was $20 less a month than his $500,000. He couldn’t believe it. It turns out that his current policy is through a company that only has one carrier to pick up. So that is his only choice. You want to make sure that if something happens to you, the policy gets paid out. Make sure you are not overpaying for a policy!
It’s important to note that you can have more than one life insurance policy. If you need more coverage or have different purposes for your coverages, there there are ways that I can help you with that. An example of this is life insurance coverage through an employer. Coverage through your employer is often a benefit to your current job, but one negative side to this is that often this coverage is not portable. A recommendation that I make to my clients is that, if you have life insurance through your employer, you should have a separate, standalone policy that is not related to your employment, because you never know when something will change with your employment. Your employer has complete control over that life insurance policy, including whether or not they continue to offer it to you once you leave the company.
Another aspect to consider with life insurance is building some long-term care options into the policy. These are benefits that can be paid out while you are still alive. If you were diagnosed with a terminal illness, for example, this would be helpful to you, as you can use this money for treatment, hospice, or other long-term care needs.
As a life insurance agent, my goal is to make sure people plan ahead. No one likes to think about dying, but it really will put your mind at ease, knowing that your family will be taken care of that and that you’ll leave a legacy.
If you’d like to book a consultation with me to discuss long-term financial planning and life insurance policies, schedule an appointment on my website, www.jkappconsulting.com. I’m happy to compare the policy you have now with some options. And even if you’re currently unhealthy, there are still some things we may be able to do to get you the best possible policy.
