Life Insurance

By Rodney Daniel Bolton

You need a certain amount of life insurance to protect your dependents in case of death. Your family will need enough income to cover the same living expenses they had before your passing. A younger man should have more coverage than a man near retirement age. Rule of thumb is twenty-five times the amount of money you earn in one year from age twenty-five and for ten years after that. After thirty-five, you can lower the payoff for each additional year of life.

You may have to show proof of your income if the company isn't sure you can pay your premiums. If one of a married couple doesn't work, he or she is still entitled to purchase the same amount the working spouse can afford. The premium payments are equal of course. As soon as the prearranged term is up, insurance benefits cease and so do premium payments.

There are different types of policies. The most practical one is term insurance. Most wage earners will cover themselves in case of death so their family left behind can continue the same lifestyle as when he was alive. House payments and other expenses keep his family safe in their home and school without leaving the familiar neighborhood.

Term is a policy that is taken out to last for a period of time, usually till children are grown up. Buy a policy that has a level premium when you keep it for five to twenty years. It is always temporary whether long term or short term.

If your employer offers the term life insurance that is applicable to your situation, buy it from the company. Why? Group term insurance is the best buy among all policies.

Everyone automatically think insurance always has a lifetime coverage until death. That isn't true of term insurance. It is true of whole life. It stays active even when you no longer must pay premiums. Conditions vary as will be explained by an insurance agent.

The whole life policy has an added benefit. When you have accumulated enough in premiums, you can borrow against the policy. For example, if you have $1,000 paid in, you can borrow a portion of it in an emergency. You pay interest on your loan and try to pay it back as soon as you can. This is the life insurance that remains in effect for life and pays your beneficiary upon your death. - 32196

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