Term Life Insurance Quotes
When consumers search online for term life insurance quotes – at times finding conflicting information – it can quickly turn into a frustrating task. In the end, they may end up with more questions than reliable answers.
Without a doubt, there's a distinct difference between full life insurance and term life insurance that many people don't realize unless they scour the web for information they can trust.
What makes term life insurance different from home and auto coverage? Does one type of life insurance cost significantly more than the other?
If so, what's the best way to save money if the insured doesn't mind paying a little extra in premiums?
Indeed, consumers might have even more questions when shopping around for the first time, so this article aims to outline the most fundamental concepts about life insurance.
What's the essential information to know when searching for term life insurance quotes online?
In its simplest form, life insurance can pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars after the insured's death, depending on the type of policy and its exclusions and restrictions. A death that results from criminal activity (e.g., stealing a car and perishing during a high-speed chase) is one example of a common exclusion.
But overall, life insurance comes in several shapes and sizes, and not all of them are easy to understand at first. The two essential types are full life and term life.
What's the difference between full life coverage and term life coverage?
Full life insurance is a policy that's in effect for the remainder of the insured person's life, regardless of when the policy took effect or if their health deteriorates gradually.
By contrast, term life coverage is a policy that's only in place for a specific duration. Hence, consumers need to keep up with the policy to ensure the cover doesn't lapse accidentally.
At the end of the day, many people chose term policies for the flexibility of the coverage and the significantly lower annual premiums. What often confuses people is the variability of prices among insurance providers that, at a glance, don't seem to make sense.
Why do term life insurance quotes vary so much carrier-to-carrier?
First, term life insurance quotes may vary carrier-to-carrier because there are two types of term insurance: level and decreasing. Consumers sometimes misinterpret what each one means for their loved ones when the policy will pay out benefits and how much money their beneficiaries receive in the end.
Generally, the key is finding a quality life insurance company specializing in both types, offering a fair price for the range of benefits.
It's easy to stumble across carriers that don't have a longstanding reputation in the insurance business. Buying life insurance online takes diligence to get it right the first time because there's plenty of information to sort out – and a lot of ways to get scammed if consumers aren't careful.
Also, the policy's duration and the insured person's health, gender, and age play a significant role in the pricing. The truth is that men in the U.S. pay more for life insurance policies than women due to average life expectancy.
The general rule is that someone in good health, whether it's a man or a woman, who doesn't smoke will be able to get the best deals but not always. For instance, if insured people are close to passing away, they may not get approved for life insurance policies with a higher payout.
Furthermore, insurance rates vary state-to-state, and that's another factor consumers tend to overlook.
On average, consumers can expect to pay about $26 per month for term life policies – the most popular type in the industry. But there's more to it than determining the national average for monthly premiums, particularly when deciding which type of term coverage works well.
What makes level term life insurance an attractive option?
Level term life insurance policies will pay out the same amount of benefits even though the policy is in place for an extended period. These plans are also renewable if consumers choose to spread out premium costs month-to-month or year-to-year.
Typically, this type of policy is most popular for consumers who can afford it and want the peace of mind of having quality life coverage without worrying about declining benefits over time.
But here's the source of the confusion: insurance companies may not offer the same type of level of life insurance.
For example, one carrier may not want to insure people as young as 18-years-old. A similar carrier might still cover them with a slew of exclusions about risky hobbies and similar treacherous activities (e.g., a penchant for freestyle rock climbing with no ropes).
Indeed, lifestyle choices matter when it comes to pricing-out-level life insurance, whether it's the term variety or the full variety.
Similarly, not every insurance carrier offers every term. For example, one company may only provide 10-year to 30-year plans, not the 5-year variety that's more affordable.
Adding to the confusion is that some term policies are convertible to full life policies. Still, that situation only applies if the insured can afford the higher premium with the updated policy.
These differences are why it's so vital to have a trustworthy, reliable insurance company that will thoroughly explain pricing, benefits, and critical exclusions buried in the policy's fine print.
One exclusion that consumers may not catch is a life insurance plan that has decreasing benefits.
Is a decreasing life insurance plan the better choice?
The answer to this question depends on how much consumers are willing to pay for life coverage. Decreasing life insurance plans are generally cheaper, but they only make sense in specific situations.
For instance, consumers may take out a decreasing benefits policy to account for a specific debt after the insured's passing. Covering mortgages' costs on several properties that would otherwise be a severe financial burden is a common scenario.
The longer the insured is alive and paying off the mortgages, the less they need the policy to cover the same amount as they age and lower their debt.
The issue with a decreasing benefits life policy is that consumers need careful, meticulous financial planning to make it work in their favor. Otherwise, a simple miscalculation could place beneficiaries in a financial bind, defeating the entire purpose of life insurance coverage.
Suppose an insured person forgets that their mortgages come with a "balloon clause" during the contract's final years. In that case, the decreased benefits per year may be insufficient to keep the properties from falling into foreclosure.
This scenario is only hypothetical. If consumers have any questions about how life insurance ties to financing and debt, they must go to a professional to avoid making catastrophic mistakes.
Does term life coverage come with any additional benefits?
Indeed, term life insurance comes with additional benefits consumers may not know: the return of premiums. Auto and home insurance don't offer the return of premiums because the company doesn't reward policyholders for not filing a claim.
The premium paid is considered a fair value to take on the risk of covering homes and vehicles.
But term life coverage is different. Some carriers may actually reimburse the insured for basic premium costs if they filed no claim and kept the policy in good standing throughout the term.
The catch is that policies with a stipulation for premiums cost much more than policies that don't offer the feature significantly more.
Where can consumers go to buy life insurance?
Buying life insurance doesn't have to be a hassle if consumers visit LifePlans.com to compare quotes. The bottom line is this: reliable information is hard to come by when consumers don't have an easy-to-use tool at their disposal.
That's why LifePlans.com created a platform to search for quotes side-by-side, making the entire process more simple and straightforward when consumers don't know where to turn.
It's an efficient way for consumers to compare the policy's benefits versus the price or the price of similar policies through different insurance companies.
LifePlans.com takes the most vital information consumers need in one place.
Click here to find term life insurance quotes today!