Signs It’s Time to Buy Life Insurance

It’s easy to put off making plans for the end of your life, especially when you’re young. After all, thinking about your own mortality probably isn’t your idea of a good time! In fact, many young Americans don’t have or even think about life insurance unless it’s offered by their employer – but these policies are often inadequate. And what many people don’t realize is that life insurance is definitely something you want to get sooner rather than later, since when you get it will affect your rates and benefit amount. Not sure if it’s the right time for you? There are some simple signs that it is time to buy life insurance! article title inside an alarm clock on an orange background

What Is Life Insurance?

Life insurance is essentially a contract between you and an insurance company. In exchange for premium payments, they promise to pay a lump sum to a beneficiary of your choosing at the time of your passing. This lump sum is called a death benefit. It is most often used for funeral costs or paying off a mortgage or other debts. It can also help to replace the loss of your income. 

Policies are cheaper when you’re young and healthy, so getting one sooner rather than later is smart. Beyond getting cheaper premiums, if any of the situations below apply to you, it’s time to start shopping for a policy.

1. Your Income Helps Support Someone

If you earn an income that helps to support someone, you need life insurance, simple as that!  And the more money you make, the more life insurance you need. As we mentioned, your job might offer you a life insurance policy, but that policy is a base level of coverage and likely won’t be enough. So how much do you really need? You should look for a policy with a death benefit of at least 6 – 10 times your annual salary. That means if your salary is $50,000, your policy should have a death benefit of around $500,000. 

Think of it this way: if you’re part of a couple, you’re most likely planning your life around two incomes. You plan on paying for your mortgage, retirement, and even day-to-day expenses with each other’s incomes in mind. Imagine suddenly losing your loved one and then having to move or completely rebuild your life because you can no longer afford the life you have. That means protecting your partner with life insurance is a must.

2. You Have Kids illustration of family underneath an umbrella on a blue background

If you’re a parent you should already have life insurance. Ideally by the time a life insurance payout comes, your kids will be grown and leading their own lives, but it’s better safe than sorry. It generally takes two incomes to provide for kids. So a sudden loss of income can be devastating, and not just in terms of day-to-day expenses. If the worst does happen, life insurance benefits can be put into a college fund or a savings account to help pay for bigger life expenses that you’d planned to be there for.

3. You Have Debt

When you’re young, you can start racking up some hefty debts that are meant to be paid over a long period of time. You acquire these debts hoping to live a long life and to pay them off long before you’re gone, but you don’t know what the future holds. No matter when you pass away those debts still need to be paid, and they will fall to any family you’ve left behind. 

Your debt balance should play a factor when you decide how much life insurance you need. Theoretically you want to leave enough of a death benefit so that your family can pay off your house and other loans, and not have to double their own debts. Getting a robust policy will keep your loved ones from having financial worries on top of handling your loss. 

The Takeaway 

Life insurance is about protecting your loved ones. It’s hard enough to grieve a loss, and you don’t want to add even more stress to the situation. The best way to find a life insurance policy that protects them is by speaking to an agent. Below we have a list of the top life insurance companies in the nation. All of which offer hassle-free assistance and competitive rates. Shopping around is your best bet, so always check multiple sites to make sure you get the best rate possible. Help protect and provide for your family by checking rates today.

Co-written by Brianna Hartnett

Buying Life Insurance for Your Parents

If you have aging parents, you know the fear of something happening to them, and you want to make sure they are taken care of. And, as difficult as it is to think about, you also want to make sure that you know what their wishes are for the ends of their lives, and that you can afford to pay for exactly what they would prefer. A life insurance policy will cover their final expenses, pay for their funeral, and make sure that you do not inherit any debt that they leave behind. The sad reality is that many older adults don’t have enough savings to cover expenses, but it might be a comfort for you to know that you can purchase a life insurance policy on your parents, with some limitations.

Why Get Life Insurance For Your Parents

There are many reasons to consider buying a life insurance policy for your parents, including if you:older person's hands holding another person's hand

  • Are paying for your parent’s care as they age
  • Want to cover health or other expenses now
  • Want to make sure their funeral expenses are covered
  • Will have to take on some of their debts

You can opt to purchase a permanent life insurance policy; with this type of policy, you can borrow from the cash value that accrues to pay for any medical or living expenses. Or you can go the term life insurance route to cover only the amount of time you think the policy will be beneficial and needed. 

How To Buy Life Insurance For Your Parents

As we stated earlier, it is possible to purchase life insurance for your parents, but you must get their permission to do so first. You can include asking for this consent in a conversation about their wishes for their care as they age, and their wishes for their funeral arrangements. Note that they must be legally competent to sign the paperwork for the policy, and you will also need to show insurable interest, which means you must show that their death will have a financial impact on you.

After you have gotten your parent’s consent, you will have to select a policy, coverage amount, and assign a beneficiary for your parent’s life insurance policy.

Need Help?illustration of a hand holding a bar with a lightbulb on one end and money on the other

Once you have decided to purchase a life insurance policy for your parents and you get their consent, don’t delay in choosing your policy. Remember that age plays a role in determining life insurance rates, so the sooner you buy, the better. If you’re not sure which policy is best for your parents, the best way to find the right life insurance policy for you and your specific needs is by working with an agent who specializes in life insurance. We have provided the top life insurance companies in the nation below; each offers hassle-free assistance and the most competitive rates. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and know the advantages of each company. Make sure a hard time isn’t made harder by a financial burden, check life insurance rates today.

Don’t Let One Of These Reasons Stop You From Buying Life Insurance

It happens way too often. You’re presented with an opportunity to get life insurance, whether through work or from your insurance company – you briefly consider it and then ask yourself, “Do I really need this extra expense?” and ignore the offer.  Money might be one reason why you’ve chosen not to get life insurance, but there are lots of reasons why people put off buying life insurance – we’ve seen them all before! And maybe life insurance doesn’t feel like that much of a priority right now, but putting it off can put your family’s financial future at risk. We’re here to tell you that life insurance is affordable, and worth it for your family, so don’t let one of the following reasons stop you from buying life insurance.

“I Don’t Want to Go Through a Medical Exam”stethoscope

The medical exam that you’ll have to undergo for some types of life insurance policies can seem a bit daunting, but they’re not the invasive experience you might think they are.  These exams are sort of like a scaled-down version of a physical you might get at your doctor’s office: the life insurance company will send someone to your house (if you would like), who will check your height, weight, and heart rate, and take a blood and urine sample. If you’re worried that the results of your exam will be used against you when calculating your risk and rates, know that you have options! There are many life insurance policies you can choose from that don’t require you to undergo a medical exam. 

“I Can’t Afford Life Insurance Because I Have Health Issues”

Having pre-existing conditions is not as much of a barrier to getting affordable life insurance as you might think – it depends on what your health issues are. If you are living with a serious condition, that could raise your life insurance rates, or even mean that you will be denied a policy, but you still have the option of a no-medical exam policy that guarantees you’ll be accepted. No medical exams policies are perfect for people with pre-existing conditions, and include options like: 

  • Guaranteed Issue Life– With this type of policy, you will not be rejected for any health-related reason. You will simply need to answer a few questions about your health to determine your policy rate, and you can receive coverage in as little as a day. The death benefit for this policy can be anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000.
  • Simplified Issue Life These policies last for a certain time period (or term) – usually 10, 20, or 30 years, and are a step up from guaranteed issue life policies. They are more expensive than traditional life insurance policies, but because coverage is often limited, they are cheaper than guaranteed issue policies.
  • Guaranteed Death Benefit Life- Similar to guaranteed issue life insurance, with some slight differences. You will have to answer some health questions, with the number of questions depending on the insurance carrier. Because there might be more health-related questions, these policies are slightly less expensive than guaranteed issue life insurance. These policies offer coverage up to $50,000.
  • Final Expense Life Also known as burial insurance; coverage is designed to cover end-of-life expenses, including burial costs, funeral ceremony costs, final medical bills, and any small debts. Policies offer coverage from as low as $2,000 to up to $50,000.

“I Have Other Financial Priorities”blue envelope open with letter coming out with invoice on the top of it and a hand with money next to it

Maybe life insurance isn’t a priority for you because you have other financial responsibilities, especially if you have a family. But, there are so many affordable life insurance policies out there, with some – like term life – costing as little as $15 a month for healthy people – that’s cheaper than the cost of lunch these days! The only way to find out if you can afford a policy is to research, compare, and work with an agent who specializes in life insurance. 

“I Don’t Understand It”

Life insurance is not something you learn about in school or even something you’re taught about as an adult. It is something you have to learn about on your own, which can be very frustrating. If you are unsure how it works, and which policy is right for you, rely on an insurance professional who can guide you in the right direction when buying life insurance. 

Your family has financial obligations that will not go away when you are gone; they will need your help more than ever with their expenses, and the last thing you want them to worry about is money while they are grieving. The best way to understand how life insurance works, and find the right policy for you and your specific needs, is by working with an agent who specializes in life insurance. We have provided the top life insurance companies in the nation below; each offers hassle-free assistance and the most competitive rates. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and know the advantages of each company. Make sure a hard time isn’t made harder by a financial burden, check life insurance rates today.

Life Insurance For The Unemployed

Times have been tough. If you’re unemployed thanks to the pandemic, you’re living through an uncertain and stressful time, and you might be worried about taking care of your family if the unexpected happens. You should know that, even if you’re unemployed, life insurance is not out of reach for you. You can protect your family financially in the event of your passing, but the amount of life insurance you can buy depends on a few factors.

How Long You’ve Been Unemployed

Being unemployed is not an immediate disqualifier for buying a life insurance policy, but there are some factors that insurers will take into consideration when you apply if you’re not working. For example, being unemployed for a short time is more favorable in the eyes of life insurance companies than being long-term unemployed (27 weeks or longer), so you shouldn’t wait too long to apply for life insurance after losing your job. The longer you are unemployed, the less likely a life insurance company will be to provide you with coverage, because they will worry about how you intend to pay your premiums with no income. In addition, you will be more likely to be approved for a policy if:person with magnifying glass and the word job in the middle

  • You have a good skill-set and made a decent income not too long ago.
  • You have a history of steady employment and plan on working again.
  • You worked in an industry that has plenty of jobs.
  • You are recently unemployed and likely to work again.

If you are not looking for work, or are looking but cannot find a job, you could be denied coverage. In addition, if you are unemployed due to a disability, you will not qualify for traditional life insurance that requires a medical exam , but you can try a no medical exam life insurance policy

But what if you left your job to be a stay-at-home parent? That will be viewed slightly differently by insurance companies: even though you are technically unemployed, you will qualify for life insurance equal to that of a working spouse. 

Assets You Have

If you have assets you can live on while you are unemployed, you are also more likely to be approved for  a policy. As we already mentioned, life insurance companies do not want to take the risk of you not paying your premiums and lapsing on your policy, so they will want to know if you have any assets to cover your premium payments. 

When Applying:

If you are unemployed and looking for a life insurance policy, the best way to get approved is by: illustration of an orange person holding up multiple resumes

  • Showing you are ready to work and are looking for a job. This can include having a list of jobs you are applying for to show your unemployment will be short-term.
  • Providing any records of assets you have to show you can keep up with your premium payments, even when you are not working.
  • Applying for a smaller amount of coverage. Instead of trying to go for a million dollar policy, consider less coverage, which will be more affordable and attainable.
  • Looking at different types of policies. There are many different kinds of life insurance policies that you can apply for, from term life to final expense life insurance. The best way to determine which is best for you is by comparing policies from different companies, especially since every company has different guidelines. 

Having life insurance is important for protecting your family’s financial future, especially when you are unemployed and don’t have a steady source of income for your family should the worst happen. If you need life insurance, the best way to get a policy that suits your needs is by using online tools, or speaking with an agent. We have provided the top insurance companies that offer life insurance policies below; each can give you hassle-free assistance and the most competitive rates in the nation. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and know the advantages of each company. Make sure a hard time isn’t made harder by a financial burden, check life insurance rates today.