Life insurance is not something that most people put much thought into until you realize it could be extremely beneficial for your family. In order to get the best life insurance, you will need to research your options and prepare for the health exam. This process can be overwhelming if you do not know what to expect and are not prepared ahead of time. We break it down for you, so you can be prepared and make sure you are getting the best life insurance for your situation and shop around for the best term life insurance quotes.
Do you Need Life Insurance?
The best life insurance is not for you, but for your loved ones, and a completely selfless product, that you probably need. Life insurance is one of those “adult things” that is not necessarily a fun topic but can be necessary to set your family up for success in case of an unfortunate tragic accident. Most people do not need life insurance until after the kids, mortgage, spouse, etc. come into the picture, it is a part of an estate and life planning that is important to take into consideration. The best life insurance is meant to protect your family now and into the future not only providing a cushion but setting them up for success in the long run. If you are the breadwinner the best life insurance can cover costs for an unexpected loss of income from day-to-day living expenses such as the mortgage, child care to college savings accounts, and retirement savings.
Even if you are not the breadwinner and maybe only work part-time or are a full-time stay-at-home mom, you still need some life insurance coverage. The best life insurance is meant to help the ones that are left behind and if a stay-at-home mom is no longer there, there are a lot of shoes to fill, from child care to keeping the house up, grocery shopping, etc. Keep that in mind if you are wondering if you need life insurance. No one wants to think of themselves not being there for their spouse or kids, but remember the best life insurance is not for you but for your loved ones.
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Types of Life Insurance
There are two main types of life insurance, term, and permanent life insurance, with various product options within both categories. Term insurance is coverage for a specific time period for a set price, usually from 10-20 years. Term insurance is ideal for those who need coverage while the children are younger, higher balance on the mortgage, and more long-term savings to consider. Once it runs out, you can choose to get another policy, which would mean starting over with the life insurance application and underwriting, at that time you would probably need less coverage and term insurance can be significantly less expensive due to only covering a relatively short period of time.
Whole life insurance is also set for a specific time period, but once approved you will always have the option to be covered, which means a heftier price tag. You just have to renew your coverage, when your policy is coming to an end and at that time the price will increase based on age but regardless of any changes in your health you will always be covered if your policy is in good order.
There are also many types of life insurance that offer additional benefits within the life insurance umbrella than just the traditional term or whole life policy. Depending on your situation there might be a better fit for you within these products, with options that are practically endless. Life insurance powerhouse John Handcock breaks down permanent life insurance simply with short explanations on the different types. As stated above there are variables of different life insurance within each type, many companies have different products available to you. In order to find the best life insurance for yourself and your loved ones, it is important to look at various options and what you really need the coverage for.
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Preparing for the Health Exam to get the Best Life Insurance
The best life insurance coverage takes a considerable amount of factors into consideration during underwriting to approve a client at any level. Often, but not always a health exam is part of the underwriting process. Underwriting is when the case is accessed to determine the probability that you will pass away during the length of the policy. The factors that go into underwriting to determine what rating you will get are age, gender, health, and lifestyle. Obviously the older you are the more likely you are to pass away, women live longer than men, and if you frequently skydive that is something that will come into play.
In addition to requesting your medical records, a simple health exam will be performed. Typically the exam will be done in the comfort of your own home or your office as the examiner comes to you. It will be similar to your annual check-up from your general practitioner-height and weight will be noted, blood will be drawn, a urine sample will be taken, blood pressure and weight will all be noted and the examiner will review your insurance application. For more in-depth details surrounding the health exam and what you can expect, this article is a great resource. In some cases a follow-up exam is needed to further clarify your application to get through underwriting, this would give the underwriters additional information regarding your health that is needed to confirm your policy.
It is important to prepare for the health exam in order to get the best life insurance. Since blood and urine samples will be taken for further testing it is important to make sure you follow the guidelines prior to the exam to avoid any retesting in order to get the best life insurance possible.
- Diet-Add some extra greens into your diet and reduce excess sugars and heavy fatty meals. The healthier you can eat the week leading up to your exam, the better your results from the blood work will be. Also advised to skip the alcohol, as it can dehydrate you and make your liver work a little harder which can also skew your results.
- Exercise-Skip the gym the day before, a light walk is fine, but any hard exercises can alter your blood pressure, heart rate, or cholesterol levels.
- Water-Increase your water intake, extra water will assist in flushing toxins out of your system in addition to being properly hydrated for the exam.
- Sleep-Get a good night’s sleep in advance of the exam, make sure you get a full night’s rest so your blood pressure and stress levels will be neutral.
- Fasting-Typically a blood test requires fasting prior, confirm to make sure you are fasting enough if needed.
If needed the underwriters will request your health records from your doctor to clarify or further look into anything you stated on your application or that presented itself during the health exam. It is extremely important to be upfront from the start as you don’t want to commit insurance fraud or cause additional work for the insurance company or agent you are working with. The best life insurance will look at all aspects of your life and health before quoting you a rate.
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The best life insurance will give you peace of mind and cover your family in case the unthinkable happens. It’s better to be overly prepared than wish you did something different. With a little time, research, and maybe a poke in the arm, you can easily be set up with the best life insurance for you and your family. It is important to evaluate all of your family’s needs and research the products available to get the best life insurance for your loved ones.
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Sources: Policygenius.com, Nationwide.com, Johnhancock.com
