Term Life Insurance
Affordable Life Insurance For Healthy Adults Ages 18-74
Affordable Life Insurance You Can’t Afford Not To Have
Term life insurance is the most affordable way to protect your family’s financial security if something happens to you. It replaces your income in the event of your death, and ensures that the ones who depend on you can support themselves financially in your absence. Healthy men and women in their mid 30s and 40s can buy hundreds of thousands of dollars of coverage for under a dollar a day!
WHAT IS TERM LIFE INSURANCE?
Term life insurance provides coverage for a specific period of time. You can generally buy term life insurance for periods of five years or more, and your policy is active until that period passes. Because you only pay for it as long as you need it, term life insurance is considerably more affordable than whole or permanent life insurance.
WHO CAN BUY TERM LIFE INSURANCE?
Most people between the ages of 18 and 75 can buy term life insurance, although the younger you are and the better your health, the more affordable it is. While people with terminal conditions may have trouble getting approved for a policy, it’s possible for cancer survivors, diabetics, and people who take medications for cholesterol, blood pressure and other conditions to obtain coverage.
HOW DOES TERM LIFE INSURANCE WORK?
You can buy term life insurance for five, 10, 15, 20, or 30 years — however long you need it. So long as you pay your premiums on time, your policy will remain active until the end of the term period you’ve selected. If something happens to you while the policy is active, your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit for the amount of the policy. In most cases, term life insurance proceeds are tax-free. Consult your tax advisor if you have any questions.
Term life insurance is a great way to make sure that your family’s well-being is taken care of for a minimal monthly premium. No one ever anticipates needing to use life insurance, and tragic life events happen unexpectedly. Be prepared and get a free term life insurance quote today.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF TERM LIFE INSURANCE?
One of the biggest advantages of term insurance is its lower initial cost in comparison to permanent insurance. Why is it cheaper when initially purchased? Because with term insurance, you’re generally just paying for the death benefit, the lump sum payment your beneficiaries will receive if you die during the term of the policy. With most permanent policies, your premiums help fund the death benefit and can accumulate cash value.
Term insurance is often a good choice for people in their family-formation years, especially if they’re on a tight budget, because it allows them to buy high levels of coverage when the need for protection is often greatest. Term insurance is also a good option for covering needs that will disappear in time. For instance, if paying for college is a major financial concern but you’re pretty sure that you won’t need life insurance coverage after the kids graduate, than it might make sense to buy a term policy that’ll get you through the college years.
CAN YOU COVERT A TERM POLICY TO A WHOLE LIFE POLICY?
Another provision that is very important is something called convertibility. Some insurance contracts only allow “conversion” in the first few years of the policy, while others allow it at any point during the term. This valuable feature allows you to convert your term policy to a permanent policy (e.g., whole life insurance) without submitting evidence of insurability. Being able to convert to a permanent policy is a great option to have in the event that circumstances in your life change such as failing health or maybe just the realization that coverage is needed for a longer period of time than you originally anticipated. That’s why when purchasing a term policy, it’s never a bad idea to find out what kind of permanent policies are offered by the company you are considering. Some companies may only have strong term insurance offerings, while others may have very competitive products in both categories.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE TERM POLICY ENDS?
But what happens if you buy a term policy only to realize at the end of the term that you still have a need for life insurance? Well, it’s sort of a good news, bad news story. The good news is that many policies will give you the option to renew your policy when you reach the end of the term. The bad news is that you’ll probably face much higher costs since age is one of key factors used to determine life insurance premiums. To renew the policy, you also may have to present evidence of insurability (that’s insurance jargon meaning, “take another medical exam and answer a new round of questions about your lifestyle, health status and family health history”). If you’re still a fine specimen with healthy living habits, you might re-qualify at a reasonable rate. But if your health has deteriorated, you may find that it’s too expensive to renew your policy or you may not even re-qualify.
So if you’re considering a term policy, make sure you carefully consider how long you’ll need the coverage. If you’re pretty sure that your needs are temporary, then term insurance is probably the right choice for you. But if you think there’s a possibility that you might need the coverage for a long time, then remember that if you want to renew your term policy after it expires or buy a new term policy at that time, your age, health status or other factors may make coverage very expensive.
WHAT IS THE RETURN OF PREMIUM OPTION?
One exception to this rule is what’s called a return-of-premium term policy. With these policies, if you keep the policy in force for the entire term, say 20 years, the insurance company will refund the premium payments you made over that 20-year period. Of course, there is a price to be paid for this added benefit. The premiums for return-of-premium policies are considerably higher than premiums for standard term policies. The price difference can be 20%, 30% or more. Another factor to consider is that term insurance rates have dropped considerably over the past decade, mostly because people are living longer. If you own a standard term policy, there’s really no harm done in dropping that policy in favor of a newer and cheaper term policy. But if you own a return-of-premium policy, dropping the policy before the full term has expired means that you will have paid a high price for your term insurance coverage and the premiums you paid won’t be fully refunded. At best, you’ll get a partial refund of the money you put into your policy to that point.
WHAT ARE SOME OPTIONAL ADONS?
When considering a term purchase, one thing to keep in mind is that not all term policies are the same. Some may include certain provisions as standard features, while others may require you to pay extra to add these features as “riders” to your policy. So if you’re comparing term policies, remember that price is not the only factor to consider. Ask your agent about provisions such as:
Accelerated death benefits – allows a terminally ill person to collect a significant portion of his or her policy’s death benefit while that person is still alive
Disability waiver of premium – waives premiums when a policy owner suffers a long-term disability, typically one lasting six months or longer
Accidental death benefits – doubles or triples the benefit in the case of death by accidental means
What Does Term Life Cost?
Term Life Insurance is a simple issued application and depending on the amount you are applying for it will not require you to complete a “paramed” such as a blood or urine test.
The most exciting benefit of Term Life Insurance is the Return of Premium.
Return of Premium is going to be more expensive. That is because the insurance company is guaranteeing that you will get your money back in 20 years if you are still around. If you die in that 20-year term, your family would get the death benefit. You also have the option to let the insurance company keep your money and they will give you a paid-up whole life policy. That means you would never have to pay another penny again and no matter what they will pay out that amount.
If you were to develop a Chronic, Critical, or Terminal Illness, you would receive 75-100% of $250,000 while you are still alive.
You really cannot lose with a Term Life Policy with Return of Premium.
Talk to a State Licensed Agent Today to see if you qualify for a Return of Premium Term Life Insurance policy.