It’s never a good idea to meet with an agent or company rep unless you already have a written quote for the particular companies being touted. Always explore your options face-to-face knowing what the general market has to offer. Never ever sign a binding contract at one of these meetings. Always take time to think about your options before committing yourself. When you’re shopping around, always ask for a guaranteed renewable policy. Say you decide to start with a short-term policy of five years. This looks a good low-cost, affordable life insurance policy for someone young and without too many commitments. Make sure you have the right to renew as many times as you want and no matter how your health may have changed. Equally important, make sure your premiums are fixed during the lifetime of the cover and no matter how many times you renew. Remember premiums are low when you’re young because you should live a good number of years. If you’re renewing at market rates when you’re older, your premium will rise significantly. Make sure you get the benefit of premiums already paid.

Don’t go for anything fancy. You want a policy that pays the minimum amount you think your dependents will need should you die. You can always buy additional policies as inflation takes some of the original value away. Don’t be tempted by policies that offer different levels of benefit depending on how you die. Finally, always check out the financial health of the company before you buy a life insurance policy from them. It would be unfortunate if the company had no money to pay out when you died.

Summary

The article looks at the basic steps you should take when buying a life insurance policy. Always get quotes for the same death benefits over the same term, and standardize the instalments. Don’t be tempted by fancy offers and get the right to renew at the same premium.