What is Life Insurance?

Life insurance seminars are the stuff of legend to many people. If you are one of those who imagine that the whole process of life insurance means long, boring actuarial tables, morbid 'what if' situations, sitting around and talking about what gruesome way you're going to end up dying, or an agent nit-picking every little lifestyle habit you have, then you probably haven't shopped for insurance in the right places. For you, the policy holder, life insurance should be a very easy and straightforward process that you can understand and adjust throughout your life as need be without much effort. The best way to understand life insurance is to understand its key parts and how it works:

The Need:

The first part of any insurance process is you, the consumer, deciding that you need a policy to protect yourself or your loved ones from some eventuality. Unlike homeowner's insurance which you may or may not ever use, or auto insurance which you may, or may not ever need, life insurance is one eventuality that everyone must face sooner or later. Once you are gone, who will provide for your family if you are a breadwinner? Who will pay to send your kids through school? If you're a stay at home spouse, how will your working spouse manage to keep the house clean and in working order without you? Who will take care of the young children while your spouse is at work?

All of these simple, and fair questions much lead to one conclusion: the need for a life insurance policy that will offer a sum of money to provide for the financial needs of your family after you are gone.

The Application:

Once you've talked with your loved ones and decided to protect them with a policy, you can begin the process to receive cheap whole life insurance quotes by filling out the form on this site. Receiving multiple quotes from different companies side-by-side is an efficient way to shop for any insurance policy rather than contacting and relying on an agent for a single product or company that sells insurance.

The Underwriting:

Underwriters are people who evaluate the risk of issuing an insurance policy and determine by that risk how much the premiums for the policy should be. There are many factors that can affect your life insurance policy premiums from your age to simple genetics. Other factors that you have control over, such as your lifestyle, will also affect your premiums and how much you are required to pay.

The Approval:

Once you've gone through underwriting for your policy and been approved you will begin paying premiums on your policy on a monthly basis. Some plans and programs may allow you to pay on a less frequent basis if that is what you prefer. You will be sent a detailed contract and list of approvals that tell you about all of the exclusions on your policy and what things may or may not be covered.

The Payout:

The persons whom you designate as a beneficiary after you die will be the ones to receive the payout upon your death as long as they are able to receive it. Persons unable to accept payouts include minors, and possibly those who have been adjudicated incompetent. Factors surrounding your death, or early withdrawals from the account by you before your death may reduce the benefit payment amount.