Life insurance. It’s not a topic most people like to think about, yet for a responsible spouse or parent, life insurance is one of life’s necessary evils.
Do you need life insurance? To find out, ask yourself the following questions:
Would a death benefit help a loved one pay off a home loan or other debt? If you were to die, would your loved ones need your death benefit to continue your current standard of living? Will your children be able to continue their education without your death benefit? Are there any family members with special needs who would be negatively affected without your death benefit? Will your loved ones need your death benefit to pay for funeral and possibly medical bills?
If your answer to any of those questions is YES, then you are an ideal candidate for life insurance.
Here in Oregon, as elsewhere, there are two main types of life insurance: whole life and term life.
Whole life insurance is a policy that you buy once and keep for a lifetime. The premium for a whole life policy never changes no matter how long you live.
A term life insurance policy, on the other hand, is valid only for a predetermined number of years. Once the term of the policy is exhausted, you will need to purchase a new policy with a higher premium, based on your age at renewal.
So what kind of policy is better? That will depend on a number of factors. For a person with limited financial resources, a term life insurance policy may seem more attractive, since a term policy will have a lower premium than a whole life policy, at least initially.
However, when the term life policy reaches the end of its term, it will be necessary to purchase a new policy at a higher rate, possibly much higher than the flat rate you would still pay if you had purchased a whole life policy to begin with. .
So how can an Oregon family afford life insurance? Fortunately, there are several things you can do to save money and get discount life insurance in Oregon.
First, don’t smoke. Smokers pay considerably more for life insurance than non-smokers. In addition, there can be no history of drug or alcohol abuse and you cannot routinely participate in dangerous activities, such as extreme sports.
Second, get insurance as early as you can: The younger you are when you buy your first policy, the lower your premiums will be, and if you buy a whole life policy early, your low premium will never change.
Even your driving record can affect the rate you pay for life insurance. Some life insurance companies penalize you if you have had a traffic violation in the last 3 years. Others forgive one or even two violations.
This is where it pays to shop around. Go online and find a site that allows you to fill out a simple form and then compare rates from a variety of companies. This way, you can be sure not only to save money, but also to find the best discount life insurance in Oregon that is perfect for both your family’s needs and your budget.
