Buying Life Insurance

Buying Life Insurance: The Ropes

It’s relatively easy when buying life insurance. Nevertheless, you would of course want to get the best deal from the market. Buying something haphazardly is easy. But getting the most out of your monthly premiums is something else. If you like being self-reliant, you can definitely make use of the World Wide Web to find the information you would need when you’re face to face with an insurance agent.

Getting an insurance quote

Requesting an online quotation from the online insurance brokers is relatively easy. Nearly all of the insurance brokers on the Internet have electronic forms that you can fill up with the most basic details. Websites like MoneySupermarket, Teletext and MoneyNet can help you determine the best policies.

Basic information that may be required from you includes your name, address, contact details, health condition, etc. Make sure you’re truthful with your declared health class because the insurance company would still know. Many of them require medical examinations for whole life insurance.

Tobacco use & life insurance

Does tobacco use make buying life insurance more difficult? Not really. You’ll still be approved for term insurance or whole life insurance, but expect the worst. Life insurance companies know the risks of tobacco use and they’re not taking any undue risks. The risk of paying the full amount of an insurance policy within a few years is a very real risk that they have to take into consideration.

If you’ve smoked before (less than a year of stopping), you might want to find insurance companies that classify non-smokers as people who did not use tobacco within 12 months. Most insurance companies classify non-smokers as those who did not use tobacco products within 5 years.

Making a claim

For any insurance policy, the first thing that you should do is to locate your documents. Read the policy and follow what the policy says about the claims. If you’ve lost the documents, contact the insurance company immediately.

They would probably give you a claim form that you can fill up and submit for your claim. If you’re acting on behalf of an insured person suffering from terminal illness, the insurance company would most likely give you the lump sum quickly.

Just bring a certified copy from a medical doctor confirming that such and such person has terminal illness. If the insured has already died, a death certificate is enough for the life company. Remember, buying life insurance can save you from a lot of worries when you think you’re mortality is knocking on the door. GP