. With a growing family, the idea of life insurance becomes more and more like something you need to protect that family. Without much information, however, it is easier to make life insurance choices which may not cover your family adequately. Before you buy any of the policies out there, think about the considerations below.
1. Policy Type
You may not even know that there are multiple types of this insurance available, namely whole and term life policies. When you get a policy that is term life, it lasts only for a particular "term"; for instance, the policy may stretch throughout the childhoods of your children and terminate at their 18th birthdays. Because the policy isn't ongoing indefinitely, such policies are less expensive than the alternative, the whole life insurance policy. Whole life packages protect beneficiaries on an ongoing basis, typically because you make payments to that effect until you pass away.
2. Multiple Beneficiaries
Insurance paperwork can be cumbersome and take more time than you think it deserves. Listing your spouse or one child can be a way to shave off time as you fill out the documents. However, this time-saving effort could cause problems upon your death. An eldest child could decide not to share or split any of the policy proceeds with other siblings, for example. A spouse might end up passing away before you, leaving no beneficiary without further legal actions. To prevent delays, name specific, multiple beneficiaries.
3. Unemployed Spouses
Whether they've just lost a job or have always been the parent who stays with the children at home, your unemployed spouse also needs life insurance. This may be a surprise to you; many people don't consider that even those without jobs need coverage. Your unemployed spouse probably supervises the children much of the time you're working and likely handles a large part of the cooking and home maintenance tasks. Without them, your family may need babysitting help, housekeeping services, and other assistance, and those things can cost considerable amounts of cash. Life insurance proceeds can provide the money for some of those services.
4. Bundling Insurance Policies
Of course, life insurance is but one of the insurance policies you need to pay for each month. At times that may be financially challenging, and having to remember and send off a payment to different companies may be a hassle. To somewhat fix this, discover whether the companies you're currently using for home or vehicle insurance will allow you to combine them with life insurance. Bundling policies like this can result in some discounts.
Carefully consider these issues in the days before you purchase any life insurance. Agents in the field can advise you further. To learn more about life insurance, contact a law firm like Scott E. Shaffman Attorney At Law