Life Insurance Guide: Everything You Need To Know

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This Life Insurance guide is designed to teach you everything you need to know about life insurance and give you the tools you need to make the best decisions for yourself and your family. Read on and give yourself the power to protect your loved ones.

It's true that insurance can protect you from almost anything that might happen accidentally – unforeseen situations. With insurance, you are buying protection against the chance of unforeseen losses that might have devastating effects on you financially and mentally.

That's why it is very important to secure a solid life insurance policy now, or any other type of insurance you need, even if you do not look forward to a major catastrophe anytime soon. Still, the future is uncertain. And it may not be the most comfortable subject to discuss the possibility of you dying or getting a severe physical or mental injury, learning about the options you have (and eventually making a smart decision that will have a huge impact on the life of your loved ones) cannot be overemphasized.

And if you want to learn about it, this article explains everything you need to know about insurance.

What does it really mean to get insured? How does insurance works?

Basically, when a group of people agrees to share risks, that's insurance. To get insured, you have to buy insurance to get a policy for which you pay a monthly premium.

Policy in this context means a legal contract listing what is covered, and what is not. it also contains the amount of money you are going to pay (the premium) and when it is going to be paid. If you go through with it and it's signed and legally binding, you're insured.

In the event of a disaster, and the thing or person insured got damaged or dies, the beneficiary designated on the policy gets compensated. It's that simple.

Who needs insurance?

In a word? Everyone! It is a big mistake not to get insured at all. You should decide today to get life insurance, especially if you are a parent. Don't panic. You really do not look forward to dying anytime soon, right? Nevertheless, you need it. You can't be too sure. It'll help a lot in case something happens. You will get the kind of long-term protection and security you and your family needs.

And you should get property insurance. You need this too. The truth is, you can insure your house, your cars, and pretty much any important property you have. That's not all – there are definitely others.

What are some of the benefits of insurance?

There are the personal (you and your family), and the social benefits. It decreases the level of accident, provides funds for proper investment, and reimburse businesses for covered loses, among many other social benefits.

What's the best time to get insured?

Right now! Don't put it off. If you are new to insurance, it means that you have not been insured. That's not a good thing, honestly. What happens if your house – one of your major assets – get burned to the ground and you do not have home insurance? What happens if you have serious health complication and your kids can't fend for themselves? You could lose everything in few seconds what it took you years, if not decades, to amass. And your kids will suffer. That's disastrous for you and everyone you care for.

So set up your plan now, and research thoroughly your options and the kind of insurance you need the most. For example, if you do not have a property, you definitely do not need property insurance.

What type of insurance do you need then?

You could start with life insurance offered by some of the best guaranteed universal insurance companies. You could add home, and auto insurance. It will help you to make a more informed decision

How do you get insurance? And what if it's available through a job?

Many companies offer insurance to their employees, especially life insurance. In most cases, that's not enough. You may need more coverage. Besides, if you leave the job, it's over – you're not insured.

But you can get an insurance agent to help you out. Or you could get help online – There are many guaranteed universal insurance companies. Ask for quotes from different carriers and make a comparison.

How do you make sure you are getting insured the best way possible?

That's why you need to do comparison shopping. You can easily do that online. You could also ask for a level premium. It means that the amount you owe will not be changed over time. Also, you want to consider lifestyle discount – if it's offered in the policy. Ask your insurance agent or read through the fine print yourself. Why? Habits insurance companies deem highly dangerous will increase your premium substantially.

How do insurance companies determine premium?

This is a pretty complicated question. However, some factors affect how premium are determined. Some of them are the type of insurance, overall cost, and the number of times people file claims. It is not uncommon that people file false claims. Insurance companies have to work hard to fetch out false claims and prevent fraud. So premiums are not fixed indiscriminately.

Note that insurance premiums are determined before the actual cost of damages are known. They have to base it on some of the factors listed above.

Does credit score affect premium?

Unfortunately for you, yes they do. You can't run from that. Premiums are higher for people with low credit score.

Are insurance companies regulated?

They are subject to government oversight. All legal businesses are. If the insurance company is not regulated, it is not legal. You should check for this as well. Unregulated companies engage in fraudulent business practices – you should know this.

In a nutshell, insurance is readily available to help you pay others on your behalf or helps you pay for an emergency or disasters when accidents occur. Insurance is a contract that transfers the risks of a business or individual to an insurance company. Overall, insurance is very important for everyone since no one can tell for certain what will happen next. Once you have coverage, new health problems or habits (if it's a health insurance policy that you bought), can't change your rate. If you start smoking or develop a medical condition, you do not have to tell the insurance company about that too. That is what you need to know about insurance.

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Brian Meiggs
Brian Meiggs
Brian is the chief editor of beer money and is a personal finance expert who has spent the last few years writing about how anyone can make oney online. He has been fortunate enough to have appeared in several online publications, including Yahoo! Finance, NASDAQ, MSN Money, AOL, Discover Bank, GOBankingRates, and more. He is also diversifying his portfolio by adding a little bit of real estate. But not rental homes, because he doesn't want a second job, it's diversified small investments in hands off real estate investing via an app called Fundrise.

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