Top 10 Life Insurance Stories

In almost every single case, life insurance proves to be a blessing. At every crossroad in life, and even in death, there are unexpected financial expenses that come with the territory. Having a life insurance policy in place will certainly minimize the financial challenges your family will face upon your death but unless precautions are taken while you are still alive and vigorous enough to deal with them effectively, you may leave them aggrieved as well as bereaved.

The most effective way to avert disaster is to eliminate its possibility in the first place. Be pro-active when you compare life cover from one company to the next and even from one policy to another when they’re both offered by the same company. They are different products because they perform differently. Learn enough about them to make an educated decision from the outset.

It’s much easier to buy the most appropriate life insurance cover than it is to fix problems later. When shopping around and comparing life insurance quotes, keep these ten points in mind so they become points of reference and not horror stories in the making:

#1 - Finding Your Coverage Has Been Dropped Unexpectedly

Effective communication is a important at the outset of a business relationship as well as during its progression. Before buying, find out if the company will notify you in writing well in advance of any rate changes, renewal dates, or any other provision that might change the nature of the coverage. You never want to be dropped without knowing about it.

#2 - Your New Job Cancels Your Life Insurance Coverage

It’s not unusual to change jobs over the course of a lifetime or even over the course of time a person spends with the same employer. If you make a dramatic switch in job descriptions, especially where the degree of personal danger is heightened, notify your personal insurance provider before clocking in. For example, a telephone dispatcher at an emergency call centre who becomes a drug squad detective faces a whole new pool of risk. Getting killed in a gun battle wouldn’t normally be expected of a telephone dispatcher but is an everyday possibility for the drug squad. It’s exactly the kind of possibility that has a direct effect on a life insurance policy. Benefits may be denied if your life insurance group discovers your new job description after the tragic fact.

#3 - Your Beneficiary Isn’t Who You Think It Is

The number one reason to buy life insurance is to provide financial assistance to your loved ones at the time of your death. Make sure your life insurance policy allows you to choose your desired beneficiary. Some unscrupulous life insurance companies place a standard clause into their policies that names themselves as your beneficiaries. These designations are usually hidden away in the fine print and who reads that stuff, anyway? Make sure you do. Designate the person(s) of your choice, not theirs.

#4 - Not All Causes of Death Are Covered

Not every form of death is covered in every life insurance policy. Some apply to accidents only and others to just illness. Some even provide coverage if certain illnesses lead to death but not others. Suicide often presents a different outcome still. Before you buy, know exactly what you’re buying.

#5 - Not Everyone is Covered

Many parents include all their children under a family life cover and then forget to review it each year as the children grow up. In most cases, a child’s 21st birthday spells the end of their eligibility for family cover. That same birthday also marks a very reckless time in the average life. A fatal accident will be plenty heartbreaking, indeed, but learning the child has become too old to be covered under the family plan will be a double blow of staggering proportion.

#6 - Claims Filed But Never Resolved

It’s said death and taxes are the only sure things in life but it’s a pretty safe bet that funeral expenses are a sure thing, too. To the average person, death is a rather unmistakable state but it doesn’t seem to always be so obvious to a life insurance provider. Some companies delay, drag out, and deny benefits for so long many beneficiaries are tempted to give up the fight. Buy insurance only from a company that guarantees prompt claim resolutions in writing and with specific time lines established.

#7 - Policy Cancelled But Premiums Continue

Every life policy comes with the buyer’s option to cancel it but doing so isn’t always as easy as advertised. Sometimes premiums are still being billed after the cancellation date and, where electronic transfer of funds is involved, money may continue being withdrawn from the policyholder’s bank account. This situation can be a true nuisance for some people but others experience an absolute nightmare. Many people don’t have a lot of spare money in the bank and an unexpected withdrawal of money that is no longer a part of the budget can wreak havoc with payments to all other creditors and tarnish an otherwise admirable credit rating. Never take for granted that premium payments are stopping just because a policy is cancelled.

#8 - Rates Rise Impossibly With Age

It’s realistic to expect life insurance rates to go up as one ages. After all, the older a person gets, the higher the chance of dying. Most insurance companies deal with aging in a respectable, open manner but others seem to prefer nasty surprises. Don’t be caught unaware when premium rates skyrocket to coincide with a monumental birthday. Stick with the life insurance providers who raise rates in structured increments disclosed at the beginning of your association with them so there’ll be no nasty surprises as your age goes up and your earning potential goes down.

#9 - Too Young or Healthy To Need It

Who wants to plan to die in the prime of life? No matter how young or healthy, the threat of death is around every corner. This reality is easier to grasp the older one gets but the ugly truth is that young, healthy people die every day. They die at home, at work, and at play and many of them leave a saddened young family behind at just the time a burgeoning career was showing financial promise. Accidents happen fast but illness can strike with the speed of lightening, too. Many cancers are so virulent they kill just weeks or months after diagnosis but cancer isn’t the only illness that strikes quickly and fatally in the prime of life – you just have to take a look at the news. Your loss will leave your family emotionally devastated. Don’t leave it financially devastated as well.

#10 - Cheap Insurance

Cheap life insurance isn’t necessarily inexpensive. It’s just pretty much useless. It isn’t there when you need it the most, no matter how much money you’ve invested in its premiums. Sometimes the best life insurance coverage is bought with the lowest life insurance premium rates. More money doesn’t always buy more quality. The value comes with the details. Compare them all and choose the best life insurance coverage you can find at the rate that seems the most reasonable to you, especially when it’s compared against its competitors.
Buy with wisdom and know you’ll leave your family blessed with the very best you can provide them, even in your absence.