In most cases, when you get an insurance policy, it’s to protect yourself from risk. Health insurance protects you from financial disaster due to medical bills. Auto insurance protects you from having to pay out of pocket for repairs to the vehicle you dinged. Life insurance, however, protects your family from financial hardship in case you pass away. This is the one insurance policy that isn’t about you, but is about your spouse and family.
There is a long, involved, process that one must go through in order to get life insurance. The details of a life insurance policy are often complex, difficult to understand, and confusing. However, it is worth the frustration of going through all the paperwork, the telephone interviews, and the physical exam, because having life insurance is important. If tragedy strikes, and you pass away, your family will really need the financial protection that your life insurance can provide them.
There are two different kinds of life insurance policies that you can get. You can get a term policy, or a whole policy. There are advantages and disadvantages to each one, and you should talk with your insurance agent in order to find out which is better for you.
Most people make their spouse the beneficiary of their life insurance policy. If you die, it is your spouse and children who will be hit with the most financial hardship as a result. The life insurance policy will cover the costs of your funeral expenses, as well as some of the medical expenses that your health insurance policy failed to cover. The life insurance policy can pay off the remaining money that is due on your mortgage, so your family will be able to keep the house. Life insurance benefits also can give your family the money they need in order to continue living the lifestyle that they did before you died, even with the loss of your income. The reason that you get a life insurance policy isn’t about you at all. Instead, it is all about being able to provide financial protection to your family after you are gone.
Now, this is not to say that other insurance policies don’t protect your family. They do, but in a different way than the life insurance can. A great resource that you can use to learn more about why your family needs you to have many kinds of insurance is called FamilyInsurance.com. Articles on that website explain, in great detail, exactly how homeowners insurance, renters insurance, car insurance, and even pet insurance, can provided the protection that your family will need when life doesn’t go smoothly.
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