Life insurance is the exchange of a relatively small payment each month a premium — for a very large amount of money if you die — a death benefit. This is the main value offered by all sorts of life insurance policies, and it ensures loved ones have financial protection.

Individuals purchase a specific type of life insurance policy to cover final expenses such as funeral costs and any other type of financial obligations. Others purchase life insurance to cover them for their entire life to make sure their family members are always protected.

Finding the right type of policy can be complicated and that’s why we always recommend working with an independent insurance agent rather than trying to find life insurance quotes online. WealthCare Financial insurance agents can help you determine the proper insurance products and amount of coverage based on your financial needs.

Term Life Insurance is a type of insurance that provides coverage to your dependents for a set period, typically from 10 – 30 years. If you die within the term, the insurance company will pay out the death benefit to your beneficiaries.

Term Life insurance is the simplest and most cost effective form of Life insurance. This is NOT a type of permanent life insurance but is instead considered the most affordable life insurance option. The most common term life insurance policy purchased is a 20-year term and a 30-year term by most homeowners.

Term life insurance can offer accelerated underwriting for certain individuals. To qualify for accelerated underwriting you must have somewhat of a clean medical history.

Whole Life Insurance is a permanent life insurance policy that will not expire if premiums are being paid. Unlike Term Life Insurance, Whole Life offers a savings component that will build cash value over the life of the policy, as well as offering annual dividend payments which can act similarly to an investment account but is uncorrelated to the returns of the market. During your retirement years, you have the ability to withdraw the cash value in the insurance policy to use as an income replacement.

You can have a fully paid-up Whole Life policy which will require no additional premiums. Examples are 10 pay, 20 pay, and paid up at age 65.

This type of life insurance is offered by many life insurance companies, but only a few companies offer the best life insurance coverage options. Lastly, we recommend reviewing the financial strength of the life insurance company before purchasing.

As the policyholder, in exchange for your premium payments, the insurance company will pay a lump sum death benefit to your beneficiaries after your death. The benefit that is paid to the beneficiaries is Tax-Free.

Once you selected a type of life insurance policy and reviewed the life insurance rates you will need to go through the application process. Depending on your medical history and insurance face amount also known as a death benefit, the insurance company might have you do a medical exam. An experienced insurance agent will help guide you through this process.

The amount of life insurance that is typically needed for an individual varies on their situation. A common rule of thumb is to multiply your annual post tax income by 10 to 30 times. For example, someone making $100,000 a year may need roughly $1mm to $3mm.

Depending on your specific situation you determine the amount of insurance you need. As life events happen you might want to add additional insurance coverage or decide to increase the term length for a certain number of years.

Universal life (UL) insurance is a form of permanent life insurance with an investment savings element based on market interest rates. Universal life policies provide more flexibility than other types of insurance policies where the policy holder can adjust their premiums and death benefits.

This insurance is offered to all members of a certain group such as, employees at a company. Sometimes this insurance can be cheaper than purchasing the same coverage individually, but it depends on the groups average age. This type of insurance is only valid if you are working under the specific group and if you leave the insurance will cancel.

Don’t expect a big payout from group insurance. Typically, this type of insurance will only cover funeral expenses and small debts.

Life insurance can cost as low as $7 a month to over thousands of dollars paid in each month depending on the type of life insurance policy you’re looking for. These are the key contributing factors to determining the cost of a life insurance policy, your health, death benefit amount, and the period of time you want to have the insurance.

In some cases, you can get life insurance immediately through an accelerated underwriting program. Not all companies offer this type of program and it‘s usually open to individuals who have a clean medical history. Other programs offer immediate life insurance, but typically those life insurance policies aren’t the best options.