Hello all. I'm a 43y/o woman in relatively good health.I'm interested in buying a life insurance policy.One of my parents is also interested in buying life insurance.How do we know which type of policy is best? How do we know which company to go through?We want an honest and reputable company.We live in Pennsylvania. Does anyone have any suggestions for us? thanks to all who answer!

ballengerb1

The type of life insurance policy you buy depends on what you are trying to protect. A young man with a family may want to cover his mortgage so his wife can keep the house. He would buy term life, good coverage but for a shorter non-renewable period. As you get older both types, term and whole life get more expension so your parent would pay a lot more than you for an identical policy. Go to your yellow pages and see if your county has an insurance board at the county seat, they could give you more specific advice.

nikosmom

As ballenger pointed out, the type of policy you choose to purchase depends on what your goals are. Whole and Universal Policies build cash value while Term policies don't. The cash value accrues and can either be used to purchase additional insurance or used in the form of a loan.

Term policies are less expensive because they run out at when the term is up (hence the name). Most are renewable without proving insurability; however you will be purchasing the same policy at your new attained age. So if you buy a 10 year term at the age of 43, at age 53 you can renew it without having to undergo a new underwriting process. But you're now purchasing it as a 53 year old person so the cost will be higher.

Term policies give you more bang for you buck but just remember that you have to plan what you'll do when it runs out. Some term policies are convertible; meaning they can be converted to a permanent policy without proving insurabilty.

One thing I will advise, don't necessarily go with the company that offers you the cheapest rate. Check the financial soundness before making a decision because the worst thing that could happen is that you pay for a policy and the company goes belly up and isn't able to pay a claim to your family.

Here's a site that will be helpful for you to check the fiscal strength of the companies you are comparing:

TheStreet.com Insurance Company Safety Screener | TheStreet.com

twinkiedooter

Call an independent insurance agent and have him give you quotes from several different insurance companies. The companies that have you take a physical to prove you are in good health usually are of higher caliber. Shop around. Term policies for 20 years are a better buy than term policies for 10 years or even 5 years. The longer the term policy the longer you lock in the rate when you're 43. The older you get the higher the premium. Also, say if you are 43 now and get a 20 year term policy if you would get cancer, etc at age 50 your premium would be out of this world if you could get insurance coverage at all. There are 30 year term policies. You can also change a policy and up the total benefit amount at any time by the way. If your situation changes and you need $450,000 worth of coverage and you have only $250,000 coverage that can happen much easier once you are insured. Or the reverse happens and you don't need as much coverage. Your premium would just be adjusted accordingly.

I worked for an independent life insurance salesman as his Administrative Assistant who knew which company suited the person best and would carefully match them up with the right company. Oh, yes, your credit scores also come into play when you apply for insurance. The insurance companies carefully screen you, the possible insured, to see if they want to insure you. Just because you are in good health is just part of the equation.