Life Insurance
Life insurance is a topic that many people would like to avoid, yet it could be one of the most important forms of insurance to have. Planning for life insurance is not always easy. You have to keep an eye out for scams, understand which insurance policies are right for you, and choose an insurance provider, among other things. This guide will help you cut through some of these obstacles, by using the Web to teach you about life insurance basics.
Expand All Guide SectionsWhat is life insurance?
Life insurance is a way for you to provide for your loved ones in the event of your death. There ... read more »
Choosing Life Insurance Coverage
There are no one-size-fits-all life insurance plans; each consumer has different needs, and each should thoroughly evaluate his or her options to ensure a policy fits. The resources below will help you decide if life insurance is right for you, and if so, what type of plan will meet your needs.
Dulcinea's Insight
- An insurance salesman is not necessarily looking out for your best interest; he's looking for your dollar, so look critically at each policy, research arguments against specific plans, and be the one with the final say before buying a policy. A good example of salespeople pitching unnecessary products is the common practice of selling young workers, freshly out of college with no dependents, life insurance policies.
- Life insurance fraud on the part of the agent is always something to be conscious of. Use these tips provided by InsWeb.com to know what mistakes to avoid, and what signs to be cautious of.
- Life insurance is a sticky issue, and it can be hard to know how to reconcile what you need with what you get. Ken and Daria Dolan, hosts of a nationally syndicated financial radio show, and creators of Dolans.com, have an article entitled, "Straight Talk on Life Insurance: Here's the Truth About What You Need", that attempts to cut through the issue in plain language.
Dulcinea's Picks
To help you decide if you need life insurance coverage ...
Investopedia
has "Fifteen Insurance Policies You Don't Need"; also check out the "Five Insurance Policies Everyone Needs" and "How Much Life Insurance Should You Carry?".
The Simple Dollar
is a blog written by an average Joe who's overcome a "financial Armageddon," and in the process learned a lot of practical lessons about personal finance. In this post he recounts a conversation with a friend working as an actuary for a life insurance company, who offers interesting pieces of advice about how much life insurance one actually needs (or doesn't need).
To help you choose the right kind of life insurance ...
AOL
has a life insurance section with plenty of articles comparing different types of life insurance and explaining how they work. Here you'll also find calculators to help you compare life insurance returns by type of policy.
SmartMoney
has an article, "Which Life Insurance is Best?", that could help give you an idea of which life insurance will suit your lifestyle and financial situation.
To determine much coverage you need ...
Money Central
at MSN.com has a "Life Insurance Needs Estimator" that will help you figure out exactly how much life insurance coverage you'll need. This step-by-step calculator will help you consider expenses such as your funeral, college funds for your dependents, possible years that your family may be without income (if you are the sole breadwinner), any life insurance policy you may currently have, and so on.
SmartMoney
has a worksheet for helping you estimate the size of the policy you'll need. To the right of the worksheet you'll find links to other life insurance articles from the magazine that can help you choose a policy and maybe even save some money. Also worth a look for beginners is the life insurance glossary.
For tax information ...
The Internal Revenue Service
provides this answer to a frequently asked question that explains how proceeds from life insurance benefits affect taxes.
Find a Life Insurance Provider
So you know you want life insurance and you know what kind you want to buy—but who should you ... read more »
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