Where to Buy Life Insurance

Life Insurance is one of the best investments in these tough times. Everyone should have life insurance, especially in the current economic scenario where a breadwinner's sudden death may cause untold financial stress to a family, even while they are grieving the loss of a loved one.

So where does one buy life insurance? There are several options, as detailed below:

Your local life insurance agent

Insurance agents are well known access points for policies. They are easy to contact, and most people know of someone in their neighborhood who is a life insurance agent. While agents are mostly good and honest people, they typically work with just a handful of insurance companies. More often than not, an agent will try to sell you a policy from among companies, because he gets a commission for doing so. This is all very fair, but because he deals with just a few insurance companies, he may not be able to give you a policy that best suits your requirement. So while agents are within reach and the preferred choice for those who rely on a personal buying experience, they may not be the best choice for you.

An advisor from a life insurance company of repute

Many people on the lookout for best life insurance policy approach insurance companies directly. The phone book or the yellow pages will have their numbers, and you can phone them up and make an appointment either at their nearest office or at a place convenient to you, like your home or office. This is a time consuming process because life insurance should always be bought after shopping around, and making individual appointments with each insurance carrier will probably take you weeks. Also, companies will hard sell their own policies, and are likely to offer a biased consultation.

Buying at the Workplace

Many employers offer group or individual life coverage to their employees. You must check with your employer about the details of the plan they offer. If your employer provides life insurance, take time to evaluate it and work out if it is enough. Why should you do this? Most work place life insurance policies have a coverage value of 2 - 3 times your annual salary. While this is free (often provided at the employer's own expense) it may not really be enough coverage. Many insurance advisors recommend that your life coverage should be as high as 10-15 times your annual salary because your family will fall short of finances otherwise. Also, what would happen to your policy if you changed jobs?

Consider these points, and if the life coverage is not enough, either buy a fresh independent policy or a supplemental policy of your own through your workplace.

There are many advantages of opting for an insurance policy through your work place under a voluntarily paid arrangement. You can get an insurance policy more easily, and your premiums will be discounted because of bulk efficiencies for the insurance carrier.

Buying online

These days a prospective term insurance buyer can easily overcome the drawbacks of buying through an agent, or buying directly through an insurance carrier by simply shopping around on the Internet. There are several term insurance agencies online that offer free, unbiased insurance quotes, and even help you to calculate your coverage amount through their free term insurance calculators. They run your information (that you have to submit to them via an online form) through hundreds of insurance companies they represent, and can give you a list of the ones that best suit your requirements almost instantly. If you are stuck on figuring out the coverage amount you can always have a one-on-one phone or personal meeting with one of their advisors. Because they operate online, these insurance agencies are able to economize on their operational costs, and because they deal with hundreds of companies, you can be sure their advice is unbiased and honest.

While choosing an online insurance agency, make sure you go with one that is accredited by the Better Business Bureau to ensure quality and reliability. Remember that an online agency of repute will only deal with insurance companies that have a good track record. When you receive your quotes and zero in on a term insurance policy, make sure that the insurance carrier is financially strong, and has a rating of A or higher that is awarded by reputed rating service companies such as Standard and Poor's, Moody's, Fitch and Weiss.

Over the Phone or by Direct Mail

We have all come across direct mail offers for life insurance, as well as commercials from life insurance companies that invite you to call their toll-free numbers. A number of companies sell insurance in this manner. They usually sell term insurance. While the offers may look good, it is recommended that you order your life insurance through these sources only if you are well-versed in the topic of life insurance and are assured the company has a good reputation.

To conclude, it helps to go to an unbiased, honest source to do your life insurance research, compare policy quotes, and buy a life insurance policy. In doing so, you are assured of being covered by a reputed insurance carrier, at the most economical rate.