Finding The Best Plan For Your Family
Military life insurance options have interesting things you want to think about before you get involved in a long-term program. The sad reality is that there are insurance agents and agencies who prey on military families.
Also, military life itself makes it difficult to acquire what may be called “normative” or “civilian” options. Insurance companies want your money, but they don’t want to pay out if something happens which requires they help fill the void left by a deceased spouse. Consider these tips to help you make the right choice:
- Sign Checks To Companies, Not Agents–Keep Receipts
- Take Your Time And Consider All Options
- Go Into Plan Consideration Knowing Your Family’s Needs
- It Makes Sense To Go With Term Insurance For Military Families
- Take Advantage Of The 10-Day “Free Look” Option; Cancel If Necessary
- Seek Discounts Owing To Existing Or Previous Service In The Military
Sign Checks To Companies, Not Agents–Keep Receipts
There are cutthroat insurance agents who sell you on a policy, then use your lack of experience to steal. They’ll have you sign the check over to them, rather than the insurance company.
When a spouse dies, it will turn out you never had coverage. Don’t get hoodwinked. Only sign checks to the insurance company, and keep all receipts from such agencies in a safe place where they can be found by your spouse in the event of a tragedy.
Take Your Time And Consider All Options
You and your spouse should discuss what potential plans cover, what they need to cover, and the whole ugly business of recovery in the wake of a tragedy. Panic and lack of information make it so even a legitimate plan goes unfulfilled after an unexpected death in the family. See that you know what the plan is, what it entails, and that your spouse understands.
This takes time. Ideally you should both be on the same page before you seek a life insurance policy. When you are, you want to look at multiple policies from multiple providers, then weigh pros and cons. Look at a minimum of five providers, and ask authorities you trust in the service to help you find the best options.
Go Into Plan Consideration Knowing Your Family’s Needs
Part of what you and your spouse discuss should be the actual needs of your family. What are monthly costs, what sort of debt has been accrued, does your spouse have secondary means of income, and are there family members who can be leaned on in an emergency? Additionally, what benefits from the military can you use to fill the gaps? Figure out all these things before deciding on anything.
It Makes Sense To Go With Term Insurance For Military Families
A term policy is when a policyholder is covered over a specific period of time. This can be a year, five years, twenty years–the list goes on. Different terms will have different costs. Just don’t forget to renew before previous policies expire.
Take Advantage Of The 10-Day “Free Look” Option; Cancel If Necessary
Most insurance plans have a “free look” policy whereby you can cancel service within ten days and not experience any penalizing fee. Take advantage of this to test aspects of the policy, and be absolutely positive you’ve made the right choice.
Seek Discounts Owing To Existing Or Previous Service In The Military
There are military discounts which exist for active personnel, and veterans. With life insurance, veterans are likely going to get a better discount. Benefits.gov can give you information worth looking into here.
Side-Stepping The Worst-Case Scenario
The worst-case scenario for your family isn’t the death of a spouse. It’s such an instance occurring with no support infrastructure to help those most affected by the loss.
The right life insurance policy will keep spouses and children covered financially during the difficult transitional period of a death in the family. Especially with active duty military personnel, it’s essential to have properly comprehensive insurance.
Take your time, seek discounts, be sure only to sign checks to agencies, exercise free look policies, and look at term insurance options. Such an approach should help you find the best plan for your money.
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