Many people may not realize that an affordable alternative to costly permanent life insurance policies even exists. They hear of the often steep rates that come with a permanent (or whole) life insurance policy, and think they cannot afford life insurance, and may consequently leave their loved ones uncovered. But an affordable alternative does exist, and that is term life insurance.
There are two basic types of life insurance: term life insurance, where you choose the coverage amount and length of the policy; and whole or permanent life insurance (of which there are many variations), which combines an investment product with life insurance.
Below are some of the advantages to buying term life insurance:
- Whole life insurance is expensive, due mainly to its investment aspect, while term life insurance is very affordable. Whole life insurance policies often cost thousands of dollars a year, as opposed to the mere hundreds of dollars a year that the majority of term life insurance policies cost consumers. For example, if you are a healthy, non-smoking 35 year old male, you can get 10-year, $100,000 term life insurance policy for as little as $8.50 a month (or as little as $8.08 a month for a comparable female)*.
- Term life insurance is simple to understand, and allows for personal choice. You pay a (low) monthly premium based on the term length and amount of coverage you choose. That's it. Simple. You can choose term lengths such as 10, 20 or 30 years, and coverage amounts anywhere from $100,000 to several million dollars.
- You can invest your hard-earned money yourself, rather than having an insurance company do it for you (which is what happens with whole life insurance). Insurance companies are often very conservative with how they invest your money. If you are at all savvy in investing, or good at saving, the extra money a whole life insurance policy costs may not be for you. Instead, buy a cheaper term life policy, and invest the money you saved yourself.
- Term life insurance is good for short term needs. Two good examples of this are to cover your children's college education and to cover your mortgage. Parents could buy a policy that expires after their children graduate from college to ensure that the full education is paid for (in case anything happened to the parents). Or, the main breadwinner in a house could buy a term policy that matches the length of his or her home's mortgage.
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