Term life insurance policies are life insurance plans that have premiums fixed for a stated Term. The most common Term life plans are five, ten, 20 and 30-year Terms.
1. Most plans are guaranteed renewable and convertible. This means that should your health change after the term expires, the insurance company is obligated to renew the term. It should be noted that insurance companies add a buffer into their renewal premium and that particular premium is generally much higher than if you were to try to obtain new equivalent coverage at your current age, but the convertibility feature allows you to convert the coverage without a medical exam, which is important if over time you’ve developed health problems or lifestyle issues that would normally cause you to fail a medical exam and be declined under a new life insurance plan.
2. Most term policies do not have a cash value. This means that should you cancel your coverage at any point in time, there would be no return-of-premium.
3. Most term policies expire when you turn 80. As noted above, most term policies are renewable. However, there’s generally an expiry date. The most common expiry date among insurance carriers is age 80, but Empire Life does offer a renewable term plan to age 100.
4. The best way to get the best rate on a term policy is through an independent broker who works with multiple carriers. Term insurance is generally available three ways:
1) By a captive agent, i.e. one who works with one particular carrier.
2) Directly through the insurance company. In this instance, the company would only be offering their principal plan.
3) Through an insurance broker who shops the market for the best possible rate.
One final point, if you have health issues and are looking for term insurance make sure you work with a broker who has experience working in the ‘hard to insure’ market. LSM Insurance specializes in helping those people who have a hard time qualifying for traditional insurance and finding them the best possible value for their money.
You can visit our Non-medical Life Insurance Quote Page for more details on how we do that and if you’re looking for a more traditional plan, you can visit our Term Life Insurance Quote Page.
