The gift of life insurance

During the holidays our thoughts turn to our family and the future. It should come as no surprise then that this time of year is often when people consider getting their financial plans organized. Life insurance after all, is regarded as an important part of a comprehensive financial plan that offers protection to your family and loved ones.

What's the point of having life insurance?

Life insurance offers you an opportunity to ensure the financial security of your family and loved ones, no matter what happens. Life insurance can be used to:

• Pay off any final expenses or personal debts like credit cards, car loans or a mortgage
• Offset the loss of your income for those who rely on you for financial support
• Contribute to the future education of your children
• Protect your estate by helping to pay the taxes due on an estate upon death
• Leave a legacy to your favourite charity

Who should buy life insurance?

The purchase of term life insurance is often associated with major life events like getting married, buying a home, or having children. However, if these don’t apply to you ask yourself the following questions. If you answer yes to any of them, you’ll want to consider life insurance:

• Does anyone rely upon you for financial support? Whether it’s a spouse, child, grandchild, parent or dependent adult, life insurance will help them protect their financial well being no matter what happens.
• Do you have a mortgage, or any other debts? If so, a life insurance policy can provide a way to take care of these outstanding bills along with any others like funeral expenses, legal fees and taxes, and medical expenses.
• Do you own a business?
  • For sole proprietors, you're accountable for the debts your business owes. If you do not have enough life insurance to cover these debts, your personal assets could be liquidated to pay them off, possibly leaving little left for your family.
  • If you’re in a partnership, a life insurance policy where the other partner is the beneficiary means the surviving owner has the cash easily available to buy out your portion of the partnership from the estate.
• Do you want to leave a legacy? Life insurance policies can be used to leave money to your favourite charity.

How much will life insurance cost?

There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all insurance policy. Insurance professionals need to look at a lot of different things before they come up with a final insurance rate. They'll consider your age, gender, whether you're a smoker, and your past and current health record. Then they'll balance all that with the amount and type of policy that you're applying for, like a term or permanent policy.

What types of life insurance are there?

Essentially, the life insurance you can buy can be broken down into two basic groups: term or permanent. Permanent life insurance provides a lifetime of insurance protection and usually includes a cash surrender value. You can opt to purchase participating life insurance (where policyholders are eligible to receive dividends), non-participating (where the policyholder will not receive dividends) or universal (where there is an investment component to the policy). Permanent life insurance is more expensive than term insurance, because it offers lifetime coverage as well as savings and investment options. Term life insurance offers protection for a specific amount of time, the term of the policy. The most popular term policies are for 10 or 20 years, but there is also a product called Term to 100 available. A Term to 100 policy means you’ll have coverage until age 100. Term insurance is more affordable than permanent insurance, and as a result, you can get a large amount of coverage at a lower cost. Term life insurance plans offer Canadians the opportunity to meet their immediate life insurance needs while also providing the option to later convert into a permanent life insurance product without having to give any further medical information. Another favourable feature of term insurance is that you are never locked in and can cancel your coverage at anytime without penalty. This is really attractive for those who want affordable coverage, but are not sure they want to make a lifelong commitment.

How can you get started?

Thanks to the Internet, getting term life insurance quotes is fast and easy. Even better, if you want to shop around first, getting quotes online means you can avoid hard-sell tactics by someone sitting across from you. There is no sales pressure or obligation to buy when you get quotes online. It’s easy, can be done any time at your convenience and is simply a better way to shop for life insurance because of it.

kanetix helps you get covered

Get online term life insurance quotes from some of the top life insurance providers in Canada, or contact us at 1-888-854-2503 if you wish to discuss permanent life insurance options with our affiliated life insurance representative. They are available to help you get the answers you need about life insurance. Compare life insurance quotes at www.kanetix.ca/term-life-insurance today.