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Life Insurance
Q: When is the best time to buy Life insurance?
A: Before you need it.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people think they
will live forever.
Can you imagine one day walking out on your family
in the morning heading to work never to return, without
any warning? You would be leaving them in a state of
shock once they realised you were never coming back
and of course for most families or businesses, some
sort of financial chaos.
Anyone who dies and leaves their family and/or business
in the financial lurch is irresponsible in my view,
there is no excuse for this. Whatever excuse you can
come up with not to buy adequate life insurance, or
to cancel your policy is going to sound ridiculous to
your widow and family.
Not a lot of people die suddenly. Of the approximate
28,000 New Zealanders that die every year, around 93%
die from an illness. That leaves 7% that die from accidents
or other causes. Of that 7% that die from accidental
causes, only about half die immediately. Conclusion;
Kiwis die slowly over a period of time and that costs
money in terms of treatment and lost income.
In a recent newspaper article it stated 48% of New
Zealanders have life insurance compared to around 80%
of Australians. That must make the Australians smarter
because they know they will die someday and have taken
some responsible steps to prepare financially for this
event.
In a nut shell you want to have enough death cover
to pay off any mortgage and other debts. If you are
a couple or family and are renting while trying to save
for a house deposit and mortgage, make sure you have
enough life insurance cover to buy a house freehold,
otherwise your partner will probably never be able to
buy a house these days while paying rent on a single
income.
Next decide what education expenses you need for children
if applicable and what on going income the household
will require and for how long? This is a very simple
over view. I can sit down with you and plan exactly
how much life cover you will need and provide competitive
quotes from the market place.
How much Life Insurance do you need? Click
here to view the printable calculator.
Factors affecting the premium will include, age, gender,
smoking habits, current and past health, occupation,
height to weight ratios and sometimes family health
history.
You can choose from level premiums that do not increase
with age or stepped premiums which are initially cheaper
but increase on policy anniversary each year with your
age.
A full disclosure of your health is a must when applying
for Life Insurance and it is a good idea to get a copy
of your GP Doctor's notes to have handy when completing
an application for Life cover. You are entitled to a
copy of your Doctors records so don't let some staff
nurse or administrator in the GP office put you off
getting these. Getting a copy of your doctor's notes
is not the same as an insurance company writing to your
doctor for a medical report based on disclosures in
your application. If you fail to disclose a health issue
or past investigation of some medical issue, you jeopardise
any future claim payment. Completing your application
is a most important part of the process in insuring
your life as an insurance company will seek your lifetime
medical records should a claim eventuate. As a qualified
Chartered Life Underwriter I can help guide you with
this application completing process and reduce the risk
of non disclosure and subsequent claim declinature at
a later date. Of course I can assist at claim time as
well, to help ensure a satisfactory claims outcome with
no hassle or delay.
One other important point to share with you. There
are two forms of Life Insurance applications, one that
asks just a few health questions and you can get pretty
much instant cover, or over the phone covers. Be very
careful of these types of applications because the underwriting
is essentially done at claim time with these sorts of
offers. You should complete the type of application
that asks a lot of health questions about you and lets
the full underwriting be done up front, there is much
less risk of a claim being declined this way. This way,
if there are to be any exclusions or premium loading
you will be advised in advance and know where you stand.
As a rule of thumb if the application seems a bit short
and really easy to complete, this is a good indication
the underwriting will be done at claim time which is
much more risky.
Sitting down with a qualified Chartered Life Underwriter
is the best and safest way to get the job done for you.
There is only one reason in the world why people buy
Life Insurance, it is called LOVE. Buying adequate Life
insurance on oneself is the most unselfish act anyone
can do for their loved ones. Ask any person on their
death bed if they are relieved that they bought Life
cover. Through purchasing Life insurance on oneself,
should you die prematurely, you will still be providing
for your loved ones for years to come. I can tell you
after having been in situations with clients who are
dieing, it gives them great peace of mind knowing that
they are not leaving a financial mess and that their
loved ones will be well taken care of through the insurance
that they have purchased previously.
The following are causes of death for some of my clients
that have had their life insurance claim successfully
paid. Cancers, Brain Tumour, Brain Aneurism, Drowning,
Suicide.
Contact me today for a free risk assessment of your
life insurance needs.
Jeff Tobin CLU, ANZIIF (Snr Assoc) CIP.
Chartered Life Underwriter.
Email:
Telephone: 09-412 5997
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" Providing
Future Dollars When You Need Them The Most"
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