A research says most people go for their first life insurance policy when their first child is born. Lets take a few seconds to ponder over this fact. Why? Why the birth of a child should initiate a life altering decision of having an insurance policy and paying premiums all your life? Cant you just use the same money for the welfare of your child? Sure you can, but what if suddenly something bad must happen to you and you are the only source of income for your family? Isnt it wise to plan a little further, think of the unthinkable and have a safe deposit for your family? This is the very reason why life insurance is such an important decision to be made. Times have changed and today the number of people realizing its importance is far more compared to the ones who dont think its necessary. However, a lot of questions arise in our minds while buying life insurance since it is a huge investment. Life insurance blogs are available all over the web to help people with the same and here is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) found in these blogs.

How much insurance do I need?

Many life insurance blogs, share this question and heres a generalized answer. It entirely depends on your financial expectations and conditions. It depends on how far you would expect your policy to cover your family. Does the policy give the same financial assistance to your family like you would; are the premium amounts, flexible enough to pay for the sum you insure are a few basic questions you ought to ask yourself. The simple logic to remember here is that higher the sum insured, higher the premium.

What are the types of life insurance?

There are a lot of options in life insurance, but they are broadly classified into two types- term and permanent insurance. A term insurance is the most preferred one, says these life insurance blogs. This is because it doesnt have to be termed till your death and can even be as short as 3 years. There is no cash value as such and the premiums are low. The next broad category is the permanent insurance, which is further divided into whole, variable, universal etc. The biggest difference between term and permanent is that, permanent insurance has no cash value and lasts till your death. The premiums are a little higher, but they can be treated as investments and money can be borrowed from its cash reserve tax-free.

How are the values set and premiums decided?

The sum insured strictly depends on many metrics that the insurance provider decides to consider. This can include your age, sex, credit history, job description, present health condition, drinking and smoking habits, criminal history and more. The reason behind this is to assess your condition and determine a suitable value to your policy, so that paying the premiums doesnt become a burden on you. Most type of life insurances have a fixed premium and the insurance companies provide options of paying these premiums monthly, quarterly and also a lump sum yearly according to various life insurance blogs.

Do I need an insurance agent?

Yes say most of these blogs. An insurance agent can help you in all the steps of life insurance such as buying the insurance, paying the premiums, analyzing the market trends to explain their effects on your policy, help you switch over to more market friendly, benefit bearing policies, making claims and so on. You might not be aware of all the aspects of life insurance and an agent can help you and your family in this regard.

There are a lot more questions posed on life insurance blogs and going through these blogs on a regular basis can educate you on your policies, keep you updated on the recent trends and connect you to experts for all your doubts and queries. You have only one life to plan, so why not plan it wisely?!