DARIEN, Ill., May 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Quotes, Inc., the Internet life insurance brokerage that allows you to compare the rates of 30 leading life insurance companies in seconds and have the freedom to buy from any company, wants to thank military service members for their sacrifices and remind them to ensure their families are financially protected by updating their current life insurance plan.
Armed services members can be deployed without much advanced warning, often leaving them with little time to address their family's financial affairs. And according to the latest estimates issued by the U.S. Department of Defense, there have been 4,769 United States and Coalition casualties in Iraq since the war began in 2003. The number of U.S. and Coalition forces casualties in Afghanistan reached 2,446 in May 2011.
If a family is just starting out, insurance experts suggest buying a term life policy to cover no less than ten times the household income since the rates per thousand of coverage on these policies are much lower than other forms of life insurance—especially if you are young and in good health.
For example:
- A healthy, 30 year-old male can purchase a 10-year, $1 million term life insurance policy for only $260 per year.
- A healthy, 30 year-old female can purchase the same policy for only $258 a year.
Term life insurance is also extraordinarily popular with families today because it pays for death by any cause at any time in any place, except for suicide within the first two policy years (one year in some states). And for men and women in uniform, the industry's old "war exclusion" is almost entirely gone from the marketplace. Every application asks about future plans to travel overseas, so expect to get postponed or declined if you know that you are headed directly into a combat zone. But other than that specialized exposure, military men and women now pay the same low rates as civilian applicants.
The following is a list of some of the factors service men and women should consider when buying a life insurance policy:
Decide how much you need
Insurance experts suggest making a list of your ongoing expenses and have your insurance agent put together a life insurance needs analysis.