Life Insurance Buyer’s Guide by AmericaQuote

life insurance underwriting

Life Insurance Underwriting Explained and How It Works

Life insurance and life insurance underwriting are topics none of us like to think about much. But it’s a smart idea to have a policy. Today, the average funeral costs between $7,000 and $10,000, and you don’t want your family scrambling to come up with that money. Plus if anything happens with your house, car, […]

term life insurance vs whole life

Term Life Insurance vs Whole Life Insurance: What’s the Difference?

When the business of life insurance began in 1759 in Philadelphia to help Presbyterian widows and orphans, there were no confusions or differences between term life insurance vs whole life insurance. Today, once you start looking for life insurance, all of the terms, rates, percentages, and explanations can get very confusing. And it’s for this […]

buying life insurance

5 Mistakes People Make When Buying Life Insurance

Research shows that 40% of Americans don’t have any form of life insurance policy in place. Does this include you? Buying life insurance is a wise route to take. However, it’s all too easy to stray off course. Life insurance policies are designed to provide financial security to your loved ones upon your death. The […]

cheaper life insurance policy

How to Get a Cheaper Life Insurance Policy

Research shows that 52% of Americans don’t get life insurance because they believe that it’s too expensive. However, there are many simple ways to find a cheaper life insurance policy — from using price comparison tools to giving up a dangerous hobby. Life insurance guarantees that your family will be provided for if you pass […]

Best Life Insurance Companies

Who Are The Competitive Life Insurance Companies

The answer to that question is: “it depends.”
If you are a non-smoker in good health, you should see most of the following companies towards the top of any worthwhile spreadsheet. If not, you may want to move on.

life insurance questions

The Top Ten Life Insurance Questions We Get Asked

Question 10 – What’s involved with buying a policy?
Answer – There are many life insurance questions, but we’ll start with the application. It is a three-step process. First, there are forms to complete. Once

the right life insurance policy for you

Universal Life Insurance, Part 6 – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

This is Part 6 – You can start at the beginning – HERE «Part 5 Who Should Consider Buying A Universal Life Policy? Is Universal Life Insurance right for you? I have a problem when people call me and tell me they paying $50-100 per month for a Universal Life policy because they bought for […]

get the right life insurance policy

Universal Life Insurance, Part 5 – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

This is Part 5 – You can start at the beginning HERE About Your Universal Life Insurance Quote «Part 4 – Part 6» About Variable Life Insurance The concept is the same as above. Variable Life is a “bucket.” everything works the same with a major exception. In a Variable contract, you have more control […]

life insurance quote

Universal Life Insurance, Part 4 – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

This is Part 4 – You can start at the beginning HERE Universal Life Insurance Guide & Information «Part 3 – Part 5» Back to 1980’s… The interest rate the company is paying you on your “bucket.” is the critical part. Let me digress for a minute back to the 1980’s and into the 1990’s […]

universal Life Insurance policy

Universal Life Insurance, Part 3 – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

This is Part 3 – You can start at the beginning HERE Benefits & Failures of Universal Life Insurance «Part 2 – Part 4» “The Bucket” What I’m about to describe is the “chassis” of a Universal Life policy, whether a standard Universal Life contract, Variable Life or Indexed Universal Life. I want you to […]

universal life insurance

Universal Life Insurance, Part 2 – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

This is Part 2 – You can start at the beginning HERE About Universal Life Insurance Policies History of Universal Life Insurance Over 40 years ago, I sat in a former employer’s class anxiously waiting for the product that was going to revolutionize the life insurance industry. It was called Universal Life. It was a […]

5 Tips: What To Look For When Buying Life Insurance – Part 1

Because insurance premiums can vary widely (as much as 300-500%), you should always get quotes in writing from multiple respected companies. AmericaQuote represents America’s top insurance companies. When you fill out our Instant Life Insurance Quote form you will get multiple quotes from the companies that offer the best and

life insurance

5 Tips: What To Look For When Buying Life Insurance – Part 2

Are the companies you are comparing small subsidiaries of larger parent firms? This is a very important. Many large companies are forming alliances with smaller companies to sell specialty products, such as term and term-like insurance.

life insurance

Universal Life Insurance, Part 1 – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

I’m going to give the conclusion of this painfully boring and very lengthy article: Don’t buy a Universal Life policy (aka Flexible Premium Adjustable Life, Variable Life, Indexed or Equity Universal Life) if you don’t understand the inner workings of the policy.

term life insurance policy

Permanent Versus Term Life Insurance

Which to Buy?

The insurance industry is second only to the legal industry in making things more complicated than they need to be. There are really just two kinds of life insurance: permanent and term. Variations of each type exist, but let’s define “Perm” and “Term” as a starting place.

life insurance

Watch Out For The Life Insurance Bait and Switch

Life Insurance Sales Tactics – The Bait & Switch Watch Out for the Life Insurance Bait and Switch How I was trained to sell life insurance in the early 1970s: I dialed the phone from 6:00–8:00 p.m. every night looking for potential customers. My sales manager told me, “Don’t cover any details—just get the appointment.” […]

low life insurance rate

5 Minutes, Save 75%

How To Save Money When Switching Life Insurance Companies
One well-known insurance company has flooded the airwaves with this promise: “Give us 15 minutes and we may be able to save you 15 percent on your car insurance.”

renewable life insurance policy

Be Clear About Guaranteed Renewability

I am drawing special attention to the phrase “Guaranteed Renewable” in life insurance contracts because it is easy to misinterpret. When heard in a TV commercial: “Our policies’ rates are guaranteed for the first 20 years and are guaranteed renewable thereafter to age 100”—or something similar.

no exam life insurance policies

No Exam Life Insurance

When I fly out of Charlotte’s airport, I don’t use valet parking. It’s convenient but very expensive. Instead, I leave my car in the inexpensive satellite lot and take a free shuttle to the terminal. One is easy and very expensive, the other is a little bit of trouble but less expensive.

life insurance questions

Employer Sponsored Life Insurance – Think Again

My slow awakening may save you piles of money.
In 1974, I went to work for a major insurance company. They offered the usual package of benefits – health, dental and life insurance. They gave me one times my salary for free and I could buy up to four times additional

mortgage protection life insurance

Have Mortgage Life Insurance

If you have a mortgage, the mortgage may have a life insurance policy attached to ensure the lender is repaid in case of death of the borrower. If your mortgage is insured, the cost will appear on your monthly mortgage statement.

Baby boomers retirement myth

“Baby Boomer” Retirement Myth

Craig Karpel states his belief that most Baby Boomers will never be able to retire. How’s that for an attention-getter? Karpel is the author of the book entitled, The Retirement Myth, published by Harper Collins. In his book, Karpel states that retirement, as we now know it, will only exist for the rich.

life insurance risk classifications

Life Insurance Underwriting Guidelines

How Risky Are You? Along with advances in healthcare, insurance companies have changed the way they evaluate risk in applicants. For example, conditions like high blood pressure, acid reflux, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and others used to be considered high risk conditions.

poor health life insurance

Life Insurance With Poor Health

People with chronic or serious health concerns want to provide for their families with insurance just like healthy people do. The problem is this: If you are in poor health you are, statistically speaking, a high risk for an insurance company.

no commission life insurance

No Commission Life Insurance

It’s timeless advice, and it applies to buying life insurance: There is no such thing as a free lunch.
You will sometimes find insurance companies—not insurance salespersons or brokers, but the insurance company itself—advertising “No Commission” policies.

Life Insurance for Cigar, Pipe Users and Chewers

Cigar, pipe and chewers

In prior years, insurance companies built some flexibility into their non-smoker and smoker categories. The term “smoker” used to denote those persons who smoked cigarettes only. This meant, in some cases, a cigar smoker or tobacco chewer could qualify for a non-smoker rate.

Check your social security contributions

Check your Social Security

Be sure to contact the Social Security Administration at least every three years. Those contributing to Social Security should check their contributions to insure they are correct. After 3 years the records go off-line and problems need to be researched manually which could take forever.

Best life insurance company

A. M. Best Company

A. M. Best Company is the country’s most recognized insurance rating organization. While the A. M. Best rating system is used to evaluate various aspects of businesses, the rating most visible to the public is the overall “letter grade” rating assigned to insurance companies.

Replacing current life insurance

Replacement of Existing Life Insurance

Anytime you are replacing an existing life insurance contract with another, make sure to check these four points:
1. Closely compare the two policies in terms of rates, rate guarantees, contestable period, stability of the two companies (if they are different).

Life Insurance Re-Entry

Re-Entry or Re-Qualification – Can It Help You Or Hurt You?

You have a difficult decision to make. You can choose the short explanation of re-entry or the long-winded version. If you really want to understand it and have some coffee handy, we suggest the long-winded one.
Short and Sweet Version

local life insurance agent

Go local or with an Internet Life Insurance Agent?

Play an imaginary game with me for just a moment. I’m asking you do this because I had a lengthy discussion and disagreement with one of AmericaQuote’s viewers. Imagine for a moment there are no local life insurance agents in your city and the only way you can buy life insurance is over the Internet.

How Much Life Insurance Do I need?

Do You Need Any, Or Do You Need $1,000,000 of Life Insurance?

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need? Four things I strongly recommend before you make any decisions about life insurance: Make sure you speak with an experienced agent. Ask them how long they have been selling life insurance. Make sure the agent represents several carriers, not just one. Make sure the agent is licensed in your state. Ask […]

Underwriting Basics

Term vs Whole Life Insurance

Miscellaneous