As a person that just recently bought life insurance for my wife and I, it was a learning process. We started off by going to our local insurance agency and asking them for some information about life insurance. We are both reasonably healthy with no sort of major illness or injuries. Neither of us smoke or are overweight either. I thought we would be able to get a $100,000 life insurance policy at a great premium. I realized quickly that this was just the beginning of a month process.
The financial security advisor that we met provided us with numerous life insurance options. When we finally came down to a life insurance policy that we wanted, their prices seemed a bit high. We wanted a policy that would take care of funeral costs and leave the remaining spouse enough to live out the next couple years without having to worry about money as they go through the grief process.
We left the insurance agent’s office without signing anything. This is an important step when shopping for life insurance. The agent might present a quote by saying it is one of the best rates they have ever seen, but they are just trying to get our business. We later realized that insurance agents are mandated by a specific company and only promote this company’s products, regardless if it’s the best option on the market or not.
We knew we were not asking for a huge policy, and that we were both healthy, so we went online for premium comparisons. This is when we decided to contact an insurance broker. Insurance brokers negotiate with many insurance companies to obtain the best products for their client that mandate them. They only make money from commission. It was important for us to find an insurance broker who can advise you to get the best premium for your life insurance. We needed someone who could guide us through this process a bit without having a feeling we were paying too much. Unlike the insurance agent, the broker inquired more about our current situation, our needs and future goals.
Brokers sell all types of personal insurance, whether it be health, accident, or life, for a family, self-employed, professionals, associates, etc. They can assist you in finding the best premium for your needs across the board. They are also a bit of a lone wolf since they are not responsible for answering to one company, and this is a good thing.
It took a couple emails and one long phone call, but the broker that we contacted came back to us with about ten life insurance quotes from the best insurance companies around. All of them were about half the price of the original quote we received from our local insurance agent. We chose one of the best, and they immediately sent someone out to our house within a couple days to do physicals on us both for no charge.
They had to process all the paperwork after that, and the company needed to closely look over our family histories and medical records. All in all, it took approximately a month before our policies were finalized. However, it gave us a peace of mind knowing that the other will be taken care of if something should happen. It wasn’t a huge dent in our budget either. I would definitely make the recommendation to contact a life insurance broker in your near future.