You probably do a lot of things with your significant other. You might live together, eat together, shop together. You probably go to parties and events together, and you likely go to the movies or a show.
But have you thought about shopping for life insurance with your partner?
If you haven’t, you might want to start. Many couples find their financial lives intertwined. The unexpected death of the other could result in huge problems and a total lack of financial stability.
Shopping for life insurance together can be a great way to feel prepared and secure for your future together. If you’re a married couple, there are a number of ways to get insurance that could be right for you.
Read on, and we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about life insurance for couples.
Reasons To Get Life Insurance
If you’re married or in a long-term relationship, there are a plethora of reasons to get life insurance. It’s not fun to think about worst case scenarios, but sickness and unexpected accidents plague millions every year. And though you may feel invincible and on cloud nine in your relationship, you can never know when tragedy will strike.
Life insurance is a financial safety net that can provide you with peace of mind in the event of the unexpected. In the case of your own passing, the last thing you want to do is leave your loved one or children in debt. And yet, this is exactly what happens to many without insurance.
In the early stages of marriage, life insurance is also at it’s cheapest. The earlier you lock in rates with an insurance agent, the better rate you’ll have for the length of your marriage. With each passing birthday, rates will get higher, and you never know an unexpected illness might hit.
As a new couple, you want to start off your life together on the right financial footing. Having a life insurance policy on hand can be the stability you need to go into the rest of your life together with confidence.
Life Insurance Options For Couples
Now that you’ve decided a life insurance policy is a way to go, you’ll need to decide what policy is right for you. There are many different options, and you’ll need to select the variety that best applies to your life and priorities.
Getting Individual Life Insurance Policies
Many married couples still vouch for individual insurance policies. These are the most standard and common form of life insurance and can be divided into two categories: term and permanent.
Term life insurance is more affordable. It promises to a pay set amount if you pass while the term is in session. You can decide with an insurance agent how much the payout will be and how long you’d like the term to last. In this way, there’s a lot of flexibility to a term insurance policy, which is why many couples prefer it.
Permanent life insurance, on the other hand, is exactly what the name implies. This policy lasts your entire life and builds cash value over time. It is more expensive than term insurance, but obviously will be with you no matter what.
Buying individual policies allows the flexibility that many couples prefer. If one partner has a more complicated health history, this allows them to look to a company that views such conditions more favorably.
Getting Joint Life Insurance Policies
On the other hand, many married couples instead opt for a joint policy that will cover both of them at once. This is often cheaper than buying an individual policy for each partner. There are also two types of joint insurance: first-to-die and second-to-die.
First-to-die insurance pays out upon the death of the first partner. It is intended to get a widow through the painful financial hardships following a death. But once the payout occurs, the policy ends, which means the window will be uninsured in the event of their own death. This type of insurance is slightly rarer, and you’ll need to check with insurance providers near you to see if they offer it.
Second-to-die life insurance is intended for the support of children, estates, and so forth. It is paid out only when both members of a couple have passed and is paid out to adult children or other accepted heirs.
What’s The Proper Life Insurance Size?
The amount that your policy payout would be is entirely flexible. You could go as low as a couple of thousands to as high as millions. It all depends on your needs and the monthly premiums you can afford to pay.
If you can’t decide on what size policy to take out, consider trying to crunch the numbers on your projected debt. If one partner were to pass away, how much would the surviving member need to pay? How much below this amount is their living wage?
Crunching these numbers can help you land on a number that isn’t just guesswork: it’s a well-reasoned expectation of the financial burden one would face. There’s no one size fits all insurance plan, and it’s important to look at the particulars of your situation to come to a conclusion.
Life Insurance For Couples
No one wants to think about death or tragedy while still in the throes of young love. But sometimes planning for the worst can save us much hardship later down the line. Understanding how life insurance for couples works can help you make the right financial decision for you and your family.
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