Lifestyle
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3 Important Life Insurance Questions Answered

Life insurance is an important financial tool for anyone with a young family or ongoing bills that must be covered. Life insurance coverage might sound like a morbid hedge against the fragility of your own life, but it’s really a phenomenally useful backstop that can keep your loved ones going in the event of a tragedy that leaves them without a member of their family and the income that goes along with your career.

While coverage options are a crucial part of family and long-term planning considerations, many people simply don’t know where to start when it comes to approaching a life insurer or taking out a policy that will sustain your family for the long term. These three questions can get you off the ground when approaching this all-important decision.

1. What can life insurance cover?

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Medical research has come a long way in the last decades and years. Scientists all around the world worked tirelessly to deliver a vaccine in record time to combat Covid-19, and multiple teams of independent researchers were able to deliver viable and safe vaccination mechanisms to defeat the Coronavirus pandemic in an even shorter period than was initially hoped for as the best-case scenario.

While medical research has come on leaps and bounds, humanity remains a fragile collection of individuals who are susceptible to viruses, temperature swings, vehicular negligence, and many, many other hazards that exist throughout our world.

Life insurance is the perfect way to balance the scales and protect your family in the event of a traumatic incident that leaves them in mourning. Life insurance coverage is designed to help your family cover expenses that come with daily life—whatever that might mean for your family.

The USDA estimates that the average American family spends over $233,000 raising each child from birth to age17. While each nation is bound by its own unique needs, the cost remains astronomical for a family that is reeling after a loss. Life insurance is designed to kick in to replace your earnings in the event that this source of income dries up.

2. How do I choose a policy?

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The Australian government is a great source when shopping for insurance in Australia. The market share for the insurance industry is made up of a number of different, reputable life insurance companies, and each one offers a great policy for its users.

Searching for “life insurance Australia” is a great way to get started, but the evaluation of premiums that will be paid monthly in relation to the face value, or death benefit that each policy option stands to pay out is a great place to begin when evaluating options.

3. How are premiums calculated?

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Your insurance company uses a variety of statistics and analytical models to assess the pricing that is most appropriate for your unique situation. Genetic tests are sometimes factored in as well, but typically these are based upon lifestyle questionnaires and background health screenings.

One important consideration that life insurers make is whether you smoke, drink, or engage in activities that might be deemed adventurous or risky. Scuba divers, for instance, are at a greater risk of accidental death than others who don’t place themselves in situations where this could occur. Likewise, a football player is at greater risk of injury that can change life’s trajectory than a spectator.

All these go into the calculation that ends in a price tag. Understanding that is the best way to work toward shaping your lifestyle considerations in order to get the best deal while still enjoying the things you love when it comes time to take out a policy.