Life insurance can be used for a variety of purposes but primarily it boils down to protection and/or  investment. Protection is necessary if you have others that rely on you to provide for them. This could be family members or even employees or business partners who would suffer hardship if you should pass away. Investment policies are designed to provide Estate Planning plus capital growth in a tax-deferred vehicle like a whole life, universal life or variable life policy.
Originally, life insurance was designed so that if something happened to the primary “bread-winner” of the family the wife and children would be cared for. But these days it is also necessary to protect against the loss of income from the wife as well. You can even get life insurance policies on children to cover burial expenses and to lock in “insurability” should the child become ill and thus become uninsurable. Â
The life insurance industry is constantly changing in an effort to keep up with the changing times. And one of the primary changes (due to improved medical care) is longer lifespans. And as people have begun to live longer, insurance companies have been able to reduce their insurance premiums for new customers (they rarely lower premiums for existing customers). So it pays to check insurance quotes regularly and from a variety of sources. Of course you can call your local insurance agent (there are plenty of them in most any town or city). But I am always reluctant to do that because of fear that they will want to come over to my house and subject me to a long sales pitch or even worse they will want me to come to their office where I will be their virtual prisoner for half a day. So I have developed a list of 4 reasons why I prefer to get a life insurance quote online from someplace like www.comparethemarket.com/life-insurance/
 Reason #1 to get an Online Life Insurance Quote
Convenience- You don’t have to take time off of work to visit their office or clean up the living room for the agent to visit you. You simply sit down at your computer, any time of the day or night, Â answer a few questions and voila you will be given a quote for life insurance.
 Reason #2 to get an Online Life Insurance Quote
Easy Comparison– Since getting a quote is so easy, you can contact several different companies and compare their rates. And since you tell them what you want it is easier to compare apples to apples. Rather than having one agent quote you one type of policy with one death benefit and another agent tell you that, no, no, this is what you need… and it has totally different benefits than the first quote, so you are more confused than ever.
 Reason #3 to get an Online Life Insurance Quote
One  Stop Shopping– As a matter of fact, some websites like, “Compare the Market” actually will do some of the comparison for you by checking with several of the U.K.s leading insurance providers to find the right policy for you. So you don’t even have to visit multiple sites you can do all of your insurance policy comparison in one place. As a matter of fact you can actually compare over 50 different life insurance policies online and in one place in a matter of minutes.
 Reason #4 to get an Online Life Insurance Quote
Life Insurance Calculators- Often it is difficult to determine exactly how much life insurance you will actually need. But by simply plugging a few numbers into an online life insurance calculator you can determine how much insurance you will need and then compare that to how much you can afford. Obviously, since policies are sold in round numbers,  if you can afford it, it’s better to round up and provide a little extra protection than to round down and force your loved ones to have to skimp. This particular calculator asks questions about the purpose of your life insurance policy. Just click one or more of the cute little buttons that ask if you are going to need your insurance to 1) pay off a mortgage or debt. 2) Maintain your loved ones’ lifestyle. 3) Leave a lump sum for your loved ones and this will get you started. If you live in the U.S. or elsewhere you can easily find a similar online insurance company to provide your online insurance quote.
See Also:
The Differences Between Term and Whole-Life Insurance
5 Things to Consider when getting a Life Insurance Quote
How to Compare Life Insurance Options
Resources from Amazon:
Questions and Answers on Life Insurance: The Life Insurance Toolbook
What Most Life Insurance Agents Won’t Tell You
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
