These days, you can purchase pretty much anything online. If you want dinner, running shoes, prescription glasses, a new car, or even a pet goat, it can easily be ordered from the comfort of your own home. You can even buy term life insurance online. While buying term life insurance online is slightly more involved than clicking add to cart, the process is a lot easier than you might think.
Back in the day of VHS tapes and floppy discs, if you wanted to apply for term life insurance, you would have to go through a lengthy application process and wait for weeks to find out if you were approved. Not so much anymore. When you apply for term life insurance online these days, it can be as simple as filling out a questionnaire, and some companies even offer instant decisions.
Is Term Life Insurance Safe to Buy Online?
If you’re asking yourself if buying term life insurance online is a good idea — congratulations, you are a smart consumer. Like any internet purchase you make, you want to ensure the company you are working with is legit and trustworthy. Trustpilot is a great resource for all things e-commerce. Before you buy term life insurance online, check out the insurance company’s reviews and read through the experiences of verified consumers.
When you apply for term life insurance online, you will likely be required to enter your Social Security number and answer questions about your personal history and medical records. Be sure to work with a company that practices data transparency and is well-reviewed.
Which Online Life Insurance is Best?
Now that you know how to safely buy life insurance online, let’s explore your options. Two popular types of life insurance are permanent and term. As far as which one is “the best,” that’s sort of like asking which car is “the best.” It depends on the needs of you and your loved ones.
To make that decision, you should know the difference between permanent and term life insurance.
What Is Permanent Life Insurance?
Much like that jar of honey in your pantry, permanent life insurance never expires. Like most types of life insurance, permanent life insurance provides a death benefit to your beneficiary when you die in exchange for the premium payments you make while you are alive.
Permanent life insurance is costlier and more complex than term life insurance, but permanent policies also offer unique features that term policies do not:
- Many permanent life insurance policies feature a tax-deferred savings component called cash value.
- Permanent life insurance offers coverage for life, as long as premium payments are made.
Should You Buy Permanent Life Insurance?
For some people, the cost of permanent life insurance is considered too high, and the return rate is not particularly noteworthy. However, if you are a high-income earner with a maxed out 401(k), or have a lifelong dependent, you may want to consider this type of life insurance.
What Is Term Life Insurance?
Term life insurance covers your life for a length of time called a term. When you buy term life insurance online, you select a term that makes the most sense for you. Though it varies from company to company, most term life insurance policies can be purchased in term lengths of anywhere from one to 30 years, which could be a good fit if you’re looking for coverage while paying a mortgage or raising young children.
Some reasons you might want to apply for term life insurance online include:
- Cost: It's less expensive than permanent life insurance policies.
- Flexibility: you can customize your policy with coverage amounts and terms that make sense for your individual situation.
- Convenience: you might be able to skip the medical exam. Several companies offer no-medical exam term life insurance policies online.
- Speed: with today’s technology, you can apply for term life insurance in minutes. Many applicants get an instant decision and, if approved, can activate their coverage that same day.
What Term Is Best for Life Insurance?
Ah, the age-old question: how long of a term should I get?
The answer is certainly not one-size-fits-all, but you’ll want to pinpoint your ideal term before you start shopping around for term life insurance online.
Here are some guiding questions to help you choose a term period:
- What do your financial obligations look like?
- How much debt do you have, and how long will it take you to pay it off?
- Are you in good health?
- What will your rates look like now versus in 10, 20, or 30 years?
When it comes down to it, the term length of your policy should reflect your financial situation. If you have a 30-year mortgage and young college-bound children, a 30-year term life insurance policy might be the best fit. If you’re nearly debt free and have no children, perhaps a 10-year policy would be the best option.
Another thing to consider when you apply for term life insurance online is your age. While 40 may be the new 20 in some circles, life insurance rates go up quite a bit as you get older with premiums increasing 8 to 10 percent for every year of age.
Luckily, when you buy level term life insurance online, you lock in your premium rate for the entirety of your term period. If 25-year-old you were to decide to buy a 30-year level term life insurance policy, 50-year-old you would be grateful because your rate remains the same during the life of your policy—regardless of your age, changing health status, or the state of the economy.
Is Term Life Insurance a Smart Purchase?
The answer to this question is largely subjective, but if you’re the type of person who values peace of mind, likes having a future plan, and wants to offer your loved ones some financial protection should you pass away, then you might want to think about applying for term life insurance.
Bestow makes term life insurance ridiculously easy. Bestow.com offers free quotes in seconds, and if you decide to apply for term life insurance online, the entire application process takes just a few minutes. Most get an instant decision and, if approved, you could have up to $1.5 million in coverage by the end of the day.
