When
you run your term insurance quote, the
monthly premiums come across the screen
almost instantly. Are there other
fees or costs to take into account when
we are considering which term insurance
plan we want to purchase? Let's
take a look at potential fees involved
in the process of applying for life
insurance.
People are usually apprehensive about
hidden fees and costs when purchasing
anything these days and for good reason.
From baggage on airplane flights to that
nasty little data plan needed for your
iphone, it seems the upfront cost of any
given product or services is only the
start! What about life insurance?
How valid is the quote you received
through our life insurance quote engine?
Glad you asked!
First
let's tackle various fees. Most of
our term insurance carriers do not have
application fees per se. Application fees
are simply amounts of money required to
even enter the underwriting process.
We see this type of application fee in
some States for health insurance and
they usually run around $25. There
is generally not an explicit application
fee to apply for coverage. This is
good news since the application fee is
usually non-refundable if you decide to
stop the process or do not accept the
insurance offer that comes out of
underwriting. So that's a good
start.
What
about policy fees? Most life
insurance carriers have some sort of
policy fee. This can be refunded
if you choose not to accept the plan or
you are declined during underwriting. This usually runs from
$50 up to $80 annually. It is
generally pre-paid for the year and the
first payment is required when the
policy is accepted and goes into force.
If you're set up for auto-payment (which
we recommend to avoid unintentional
lapse of coverage), then it will also be
deducted along with your premium
payment. The policy fee is just
that...a fee used to administer the cost
of the policy as opposed to cover claims
originating from the insurance itself.
That job is reserved for the premiums
you pay.
If
you choose additional life insurance
riders, there may be additional premiums
associated with these but they are not
fees per se...but additional premium.
There may be fees depending on the
billing option you choose. For
example, you pay more for a paper
billing than for auto-deduction by
credit card or checking account.
Yet another reason for the
auto-deduction.
There
is also something called modal factors
which is determined by how frequently
you pay your bill. You will pay
slightly less if you pre-pay a full
year's worth versus bi-annual or
quarterly. You can go all the way
down to a monthly payment but you will
pay a premium to do so. Basically,
the more frequently you pay, the more
premium you will pay for the same amount
of term insurance coverage. The
least expensive option would be annual.
The term life quotes in our engine are
usually shown in monthly payment
amounts. You may be able to save a
little my paying more at a time.
Outside of these fees or adjustments,
the amount you will pay is simply
premium for the policy. This can
be affected at the time of underwriting
by your health status and/or certain
lifestyle choices (such as dangerous
hobbies, professions, and/or driving
record). If you have any questions
on your particular situations, please
feel free to
contact us as professional term life
insurance agents.
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