Compare Life Insurance Companies
Know the Company Before You Start a Policy
In the US there are over 1500 insurance companies which offer you life insurance policies. But most of these are basically subsidiaries of their parent companies. They are there to help the parent company meet the customer needs better and more efficiently. The parent company and the subsidiaries kind of form a group. The reason being that states have different laws and each subsidiary is made to offer policies tailored to suit the state’s legislation. One centralized system wouldn’t work. So before you settle on a company for your life insurance policy make sure the company has a branch in your state. Or else in case of a dispute you cannot approach state insurance department.
Before you decide on a particular life insurance policy from a particular company there are a few other things to consider:
The policy: For obvious reasons. This is what you are buying, so you got to check if it is all ok. Make sure it suits your needs and you should decide only after you have read the fine print. Verify you are getting all the features and services the policy has initially promised.
The company: The first rule in selecting an insurance company: never go by the name. Many companies use words which gives you a sense of financial strength, fairness, dependability, government affiliation etc. words they are likely to use are reserve, security, assurance, republic, equity, etc. don’t trust these words. Look up their history and their credentials. You should get a better picture.
The second rule in selecting an insurance company: it helps if you go by trusted companies that have been the insurance business for many years. As with any other industry, the insurance sector also has a few giants like New York Life, Sun Life Insurance, Allianz, etc. doing business with them would involve much less risks. They are companies who have been around for years and have won the goodwill of their customers. They must be having something working for them to be so successful.
Financial stability: When you are investing for life insurance you know that you are investing in long term. And that requires that your life insurance policy provide strong financial foundations to survive that long, even in the face of strong upheavals. You can make a decision by going through the ratings prepared by independent rating agencies.
Claims settlement: Before you are investing on a life insurance policy, you should have knowledge of what the company’s records when it came to claim settlements. To get a proper idea about each company you can look up the national claims database or you can approach your state insurance department to help you.
There are other things to look for too. Of course you would look for the price of the life insurance policy – the premiums you have to pay. You should also check what are the services the company is providing – Do they counsel you? How prompt is their service?
These are the things to consider when finding the right life insurance policy. This is something you are investing for life. Invest wisely.
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