An individual having health insurance is protected against running up large an extensive medical expenses. Health insurance coverage offers folks either partial or full coverage for certain medical procedures and treatments. On the other hand, life insurance it is an insurance policy that pays what’s called the face value of the life insurance policy to a beneficiary if the person whose life is insured dies. This value or what’s called the face value of the policy is paid out to the beneficiary in one lump sum payment.
When shopping for life insurance you will find two basic types: these types are what are called whole life and term life insurance. Term life insurance is much less expensive than full life insurance because of the fact it offers nothing more than simply life insurance coverage in the event that the person who is insured dies. Term life insurance can be purchased for durations as little as one year or as long as 30 years. The beneficiary of the term life insurance policy receives the proceeds or the face value of the policy if the person that was insured dies some time during the term of this life insurance policy. This might explain why so many people decide to wait until they get a little older before making a purchase of life insurance. Not always a wise idea though.
Whole life insurance combines the life insurance protection benefit along with an investment plan. The premium or the amount of money a person pays every period (monthly, quarterly or yearly) for a whole life policy is split between the life insurance premium and the investment portion of the policy. The investment vehicle portion of the whole life policy can be invested in mutual funds, money market, on the stock market and bonds and in some cases can be chosen by the person who is insured. One of the benefits of a whole life insurance policy is that it forces the saving of money for retirement by the person who is insured. This occurs by taking a portion of the premium and investing it in one of the investment vehicles listed above. These policies are in reality though, typically loaded with commissions and fees. After taking these costs into consideration, you may decide that this is not the best use of your investment dollars.
As you may have already determined, a life insurance policy differs from that of a health insurance policy. The price a person will pay for both a life insurance policy and a health insurance policy is determined by an individual’s age and physical well-being or health. As a general rule, those folks who are healthy and young will pay less for each policy than those folks who are bit older and who may be in poorer general health.
Given the financial choice between the two, it is impossible in this article to advise folks on which is better, a health insurance policy or life insurance policy. The two are designed to address different needs in a person’s life. A lot of folks find that their employer offers health insurance as well as the option to add on term life insurance coverage for a small or nominal fee. If you find yourself in this situation by all means take advantage of it. However when it comes to life insurance, be advised that if you lose your job you lose your life insurance coverage. It may be advisable to look into carrying term life insurance outside of your workplace.
If you find yourself on a budget and need to decide which insurance policy to purchase, this becomes of course determined by how much you can afford to pay each month and of course on your personal situation. If you find yourself having to choose between a health insurance plan and a life insurance plan, you may want to be advised to choose the health insurance coverage. Understanding that the health insurance coverage will be more expensive for you each month, bear in mind that it only takes one accident or medical illness to cause you to have enormous medical bills. Also this is something else to consider. If you find yourself with large medical bills as a result of not having health insurance, you may want to consider the idea of purchasing a term life insurance policy having a face value that is large enough to pay off your bills. Your spouse can be designated as your beneficiary. This way if something were to happen to you, your spouse would not be left with the debt.
If your plan at work does not include a health insurance benefit or you are self employed or simply looking to provide health insurance coverage for yourself and your family outside the workplace environment, a great place to start your research is Blue Cross Blue Shield (www dot BCBS dot com) or Aetna (www dot aetna dot com). This is not necessarily an endorsement but is a good place to start in understanding the types of health insurance plans available out there today. These two large providers operate in most of our 50 states so your likelyhood of learning about the types of health insurance plans available in your state from different insurers is high.
As always, seek the advice of a professional financial planner before deciding on a course of action that you do not fully understand.
