Tips for purchasing life insurance

According to a new study 85 per cent of Australians don’t feel that they have adequate life insurance, or don’t have any at all. Starting the conversation about life insurance can be tricky. Once you get over that hurdle and start doing the research the policies themselves can be so confusing it’s no wonder we’re all throwing our hands in the air and leaving it for tomorrow.

Today, not tomorrow
Nobody likes to think about the worst happening, but when it does it’s often unexpected. Should anything happen to you, you don’t want to leave your family with financial worries on top of everything else. Remember, Murphy’s law says as soon as you purchase life insurance you’ll live to 100 years old.

Shop around
With any significant purchase you want to make sure you’re getting the lowest price for the highest quality in a size that fits you. Life insurance is no exception. There are so many options it can be tricky to get them all together in one place. Choosi.com.au is a website that helps you work out what you need in a life insurance policy, and then compare the different options.

Not all policies are created equal
Make sure that the policies you are comparing have similar features; otherwise the premiums won’t reflect the true value of what you are looking at.

It’s all about you
Different people will need different amounts of life insurance, depending on their situation. Make sure you are honest with yourself – you need to consider factors such as your mortgage, bill payments, outstanding debts, ongoing living expenses and your dependants.

Just ask
If you don’t understand the terms and conditions of a policy, ask! Life insurance providers will have staff specifically employed to answer your questions, so make use of them. It’s much better to figure out the fine print now than when you need to make a claim. Make sure you save all correspondence with your provider so you can refer back to it later, and always read the product disclosure statement (PDS) before you buy.