Let's talk term life insurance. What's it all about and what's new?
First of all, it's called term because it doesn't go on forever. When you buy it, you decide how long you need it. Like a 20- or 30-year term. How do you decide?
Most people want to carry coverage until their planned retirement age. They want to make sure that if they die, they can provide their beneficiaries with an income that can be used to cover everything from groceries to college tuition.
Think about it. If either you or your spouse dies, there won't be two of you to earn the income you're used to. This could make it difficult or nearly impossible to pay the mortgage, afford child care, pay off existing debts, or simply balance work and home.
Case in point: Meet Eric and Megan. They're a couple in their early 30s. Eric is the breadwinner and he and Megan have a $175,000 balance on a mortgage they took out three years ago.
They have two young kids (munchkin giggles) a beagle (woof), and a goldfish named Spike (bloop!). Sound familiar?
Megan has a part-time job right now while she's in school working toward her graduate degree. They try hard to be smart about what they spend and save ... building a college fund for their kids, paying off debts, and trying to stay on track to pay off the mortgage in 17 years.
But if Eric or Megan should die unexpectedly those plans may never become reality. In fact, without Eric's income, Megan wouldn't have enough money to live on, much less save money.
And without Megan, Eric would be a single parent without a second income or time to work extra hours to support his family.
So how can they help protect the lifestyle they have today and their plans for tomorrow? One smart way could be term life insurance.
Typical term life insurance is available in set increments, such as 10, 20, or 30 years and the cost remains the same for the length of time you own the policy.
A new kind of layered term life insurance can be personalized even further to fit each family's unique needs, right down to the year.
The layers can be customized to each individual need, so you can make sure the things that
are important to you are handled, such as the mortgage or providing money for kids' education,
or replacing income — and you only pay for what you need when you need it.
Some term life policies require a medical exam as part of the application process, while others can be bought over the phone, without an exam. With most term insurance, if you decide you want longer term coverage, you can convert your policy into permanent insurance that can last your whole life.
Allstate offers two types of term life insurance, each designed around unique customer needs -- from basic coverage to fully customized. Term life insurance? Find out if it's right for you.
