Don?t become confused with the many terms in the insurance industry. Life and health insurance are very different from each other and cover you in very different ways. It’s very important that you find out as much as you can about different insurance plans before you purchase one.
Life insurance covers your family in case you die. The amount given to your family after you die depends on the type of plan you get. Most people want to get between 5-6 years worth of salary or more out of their life insurance plan. The plan is dependent on you making payments to the insurance company.
Before providing you any life insurance plan the insurance company wants to decide about the amount of risk they are taking to provide you cover. It is always difficult to get cover for life once you start getting older, or you may be suffering from any serious illness. Insurance companies may consider your credit to decide on your ability of making monthly premiums. Once their research on your living style and your credit history completed they will put forward you a premium, which you will have to pay every month to secure your coverage.
Two major types of life insurance plans are available. One is the term insurance plan which offers you coverage for a specific timeframe, when you are required to make payments. This is ideal if you are looking for a short period deal. Many people opt for term life insurance when they have kids, so that they are protected when they are small and can get free of it when they are financially independent.
Health insurance plan is quite unlike life insurance plan. It only covers your medical expenses and other bills related to heath. Many people opt for this insurance to get pay for frequent doctor visits. There are some who get this insurance to save themselves against sudden medical expenses which was not planed.
Full coverage is much costlier but provides coverage for any sort of medical expenses that might crop up. You may opt for an 80/20 plan which means that you pay only 20% of the expenses. The other type of plan bears only an amount of the expense and you have to pay for the rest. The plan that is most suitable for you depends on your condition.
Several people get their life and health insured by employer. Find out if they might have any arrangement which may let you get a small part of the payments. Your heath plan rates will also be fixed in a similar fashion like the life insurance. If you take part in risky sports like sky diving or rock climbing, then it would be tough to get lower rates. To get your rates lower you can do several things like getting your credit score in line and paying off any outstanding debts. If you are a smoker then you must quite smoking to get your rates reduced. You can get it lowered to half if you remain a non-smoker for a year.
Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator at Lifeinsurance-Southafrica.co.za South Arica?s leading Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.