Term Insurance Rates and Conditions: FAQ

1. What is life insurance?

Life insurance is a contract, between you and an insurance company to provide money to a person you designate, in the event that you die during the time the contract is in force. This contract is often referred to as the "policy" as well. In essence, during your lifetime you pay money, known as the insurance "premium", to the insurance company. It promises to pay money to the persons you name, the "beneficiaries", as your death. Some types of life insurance also give the policy owner the right to "borrow" a portion of the "cash value" within a policy, or to receive an "accelerated death benefit" if you become terminally ill or require confinement in a long term care facility.

2. Why should I buy life insurance?

The most important reason to buy life insurance is to have enough money to provide for dependents such as young children, non-working spouses or elderly parents, should you die and be no longer able to provide for them.

Many financial experts also consider life insurance to be the cornerstone of sound financial planning. It can be an important tool in the following situations:

  • To replace income for dependents: If family members depend on your income, life insurance can replace that income for them if you die.
  • Pay Funeral Expenses: Life insurance can pay your funeral and burial costs, probate and other estate administration costs, debts and medical expenses not covered by health insurance.
  • Create an inheritance for your heirs: Even if you have no other assets to pass to your heirs, you can create an inheritance by buying a life insurance policy and naming them as beneficiaries.
  • Pay federal "death" taxes and state "death" taxes: Life insurance benefits can pay estate taxes so that your heirs will not have to liquidate other assets or take a smaller inheritance.
  • Make significant charitable contributions: By making a charity the beneficiary of your life insurance, you can make a much larger contribution than if you donated the cash equivalent of the policy's premiums
  • Create a source of savings: Some types of life insurance create a cash value that, if not paid out as a death benefit, can be borrowed or withdrawn on the owner's request. Since most people make paying their life insurance premiums a high priority, buying a cash-value type policy can create a kind of "forced" savings plan.

3. Why should I buy my life insurance from Efinancial?

Efinancial is a leading nationwide life insurance brokerage firm. We have built a searching technology designed specifically to find you the best term insurance rates. You complete the questions on our quote form and in a few seconds our search technology will search through all of the top life insurance companies.

Every search is accurate and un-biased, and delivers you an easy to understand comparison of up to 12 of the most competitively priced policies available to you. You receive easy to understand facts about each specific policy, and about the insurance company offering that policy. We monitor over 100 life insurance companies and allow only the best and most competitive insurers onto the Efinancial network.

You can compare life insurance quotes at one web site without wasting time with several agents or other sites that only quote a few companies. We even offer policies specifically developed for our site due to strong relationships with large companies all over the US. Efinancial also has the most advanced processing system available to help expedite your life insurance request and keep you informed as to the status of your insurance purchase. Our clients typically save up to 70% on their life insurance rates.

Our licensed and experienced customer service representatives handle incoming application requests. Our employees are knowledgeable professionals who are able to determine the rates and policies for which you are likely to qualify.

4. How much life insurance do I need?

Although there are "rules of thumb" such as your life insurance should be 10 times or 20 times or some other multiple of your annual income, the best approach is to consider your own personal needs so that your survivors have adequate life insurance proceeds to meet their financial needs in the event of your death.

To estimate how much money may be needed, you should make a list and estimate the expenses that need to be covered. This could include the cost of paying funeral expenses and the amounts that your spouse and young children need for mortgage payments, household expenses, education, etc. The end result of this process is to estimate the amount of life insurance you should have in order to provide adequately for your dependents and survivors.

However, without seeking professional advice from a licensed agent first, you may be signing up for too much or too little insurance. Our licensed insurance specialists take the time to talk to you - at no charge and with no pressure - about your specific goals. We then issue a personalized quote for precisely the amount of life insurance you may need at a very competitive price. To ensure you get the secure peace of mind you deserve, it's very important that you receive thorough and complete information from a knowledgeable insurance professional before you select a coverage amount.

5. What are the principal types of life insurance?

There are two major types of life insurance - term and whole life. Whole life is sometimes called permanent life insurance, and it encompasses several subcategories, including traditional whole life, universal life, variable life and variable universal life.



6. Will I find the same product for less through another quote service, agent or broker?

No. Since the policy prices are set by companies and not agents, these term insurance rates are fixed for a policy with all the same features. If you compare life insurance quotes and find a plan with a different price than one you've been quoted, you may be looking at a different risk class. To ensure you receive an accurate quote, Efinancial’s licensed agents gather information on your health and lifestyle before determining your risk class. That's why it's important that you answer all questions honestly.

7. Is there a money back guarantee?

Yes. If you change your mind during the application process, you'll receive a full refund, no questions asked. This guarantee is valid up to 30 full days after your policy is delivered to you.

8. How should I choose what type of life insurance to buy?

You should consider term life insurance if:

  • You need life insurance for a specific period of time. Term life insurance enables you to match the length of the term policy to the length of the need. For example, if you have young children and want to ensure that there will be funds to pay for their college education, you might buy 20-year term life insurance. Or if you want the insurance to repay a debt that will be paid off in a specific time period, buy a term policy for that period.

You should consider permanent life insurance if:

  • You want to accumulate a savings element that will grow on a tax-deferred basis and could be a source of borrowed funds for a variety of purposes. The savings element can be used to pay premiums to keep the life insurance in force if you can't pay them otherwise, or it can be used for any other purpose you choose. You can borrow these funds even if your credit is shaky. The death benefit is collateral for the loan, and if you die before it's repaid, the insurance company collects what is due the company before determining what goes to your beneficiary.


9. Will term insurance rates increase as I age?

Once you have coverage set for a fixed term, your term insurance rates will not increase for the duration of the term. The premium - and benefit amount - remains the same. Only at the end of the term period you have chosen - 10, 20, 30 years - will your life insurance rate potentially increase.

However, as you age the likelihood of mortality increases. Applying for coverage at an older age may result in higher term insurance rates. You may also encounter a lower likelihood of approval. The reason is simple - a 23-year-old is considered less likely to die than a 65-year-old. That's why older individuals pay more for life insurance. It is therefore advisable that you try to get the policy at a younger age.

Term life insurance premium rates are locked in for the entire time that the policy is in effect. This way younger people can often get a significant amount of coverage for up to 20 or 30 years at an affordable rate. The low rate stays the same for the duration of the term, even if their health declines.

10. How do I get a life insurance quote?

Congratulations on making a responsible decision to protect your loved ones!

At Efinancial we make getting a quote simple. All you have to do is: Call us toll-free at 1-866-765-4296 or compare life insurance quote online.

We have friendly licensed agents who would be happy to speak with you - at no obligation - to discuss basic rates and options, and to help answer any questions that you may have or provide any information you need to make a decision. Request a life insurance quote online now.

Once you have determined what type of policy you want to purchase, our agents will ask you some general questions about your medical history and lifestyle, and will offer some basic insurance rates and options. The agent will then schedule a free, simple medical exam at your convenience. Once you've completed the application process and medical exam, you will be notified with the rate for your premium. Once covered, you just need to keep paying your premium and enjoying peace of mind.

11. How can I be confident that the insurance company will be in good health financially to pay my claim?

To protect consumers, five independent agencies - A.M. Best, Fitch, Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Weiss - rate the financial strength of insurance companies. The agencies disagree often enough so that you should consider a company's rating from two or more agencies before judging whether to buy or keep a policy from that company. The rating scales are different - some might use AAA to indicate strength, while another uses A++. When checking life insurance company ratings, it's a good idea to also look at the previous year's rating and consult one of our licensed insurance agents who will be happy to give you details on the various insurance companies and ratings.

The Medical Exam

12. Why do I need a life insurance medical exam?

The life insurance medical exam helps pinpoint certain aspects of your health situation to determine your exact rate class. By getting a clear picture of your health from your life insurance medical exam, the insurance company can place you in the most accurate rate class, which determines what you pay. This can mean lower whole or term insurance rates. A simple blood test and urine sample measure cholesterol levels or screen for problems such as diabetes, liver or kidney disorders.

13. What does the medical exam cover?

The life insurance physical exam, arranged and paid for by the insurance carrier, covers your medical history, height and weight, urinalysis, blood pressure, blood test, pulse and ECG/EKG if necessary. This routine exam usually takes less than 30 minutes. A benefit of the medical exam is that a professional medical technician comes to you. The life insurance physical exam can be done at the location of your choice (typically your home) to make things convenient.

14. How do I prepare for the medical exam?

Life insurance medical exam preparation is easy. Here are a few pointers and common sense tips.

The day before your exam:

Avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours. Get a good night's rest.

12 hours before:

Avoid alcoholic beverages, nasal decongestants, decongestants, and pain medication, such as aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Medications can give a skewed reading. You might also want to avoid high-cholesterol foods, such as eggs, red meat, shrimp and fried foods as you prepare for the medical exam.

8 hours before:

Avoid caffeine, including coffee, tea and soda. If possible, we recommend that you fast for best results (drinking water is okay).

1 hour before:

Drink a glass of water to facilitate obtaining a urine sample.

15. Can I get life insurance coverage without taking a medical exam?

While a medical exam is part of the process in securing a medically underwritten term life insurance policy, it is possible to secure term life insurance with no exam.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of coverage. The advantage in having a medical exam is that it often saves you money on your policy. With an accurate health profile, the insurance company can place you in the appropriate rate class, and charge you according to your actual health situation. Term life insurance with no exam is a convenient choice for many, but might cost more because the mortality risk must be shared across all of the policies. In other words, the insurance company doesn't know who is healthy or not, so they average the cost.

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