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Finally! A step-by-step guide to buying life insurance, written just for you.
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Welcome! We've created a guide to help you through the 7 steps to hassle-free insurance:
Step 1: How to Keep Your Contact Information Secure
Step 2: What Are the 4 Parties in Life Insurance?
Step 3: Your Agent's Knowledge = Your Pocketbook's Best Friend
Step 4: Issues to Discuss with Your Agent & Why
Step 5: The Basic Types of Insurance
Step 6: How Much Coverage Is Needed—And Who Should Have It
Step 7: How Long Will This Process Take?
Step 1: How to Keep Your Contact Information Secure
When you want to buy life insurance online, privacy is often an issue. Some sites sell contact information to other sources. The following information will help you keep your contact information from being sold.
What type of website are you on?
When searching for an online life insurance policy, there are three main types of websites you will encounter:
- Carrier sites: A carrier or life insurance company is the corporation that issues life insurance policies, such as MetLife or Prudential. From a carrier site, you can only shop and purchase policies specific to that carrier.
- Agency sites: An agency is a business that represents multiple carriers. The agency site is independent from any one carrier and allows you to shop
and compare many different carriers and quotes at once. - Lead generator sites: Lead generator sites are often mistaken for agency sites. They can provide quotes for different carriers and products, but their main purpose is to collect and sell your personal information to insurance agents and companies. To keep your information from being sold, make sure you only submit your information to carrier or agency websites.
How can you tell if it's an agency website?
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Working with a reputable agency is a great first step in buying insurance!
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Look for the following:
- License Information: Agencies are licensed by your state to sell insurance. By law, their license information must be visible on their website.
- Contact Information: An agency site should have a “Contact Us” page, and provide a telephone number, live chat, and/or other means of direct communication.
- "About Us" Page: Agencies want you to know who they are. This page will give you information about their agency and what they do.
- Agent/Staff Profiles: An agency will want you to know their employees, so a staff page with photos is very common.
Other things to look for:
- BBB (Better Business Bureau): An accreditation means it supports the BBB’s services to the public and meets their standards.
- Verisign Secured: This will ensure that the website you are on secures your private information with encryption. When purchasing online, always read the fine print. Before you submit any personal information, read everything. Know where your information is going and what will be done with it.
Continue to Step 2: What Are the 4 Parties in Life Insurance?
