Life Insurance

What you need to know about life insurance, including types of insurance policies and deciding on how much coverage you need.

1. All life insurance policies fall into one of two camps.

There are TERM policies, or PERMANENT (Whole Life or Universal) insurance coverage. There are the many variants of PERMANENT life, which combine an investment product with pure term insurance and build cash value.

2. Whole life insurance is expensive.

Policies with an investment component cost many times more than term policies. As a result, many people who buy whole life often can't afford an adequate face value, leaving themselves underinsured.

3. Buy enough term coverage to fill your needs.

Life insurance is no place to skimp, especially with rates at historic lows.

4. Match the term of the policy to your needs.

You want the policy to last as long as it takes for your dependents to leave the nest - or for your retirement income to kick in.

5. Buy life insurance when you're healthy.

Older people and those not in the best of health pay steeply higher rates for life insurance - so buy as early as you can.

6. Talk to a life insurance agent that offers many different companies.

Hedges Insurance Services LLC know which companies to place people with certain medical conditions or lifestyles.