What is the average cost of life insurance in Florida?

Do you need a life insurance policy? Life insurance is designed to help your surviving family members pay for certain expenses after your death. These could include your funeral expenses, your immediate family’s living expenses and college costs. You could even take out a life insurance policy to help leave your family an inheritance after you die. Let’s take a look at the different types of life insurance options and how much you could pay for a policy.

Types of Life Insurance Policies

There are a few different types of life insurance policies available. The best one for you will depend on your specific life circumstances.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance gets its name because it’s only valid for a specific amount of time or term. Policy holders can usually choose terms of between 10 and 30 years. If you die during the term of the life insurance policy, it will pay out to the listed beneficiaries. In general, term life insurance is about three times less expensive than other types of insurance policies. At the end of the term, the policyholder may receive some options to either extend the policy or roll it over into a permanent or whole life insurance policy. However, the policy may simply end at the end of its term.

Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance or whole life insurance is valid for the remainder of your life, assuming that you keep paying your premiums in order to keep the policy active. These types of policies have a death benefit amount and a savings amount that earns a certain amount of interest. In other words, permanent life insurance can build a cash value. The cash value portion of the permanent life insurance plan can be accessed prior to your death. The first way is if you reach the age limit of the policy, usually 100 or 120 years of age, and the cash value equals the value of the policy. In this instance, the insurance company would cash the policy out and give you the money in the savings portion of the life insurance policy. A second way to receive cash from this policy is to take out a life insurance loan. The loan amount must be paid back in installments while you are still alive. However, if you die, the loan amount is subtracted from the life insurance policy payout, and the remainder is sent to your beneficiaries. Most people use this type of life insurance policy to pay for end-of-life expenses and to leave an inheritance to the beneficiaries.

Final Expense Life Insurance

Final expense life insurance is also referred to as funeral or burial insurance. It is designed to cover your end-of-life expenses, like your funeral and burial costs, medical expenses and outstanding debts. It’s not designed to leave an inheritance to your beneficiaries. It’s also easier to get this type of life insurance if you’re older and/or have a lot of health issues that might make you ineligible for other types of life insurance policies.

Understanding Who Should Consider Getting a Life Insurance Policy

Everyone should consider getting a life insurance policy, even if it’s just for final expenses. This is because the average funeral and burial costs between $7,000 and $12,000 or more. If you’re not going to have that amount of money in your estate, and your relatives don’t have that kind of money to spare, you could be leaving them with a financial hardship in the event of your death. Other reasons to consider a term-life or permanent life insurance policy include:

  • You want your surviving spouse to be able to pay off your home’s mortgage.
  • You have children at home and you wish to ensure they are well-taken care of and remain out of poverty if you die.
  • You want your children to be able to go to college or a university without incurring debt or putting a financial hardship on your surviving spouse.
  • Your spouse or partner relies on your income in order to maintain a certain lifestyle.
  • You’d like to use your life insurance policy to provide your beneficiaries with an inheritance.

How Much Life Insurance Costs in Florida

Your life insurance policy costs will depend on a lot of factors, including how old you are, your gender, if you have any preexisting health conditions, the type of life insurance policy and the amount of the policy. In general, you can expect life insurance to cost between $40 and $55 a month. Individuals who are older typically pay more than those who are younger.

Life Insurance Policies with Fearnow in Florida

If you need a life insurance policy in Florida, our insurance agents at Fearnow can help you find the right one for your needs and answer all of your questions about the policy. Many people choose to get a life insurance policy to provide their surviving family members with income replacement and to pay outstanding debts. Here at Fearnow, we believe that it’s simply good estate planning because it means that your heirs will not have to liquidate your assets in order to pay for your final expenses.

To learn more about life insurance and to get a quote, give us a call at (813) 689-8878.