4 Critical Tips When Considering Life Insurance
As a busy APTA member, you might not have a lot of time to think about life insurance. You probably have questions – after all, buying life insurance is not something you do often. Below are four important tips we hope will make the process of looking into life insurance smoother for you.
1. Understand why you should consider life insurance
If anyone in your life depends on you financially, you should consider life insurance. There are different reasons for life insurance at different points in your life. For example, you might consider insurance for the first time or review existing coverage around major changes like getting married, having a child or buying a house. You might also look to update your coverage as you weigh future expenses like college tuition for your children or medical bills.
2. Determine amount of coverage you’re comfortable with
You might have heard a rule of thumb that the “right” amount of life insurance is to multiply your annual salary by 6, 8 or even 10. However, this could lead to an amount of coverage that’s too high for you to afford and result in you not getting any coverage at all. Instead, it might be better to simply decide on a cost you’re comfortable paying for coverage, and seeing how much protection it can buy – putting some amount of coverage in place is better than getting stuck trying to decide on the “right amount” only to end up adding no coverage at all.
3. To keep it simple, consider term life insurance
There are many types of life insurance. One simple, no-frills approach is called term life insurance. With this coverage, you make premium payments, and in return if the worst were to happen, your chosen coverage amount would be paid to the person or people you designate, called your beneficiaries.
One type of term life insurance is annual renewable term life. This coverage can help many people get started with life insurance by providing a lower starting cost; rates then increase as you grow older. Another option is level term life insurance, which lets you keep your monthly premium the same for a set amount of time, such as 10 or 20 years.
4. Look at the quality of the provider
An insurance policy is only as good as the company that backs it. You want to make sure you choose a company you can rely on to be stable for as long as you’ll need your coverage. With that in mind, we’ve worked with New York Life Insurance Company to provide term life policies that suit the needs of members like you. New York Life has received the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to U.S. life insurers by all four of the major credit rating agencies.1
It’s important to consider life insurance as one part of a healthy overall financial strategy.
Easily apply for life insurance online, often with no medical exam
To save you hassle while helping safeguard what matters most, we’ve worked with New York Life to simplify your application process for up to $250,0002 of life insurance.
- Choose your monthly cost and instantly see how much coverage it can buy.
- Apply online in minutes – in most cases, members and spouses under age 50 applying for $250,000 coverage or less will not require a medical exam.
- Option to lock in your cost at your current age for as long as 20 years.
Learn more now:3
(No need to provide an email address or phone number to see your cost.)
Underwritten by New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 on Group Policy Form GMR.
1 Source: Individual Third-Party Ratings Reports as of 11/17/2023.
2 In most cases, no medical exam is needed (just answer a few health questions) for applicants under age 50 applying for up to $250,000 ($200,000 for Level Term Life). If an exam is required, it will be scheduled at your convenience and at no cost to you. Higher coverage amounts are available.
3 Including information on features, costs, eligibility, renewability, limitations and exclusions.
4 Critical Tips When Considering Life Insurance
As a busy APTA member, you might not have a lot of time to think about life insurance. You probably have questions – after all, buying life insurance is not something you do often. Below are four important tips we hope will make the process of looking into life insurance smoother for you.
1. Understand why you should consider life insurance
If anyone in your life depends on you financially, you should consider life insurance. There are different reasons for life insurance at different points in your life. For example, you might consider insurance for the first time or review existing coverage around major changes like getting married, having a child or buying a house. You might also look to update your coverage as you weigh future expenses like college tuition for your children or medical bills.
2. Determine amount of coverage you’re comfortable with
You might have heard a rule of thumb that the “right” amount of life insurance is to multiply your annual salary by 6, 8 or even 10. However, this could lead to an amount of coverage that’s too high for you to afford and result in you not getting any coverage at all. Instead, it might be better to simply decide on a cost you’re comfortable paying for coverage, and seeing how much protection it can buy – putting some amount of coverage in place is better than getting stuck trying to decide on the “right amount” only to end up adding no coverage at all.
3. To keep it simple, consider term life insurance
There are many types of life insurance. One simple, no-frills approach is called term life insurance. With this coverage, you make premium payments, and in return if the worst were to happen, your chosen coverage amount would be paid to the person or people you designate, called your beneficiaries.
One type of term life insurance is annual renewable term life. This coverage can help many people get started with life insurance by providing a lower starting cost; rates then increase as you grow older. Another option is level term life insurance, which lets you keep your monthly premium the same for a set amount of time, such as 10 or 20 years.
4. Look at the quality of the provider
An insurance policy is only as good as the company that backs it. You want to make sure you choose a company you can rely on to be stable for as long as you’ll need your coverage. With that in mind, we’ve worked with New York Life Insurance Company to provide term life policies that suit the needs of members like you. New York Life has received the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to U.S. life insurers by all four of the major credit rating agencies.1
It’s important to consider life insurance as one part of a healthy overall financial strategy.
Easily apply for life insurance online, often with no medical exam
To save you hassle while helping safeguard what matters most, we’ve worked with New York Life to simplify your application process for up to $250,0002 of life insurance.
- Choose your monthly cost and instantly see how much coverage it can buy.
- Apply online in minutes – in most cases, members and spouses under age 50 applying for $250,000 coverage or less will not require a medical exam.
- Option to lock in your cost at your current age for as long as 20 years.
Learn more now:3
(No need to provide an email address or phone number to see your cost.)
Underwritten by New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 on Group Policy Form GMR.
1 Source: Individual Third-Party Ratings Reports as of 11/17/2023.
2 In most cases, no medical exam is needed (just answer a few health questions) for applicants under age 50 applying for up to $250,000 ($200,000 for Level Term Life). If an exam is required, it will be scheduled at your convenience and at no cost to you. Higher coverage amounts are available.
3 Including information on features, costs, eligibility, renewability, limitations and exclusions.
