After the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, a lot of people are more worried about their health. The effects of the virus are not only detrimental but also fatal. And while health is a top priority during such a time, it is important to understand how it affects your life insurance, and this could be an existing coverage or a new one.
Some of the biggest questions for most people is if it is possible to acquire life insurance after contracting the virus or if life insurance policies can cover the death of the policyholder should they succumb to the virus. However, let’s first look at how to acquire coverage during the pandemic.
Buying Life Insurance During COVID-19
While buying life insurance during the coronavirus pandemic is critical, you don’t want to make any mistakes. You want to get a policy with coverage large enough to take care of the needs of your loved ones should anything happen to you. That said, here is what you will need to do. Award-winning and FCA regulated UK life insurance broker, Reassured has created an excellent FAQs article on this topic.
Purchase a No-Exam Policy
Underwritten policies often take many days, which could turn to a month or more depending on your policy provider. With the current situation, you don’t want to wait for that long to get your life insurance application approved. Also, it might be difficult to get a medical examination due to the imposed lockdown to help reduce the spreading of the virus. Since everyone is prone to get the virus, the earlier you lock in a policy the safer you are before you potentially contract the virus. Once you acquire a policy, you can later get a better one(an underwritten one), that is you if the no-exam policy doesn’t give you the coverage you want.
Work With an Independent Agent
This is especially helpful if you cannot get a no-exam policy for whatever reason. Maybe you are past the age limit to qualify for a no-exam policy, or you just can’t find an insurer accepting new applications due to the pandemic. An independent agent will recommend several insurance companies accepting new applications so that you will have different no-exam policy options to choose from.
Buy As Soon As Now
You also want to act fast because waiting around is risky because of uncertainty in the future. There is the possibility of contracting the virus in the future as it continues to spread, so the earlier you buy life insurance, the better. Also, depending on the cases in the future, there might be a possibility that more insurance companies might stop accepting new applications, so if you are thinking of buying, do it now. Check out best Life insurance company.
Why You Should Buy Life Insurance If You are Over 50
From the statistics of the effect of the coronavirus, the elderly are at the highest risk. So if you are over 50 years, the risk of contracting the virus and possibly dying from it is very high. This shows the importance of buying life insurance if you fall under that age bracket.
To Cover Final Expenses
If you are 50 years and above, you susceptible to not only the virus, but also other diseases and health conditions for the elderly. And at this age, it is good to think about the future. For instance, will your loved ones afford your final expenses after you pass away? Or in some unfortunate circumstances, you might not have an immediate family to take care of your funeral and burial expenses. This applies more to people in their 60’s as well where the cost of life insurance can soar. So buying life insurance is a great way to ensure that your final expenses are fully taken care of, should anything happen to you.
To Provide Financial Aid for Your Loved Ones
If you are the breadwinner of your family, then a life insurance policy is important as it is meant to take care of bills after your death. This might include finishing up a pending loan, estate taxes, and other personal financial needs. And maybe by the time of your death, you might not have finished paying off college tuition for your children, so the benefits can be used to cater for that.
Bottom Line
Life insurance is vital, especially during a period like this with the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone is prone to contracting the virus, so it is good to protect your future and that of your loved ones. Act fast, but also analyze your options to get the best offer, and if you can get an independent agent to help you the easier it gets.