People give various reasons for not buying life insurance, but the one most often given is the dread of high pressure sales tactics. That's an especially sore spot when dealing with a product that protects our loved ones. With online life insurance, though, sales personnel can be entirely sidestepped for the length of the sales process.
---Who can buy life insurance online?---
Not all types of life insurance are available online, but if you're looking for term insurance or no-exam life insurance, you should be able to complete most or all of the purchasing process on your own, at your home computer. The good news is that term insurance is the cheapest option on the market, and it ideally suits most buyers needs. As for no-exam insurance, almost anyone can qualify for it.
Even if you choose to buy life insurance online, you will probably need to work with an agent at some point in the process, but by the time you reach that step, you will have effectively avoided any high pressure sales tactics. You will have already chosen your product and carrier. The agent's role at this point is to process your paperwork and keep you updated on the progress of your policy, all at no cost to you.
This is not to mean that you cannot obtain assistance from an agent if you wish. A good agent will be willing to start the purchasing process over from the beginning, if requested. Not only that, your agent should be ready to answer questions, walk you through the calculation of your coverage needs, and explain your options to you. Have a care, though, that your agent does not push an agenda of his/her own (and be prepared for the necessity of brining legal action against an agent who sells you something and misrepresents it to you).
---Is buying insurance online safe?---
The number of agencies providing life insurance online has exploded in recent years, so there is a fair deal of variation. In most cases, your personal information will be closely guarded, and you will have fair-to-excellent service. There are a few things to know in order to ensure both of these goals, however.
For the most privacy, use an agency or carrier website; these types of company are actually licensed to sell insurance policies. Some websites actually just collect information and sell it to independent agencies. Look for an "about us" page. Also, check to see that your agency transmits data over a secure connection. Look for a security seal on the site. Such a seal indicates that transmissions of personal information are encrypted.
If you're buying online, you may think that the level of service you receive makes no difference. In fact, though, you had better verify that your website can do a good job of comparing rates from a good variety of carriers insurance. Some agency sites compare as few as five insurers, while others compare more than eighty. Carriers websites quote only one insurer each (their own company). Again, look at the "about us" page for clues. Somewhere on the site, an agency should indicate with which insurers it does business. They should include names you trust and recognize.
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