How to Weigh Your Options of Life Insurance By Bill Eager
Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program is a form of group term life insurance as per Bill Eager that has no cash value, and once you get insured, you can keep it forever. For the majority of people, term life insurance offers the best method to cover their needs for insurance.
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When weighing your options for insurance, there are different enrollment issues to consider. FEGLI doesn’t generally hold periods of open enrollment when you can increase your coverage without any medical underwriting. You can sign up when you are initially hired and form changes at the time of Qualifying Life Events like birth or adoption of a child. You can also consider increasing your life insurance by offering evidence regarding your insurability in the form of a physical exam that depicts that you are in good health.
As per Bill Eager in case you are insurable, and you feel you require more than basic FEGLI coverage, you can consider available alternatives to FEGLI. FEGLI offers its advantages like coverage that boosts automatically as your salary rises. In case you are enrolled in FEGLI for a minimum of five years prior to retirement, you can carry on your enrollment into retirement.
If you are in good health and insurable, there are other distinct reasons to shop around. These include:
- Cost: You are able to qualify for coverage at decreased premiums than FEGLI charges.
- Added coverage: FEGLI is limited to the optional, standard and basic coverage that offers a maximum benefit of a little greater than six times your basic rate of salary. If you need added coverage of life insurance, you need to supplement FEGLI.
- Level Premiums: You may not require life insurance for the rest of your life. In this case, a term life insurance with level premiums for 10, 20 or 30 years can be a good option for you.
You can look for a reputable agent for life insurance to compare prices and assess the amount and type of insurance for your requirements. Bill Eager said you can also shop for life insurance from a reputed online insurance shopping service. You can purchase coverage directly from an online insurance company or from an insurance broker or salesperson. The federal agency for which you work can have a lot of contracts with other providers of life insurance. There are two types of benefits of life insurance that are regularly bought by federal employees to supplement or replace FEGLI: WAEPA and SAMBA.
SAMBA offers life insurance in amounts up to $600,000, which includes a living benefit in the event of a diagnosis of terminal illness and accidental death benefit for retirees and employees who are under the age of 65. WAEPA offers a maximum coverage amount of $1.5 million of term life insurance and inculcates a living benefit in the event you get diagnosed with a permanent chronic illness. Both WAEPA and SAMBA offer coverage to your spouse and children.
How does one compare SAMBA and WAEPA? FEGLI can offer the most coverage if you require considerable insurance after the age of 70, but WAEPA offers less expensive premiums for enrollees that are aged 60 or below. The price of SAMBA is comparable to FEGLI at the age of 50 and under and lower than FEGLI at the age of 60-70.
Prior to forming your decision about coverage requirements, it is important that you do more research to arrive at a comprehensive comparison of your different options.
