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Price shopping online for a life insurance quote? Are you aware of the risks? Have you considered the many value-added features of New York Life Insurance Company's insurance policies, including Family Protection Insurance?
Consumers do it all the time — shop around for the best price on everything from televisions and appliances to cars and airline tickets. That’s just smart, making sure you get the best value for the money you spend.
So, how about life insurance? You’ve seen the ads on TV offering a knock–your–socks off monthly premium for a large death benefit amount. Or perhaps you have clicked the compare–and–save button on the Internet, bringing you to a site that lists a half dozen policies from competing companies.
Quality Versus Price
1. Understand that life insurance is about value, not just bottom-line price. As NYLIC's Graziano emphasizes, "It's not all about price. One of the most dangerous trends recently is the "commoditization" of life insurance, about offering life insurance for the lowest price, assuming that the only thing that matters is the premium. When you buy life insurance, price is a factor. However, other factors include the features contained in the policy and the availability of quality service from a reliable company." Determine your needs and then buy the policy that meets those needs.
2. Understand your needs.
Your need for life insurance may be subtly different from your neighbor's. One size doesn't necessarily fit all. Before you can purchase the policy that is best suited for you and your family, take the time to understand your needs … and theirs.
3. Understand the value of working with a reputable agent.
That is someone you can trust and who takes the time to ask lot of questions about you and answers your questions to your satisfaction.A quality agent — such as a NYLIC agent — is a licensed professional who adheres to a strict code of conduct. Your agent's role is to educate and inform, as well as to serve as a guide to help you sort through your needs and the best way to address them. Take the time to consult with your NYLIC agent. Don't have an agent? To have a New York Life agent in your area contact you at your convenience, fill out the form below.
4. Understand the importance of working with a reputable life insurance company
The company, one in which provies quality service, behind the policy is of vital importance. Doing business since 1845, New York Life is one of the top–rated, most financially solid life insurance companies in the world. Four major rating companies — Fitch, Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's, and A.M. Best — consistently award New York Life high ratings.
5. Understand what gives a policy genuine value.
Some term policies can be pretty basic, providing death benefit for a specific term, and not much more. NYLIC's Family Protection Insurance, on the other hand, is a term life insurance policy, but with a number of "unique, value–added features," explains Graziano. Family protection is a joint life term policy with a number of exceptional features. These include face amount increases without proof of insurability, dependent children coverage, and an Additional Death Benefit feature that pays $200,000 in additional death benefit if both insureds die within the first 10 years.
Unfortunately, if you have spent even a few minutes looking for that "End of Month" clearance sale, that "Limited Time Only" deal, or some discount Web site offering specials on life insurance, you know that price shopping for the right coverage is not as easy as ordering the latest best-selling book or heartworm medication for your pet.
Before buying some stripped down, bare bones, online policy, consider purchasing a Family Protection Insurance policy from New York Life, which comes with a number of unique features and benefits, competitive price, and the value–added services of a professional New York Life Insurance agent.
Why do some people price shop for life insurance? One reason is that it looks easy, especially if they go online. "Shopping online is convenient," explains Larry Graziano, an assistant vice president with New York Life. "People get to avoid the crowds, as well as the annoyance of being either ignored or hassled by a salesclerk. Plus, they can shop at their leisure, 24 hours a day, and then have the product delivered right to their door."
Additionally, people believe the same concept applies to life insurance. That often is based on the assumption that all life insurance policies are alike, if not identical. The fact is that all policies are not alike. Each policy from different companies (and many from the same company) has subtle but major differences. So, when one policy is offered for $355 and another for $445, the savvy consumer searches for the answer to a key question: Why?
In short, buying life insurance is quite different than shopping for many other products. It is not like buying such items as plane tickets or computer equipment. Life insurance can be complicated. There are many nuances in product design. When comparison shopping, it is difficult to be sure you are comparing apples and apples. Even when shopping for a term policy (the simplest form of life insurance), you need to be aware of potentially significant differences.
Also, there are no deals on life insurance: No specials, no end-of-month sales, no discount store bargains, no introductory offers that we must accept by midnight, next Tuesday. Each policy is priced according to the value it offers.
Even so, you may not save time. You could spend hours calling toll-free numbers and clicking your way around the globe on the Internet, gathering information by the bucket, and still not have a clear idea why one policy is better than another. If you were hoping to save time, you will probably be disappointed, and may end up more confused than enlightened.
The real danger, however, is that you could get a great deal on a product that does not meet your needs. Life insurance is a product designed for the long–term, involving possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in ultimate benefits, with consequences that may impact your spouse and children decades from now. The policy you buy is only as good as the company behind it, including its service and its reputation.
The key to buying the right life insurance policy: Value shop. Don't just price shop. "You should always consider the value proposition," explains NYLIC's Larry Graziano. "Looking past price alone, you should look at the value — features and benefits — to correctly evaluate what you are buying. Just because the product is available for a low number of dollars, that is no guarantee that it's the best product to meet your needs. You have to look more deeply into the product.
Plus, since 2004, NYLIC has been rated the top company in its class (insurance companies) for customer loyalty.1 Between our service-oriented agents and home office service staff, we take pride in servicing what we sell.
If you need additional life insurance, let a New York Life agent help. In addition to providing a wealth of other resources, a NYLIC agent will meet with you to discuss your needs, explore your options, and help you decide which type and amount of life insurance is right for you. At the same time, keep in mind that your agent's services are provided at no charge. So, save yourself time and frustration. Contact a New York Life agent today.
1 2008 Brand Keys Loyalty Engagement Index: http://www.brandkeys.com/awards/
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