When do I Have to Make my First Payment for Coverage?

You have made a smart decision by purchasing a stable life insurance policy. You know that it is going to assist your family financially during a time of need. But, in the time it took you to shop for the best plan and apply for it, you may have overlooked when to expect to have to begin paying for your coverage.

Planning for your Premium Payments

The first payment may become due only after you have been approved for it. Naturally, you would not need to pay for a policy for which you did not qualify. However, some insurers may allow you to try out your plan for a period of time before committing to keeping that plan. In an instance like this you most likely would have a month before deciding if the plan is suitable for your needs.

If you want to keep the plan after the trial period, you would be able to make your first payment after the trial is up. This would allow you to have a few weeks time before needing to make your first payment. But, many plans offer you the choice to pay for coverage annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly. This applies to just about any kind of policy, so the best way to know when your premium payment will be due for the first time is to ask your insurance company during the application process.

If, for example, you are able to opt for monthly payments you would be able to find out from the insurance company how much time you would have to mail in your first monthly payment after the coverage has been approved. Some companies may allow payments to be made in many different ways. A payment may be able to be deducted automatically from your checking account each month on a specified date.

Choosing a Payment Method

If your insurer allows a payment to be made automatically each month, or each quarter depending upon the options afforded you for regular premium payments at the time your plan is approved, it might make things easier. There would be no need to remember to send a premium payment at a certain time to keep coverage in force. The payment would simply be automatically deducted by the insurance company from your checking account.

This would require that you remember to mark the deduction down regularly so as to keep the checking account balanced. However, if your insurance company allows automatic payments to be made via a credit card, there is no need to worry about remembering to make a premium payment at all. This can be especially helpful when beginning to pay for a new life insurance policy.

The best way to know when to expect to make the very first premium payment is to ask your agent at the time an application is filled out. While most likely your plan will be accepted, it does not hurt to ask at the time the plan is applied for just what options the company affords to its customers. This can help you prepare for a yearly premium payment, in which case the first payment would probably be needed as soon as the plan has been approved.

This arrangement would make it necessary to come up with a larger sum of money at once. But, it also allows you the convenience of not needing to worry about another premium payment until the following year. There are many options for payments so, in order to know when your first payment for coverage will be required, discuss these options with your term life insurance company.

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