Mortgage Protection Insurance Tips
When it comes to Mortgage Protection Insurance, we've been there, done that, now serving 100 tips in 11 categories ranging from Finding the Least Expensive Mortgage Protection to The Mortgage Life Insurance Application Process.
Naming the Owner of Your Mortgage Life Insurance Plan
Taking out a Mortgage Life Insurance Plan doesn't have to be a solo affair. In fact, you can have one person own the Mortgage Life Insurance Plan, another person be the insured of the Mortgage Life Insurance Plan, and yet another person paying for the Mortgage Life Insurance Plan. If you decide to have someone else own your Mortgage Life Insurance Plan, there are some important things you should remember.
- The owner rules: The owner of a Mortgage Life Insurance Plan is the only one who can make changes to the beneficiaries of the Mortgage Life Insurance Plan. If you decide to have your spouse own the Mortgage Life Insurance Plan that you're insured under, you will have no say in the naming of the beneficiaries and no ability to change them.
- You can't take them off: You cannot remove the owner of your policy. If your spouse owns your policy and you get divorced, then he or she will still have the ultimate say in your beneficiaries. You can submit a policy assignment form to remove an owner from your policy, but they must agree and sign off on the form.
Per Stirpes and Per Capita
When making your beneficiary elections on your Affordable Mortgage Protection Insurance application, you can choose to decide how the death benefit proceeds will be disbursed in the event of the death of your beneficiaries by choosing either a per stirpes payout arrangement or a per capita arrangement.
In a per stirpes arrangement, the children or remaining heirs of the deceased beneficiary will be given their portion of the death benefit proceeds by individual family branch to split evenly amongst themselves.
In a per capita arrangement, the children or heirs of all deceased beneficiaries will split the entire percentage of death benefit proceeds allocated to the deceased beneficiaries. This division is not done by branch, which means that all proceeds for deceased beneficiaries are pooled.
Per stirpes can leave some heirs of deceased beneficiaries with a larger portion of death benefit, while per capita makes sure that all the death benefit proceeds allocated toward deceased beneficiaries are split evenly amongst each of their heirs.
Mortgage Life Insurance Premium Rating
If your health, hobbies, or behaviors have lead the insurance underwriters to decide that your Mortgage Life Insurance Coverage should be more expensive than the standard rate, then they can add additional premium to your policy in many different ways. Here are a few examples of increased rate structures:
- Table rating: When the insurance underwriters table rate your Mortgage Life Insurance Coverage, it means they charge an additional percentage of your premium and add it to your policy.
- Flat extra premium: A flat extra premium added to your Mortgage Life Insurance Coverage is simply a flat dollar amount that's charged in addition to the standard rate.
- Flat temporary extra: If you're taking part in something risky that is only done on a temporary basis (like flying lessons), you may be charged a temporary extra fee on your Mortgage Life Insurance Coverage. This fee will generally be removed on a specified date that meets the end of your dangerous endeavor.
Bundling Mortgage Life Insurance Costs
When you're evaluating policies by Mortgage Life Insurance Cost, it's important to consider the overall amount you're spending on insurance policies. When you do, you can decide whether or not there are any insurance policies that can be bundled in order to save you money.
For instance, if you and your spouse are each planning on buying a mortgage life insurance policy, then your overall Mortgage Life Insurance Costs are going to be much higher than they would be if you simply purchased one policy and added a spouse rider to it. In addition, if you were planning to purchase regular insurance policies for each of your children, you should consider bundling up those policies into your own mortgage life insurance policy through child riders. That way, your Mortgage Life Insurance Cost and overall insurance costs will be reduced, which will make you able to pay for this coverage well into the future.
Reducing Your Mortgage Life Insurance Premium Quote
If you don't yet have a life insurance policy and are worried about your potential Mortgage Life Insurance Premium, there are a few things you can do to reduce the premiums you're quoted. These may not be guaranteed ways to reduce your Mortgage Life Insurance Premium quote, but they can help.
- Lose weight: Even just a few pounds could put you in a lower rate class for your Mortgage Life Insurance Premium. Start exercising and eating healthier and you could find that it makes a big difference in your bottom line.
- Stop speeding: If you have a history of getting speeding tickets, you may not be able to erase that from the records, but you can stop getting new tickets. Making sure there is a decent amount of time between your last speeding ticket and your insurance application can help you get a lower Mortgage Life Insurance Premium.
- Quit smoking: Most insurance companies want to know if you've smoked over the past two years. While you can't really get a lower premium unless you've been smoke-free for two or more years, you can tell your doctor when you quit and ask him or her to notate that in your chart. Once you finally reach two years free of smoking, you can then ask your physician to send a letter to your insurer asking for an adjusted rate.
The Motor Vehicle Report
There are a lot of different behavioral factors that underwriters need to consider when you apply for a Mortgage Life Insurance Policy. One of these factors is your driving history. Consider how much careless driving, speeding, and driving under the influence can increase your risk of death behind the wheel. That type of driving history can indicate to an insurance company that you might be riskier to cover than your health lets on.
That's why underwriters often pull a motor vehicle report (MVR) on Mortgage Life Insurance Policy applicants. This allows the underwriter some insight into your driving history and determines whether or not your driving behavior makes you riskier to cover with a Mortgage Life Insurance Policy. If it does, it could result in a higher premium or even Mortgage Life Insurance Policy denial.
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| Lynda Moultry |
