Life insurance

When you conclude a life insurance policy agreement the insurance company basically agrees to pay your family or some other beneficiary a certain amount of money in case you die due to whatever reasons. Suicide is also covered, although there is a waiting period that typically starts at 13 months - if the person insured commits a suicide within this period from the moment the agreement is signed no benefits will be paid. To fund the coverage the person insured pays regular premiums to the company. Besides death there are other insured events - such as a terminal illness. If the person insured is diagnosed with an illness that will definitely kill him or her in the end, they may qualify for getting paid and are free to spend the money as they wish - some people go traveling while others invest into their children and loved ones instead. Sometimes there is confusion between the terms "insured" and "policy owner". Although in most cases it's the same person, sometimes it can be different. Policy owner is a person that concludes an agreement, while insures is someone whose death triggers the benefits the company is supposed to pay. A wife can insure her husband and in that case she will be a policy owner (and will be paying the fees) and her husband will be the insured. The parameters that can influence the fee that will have to be paid monthly include the person's habits (smoking), sex and age. The older you get - the more difficult it will get a life insurance policy with low premiums to be paid regularly. Some other factors can also make the fees lower or higher - people that travel a lot, have dangerous professions and those doing sports that can be potentially fatal are more likely to pay higher premiums, as there is a higher risk of them dying.