Image: PeopleImages/E+/Getty Images
About This Quiz
Choosing a life insurance policy can be overwhelming. Take this quiz to see how much you know about life insurance in general and the benefits of having life insurance.
What is the goal of life insurance?
to pay for as much medical care as necessary
to ensure you die wealthy
financial security for your family
Life insurance protects against the unknown, ensuring financial security for your family when you die.
Advertisement
How long is the term of a life insurance policy?
a year
a lifetime
as long as you decide
The term of a life insurance policy can be as long as you decide, but you will receive money only if you die within the term.
Advertisement
Who is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy?
the person(s) who will receive the money
The beneficiary is the person who you nominate to receive the payout from your policy should you die within the term.
the person you bought the policy from
the person you are insuring
Advertisement
What was the first ancient civilization on record to use life insurance?
Egyptian
Greek
Roman
Ancient Romans are the first people on record who had a life insurance system. The ancient Romans had burial clubs that would collect money from poor people to pay for their funerals.
Advertisement
Who invented the first actuarial tables?
Edmund Halley
Edmund Halley, the same person for whom the comet is named, invented the first actuarial tables. These tables calculate the risk of insuring someone based on mortality statistics.
Alan Turing
Isaac Newton
Advertisement
Which of the following factors are likely to increase your life insurance premium?
being male
Many factors influence how high your life insurance premium will be. Men are likely to pay more than women, and the price generally increases as you age. Health conditions, dangerous hobbies and smoking also raise premiums.
being female
being young
Advertisement
What is the usual procedure for claiming a life insurance policy?
Fill out a claim form.
Provide a death certificate.
both of the above
To claim a life insurance policy, the beneficiary generally has to fill out a claim form and provide an official death certificate.
Advertisement
On what grounds might a claim be denied?
if suicide is the cause of death
Suicide is often not covered in a life insurance policy. The claim may also be denied if the beneficiary lied on the claim form or if the cause of death is not certain.
if the person died alone
if the person who died is younger than 40
Advertisement
Who should take out life insurance?
someone who lives alone
someone with dependants
You need life insurance if you have people that are financially dependant on you and you want to ensure their financial security.
someone who worries a lot
Advertisement
People in what age group usually need life insurance?
teenagers
young professionals
Younger, working professionals generally take out life insurance, often once they get married, but usually when they are expecting their first child. This is because life insurance is supposed to replace your financial value to your beneficiary. Teenagers are generally still dependant on someone else, and by the time people reach retirement, they are living off their savings.
retired people
Advertisement
What is the most common reason for retired people to take out a life insurance policy?
to pay off a mortgage
to pay for living a retirement community
to assist with funeral costs
Retired people usually take out life insurance policies to ease the burden of funeral and burial costs on their family.
Advertisement
If you have a life insurance policy that is tied to your mortgage for the purpose of paying off the mortgage, what happens to the policy as you pay off the mortgage?
It decreases in value.
A policy tied to your mortgage will decrease in value as you pay off the mortgage.
It increases in value.
The value does not change.
Advertisement
Besides family, who else is commonly nominated as a life insurance beneficiary?
pets
charities
businesses
Although people can nominate whoever (and whatever) they want, another common beneficiary is a person's business. The policy's payout may help keep the business afloat while the deceased is replaced.
Advertisement
Which of the following is a feature of a permanent life insurance policy but not a term policy?
cash value component
Permanent life insurance policies have a cash value component, which means that your fund invests your premium payments to increase the amount of cash in your policy account. As the name indicates, permanent polices last until you die, with no fixed term, and premiums may be fixed or flexible.
fixed premiums
fixed term
Advertisement
What is usually the maximum length of time that you can have a term policy?
10 years
20 years
30 years
A term policy runs over a period of more than one year to up to 30 years, depending on how long you choose. Term policies usually have low rates with high coverage and fixed premiums for the term of the policy. The catch is that if you decide you want to buy a new policy when your policy runs out, your new premium will probably be a lot higher because you are now older.
Advertisement
What is the first step in deciding how much to spend on life insurance?
Calculate your financial value.
To decide how much you need to spend on life insurance, you need to calculate your financial value to your family and the gap they will be left with. Beyond your salary, you need to factor in income tax and money you spend on living expenses such as food and clothes and anything else that relates to money that you earn or spend. This will be an indication of your actual financial value and the level of life insurance you need to buy.
Ask your friends what they spend.
Go with the salesperson's best offer.
Advertisement
What is the term given to the total amount of coverage you need?
beneficiary payout
face value
The amount of coverage you need is called face value or death benefit. Make sure you buy a policy that you can afford. If you buy a policy with a high face value and later find that you cannot afford to pay it, you will have to cancel it and will end up with nothing.
total value
Advertisement
What is a good rule of thumb to help determine how much your policy should be worth?
Buy a policy that pays out two and half times your annual income.
Buy a policy that replaces your salary for five to seven years.
The rule of thumb for most people is to buy a policy that helps your family get through five to seven years without you. It's important to buy a policy that you can afford but will also give you peace of mind that your family is secure.
Buy a policy that gets your family the most money you can afford.
Advertisement
What else do you need to know before taking out a life insurance policy?
policy cancellation terms
how long you need the policy
both of the above
Know the consequences of cancelling a policy. Insurance salespeople make commission off their sales, so they may leave out minor details that could cost you big. They may also make a policy sound better than it really is. Be thorough, think about what you really need and read the terms and conditions carefully before buying a policy.
Advertisement
Why might you be attracted to the idea of borrowing money from the cash value of your insurance policy?
if you want to take out a mortgage
if you have poor credit
Someone with a bad credit history you might want a life insurance policy that allows him to borrow money from the cash value of his account, since even the higher rates of the policy are likely to be better than what he might get from a bank. Borrowing against the value of the policy is not a good financial practice, though. It leaves your beneficiary open to financial vulnerability.
if you want furnish your home
Advertisement
You Got:
/20
PeopleImages/E+/Getty Images
