Life Insurance

We know you can’t put a dollar amount on your family, but you can ensure their future is protected. And though costs are a real concern for most people considering life insurance, it never costs as much as you think.

Or will you be thinking instead of how you will spend whatever time you have left secure in the fact you have a precisely calculated policy to cover your debt and funeral costs with a financial cushion leftover to keep the stress of your loss and resulting financial pressure of lost income off you spouse?

Recognizing everyone’s situation is unique,  you don't have to be a Super Hero. There are two types of life insurance policies to choose from:

1. Term life policies are set up to cover you for a specific period of time
2. Whole life or Universal life insurance covers the insured for the course of their life

Each policy type has virtually unlimited ways to design a policy that makes the most sense for your situation and only your Independent Insurance Agent can configure it for you in a way that optimizes your family's well-being. And the Buckley Agency is Insurance Demystified. No matter the situation,  as we stated on Our Agency page your SECOND choice is to know what type of policy best suits your needs, the amount of coverage desired, what insurance company and most importantly, who the beneficiary will be. The FIRST choice should always be picking the right Life Insurance Agent because the right Agent will put your needs first and help you choose wisely.

One of our experienced, knowledgable agents at the Buckley Agency can help you learn more about purchasing the right life insurance policy for your unique situation. Have peace of mind knowing that when you leave this world, your family won’t be burdened with the debts you created together so you could have a wonderful life.

The right life insurance policy gives your surviving Spouse or heirs the Super Power to stop the joys of your life together from turning into financial hardships.

You don't buy life insurance because you will die, you buy it because the people you love have to go on living.

Going one level deeper into the details:
Technically speaking, signing an application for life insurance is only an offer (as such is non-binding) to an insurance company asking them to provide coverage to you for a (quoted) price. The insurance company does not accept your offer, or guarantee the quoted price until they check your medical history and prescriptions, and the underwriter approves coverage. At this point the price becomes binding because if adverse health information was discovered, the insurance company has the right to counter-offer with a higher price.

The underwriting process could take 2-3 weeks and when that is finished the State of NJ tacks on the "10 day free look period" which gives you the right to walk away from any life insurance policy, no questions asked, within 10 days of "issue" and receive a full refund. This entire process could take 3-4 weeks or longer and until the end of the free look there technically is no policy. Once a policy is legally issued you can still legally walk away from it provided that the new policy is a better situation for you, ex: less money, more death benefit, better features. This process, called replacement and it's done more often than you might think. 

The Misunderstanding: You can shop for lower rates. (Sel***Q**te, Zeb**, B*g L*u and others advertise this) It is misleading to say the least.

The Truth: You cannot shop for rates in life insurance period. Insurance law in NJ and other states is written this way for a specific reason. Let me explain with the following example amd I will keep the numbers simple: Let's say Agent X gives you a quote for a $100,000 policy from "InsureCo A" that is based on your following health profile: Male, age 40, NonSmoker, 5-10/190 lbs, with high blood pressure and no surgeries and that premium is quoted at $100 per month. If you receive quotes from other agents, doesn't matter if its only one agent or 100 and those agents knew only the exact same health profile that you gave to Agent X and the other agents also quoted a rate from "InsureCo A" then the monthly premium will be EXACTLY the same at $100 per month. This happens because all premiums from all insurance companies must be submitted to and approved by the Commissioner of Insurance in the state in which you live. These rates are locked in until rate increases are applied for and the process starts all over again.

Important Note & Buyer Beware: The Big Box Insurance Agencies like to advertise on television that a very large policy like $500,000 or more can be purchased for a very low price. The small print on the TV ad states that the very low price is for a 10 year term life policy. Except for special circumstances, most Buyers of life insurance expect to have the policy anywhere from 20-30 years to the end of their lives. A 40 year old purchasing a 10 year policy will pay 2 to 2.5 times more for that same policy when they renew it at age 50 based on the health variables that changed in the 10 year period. Since the chances that your health situation could change in 10 years are probable and coverage will cost you more (health rarely gets better as we age, read my story) its better to lock in the low rate for the 40 year old that will stay level and never change even when you are 70 or for your lifetime.

Teaching Moment: The only way to get a lower price for the $100,000 policy explained above is to buy it from an insurance company that maintains better internal controls and disciplines. Sound confusing? Let someone from the Buckley Agency Demystify it for you.

At the Buckley Agency: Insurance Is Demystified