Being in the army comes with its fair share of dangers and challenges. That’s why military personnel need to ensure they have appropriate life insurance included in their financial plan. Not to mention, military members have their own set of special insurance needs.

Starting from storing away vehicles when on duty to ensuring you’ve probably planned out your finances in case of sudden death, service members have to consider a variety of different things prior to selecting an insurance policy.

Luckily, the U.S service members have access to specialized life insurance programs that meet their needs. Here’s how you can ensure you select the perfect military life insurance plan for yourself:

How Much Life Insurance Should You Get?

Your life insurance won’t be of any use if it doesn’t cover everything you want. Here you should ask yourself questions like, ‘will my insurance cover college expenses?’ or ‘will there be enough money for your spouse to run finances?’ and so on.

You’ll also have to consider your present time debts like mortgage, vehicle investments, and assets to make sure you’re selecting the right insurance policy. The best idea is to reach out to an insurance company to ensure you’re making the right decision.

Ensure You Can Get It

It’s no secret; military members have dangerous and risky jobs. However, professions like fighter pilots, paratroopers, and such are deemed simply too risky to receive life insurance.

Before selecting a policy, contact an insurance company that provides ideal coverage regardless of your line of career.

What Type of Insurance Policy do You Need?

Life insurance is of two types; term life and whole life insurance. The first one offers a full sum upon the owner’s death, depending on whether the death occurs during the policy’s term. The pro is that your mortgage is fully paid. The downside? It offers no other death benefit.

On the other hand, whole life insurance offers death benefits alongside tax benefits. Moreover, here premium payments are cut down into cash accounts and investment funds. Plus, whole life policy owners can control their funds however they want.

Typically, term life policies are lower than life insurance. Thus, here you can contemplate the pros and cons to figure out which matches your needs the best.

What Kind of Insurance Fits Your Needs?

It’s vital you select the appropriate subcategory to ensure adequate coverage and insurance. Military life insurance policy may fall into three types:

  1. Lasting for a given period of time, the term offers the lowest initial payment. However, you can benefit from the fact that your term insurance can upgrade with time.
  2. Permanent policyholders have to provide payment until they die. In this way, you build up savings to a higher amount. Here you may have to pay a higher initial fee, but it lowers with time.
  3. Last but not least, variable boasts a flexible structure to ensure you receive a significantly higher return on the saving portion of your policy.

Planning For When You Leave the Military

First and foremost, you need to ask yourself whether you plan to stay in the army forever or not. If you do, then you’ll have to purchase your life insurance a couple of months prior to separation from the army.

It is because your SGLI policy validity ends with resigning from the military. Moreover, it takes at least six full months for you to gain a life insurance policy.

We understand that all this can be confusing for military personnel. If you need help, reach out to us via our number (702) 485-3539 or venture on to our website Armed Forces Benefits Network.