One of the important things that you have to consider before looking to get Oklahoma Life Insurance Quotes are some of the state specific factors that come into play in your purchase.
In this article I am going to explore life insurance in Oklahoma and exactly what you need to know to get the best deals on your life insurance, and also explore the role that life insurance plays in the state of Oklahomas economy.
I am going to begin with a little background on Oklahoma.
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Oklahoma – A Little Background…
Oklahoma is the 20th largest state in the United States in terms of its physical size at 69,898 square meters (approximately 230 miles wide by 298 miles long), and is the 28th largest in terms of population with 3,751,351 Oklahomans according to the 2010 census.
The largest city in Oklahoma is Oklahoma City (this is also the state capital) and has a city population of 579,999, and a total metropolitan population of 1,322,249.
Oklahoma is a massive agricultural stronghold in the United States, and has one of the largest livestock markets in the world, as well as big oilfields and natural gas supplies, and large aviation, telecommunications and biotechnology sectors.
It had a state GDP of $213.6 billion in 2010, which is roughly equivalent to the GDP of Singapore ($217 billion) or Egypt ($216.8 billion) in 2010 according to IMF figures, and hence in a global context is extremely significant in economic terms.
Oklahoma Life Insurance – The Facts About OH Life Insurance
There are 512 Oklahoma Life Insurance companies who are licensed to sell life insurance in Oklahoma, and of those 23 are actually domiciled in the state.
The life insurance sector is a large employer in Oklahoma, and there are 8,000 people who are directly employed by life insurance companies in Oklahoma, and a further 8,000 people in non-insurance jobs which are supported by the life insurance industry.
Some of the numbers that are involved in the life insurance sector in Oklahoma are massive, with Oklahoman residents having some $220 billion worth of death benefit cover and over 2 million individual life insurance policies.
There was an an average of $92,000 worth of cover per policyholder, and so the states citizens life insurance safety net is considerable.
In 2009 alone, $20 billion worth of individual life insurance was purchased in Oklahoma, and if you factor in group life insurance (which covers a total coverage amount of $80 billion), then it is easy to see the importance of the sector.
When all is said and done though, it is the practical benefits and the cash that this cover affords that most people are interested in, and the windfall from policy dividends, maturing endowments and death benefits amounted to $3 billion in 2009 , and annuity payments added a further $630 million to the pot, (about 1.5% of the states entire gdp)
Three Key Considerations When Getting Oklahoma Life Insurance Quotes
1/ Know How Much Oklahoma Life Insurance You REALLY Need…
It is important that you make some key decisions about how much life insurance you need before you go about getting quotes.
With insurance like auto insurance for example you know that you have to cover your car, and so apart form a few key decisions about whether to go for comprehensive cover, or the amounts of health cover to include, much of the minimum specifications of what you need to get will be laid down by law.
The same is not true of life insurance, because it is not a statutory requirement, and so whilst it is highly advisable to get life insurance, it is not a legal requirement, and there are no state minimums.
With that in mind, you will have to figure out your own minimums, and you can do this by working out all your different expenditures carefully, and then working out how much it would cost your dependants if you died.
Try to work out some firm figures that are based on real numbers, because then you will end up with life insurance that is much more relevant and useful to you.
2/ Know The Type Of Life Insurance You Need
You should weigh up the features and benefits of several different types of life insurance, because in practice life insurance is generally split up into two main types.
These are:
Term Life Insurance – Where there is no savings element, but you would get paid a death benefit if you died during the specified term of the policy.
This tends to be the cheapest type of life insurance, but does have the drawback of not having an annuity element, and also that it is only for a fixed period of time, and not your whole life.
Whole Life Insurance – As the name suggests there is no term as such with this. It carries on indefinitely as long as you continue to make the payments, and there is also a savings element.
It does however tend to be more expensive than term life insurance.
Which you choose is up to you, but it is worth considering the relative merits of the different options.
3/ Act Quickly And Decisively!
Life Insurance gets more expensive as you get older, so it is well worth doing your research now, and getting some quotes in as quickly as possible.
You are generally under no obligation until you firmly decide to buy a policy, and even then you normally get a cooling off period where you can cancel the purchase. So there is no excuse for not acting swiftly and decisively and getting it arranged without delay.
In Oklahoma you automatically have a 10-Day 'Free Look' period as laid down by statute, and so you have plenty of chances to read through your policy and decide if it really is right for you.
Oklahoma Life Insurance – The Details…
In terms of the legal structure and regulatory framework that underpins the conduct of life insurance business in Oklahoma, this is covered by The State Insurance Code of Oklahoma.
You can find a list of the relevant Oklahoma Insurance Regulations here:
In terms of enforcing those Oklahoma State Insurance Code regulations I listed above, this is handled by the Oklahoma Insurance Department which you can find here:
Oklahoma Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association
In the event of a life insurance company insolvency in Oklahoma, then it would be the responsibility of the Oklahoma Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association to ensure that consumers were protected.
Most of the time you would not need this information. But in the event of problems it does at least point the light as to where you could turn for help.
