When looking into getting Utah Life Insurance Quotes it is important to realise that you have a variety of options when it comes to the life policy that you will eventually choose. It is also important to take into account both state specific guidelines that affect life insurance in Utah directly, and also more general guidelines which are simply to do with life insurance in general.
In this article I will be addressing both types, as well as looking at the importance of life insurance to the Utah economy.
Let’s begin by getting a little background on Utah.
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Utah – A Little Background
Utah is the 13th largest state in the United States in terms of its physical size, at 84,899 square meters (approximately 270 miles wide by 350 miles long). But is relatively sparsely populated and is only the 34th largest in terms of population at 2,763,885 according to the 2010 US Census, but is also one of the fastest growing states of recent times according to the statistics.
It is estimated that about 60% of all Utahns are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), a religion founded by Joseph Smith Jr in 1830 in New York, which quickly moved to Kirtland Ohio in 1831 and which has its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Both the largest city and the Capital of Utah is Salt Lake City which had a city population of 186,440 and a metropolitan population of 1,124,197 according to the 2010 census.
Salt Lake City owes its founding and origins to the Mormons, but booms in mining, railroads and banking have contributed to a bustling metropolis.
In 2002 Salt Lake City also hosted the Winter Olympics which was one of the most financially successful games of all time, with a profit of $40 million at the end of the games being used to create the Utah Athletic Foundation. (The games were also successful in medal terms as the United States picked up 10 gold, 13 silver and 11 bronze medals)
The State GDP of Utah in 2010 was $116.9 billion, which although only 0.81% of the total US GDP of $14.6578 trillion, is still more than the GDP of a country like Vietnam ($103.57 billion) in the same year.
Utah Life Insurance – The Facts About UT Life Insurance
There are 474 Utah Life Insurance Companies who are licensed to sell life insurance in Utah, and of those 14 are actually domiciled in the state.
The number of people employed by the life insurance industry in Utah is significant, with an estimated 6,000 people directly employed, and a further 7,000 non-insurance jobs supported by the industry according to the American Council of Life Insurers.
There are 790,000 individual Utah life insurance policies owned by Utahan residents, and one of the highest average amounts of cover ($200,000 per policy holder) of anywhere in the country.
(To get that amount in perspective it is worth reflecting that Georgia for example only has an average of half that amount at $100,000 per policy holder, and Kentucky only averages $68,000 per policyholder.)
The amount of life insurance sold every year in Utah is also significant, with $20 billion worth of individual life cover purchased in 2009.
And the knock-on effects to the economy can also be measured in billions, with $2 billion being paid out to Utah residents in policy dividends, death benefits, maturing endowments and surrender values in 2009 alone, and a further $470 million paid out in annuity benefits in the same year.
All in all it is clear from looking at the facts that Utah Life Insurance is extremely significant both to the Utah economy, and the people taking out the policies.
The Top Ten Life Insurance Companies in Utah
Here are some statistics showing the top ten life insurance companies in Utah in 2009 based on sales of individual life insurance policies, together with the percentage of the market that they had.
It is interesting to note that even the top ten life insurance companies in Utah only accounted for 40.99% of the market share, and so the depth of competition in the Life Insurance Industry in Utah is quite significant.
1/ Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company 6.83% $57,111,397
2/ Transamerica Life Insurance Company 5.18% $43,347,237
3/ Lincoln National Life Insurance Company 5.02% $41,951,355
4/ Beneficial Life Insurance Company 4.95% $41,407,710
5/ John Hancock Life Insurance Company (USA) 3.84% $32,093,213
6/ New York Life Insurance Company 3.59% $30,015,197
7/ Guardian Life Insurance Company Of America 3.20% $26,763,096
8/ Pacific Life Insurance Company 2.89% $24,155,014
9/ American General Life Insurance Company 2.75% $22,998,388
10/ State Farm Life Insurance Company 2.74% $22,921,009
Important Things To Consider Before Buying Life Insurancein Utah
1/ Be careful to properly assess your own individual needs and requirements
Life insurance is a very individual type of insurance because how much you need will depend on your own particular requirements.
So, before you look to get any quotes, or figure out which policy to go for, first sit down and have a proper think about those you would leave behind and how you can best help them out.
This is particularly the case if you have a wife or young family, because they may be totally dependent on your income, and hence it is vitally important to make sure that they are properly taken care of.
Sit down and work out some proper numbers as to how much money they would really need to survive, and then add on an amount so that they can thrive, and not just survive.
This number will vary between people, but typical amounts might cover a few years of your salary.
2/ Decide on your life insurance type
You will now need to decide between Term Life Insurance and Whole Life Insurance.
Term Life Insurance is for a specified period of time. It offers death benefits, but has no savings element. It will tend to be cheaper, but is not as flexible.
Whole Life Insurance will cover you for your whole life. It will cost more, but will have a savings element in addition to death benefits. It is more flexible, but you will pay for the privilege.
3/ Get some Utah Life Insurance Quotes and make sure you can handle the premium payments
Once you have a clearer idea of how much cover you really need, and the type of life cover that you need (Term Life Cover or Whole Life Cover) then it is time to get some Utah life insurance quotes and see how much the premiums may cost you.
At this stage it may be necessary to adjust the type of insurance that you end up going with, as you may need to get term life insurance in order to get the amount of life cover you first envisioned, and still be able to afford the premiums.
Either way, don’t sell yourself short.
It is important to buy life insurance, but you must be able to afford the premiums comfortably.
Get a variety of Utah Life Insurance Quotes of both types, and then reach some firm conclusions as to which companies offer the best combination of features and prices.
Once you have done that, then buy the policy.
Under the ‘Free Look’ provision that is laid down by statute you have a minimum of ten days (and up to 30 with some policies) to cancel, even after you have taken out the policy.
So be sure to read the policy again carefully immediately upon receiving it, and phone up the insurance company with any questions you might have.
If you aren’t totally happy then cancel the policy.
As long as you do so within the first ten days you can do so without penalty.
Utah Life Insurance – The Details…
When looking at the rules and regulations that surround insurance in Utah it is important to note that these are all laid down in The State Insurance Code of Utah.
If you later have any disagreement with your insurance company then it is useful to be able to consult these for yourself to assess if you have a valid grievance in law.
If you do, then you can approach the Utah Insurance Department to mitigate.
Here are the Utah Insurance Code Rules that apply to Life Insurance:
It is the Utah Insurance Departments responsibility to enforce the above rules, and also to provide a regulatory framework for insurance professionals and insurance companies in Utah.
You will also find a great deal of useful information for consumers on their website here:
In the event of a Utah Life Insurance Company becoming insolvent, then it would be the Utah Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association that would step in to offer certain protections to Utah Life Insurance Policy Holders.
