How to Save Money on Life Insurance

Posted by Sun on May 5, 2009
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Most of us understand why we need life insurance. We know that our families depend upon us for dozens of things, and we want to make sure they could maintain a comfortable lifestyle if we passed away. But even though people realize they should buy life insurance, they put off a decision because they think coverage will be too confusing or cost too much. It can be difficult for regular consumers to know which life insurance policy they should buy when they want affordable rates and secure coverage.

Top Life Insurance Buying Tips

  • Term insurance costs less because an insurer only has to assume the risk on your life for a fixed amount of time, and not your whole life. If your need for life insurance will not last forever because you plan on saving money in other ways or paying off your debts, a term life insurance policy may work well for you!
  • You can purchase some term policies with a Return of Premium (ROP) rider. This means that an insured person who survives the policy will get all of their premiums refunded. The rider (option) costs a little more, but means a substantial check will come back at the end of the policy contract. Consider paying a bit more per month for 20 years, and then getting a huge chunk of it back at the end of the policy!
  • If you want some permanent life insurance to cover you during retirement years, consider mixing 2 policies for the best policy at the lowest price. A younger family may choose a larger term policy for immediate coverage, along with a smaller face value whole life policy that can be paid off over several years. The term policy will cover the young family. The whole life policy, with lower rates at a younger age, can be part of retirement planning.
  • Stay healthy. We cannot control every health issue, but most companies offer lower rates for people with good health habits. A normal weight, non-smoker will have a much easier time finding inexpensive life insurance rates than an obese smoker.
  • Shop around for the best rates. It is very easy to compare the top life insurance companies in your area with online life insurance quote forms.

The Importance of Comparing Life Insurance Quotes

Remember that life insurance rates will vary by many individual factors. An applicant’s age, general health, zip code, and the amount of life insurance will affect premiums,but do not assume that every company will be about the same price.

This article was written by Barbara Waltz, an industry expert and one of the founders of a well known insurance blog.

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6 Comments
May 5, 2009

Return Premium Riders basically cost about 3x the regular term premium. At that point, it becomes just as cost effective to buy whole or universal life. (I was pricing policies recently and found this out.)

I suppose if you can find a rider for about 2x the term rate, that might be the way to go.

I totally agree that mixing term with whole life might be the way to go. I’m thinking of doing something like that since I can get term for about $25 a month.

Posted by mapgirl
June 26, 2009

Another top tip is to not fall for the hard sell of ‘cheap’ policies. All set to entice you, there are several websites that will lure you in with the ‘cheapest’ life insurance rates. But don’t believe everything you read. Dig deeper and you will find that all is not as cut and dried as it seems. In matters of insurance, just providing you with a list of the cheapest offers is never the end of the story. In most cases, once you actually apply for one of these cheap plans, you will find out that the particular rate does not apply to you after the underwriting process is complete. Apart from being a complete waste of time, you might end up with a policy at a much higher premium than you had originally planned for. In order to avoid such disappointments, it is recommended that you choose an online insurance provider that actually takes into account all aspects of your personal situation and then offers you the most affordable quote in the market at the time. This will ensure that your choice is based on facts and research rather than plain advertising gimmickry. For more information on cheap term life insurance you can check out AccuQuote.com

Denise at AccuQuote
Disclaimer: I work for AccuQuote and this is my personal opinion.

Posted by Denise
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