It pays to shop around when buying your life insurance. By way of an example a couple aged 30 years of age requiring $500,000 life insurance on each life to pay off their mortgage, short term debt and have a small cash reserve in the event of death stand to save $96 in the first year alone.
The comparison between eleven insurers showed first year premiums ranged between $609 and $705 for an identical product which pays out $500,000 cash on death.
By completing a search on Internet you will have access to numerous quotes from different providers allowing you to compare a number of insurance companies simultaneously which will enable you to get a an idea of cost
You can save a fortune by completing your own needs analysis using online life insurance calculators which are freely available on the internet. Two such sites are the Retirement Commissions Get Sorted Site and Consumer.
By completing your own needs analysis, shopping around and purchasing online you could save up to an additional 50% of the premium in the first year by way of a cash rebate from the online provider.
Life insurance is a premium you will pay (we hope!) for a long time. Therefore it is important to consider affordability.
But you don’t want to let cost blind you to an equally important concern: reliability.
Will the chosen insurer have the longevity and reliability you need? At a time when financial institutions have been rocked by instability and waning consumer confidence, it is important that you check out the insurers claims paying ability by its financial strength.
International Research houses such as AM Best Company Inc’s can provide you with this information.
When deciding how much life insurance coverage you should have, don’t just think about your home loan. If you have young children, they’ll need financial help for college education in the future. Although it’s not nice, consider worst-case scenarios. Should you unexpectedly die in the near future, how much debt will you leave behind? Make sure you allow for any credit card debt or personal loans. You also want to ensure that your funeral expenses are covered.
You should review your insurances at least every two years and alter your life insurance cover based on the financial circumstances at that time. If you have paid down debt reduce your cover accordingly conversely if you have increased debt you should increase your life insurance to reflect this