6 Secrets to Getting the Most Affordable Life Insurance
What if you made a mistake and ended up regretting it for decades?
That’s what happens to many people when they get a life insurance policy. Life insurance is a great way to protect your loved ones if you should pass away. However, if you buy an expensive life insurance policy, you may effectively end up paying too much for it for as many as 30 years.
The key is to get affordable life insurance that still covers all your needs. How can you do that? Keep reading to find out!
1. Get Life Insurance Sooner Rather Than Later
If we could only give you one tip for getting affordable life insurance, here it is: You should grab it sooner rather than later.
Your life insurance cost effectively represents how much of a risk you look like to the insurance company. Older applicants are likelier to have health issues and will end up paying more for their life insurance policy. Conversely, younger applicants are likelier to be healthier and to get a better rate.
This tip goes hand-in-hand with our next tip. In addition to getting life insurance sooner rather than later, you should go with term life insurance.
2. Go with Term Life Insurance
There are multiple kinds of life insurance out there. If you want to save money while still getting plenty of bang for your buck, your best bet is term life insurance.
The reason for this is straightforward: With term life insurance, you can buy coverage for a specified term (hence, the name “term life insurance”), and you can usually get term coverage for up to 30 years at a time.
Therefore, the best way to get affordable life insurance is to purchase term life insurance when you are relatively young and healthy. This lets you “lock in” a good insurance rate for up to three decades!
3. Don’t Get More Life Insurance Coverage Than You Really Need
You don’t have to overthink things if you want a lower life insurance premium. In fact, one of the simplest ways to make life insurance more affordable is to not take out more coverage than you need.
This is why you should always figure out a specific amount of coverage that your family might need once you are gone. One of the easier ways to do this is to multiply your current income by 10. In the event of your death, your family won’t feel the loss of your income for another decade, which gives them plenty of time to make other arrangements as needed.
You may want to add $100,000 for each child who intends to go to college and possibly take out enough to pay off your mortgage as well. That way, you can secure your family’s future with life insurance and not leave your spouse with a mortgage they may not be able to pay off.
4. Skip Extra Riders You Don’t Need on Your Life Insurance Policy
Our next secret goes hand in hand with the previous one. Simply put, you need to avoid any extra insurance riders you don’t really need.
As with homeowners insurance, these riders are meant to cover things your standard policy does not cover. If you aren’t careful, though, you may end up getting a rider you don’t need, causing you to pay plenty of extra money over the years.
How much extra money? Let’s say that you take out a return-of-premium rider that pays your premiums back if you outlive the policy. This may seem like a great way to eventually save money. Until that policy ends, you’ll be paying up to five times more for your insurance. At the risk of sounding morbid, there is no guarantee you’ll outlive the policy, meaning you are paying extra for no reason at all.
5. Quit Smoking to Get a Better Life Insurance Rate
Remember when we said that insurance carriers set your premiums based on how risky they think it will be to insure you? Because of this, one of the best ways to get affordable life insurance is to quit smoking before you apply. Insurance carriers pay special attention to smoking because it remains the leading cause of preventable deaths year after year.
Getting a better rate this way can take a bit of time, though, as you need to have been not smoking for at least 12 months before applying to get the lower rates. The carrier will notice if you’ve been smoking during the health exam, so don’t try to cheat the system. Keep in mind that to your carrier, any form of nicotine consumption counts as smoking, including vaping, chewing tobacco, smoking the occasional cigar, and so on.
Does this mean you have to go without insurance for a year? Not necessarily. You can always take out a shorter policy and pay the higher premium. Once you’ve stopped smoking for at least a year, you can then get a longer-term policy at a better rate. The younger you are, the sooner you should kick the habit to lead a happier and healthier life.
6. Improve Your Health in Other Ways
Quitting smoking isn’t the only way to get more affordable life insurance. In fact, you may be able to get a lower rate by improving your health in a number of different ways. And if you are purchasing life insurance while still young, these are good habits to have anyway.
One example is lowering your BMI. While the BMI system may be outdated, insurance carriers still use it to assess premiums. A higher BMI leads to a higher premium, so losing weight before you apply can help you save money.
Your insurance carrier will also pay close attention to your cholesterol and blood pressure. By keeping both of these in the healthy range via good diet and exercise, you can get a better life insurance rate. You’ll also live longer, and that’s a real benefit in and of itself!
Get the Most Affordable Life Insurance Today!
Now you know the best secrets to getting affordable life insurance. But what if getting the best policy was only a click away?
At InsureOne, we’re here to take care of all your life insurance needs. We are always ready for you to get a quote for life insurance online. Alternatively, you can pick up the phone and give us a quick call at 800-836-2240. Finally, feel free to come into one of our convenient nearby offices!