Cheap term life insurance is very easy to find. But is it the right cheap term life? That’s a different story. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about that either. I’m going to show you how to get that taken care of as well.
Where to Shop
First, understand that shopping online for term life is smart. That’s because you may not be able to rely on your local insurance agent if you really want to save money and get the best policy. That’s because if they work for only one company (like Allstate etc.) they won’t be able to shop around for you.
An independent agent can potentially solve that problem because they often represent tens or hundreds of insurance companies. An independent agent should not care which company provides the insurance. If he or she is willing to show you a quote with multiple companies that agent is making the insurance companies compete for your business. Nice.
How to Get the Cheapest Rates – Part I
There are three elements that will guarantee you get the lowest possible term life insurance; your age, your health and your lifestyle. The younger, healthier and safer you are, the lower your rates will be.
Conclusions:
Don’t Wait
If you need more life insurance you should apply for a quote now. Every day you wait makes you less attractive to the insurance companies. That means they’ll charge you more next year for the same coverage you could buy today at a lower rate.
Stay Healthy
Eat right, don’t smoke, don’t drink excessively, exercise and take care of yourself. This is all very obvious of course. But what isn’t obvious is if you should wait until you get healthy before you apply. In my opinion the answer is “no…don’t wait.” There are two reasons for this.
First, once you actually get back on the right health path, you can always reapply for coverage and get a lower premium. And second, it might take you longer than you think to reach your health goals and you never know what might happen while you are working on it.
If you have a chronic condition that isn’t going to go away, you can still get a guaranteed issue life insurance policy or you can buy a life insurance policy without having a physical exam. If that’s the case, you best course of action is to call me directly. That way I’ll make sure to match up the right company to fit your needs.
Stay Safe
Insurance companies don’t like to sell policies to people who have a high chance of making a claim. They are funny that way but that’s just the way it is. That being the case, you should realize that if you engage in dangerous hobbies like flying in private planes, skydiving, rock climbing, scuba diving etc., you may not be able to get insurance. Even if you are able to get a policy, you will have to pay much higher premiums. If you are seriously interested in saying money on term life insurance, ditch your dangerous ways.
Be Honest
It makes no sense to try to hide something about your health or hobbies in an attempt to get cheaper life insurance. If there is a claim the insurance company will likely discover the truth and your family won’t get anything more than the premiums you paid. That’s expensive. Be honest my brother and sister.
How to Get the Cheapest Term Life Insurance – Part II – ADVANCED
Make sure you don’t buy too much insurance
Most people fail to consider the fact that over time, their life insurance needs change. You might need a base amount now, more in 5 years and a lot less in 15 years. It depends on your situation. So first you want to make sure you know how much life insurance you need right now. And you want to think about how much life insurance you’ll need over the years.
Because those needs will change, it’s smart to buy your life insurance in modules. This way you can add and drop insurance as needed. This will save you a bundle and it’s a tactic most people overlook. As a result they pay way too much for life insurance. I used this tactic and it saved me over 65% on my life insurance costs. You can read more about that concept in my post about how much insurance you need.
Why Not All Cheap Term Life Insurance Is Cheap
There are some super inexpensive term insurance policies out there that are cheap for a good reason. They have so many exclusions that unless you die under a very restricted set of circumstances – they won’t pay off. And some companies give you a very low quote but end up charging you much higher rates after they do their underwriting. This can happen if you have a health condition or lifestyle that they don’t cater to.
The solution for either problem is to make sure you are working with someone who is trustworthy. There is no other alternative.
