Why pay more than you should?

Buying life insurance can seem like a difficult and expensive endeavor if you haven’t done it before. Both can be overcome if you use a good life insurance broker.

Here are eight ways to save on life insurance, all of which you should discuss with your broker:

1. Don’t smoke: Smokers are more likely to die younger than nonsmokers, making smoking one of the biggest health risks and reasons to have higher insurance rates — at least double that of a nonsmoker.
2. Lose weight: Your height and weight are an indication of the probability of illness or death, so you want your weight to be at a healthy proportion to your height, as measured with a BMI calculator.
3. Avoid risky behaviors: Risky behaviors such as race car driving, scuba diving and flying a plane are considered hazardous hobbies that increase the chance you’ll die or have an accident. If you’re going to keep doing those things, you may need a rider on your policy to exclude benefits if you are injured or die while doing them. Being a good driver can help lower your life insurance premium.
4. No expensive riders: You can also add riders to a policy for activities, though the riders can be expensive and go beyond the life insurance basics of insuring your life for your family’s sake.
5. Use a broker: Shopping around is a smart idea for many purchases, including life insurance. If you have a health condition, such as diabetes, then insurance rates can vary widely by insurer. An independent broker can shop multiple carriers at once, at no additional cost to you!  They are on your side to find you the best rates.
6. Buy young: Don’t wait to buy life insurance. Every year you wait, your insurance costs rise, not to mention if your health declines before you lock in coverage you will pay more.
7. Lower the death benefit: The total amount of the death benefit helps determine the premium. Obviously, a $1 million death benefit costs more than a $250,000 one. But choose it carefully. If that million dollar policy costs too much, lower the death benefit.  Some life insurance is better than none!
8. Save money and invest: Building your assets up to a sizable amount over time can mean you won’t need life insurance later in life because your family will already have the money they need in the bank when you die.  Using a combination of term and permanent life insurance can provide you with a higher death benefit while your financial obligation are higher (mortgage, young children, etc.) and then reduce the cost and coverage when you are older.

In fact, that may be the first thing to discuss with your broker, how much coverage do you need. Then, we can help you wade through these and other possible discounts.