14th May ‘08 - Easily Compare Life Insurance Quotes

Posted on Thursday, May 08th, 2008 at 4:43pm

In this age of the internet, comparing life insurance quotes has never been easier. Indeed, the consumer is almost spoiled for choice and the difficulty comes in knowing where to start. Thankfully, though, there are a few ground rules which apply to comparing life insurance quotes in pretty much the same way as comparing just about any other product; namely price and value for money.   

  • If you are looking for term life insurance, this will almost certainly give you the cheapest life insurance quote. Your choice is then between a level term (which pays the same assured sum throughout the whole of the term) or a decreasing term insurance (which pays a reducing amount as the cover reaches full term). The latter is the cheaper option;
  • Life insurance cover is price competitive – it pays to shop around;
  • Choose wisely and combine policies where appropriate. Consider buying combined life insurance cover and critical illness insurance, for example, which will pay out in either event (but not both);
  • Reduce the price of the life insurance premiums you need pay by stopping smoking. This can achieve reductions in the cost of your life cover.   

Make sure to compare life insurance quotes on a like-for-like basis. There are many different products and the differences can be subtle. For example: 

  • Some Life insurance cover will come with premiums that are guaranteed not to change throughout the life of the policy; others may be subject to increases;
  • Are additional benefits included? Many term life insurance policies nowadays include terminal illness benefits so that the assured sum is paid in advance if the policy holder is diagnosed with a terminal illness; 
  • Some life insurance quotes will be for policies that pay benefits in trust to your named beneficiaries. This ensures that the money goes straight to those you intend to benefit, without the risk of the payout incurring inheritance tax;
  • Another additional benefit, sometimes included free of charge with some life cover, is the ability to waive premiums if you are incapacitated by illness from working for several months – life insurance cover even though you are unable to pay the monthly premiums;
  • Some policies even offer the benefit of bereavement counselling for your loved ones in the event of your death.

In summary, there is no need to be put off by the huge range of products to choose from when you compare life insurance quotes. Be guided by essentially the same considerations you would use when buying anything, namely: 

The price – price competition between different insurers makes it important to shop around and compare life insurance quotes. Consider quitting smoking in order to achieve major reductions in the price or combine similar forms of cover to gain discounts; 

Value for money – compare like with like, remembering to take into account the various additional benefits which many life insurance companies now include as standard in most of their policies.

 

Chris Burns has written this life insurance article.   

This article does not represent ‘financial advice’ as each person’s individual requirements will be unique to their needs. If there is something in the article which you decide to rely on, then make sure you check those details with the person from whom you purchase any product or service.

The views in this article represent those of the author and not those of Netbasic Limited.