Getting life insurance for the first time can be a strange experience - how do you know what you need to get and how much to pay? There are a lot of questions that insurance companies ask when you apply for life insurance to assess what kind of risk you will pose to the company. Knowing how to navigate these questions will help you get a great deal.
You can get a better deal on your life insurance when you know what insurance companies need from you when you apply for insurance. These four key things will help with that:
Age and gender
These two factors have the biggest impact on your insurance rate. Clearly, youth has its advantages when it comes to getting a good life-insurance rate. And women usually get lower rates because they have longer life expectancies (giving the insurance company more years to collect premiums before it has to make a payout).
When getting life insurance for the first time, apply early! The younger you are the better rate you are likely to get. When you get married or start having children is the best time to start looking for a life insurance policy, life insurance is necessary when you have dependants who would be in trouble if they lost your income.
Smoking
If you smoke, expect to pay a lot more for life insurance. For example, a 40-year-old cigarette smoker will pay triple the rate of a non-smoker. The best way to cut your rate is to stop smoking for a year or more. Some companies require you to be smoke-free for three or five years to get their best rate.
Health
The healthier you are the better rate you are going to get when you apply for life insurance. If you have high cholesterol or a history of heart disease in your family you are probably going to pay more for your life insurance. Other pre-existing conditions, like cancer or other similar diseases with high mortality rates, will also cause your rates to sky rocket. If you have a minor condition, like asthma, digestive distress or even diabetes, and are under proper care for these conditions, then your insurance company will consider these minor conditions and cut you a break.
The best thing to do before you apply for life insurance is to get a physical and see how you are doing, if you have a treatable condition you can start getting help and getting healthy before you apply for your life insurance.
Most importantly, don't wait until you have a serious ailment to apply for life insurance. If you do have a health condition, work with a broker who knows which companies would be more likely to insure you at the best rate.
Family History
The final thing that insurers look at that is important to your insurance rate is your family history. Insurance companies will want to know if there are people in your family who have been diagnosed with any kind of serious disease. If you do have family history of disease, then you probably have a higher chance of one day getting sick, so you are going to probably end up paying a higher insurance rate.
Again, use an online quote site or shop around to find insurers with more-lenient standards. For example, say you had a parent who died of a heart attack at age 69. That wouldn't preclude you from getting the best rate because some insurers ask whether you had a parent who died of heart disease before age 60 (as opposed to age 70, which is the standard many insurers use).
You can get a better deal on your life insurance when you know what insurance companies need from you when you apply for insurance. These four key things will help with that:
Age and gender
These two factors have the biggest impact on your insurance rate. Clearly, youth has its advantages when it comes to getting a good life-insurance rate. And women usually get lower rates because they have longer life expectancies (giving the insurance company more years to collect premiums before it has to make a payout).
When getting life insurance for the first time, apply early! The younger you are the better rate you are likely to get. When you get married or start having children is the best time to start looking for a life insurance policy, life insurance is necessary when you have dependants who would be in trouble if they lost your income.
Smoking
If you smoke, expect to pay a lot more for life insurance. For example, a 40-year-old cigarette smoker will pay triple the rate of a non-smoker. The best way to cut your rate is to stop smoking for a year or more. Some companies require you to be smoke-free for three or five years to get their best rate.
Health
The healthier you are the better rate you are going to get when you apply for life insurance. If you have high cholesterol or a history of heart disease in your family you are probably going to pay more for your life insurance. Other pre-existing conditions, like cancer or other similar diseases with high mortality rates, will also cause your rates to sky rocket. If you have a minor condition, like asthma, digestive distress or even diabetes, and are under proper care for these conditions, then your insurance company will consider these minor conditions and cut you a break.
The best thing to do before you apply for life insurance is to get a physical and see how you are doing, if you have a treatable condition you can start getting help and getting healthy before you apply for your life insurance.
Most importantly, don't wait until you have a serious ailment to apply for life insurance. If you do have a health condition, work with a broker who knows which companies would be more likely to insure you at the best rate.
Family History
The final thing that insurers look at that is important to your insurance rate is your family history. Insurance companies will want to know if there are people in your family who have been diagnosed with any kind of serious disease. If you do have family history of disease, then you probably have a higher chance of one day getting sick, so you are going to probably end up paying a higher insurance rate.
Again, use an online quote site or shop around to find insurers with more-lenient standards. For example, say you had a parent who died of a heart attack at age 69. That wouldn't preclude you from getting the best rate because some insurers ask whether you had a parent who died of heart disease before age 60 (as opposed to age 70, which is the standard many insurers use).
About the Author:
About the Author: Ashley Jones is a writer and journalist for the Texas insurance industry. Jones helps consumers navigate the complicated insurance industry through investigating topics such as Texas auto insurance, home insurance and life insurance.
0 comments:
Post a Comment