Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Five Steps To Cheap Life Insurance Premiums

Life insurance is all about calculating risk. When you take out a policy, you and your insurance company are both hoping that you'll never have to make a claim. Insurance companies are experts at assessing risk, and calculating how likely it is that a certain type of person will die at any given age.

People are classed in categories, such as low-risk and high-risk-depending on their age, health and lifestyle, and those high-risk people pay much higher insurance premiums, because they're more likely to die sooner rather than later. How can you make sure you're in the low-risk category? Try following one or more of these five suggestions.

Become a Vegetarian

Some insurance companies are beginning to include diet in their risk assessment when they calculate premiums. They know that a meatless diet is much healthier than one that includes large amounts of animal protein. No animal protein and much less saturated fat in the diet means vegetarians have a 40% lower risk of developing some cancers, and a 30% lower risk of developing heart disease.

Not all insurance companies take vegetarianism into account when calculating premiums, but if you're a vegetarian your arteries are going to be in better shape, you may have lower blood pressure and cholesterol, so those factors can help you get lower premiums with some providers.

Lose Weight

Obesity increases the risk of cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, and on average, obesity reduces life expectancy by nine years. Not surprisingly, insurance companies view obesity as a risk factor, and the higher your body max index, the higher your insurance premiums.

If you're overweight or obese, you're paying a much higher premium than you need to and, you're reducing your life expectancy as well. Losing weight will cut your insurance premiums and might just give you a new lease of life too.

Women: Get Covered Before Getting Pregnant

Insurance companies view pregnancy as a high-risk condition, due to illnesses that may affect pregnant women. For example, previously healthy women may develop diabetes or hypertension during pregnancy, literally without warning. If you are pregnant when you apply for life cover, you can expect much higher premium quotes than you'd get either before or after pregnancy. You'll typically pay at least 50% more for premiums if you apply while pregnant. To keep your premiums low, buy life cover before getting pregnant.

Give Up Extreme Sports

Also on the long list of things that insurance companies view as risky are extreme sports such as sky-diving, mountain-climbing and bungee-jumping. If these are your favorite sports, you're going to pay much more for your life cover.

However, even if you're not an extreme sports lover, it might pay to check your premium and find out how your favorite sports are classified. Some insurance companies put much safer sports such as horse-riding in the high-risk category, so you're better off finding an insurer with more favourable sporting classifications.

Give Up Smoking

The new emphasis on obesity doesn't make the risks of smoking any less. Insurance companies still charge smokers up to twice as much for their insurance premiums as they do non-smokers. If you're a smoker, kicking the habit will save more on your insurance than any other lifestyle change.

resource:http://www.ezinesarticle.com/Article/Five-Steps-To-Cheap-Life-Insurance-Premiums/128990

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Universal Life Insurance Policy - A Different Choice

Choosing a life insurance policy isn’t an easy task. There are several policies to choose from, each with elements that we want and need. The two most popular kinds of life insurance policies are term life insurance policies and whole life insurance policies.

If a term life insurance policy and a whole life insurance policy got married and had a child, the child would be a universal life insurance policy. Universal life insurance policies are a mix of term life insurance policies and whole life insurance policies. Just like all children do, universal life insurance policies have a few positive features and a few negative features of each parent, i.e., the term life insurance policy and the whole life insurance policy.

Like a whole life insurance policy, a universal life insurance policy offers an investment component; however, universal life insurance policies are generally less expensive than whole life insurance policies. This is a good thing for those of us who want the cash value accruement of a whole life policy but can not afford to purchase one. It should be noted, however, that earning a cash value isn’t guaranteed. Coverage can even end if your account gets low enough.

Like a term life insurance policy, a universal life insurance policy is usually not as expensive as a whole life insurance policy. However, even though an accumulation of cash value isn’t guaranteed with a universal life insurance policy, it is possible; it is not possible with a term life insurance policy.

If certain aspects of both a term life insurance policy and a whole life insurance policy appeal to you, consider purchasing a universal life insurance policy. Don’t purchase any life insurance policy, including a universal life insurance policy, without first speaking with an agent of the life insurance company. Your universal life insurance agent will be able to construct the life insurance policy that meets both your wants and needs.

resource:http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Universal-Life-Insurance-Policy---A-Different-Choice&id=229082

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

What Makes Life Insurance Premiums Rise?

Life insurance is cheap for those with good health and low risk lifestyles. But if you don't fall into either of those categories, you can expect to pay anywhere from a few pence to many pounds more per monthly for your premiums. Several factors contribute to the amount you pay-some are factors you can control, and some are not.

The Falling Cost of Life Cover

According to analysis by Life Search, the costs of term assurance have been cut by as much as 50% over the past ten years. For £100,000 worth of life cover, a 35 year old male non-smoker can expect to pay around £8 per month, while a female will pay just £7 per month.

The falling cost of life insurance is due in part to the increased life expectancy of both men and women, with women's higher life expectancies giving them access to slightly lower premiums.

So Why Do Some People Pay More?

General population trends such as the tendency to live longer affect insurance premiums across the board. For individuals, much more specific factors affect the monthly cost of life cover, and even though the cost has decreased in general, certain lifestyle and health factors can increase the costs considerably.

For life insurance companies, determining your premium is about assessing your level of risk and assigning a monthly premium cost to match it. In very general terms, the more likely the insurance company believes you are to die while the policy is in effect, the more they will charge you for insurance. Your age, health and lifestyle all affect how much your premiums cost.

Age and Sex

Men pay slightly more than women due to their lower life expectancy. Life insurance premiums also increase with age so the sooner you get your life cover sorted the less it will cost you.

Health & Medical History

Factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes and smoking all influence how much you pay for life cover. In all cases these conditions translate into a higher level of risk for the insurance company because these conditions reduce life expectancy.

Obesity and smoking in particular are expensive in insurance terms. A 35 year old male smoker will pay around £13-£15 per month for £100,000 worth of life cover, and obese people can expect to pay around 50% more for their life insurance.

Your family's medical history, as well as your own health, will play a part in determining your premium costs. If conditions such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes are prevalent in your family your insurance costs will rise, even if you yourself have not developed these diseases.

Occupation and Hobbies

The price of your life cover will be higher if your occupation is risky, or if you have any high-risk hobbies such as mountaineering or motor racing.

Overall

Your unique combination of health and lifestyle factors will determine the price you pay for life insurance premiums. If your lifestyle and occupation are low-risk, your health will be the most important factor that determines how much you pay.

Finally, note that being thoroughly honest about your health and lifestyle is crucial when applying for insurance. While factors such as smoking or a family history of diabetes will increase your costs, false information will invalidate your policy.

resource:http://www.ezinesarticle.com/Article/What-Makes-Life-Insurance-Premiums-Rise-/124824

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Texas Whole Life Insurance

Before you decide to buy whole life insurance over its counterpart, Term Life Insurance, it is crucial for you to understand the basics about Whole Life Insurance in Texas.

The first type of whole life insurance is non-par or non-participating, whereas the second type is participating. The major difference between these two types of whole life insurance policies is that you cannot change them. In terms of a participating type of whole life insurance, the insurance firm will share the dividends with you.

While term life insurance only offers death benefits, whole life insurance creates money value and therefore, offers benefits while you are still alive. Usually, it takes around 10 years or more for whole life insurance to create a money value (also referred to as cash value) for the insurance buyer.

Another advantage of whole life insurance is that, you can lock the price of premiums, thereby paying the same for the coverage annually. Like term life insurance, you have a death benefit which will be given to your beneficiaries in the event of your death. However, with whole life, your cash value increases with time and can barrowed, barrowed against, or withdrawn for your retirement.

Further, depending on the type of whole life insurance that you select, your insurance premium may be able to be paid out of the monthly earnings of the cash value account attached to the whole life insurance policy.

Whole life insurance has higher premiums and offers higher pay out. Premiums are paid for the entire duration for which the person holds the insurance. However, there are certain types of whole life insurances that offer a set amount of payments, whereas the insurance continues for a lifetime, but the premium does not.

The best place to start is a life insurance agent who can explain in detail the differences between whole life insurance and term life insurance. It’s also helpful to have an agent in Texas that is a phone call away and locally positioned to answer your questions after you purchase the policy.

resource:http://www.ezinesarticle.com/Article/Texas-Whole-Life-Insurance/137760