Tips for Getting an Affordable Life Insurance Policy

Life insurance is one of those kinds of insurance that may very well become a necessity in your life, if it isn’t already one. Life insurance is something you may want to begin thinking of as part of your overall personal financial planning scheme as you get older and start acquiring assets, dependents, and may even be starting to think up what your retirement will look like. To be entirely transparent, life insurance is rather complex as far as insurance policies go, with all the different types of life insurance that exist, their various purposes, and how you can set them up.

But one thing is true with all different types of life insurance: no one wants to pay more for their insurance than they have to. During your lifetime, depending on the policy you purchase, you’ll have to pay for your life insurance plan via premiums. Here’s Excalibur Assurance’s tips on how to get the most affordable life insurance policy.

First – determine why you need life insurance.

The why will very easily determine the what. Navigating why you need life insurance will help you to narrow down your choices of what life policy you’ll end up purchasing. See, what’s best for someone else (and what they might herald as the “greatest choice”) might be the worst choice for your circumstances. You might have dependents, they might not. They might have an estate, you might not. It depends on what you want your coverage for, and whether you need coverage for the entirety of your lifetime or just until your beneficiaries may no longer require your benefits if you should pass in 10, 20, or even 30 years.

For many people, term is the best option because it offers sort of a fallback if the insured ends up dying prematurely. If they have an ongoing mortgage or young dependents who would struggle financially in their absence, it provides a cash supplement so your surviving loved ones can continue to maintain their standard of living – even without you.

Work with a broker to determine how much coverage you need.

This step can be tricky. You’ll want to work with a broker or life insurance expert on this, since it can be difficult to predict how much coverage is actually necessary. For one, how much annual revenue do you currently generate? Do you have a spouse who also generates income? How much? How dependent is your family on your income? Do you have a mortgage? Outstanding debts? Do you have dependents who might require your support lifelong?

These questions, and more, may be asked of you by a broker. Answer them as clearly and as transparently as you can and they will help you gauge the right amount of coverage.

Consider term over permanent.

Most people will not require life insurance after they have retired. Usually, when you’re older, you won’t have as many expenses. Your children may have already graduated, your mortgage will be paid off, etc. As these expenses decrease, your need for life insurance does, also.

There are few instances where you might need a permanent life policy, but in many cases term life will save you thousands of dollars each year. Term life for a period of 10, 20, or 30 years can cost as little as $15-$30/month (versus permanent, which can cost hundreds a month!) and it gives protection during the years that matter most.

Yes, permanent life insurance offers lifelong coverage and offers more coverage, but you won’t really need it unless you have extenuating circumstances which could make it a necessity. Still, ask your broker about what’s best for you before making a decision.

Purchase life insurance when you are younger.

As you may already be aware, purchasing life insurance when you’re younger helps to lock in great rates at a time where health issues are less likely to emerge. As you get older, life insurance goes up in cost and you’re more likely to develop a medical condition – which could be deemed a pre-existing condition and may make it difficult for you to get insured, or death relating to the pre-existing condition would end up not being covered. The sooner you buy, the more you save.

Opt into the medical exam.

Some carriers of life insurance will offer a guaranteed issue, which provides you an instantly approved life insurance policy without the need for a medical exam. This may be more convenient for some, but these policies tend to cost more than those that are underwritten based on your current health.

Being poked for a blood test and grilled about your family medical history isn’t a ton of fun, but it’s highly advise you opt into this test if you are in good health to pay less for your insurance. See, if you are in reasonably good health for your age, you might pay roughly $30/month if you had opted into the exam. For the exact same coverage but with a guaranteed issue, you might pay $85/month. That’s hundreds of dollars’ worth of difference each year! Seriously – it’s a tad inconvenient, but it’s better to have saved that money than not.

Get accurate quotes with Excalibur Assurance

Shopping around and getting quotes with Excalibur Assurance is one of the best and most surefire ways to get affordable life insurance. Our team of Defenders are happy to connect you with some of Canada’s top insurers, so you have plenty of options. We’ll give you advice to help simplify your decisions.

When getting quotes as well, we highly advise you to be as transparent as possible about your health. Don’t lie about any small medical conditions or statuses, as your insurer might alter your rates during your policy or even void your coverage altogether. Disclosure from the start can also help you connect with insurers who specialize in insuring individuals with certain medical histories and get you cheaper rates than if you had lied.

Start today with a free quote, so you can bank on affordable life insurance when you need it.