How to Make Sure You Get the Best Term Life Insurance Rates

It is no doubt that life insurance is important for anyone who has someone in their life who depends upon them. Term life insurance rates determine how much it costs for each individual to be covered. These rates help applicants decide how much someone can afford in terms of amount of coverage. People often feel as though they are locked into the rates that they currently have. Once they have their term life insurance coverage, they are stuck with whatever rates that the insurance company has given them. While it is often a hassle to talk to your life insurance company to try and change your insurance rates, it is possible to do so. There are a few ways that you can actually lower your term life insurance rates.

Stop!

One of the greatest ways to lower your term life insurance rates is to cease lifestyle habits that have been proven to shorten lives such as consuming above normal amounts of alcohol. Alcohol issues can be identified through the application questionnaire, the physical, and your driving record. By limiting your alcohol use, you can help change your rates. If you are choosing to stay with the same company, you can request a new physical. One of the best things to do is to wait until your driving record is clean to request a re-look. If the company refuses, you may be able to get better term life insurance rates with another company.

Another thing that is important to stop is smoking. Smoking is something that is found mostly in the physical itself. Insurance companies do recognize “smokers” and “non-smokers”, and they understand there are people out there who have quit. By quitting smoking, you can request another physical to show the company that you have indeed stopped smoking. By quitting smoking, your risk is lowered, and your term life insurance rates will easily improve.

Lose!

Another thing that can lower your term life insurance rates is to lose extra weight. If you are over a certain percentage of your BMI (body mass index) number, you will be charged more for life insurance premium. Being overweight is seen as a health risk, and the rates given by the insurance companies will reflect that. Because you have the ability to ask for a new physical at any time, you may be able to show the company your weight loss and hope for a lower rate. If not, you may be better exploring rates with another company. Some companies do offer incentives for losing weight in the terms of lowering your term life insurance rates. If they do not, you may want to consider another company. On the flip side of losing weight is gaining weight. There are some people who do not weigh enough. If an applicant has a low BMI, they may be unhealthy. By gaining weight and having a new physical, your life insurance company may help you with your term life insurance rates by lowering them due to the lowered risk.

Research!

If you are not satisfied with your rates, you may want to research other life insurance companies. Quotes are often free and can easily help you find the term life insurance rates that you are looking for. Shopping a few insurance companies may help you find the rates that you are looking for.

It is important to realize that to some extent, you can control your term life insurance rates. Surely you cannot control the entire process. There are things you can do, however, that will help you to lower the rates to something you can comfortably afford.

Sharon Taylor is a professional writer for eQUOTE Life Insurance. eQUOTE is an excellent online resource providing online quotes for term life insurance to families in 42 states.