We may like to think that we are invincible but the fact of the matter is that we aren’t; life happens, including health issues and accidents. While you want o make sure your family can financially survive when life throws those unexpected tragedies your way, you also need to make sure that you aren’t paying through the roof for your coverage. Here are some of the most common factors that will drive up your life insurance costs.
Lying: While it may seem harmless to omit a little information or to tell a little ‘white lie’ on your life insurance application, it can be a costly mistake. Your insurance company has two years to challenge any information that you submit if they feel there are discrepancies. If they find out that you have lied about something they can increase your premiums or even cancel your policy.
No Medical Life Insurance: If you are worried that you wouldn’t be approved for life insurance due to existing medical conditions you do have the option of getting a policy that doesn’t require a medical examination. However, this type of coverage comes with higher premiums that can add up over the years.
The Wrong Agent: Each insurance company writes their policies differently. This means that some companies will cover high-risk clients while others won’t and one company may charge up to 50% more than another. You want to make sure you have an experienced, independent agent help you shop around for the best policies at the best rates.
Poor Health Habits: The biggest factors in life insurance costs are your health habits. Poor health habits drive up your medical costs, lower your quality of life and create higher life insurance premiums. Poor health habits such as smoking, heavy drinking or drug use, being overweight, participating in dangerous activities and even working in a dangerous position will affect your life insurance premiums.
Not Asking for Reassessment: As time goes by, our habits change. Perhaps you quit smoking a couple years ago, or maybe you lost some weight or stopped working that high-risk job, now that you are at a lower risk, you may be eligible to be switched to a policy with a lower premium. You may be required to do another medical exam, but if you can prove you’ve changed your health habits you are more likely to have your premiums lowered.
Finding the right policy take a bit of research and time but once you have it, you can be at ease knowing that you and your family are financially secure for whatever happens in the future.
At Metro Boston Insurance Agency, we understand how important it is for your family to be secure. Call us today for information on our insurance policies. 617.884.5480
Written by Metro Boston Insurance Agency on Oct 7, 2015