• Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Policy
  • Guest Post
  • Archive

One Cent At A Time

A Personal finance blog to get rich

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Beautiful Life
  • Becoming Rich
  • Beginners Guide
  • Extra Income
  • Productivity
  • Saving Money

How Flexible are Life Insurance Quotes?

October 9, 2013 11 Comments

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

I know I wrote about reducing insurance cost earlier, ways to reduce insurance premium. One of the tips was to shop around and get quotes from as many places you can find. Well, have you ever thought why different insurance providers charges different premium to put a price tag on your life? For me I didn’t have to comparison shop for life insurance, my employer has a group life plan covered through our health insurance provider. In case you want to know how premiums differ for the same life, here’s a guest post from a life insurance agent, Frank Mitchel. Enjoy the post!

Life Insurance Quote

Life insurance, like anything else available on the market, is a commodity. Any competent businessman will tell you that with a product available on the market, there’s always leeway to negotiate the price. While this may be true for 99% of the products out there, it doesn’t really work for insurance though. Companies are very strict in their pricing structure and won’t give any quarter to your cheeky little bid for a bargain.

Note – Get your life insurance quote now, visit Quote Whiz to get quotes on premium amount instantly from all major insurance providers, including ING, HSBC, Transamerica, etc.

That charming smile and impish wink may work on the person serving you at the supermarket, but it’s highly unlikely to work with an insurer.

(Related – Basics of Insurance: Why we Need Insurance?)

What you can do, however, is play the market. There are many insurance companies out there, and they all evaluate premiums differently. This is precisely why you have a shot, as the same individual, with the same credentials, to get a better deal at a different company.

Factors that determine one’s premium cost

  • Age. Age is just a number right? Go tell that to the insurer! For them, age is a very important factor in deciding your premium. It’s kind of obvious isn’t it? The older you are, the more likely you are to meet your Maker.
  • Sex. Those who campaign for equality of the sexes might want to look away for this bit. Science shows that men and women live different life spans, so you may have to pay more as a man than a woman even if you are otherwise identical.
  • Health. Again, pretty straightforward this one. The better health you’re in, the cheaper the rates because if you have a healthy disposition you’re less likely to pass away any time soon, and as such are a safer bet.
  • Location. Where you live also has bearing on your premium rates. If you live in a disaster prone or crime prone area, you’re more of a health risk, hence you pay more.
  • Insurance and Credit history. Say you pay your bills on time, you’ve never missed a premium payment in your life, and your finances are clean as a whistle. The insurer knows you’re less likely to default, so you’re rewarded with a lower premium.
  • Job Profile. A guy who performs a 9-to-5 job in an office building with a good disaster management program will be relatively safer to the guy who’s working at the construction yard when said building was being built. It’s straight logic. The less risky your job, the greater the reward in terms of low premium rates.

Now these are just some of the factors that affect premiums, the more common ones. I know I said all insurers assess premiums on a similar group of factors. So logic says the premium should be the same across the board.

It doesn’t work like that though. Insurers decide the amount of weight each factor has on your premium rates differently, so this is where it gets interesting.

Company A might feel your job profile gravely affects your insurance rate, while Company B might think your location is more important. Hence a guy living in a safe district in a risky job will get a better deal at company B rather than Company A, and vice-verse. It doesn’t even need to be as cut and dried as that.

(Related – 3 Unusual Ways to Lower Your Insurance Premium)

If company A has had more women filing claims than men in just their firm, it will reflect in their statistics. Therefore they might actually give you a cheaper rate for being a man! It may not make perfect sense logically, but it works for them, so who are we to argue?Life Insurance

So when you decide to buy that insurance shop around, spend a little time and effort on research, and see who offers the best deal that suits you as an individual. In the age of the internet, that’s so easy too, just log on to a quotation comparing web service such as SelectQuote, IntelliQuote or AccuQuote but to name a few.

However, exercise caution when picking these websites, some may favor a particular company based on their commission margins or advertising partnership. Pick a more popular website with a range of insurers under their banner; they’ll be less likely to take a partisan approach to providing you with a quote.

(Related – Why do We Need Health Insurance)

Another thing, read the fine print! Some policies may be cheaper because they are less comprehensive, while a slightly more expensive one may offer you free riders, longer terms or other added benefits.

So shop smart and find that bargain, and you won’t even need to rely on the ol’ cheeky grin and impish wink technique.

About the Author: Frank Mitchell has worked as a life insurance agent for 10 years.  After an accident in 2011 that kept him at home for more than a year, Frank started offering advice on forums and other social media networks. He now works as financial advisor and in his spare time writes articles on subjects he is passionate about. On the weekends, you’ll find him dirt biking.

LIKE THIS POST?
Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Join our community of 8000+ subscribers to increase your net worth and build wealth
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
The tool that changed the way I manage my personal finance - Personal Capital, The Best Free Personal Finance Tool

Want to start a WordPress blog now? The onecentatatime.com blog is hosted by Siteground Web Hosting. For only $3.95 a month, Siteground can help you set up and host your website/blog quickly and easily.

About the Blogger Hi I am SB, a personal finance enthusiast with a career in software development. I am an immigrant to the USA since 2005, after being born and brought up in India. This 40 something technocrat lives and breathes personal finance whenever he gets time from the day job, job as a husband and a dad

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, if you make a purchase following the links, I may earn a commission. Read affiliate disclosure here
« 4 Deadly Stock Trading Mistakes to Avoid
Applying Warren Buffet Quotes in Personal Finance »

Comments

  1. Richard Jonas says

    October 10, 2013 at 12:45 AM

    Overall, there’s some good basic information in this article but there are also a few things I’d like to add.

    First, I would disagree though with the statement that factors unique to where you live (crime, natural disasters, etc.) affects life insurance costs. Costs can vary by state but that’s because each state regulates the insurance carriers doing business within their jurisdiction, including the rates they can charge.

    Second, the article failed to mention one of the primary factors driving price differences among the carriers – competition. Insurance companies compete with each other in many ways and one of the biggest areas of competition is price. That simple.

    Just last week, I attended a webinar where one of the biggest life insurance companies in the world was discussing upcoming price reductions. And just today, I received a bulletin from another major insurer also announcing price cuts.

    Reply
    • SB says

      October 10, 2013 at 1:14 AM

      Thank you for your valuable input Richard!

      Reply
  2. krantcents says

    October 10, 2013 at 7:45 PM

    I negotiate on everything! Life insurance is something I shop to find the lowest premium.

    Reply
  3. Matt Becker says

    October 11, 2013 at 7:47 AM

    I like term4sale.com as a site to compare prices. It’s free and you don’t have to give out any contact information. And I found their quotes to be extremely accurate. As an aside SB, if you truly have a need for life insurance I would suggest getting an individual policy for the full amount of your need, outside of what you have from your employer. It’s much safer to have your own policy that you actually own than to rely on both staying employed with the same company AND the company continuing to offer the policy.

    Reply
  4. Richard Jonas says

    October 11, 2013 at 11:45 AM

    I agree with Matt’s comment that having your own life insurance coverage (as opposed to group coverage through your employer) is a good idea. Matt is right when he points out that your employer can always decide to drop the group life insurance coverage or reduce its benefits.

    But most group life insurance coverage is also convertible and portable. “Convertible” means that you can switch your policy from term coverage (which is what group policies are) to permanent insurance such as whole life or universal life within 30 days of leaving your employer. The cool thing is that you can convert to a permanent policy with no medical exam. “Portable” coverage allows you to continue the coverage on an individual basis, even if you leave your employer. It’s similar to the way COBRA works. You’ll have to pay more for the same coverage but you won’t have to take any medical exams to qualify as long as you make the switch within 30 days.

    Also, since Matt suggested a particular company to compare life insurance quotes, let me do the same. My company, PrivateQuote.com, allows people to receive highly accurate and reliable quotes while remaining 100% completely anonymous. I leave the customer in complete control of if and when they provide us with their contact info. Customers who work with us receive free, unbiased professional consultation with no high-pressure sales tactics.

    Reply
  5. Tushar @ Everything Finance says

    October 11, 2013 at 7:18 PM

    I have life insurance through my work, and I got it at a great rate. Because it’s such a low rate, it’s not negotiable. As I age my rate will go up. There were a lot of other companies that offer life insurance that I got quotes from but mine is by far the best.

    Reply
  6. The College Investor says

    October 12, 2013 at 7:51 PM

    When I bought life insurance, I shopped online for a bit, then went with SelectQuote. The prices were lower and they gave me about 10 different options with all the various insurance companies and their pricing.

    The other thing to remember is that your initially quoted rate could change after the physical, especially if they find something.

    Reply
    • Richard Jonas says

      October 12, 2013 at 8:05 PM

      College Investor, your observation that the results of the medical exam can change the cost is 100% right.

      I wanted to clear up a common misconception though. SelectQuote has no ability to change the quoted cost of a particular life insurance policy. When SelectQuote gives you a quote, they are simply passing on the information the insurance company provides about the cost of that coverage. SelectQuote is not allowed to increase or decrease the cost of the coverage. The cost of a policy is 100% up to the insurance company.

      Reply
  7. sandra lovelace says

    October 17, 2013 at 3:52 AM

    I’ve got a life insurance policy by means of my own function, in addition to I acquired the item at the good pace. Due to the fact it’s such a small pace, it’s definitely not negotiable. As i age my own pace should go upward. There was many other programs that offer a life insurance policy i obtained quotes from but quarry will be definitely the very best.

    Reply
  8. Money Club says

    October 22, 2013 at 8:57 AM

    If you want a cheaper quote, you could just go for decreasing-term cover (at least you can here in the UK, I’m not sure how it works in the States). The amount of cover you have decreased over time, as the amount of mortgage you have left to pay goes down. Cheaper, but less comprehensive.

    Reply
  9. Jason Fisher says

    November 22, 2013 at 2:09 PM

    Great read. By far the greatest impact you can have to keep your rates down is your Age. As you mentioned, the older you are, the more you’ll pay. But most people think it’s a linear increase.

    It’s not.

    Up until 35, rates are pretty similar for the most part, except for the higher death benefit amount. But someone at 40 could pay HALF of what someone at 49 does for the exact same policy. Premiums start rising much, much faster after 50.

    There is no flexibility on age!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Create your own blog in 20 minutes and $20

Personal Capital, a free tool to change your financial health today

I use and suggest Upstart, for your personal loan need

CreditKarma, a free tool to check your credit scorey

I use Coinbase, for my crypto investments

101 Cents at a Time

101 Ways to Earn Extra Money on the Side
201 Frugal and Perfect Birthday Gifts
101 Ways to Save Money Everyday
101 Ways to be Better and Successful at Work
101 Ways to Save Environment and Energy
101 Frugal and Romantic Anniversary Ideas
101 Low-Cost Men's Fashion Ideas
101 Personal Finance Tips
101 Ways to Reuse Household Stuff
101 Things to Do, When Nothing to Do
101 College Graduation Gift Ideas
100 Tips for Ecommerce Startup
101 Ways to Enjoy Indoor During Winter
101 Ways to Beat Procrastination

Popular Posts

Quick Cash - How to make $100 legally, in a day
Living well on less than $15,000 a Year
Top survey sites for side income
What to do when auto repair goes wrong
Where should I invest my money now?
20 Ways to be productive and happy at work
51 Ways to get out of debt
Be a better person in 15 days, 15 ways
Income ideas for retirees and senior citizens
51 side jobs for college students
Urgently need a large amount of money?
Should I buy or should I rent?
Best Personal loan providers
25 Ways to save environment
25 DIY car repairs to save money
How to decorate office cubicle
How to show your wife you care
50 Financial Rules for Success
51 Frugal weekend family activity ideas
Become Rich By Saving 1 Hour Of Daily Wage
How much do I need to save for retirement?
How to negotiate your salary

Follow us on FaceBook

About Author

SB

Blogger by choice and IT manager by profession. Finance is my passion and gardening is my greatest satisfaction. Born in India, settled in US, Husband and a father. I created this blog in 2011 with a vision to help others. Thanks for your patronage. More info on my "about" page.

View all posts


Subscribe

Join our community of 5000+ subscribers to increase net worth and build wealth

Advertisements

Personal Stories

How I got a new HP computer replaced
Was COVID circulating in USA in fall of 2019?
How my credit score went up 800+
Why I didn’t invest in Bitcoins
How I controlled impulses to buy things
Why this blog is named One Cent at a Time

Subscribe via Email

Site Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this web site are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Read full Affiliate disclosure


One Cent at a Time is published by SB. The opinions expressed herein by him are his own and not those of his employer or anyone else. All content on One Cent at a Time is for entertainment purposes only. By reading this blog, you agree that SB and/or One Cent at a Time is not responsible for any actions taken after reading this blog. For the full disclaimer, click here .

Major Media Mention

One Cent at a Time Media Appearances

Copyright © 2023 One Cent At A Time · Designed by Nuts and Bolts Media