10 Unusual Things Can Impact Your Quoted Life Insurance Rates
There is a defined
moment when many of us start to consider getting life insurance to protect
family members and loved ones. It could be after a child birth or a catchy
insurance commercial that tweaks your interest. When this moment strikes, the
first thing most people do is get a quick online quote to understand their
ballpark rates. A more detailed assessment follows afterwards. Some elements of
this assessment are intuitive (age, health condition, smoking status,
occupation, etc.). There are, however, some other surprising assessment
criteria that underwriters also consider. Such as...
1. Driving History: Yes, your driving
history matters, not only for your auto insurance premiums but also your life
insurance rates. If you had a DUI accident in the recent past, you will likely
experience significant higher quoted rates than somebody who has a clean
driving history. Remember that smaller offenses fall off your driving record
after three years (for insurance purposes).
2. Be Happy: Having a history of
depression can hijack your life insurance premiums, almost doubling them. Happy
people experience less health issues and stress, and thus represent lower risk
for insurance companies.
3. Policy Date: The policy's
starting date can be sometimes adjusted (also called backdating), meaning that
in some cases you can benefit from lower premiums (based on your younger age;
if you turned 50 this week but backdate your policy to last month, for
example). Obviously you will need to pay all the premiums starting from the
backdated time point, but you can benefit from a lower rate going forward.
4. Dangerous jobs (e.g. stuntmen,
bomb squad member) can mean higher risk for your life and thus lead to higher
insurance premiums. Do you think that your job is dangerous?
5. Payment frequency: Paying for a life
insurance policy on an annual basis saves insurers administrative costs, and
they reward you with lower premiums than if you'd paid for your insurance
monthly. In this case, though, you'd need to plan carefully because a big
annual charge can create a significant hole in your household budget if you
forget about the annual premium.
6. Travelling (to
dangerous destinations): Some destinations are more dangerous than others and
some are very dangerous (war zones, areas with known history of kidnapping,
etc.) Consult an insurance broker or your agent to understand how your future
plans can impact your insurance coverage. Your policy can be declined or you
might be able to get a life insurance policy, but it would explicitly exclude
the time you are abroad. In some cases, a simplified issue no medical life
insurance policy is a solution since it does not ask travel questions. It is
important to know, though, that a simplified issue policy is more expensive
than a standard one and its coverage is typically limited to $50,000 -
$300,000. You can test this out by getting an anonymous simplified issue no
medical life insurance quote via one of numerous insurance online platforms.
7. Sports (extreme): Being involved in
extreme and/or dangerous sports, especially professionally, can impact your
life insurance premiums (for example: sky diving, cliff diving, scuba diving).
Similarly to getting insurance while travelling to dangerous locations, you
need to understand which cases are not covered by your life insurance policy.
8. Private pilot licenses: This one usually
falls into a category of dangerous hobbies - licenced pilots (only private)
might experience higher insurance rates. When calculating insurance premiums,
an insurer will consider both the pilot's age and experience. This information
will probably not asked during the initial quoting process, but will be
required during the detailed assessment later.
9. Your citizenship: If you are not a
Canadian citizen or resident, you will not be able to apply for a Canadian life
insurance policy.
10. Your income: Insurance companies
can decline your life insurance policy if your household income falls below a
particular threshold, typically $30,000. The reasoning behind this is so
insurance does not stretch your budget beyond its capabilities. Note that you
should still speak with a broker to create a detailed future plan for insurance
protection, and brokers that are also financial planners can help you triage
your upcoming financial expenses to best manage your needs. It's a good idea to
check with your insurance broker, if your income might be an issue, before
submitting your application. Remember, that once you have been declined for a life
insurance application, it may impact your next applications since some insurers
include in their surveys, "have you ever been declined for a life
insurance application?" Similarly to a pilot license, this question might
be not be included in initial quote questions, but will be asked later by your
insurer.
As you can see, many
aspects outside of your health impact your life insurance quote and policy. You
should remember that underwriting rules (application assessment) are different
across insurers and thus, it is advisable to work with an insurance broker who
deals with numerous life insurance companies and can share his/her expertise
with you as you navigate through this complex process.
These insights have
been shared by Alexey Saltykov, co-founder of InsurEye.com, the Canadian web
platform that offers independent consumer reviews database for different types
of life protection and provides cheap critical illness ( https://insureye.com/critical-illness-insurance-quote/ )
and term life insurance quotes ( https://insureye.com/term-life-insurance-quotes/ ).
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alexey_Saltykov/1238289
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