1. Buy when you are young healthy: Life insurance rates, although they contain fees, and a myriad of expenses, are primarily based upon the statistical chances of a person dying in a given year. Insurance companies use their own experience plus the statistical information collected by the government. The statistics are used to calculate the yearly ?cost of death? for each $1,000 of life insurance benefit. As people grow older, the chances of dying increase. At first the increase is slow up until middle age, and then the chance of death increases more rapidly. As the chance of death rise, so do the premiums.
2. Quit smoking: Smokers? premiums are nearly three times as expensive as non-smokers. Staying away from cigarettes a week or two before your company physical won't do. Urine tests will detect traces of nicotine (yep, this means chewing tobacco too). Most companies require you to be smoke free for a minimum of one year. Some companies require two years.
3. Lose weight: Companies don't charge by the pound, but you may be charged more if your weight exceeds a certain level.
4. Buy direct: The internet has made it easy to shop around for life insurance policies directly. By eliminating the middle person, you save on salespersons commissions which are built into the policy premium.
5. Healthy people don't need ?guaranteed issue? policies: People with medical conditions may want to purchase guaranteed issue policies. These policies do not require a medical exam and tend to have higher premiums. The company is taking more of a risk because they don't know your true medical condition. However, if you are healthy, take the exam. It will prove that you are a good risk and your rates will be lower.
