Life cover is just the latest form of insurance to be classed a "rip-off" by consumers and insurance related websites. Some insurance firms will do anything to boost up the cost of life cover so that they can rake in huge profits. One of the most popular ways that firms will hike up the cost of the individuals cover is for some of the most minor illnesses.

Of course if you do have a serious health risk you can expect your life cover to be a little dearer, but insurance firms are jumping on the bandwagon for just about anything. For example, if there is a diabetes or multiple sclerosis in your family, then with some insurers you are straight away faced with higher premiums.

While the advancements in medicine have increased greatly during the last ten years only 40% of individuals can expect not to have the premiums boosted up when they apply for life cover, as opposed to around ten years ago when some 80% of applicants would be able to take out cover for just the basic rate without anything being added onto the cost. This means that instead of going into the future it seems in some cases we are going back in time.

Life cover is not just taken out to cover the expenses of the funeral but to give those left behind the financial security needed during a stressful time. If the main income earner was to die, how would the people left behind cope financially and pay the mortgage as well as general lifestyle costs such as food and clothing. It doesn't bear thinking about.

It has to be given a lot of thought as there can be many exclusions in a policy and these are found in the small print. Buying life cover alongside a loan or mortgage is the most expensive way of taking out the cover and if you want the cheapest premiums along with the information needed to determine what is and is not covered in the policy then going with a specialist broker is essential.

A specialist broker will be able to search the market place to find you the best premiums for the cover along with matching your criteria to the right insurer. However it is up to you to read the small print to determine what the cover actually gives.

Some individuals apply for cover for what seems like an excellent premium only later to be informed that the premiums will be increased and in some cases the reason for the raise is not made clear. In the worst cases premiums have been raised by around 50% which of course is a far cry from the cheap quote that was given in the first instance.

Even when buying life cover with a specialist broker it is essential to read the small print of the policy but at least you will have the knowledge that a broker will have shopped around and got you the best quotes from the top UK insurers.