Mike’s Life Insurance Advice

The life insurance business has changed so much over the past twenty-five years that it bears little resemblance to its old self. There are plenty of new players and new products that weren’t around even a decade ago.

If you’re looking for insurance or want to compare what you own with what’s currently available, take a couple of hours and do some research. You can be rewarded with hundreds of dollars in savings a year.

You’ll probably either find you can get the same coverage for a considerably smaller premium. Or you might be able to get a lot more coverage for the same amount of money you’re paying now.

For example, what had been considered a cheap mortgage life assurance policy only five short years ago is probably well below par today. Make it a point of reviewing your insurance policies every five years because this trend seems to be continuing.

Yes, I know, it’s not the most exciting way to spend an afternoon, but you’ll often find special offers from firms that want to increase their market share

Getting cheap life assurance doesn’t mean that you should compromise about your coverage. When you shop around for a better deal, don’t just limit your search to online companies. Include brick and mortar brokers as well.

Buying directly from the carrier on the Internet doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get the best deal. Sometimes offline brokers discount the cost of a policy by sharing part of their commissions.

It might sound crazy, but it can often mean you will save money by going through a broker than by dealing directly with the company.

When you’re looking for a broker realize that only independent advisers may be able to offer you a more unbiased approach when they recommend products. That’s because life insurance agents are often tied to one specific company and cannot choose from as wide a range of products, whereas a broker has more than one company to choose from.

So, when you call, you can start your conversation off with something like, “Are you an agent who’s tied to the products of one financial group or are you an independent adviser that can offer a wide range of life insurance products?”

No matter what their answer is it still would be worth your time to get their information. This way you can compare offers side by side at your leisure. In other words, don’t just jump on an offer because it sounds good or because you just want to get the process over with. Remember, your family’s future is at stake.

- Mike