How to Compare Life Insurance Rates Online

Comparing life insurance rates is easier than ever when you use the power of the world wide web to your advantage.

If your personal and your financial circumstances has created a need for term or permanent life coverage, now is the time to utilize the Internet so that you are not stuck paying expensive rates for your life plan.

With several different carriers to choose from, the Internet creates the perfect platform for budget-minded consumers who want the best rates without turning their mission to find these rates into a full-time job.

Before you start to shop for insurance, you need to know what type of insurance is appropriate and how much insurance is sufficient to provide financial protection.

Be sure to use the FREE quote comparison tool at the top of this page!

Buying a home, getting married and having children are all life events that create a need for a policy or additional coverage, but these are not the only circumstances that create a need for more life coverage.

You will need to assess not only your current situation but also your future needs based on the direction that your life is going before you can choose a policy type or a coverage amount.

Here is your consumer guide to taking all of the proper steps to finding the right life plan online sold by the right insurer:

Why is it important to consider more than just price?

It is only natural as a modern day consumer to look for the best bargains on similar products. While finding the low-priced rates is possible, you cannot buy life insurance from just any life insurance company.

Not all life providers are created equally, and considering how important the protection is, you want to choose a company that you can trust to pay your death benefit claims in the tragic event that you lose your life.

This is why you should research carriers and their reputations in the marketplace before you even compare rates.

Qualifying a life insurer will help you cross the less than reputable companies who are known to deny claims or delay payments after the premiums have been collected and it is their turn to fulfill their contractual obligations.

There are a handful of factors to consider to eliminate the low-quality insurers from the running. Here are those factors that you cannot overlook:

Financial Strength of the Carrier

A company is only as strong as it’s financial rankings. All insurance carriers offering any line of insurance invest the premium dollars that they receive to high-yield stocks and bonds, along with other investments. While all providers have investment strategies and actuarial strategies, not all companies are as talented at diversifying their investments to earn the greatest returns.

Some companies also do not accurately project how many claim dollars will be paid in a given year, making it necessary to raise rates just to cover future claims. If you choose company that is not secure financially, the company could easily go out of business or make it difficult for your beneficiaries to collect.

To avoid choosing a company that is not stable or creditworthy, you need to review third party financial rankings that are ranked by independent agencies like A.M. Best and Standard and Poor’s.

By reviewing the legend of the ratings and the letter grades, you can easily find out which insurers licensed to do business in your state should be avoided because of their financial solidity.

Customer and Claims Satisfaction

You purchase life insurance for the death benefit if your family ever needs to file a claim.

If the company does not offer your spouse or beneficiaries the service that they deserve in such a stressful and emotional time it can make the situation all the more difficult.

To prevent this from happening, you can review a carrier’s claims satisfactions ratings and choose a company that processes claims quickly, helps with the process, and honors coverage terms without a problem.

You can check third-party customer satisfaction reviews, or you can use official complaint databases to see if there are trends.

Each state department of insurance has their own complaint database, or you can access the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website and review the complaint index of any company licensed in the country.

Range of Products Offered

Traditional insurance can be dramatically different than specialty life insurance policies. You need to consider the type of insurance that you would like to buy and whether or not you want a no-medical and no-underwriting plan that has higher rates but less application questions.

When you decide if traditional insurance or specialty plans are ideal, you can then sift through the list of providers that you have to choose from.

Cost of Insurance

Cost is obviously important, but you should only consider the premiums after you have chosen a company that passes the test. Failure to get high financial rankings or positive claims service feedback should disqualify a company.

When you have at least 3 to 5 providers left on your list, it is then time to consider pricing. You will need to comparison shop so that you can locate the insurer that has the most competitive rates for people in your rating class.

By requesting multiple quotes of the same type and amount of insurance, you will be able to find the best rates.

What factors can affect online life insurance rates?

Insurance companies determine the rates that you will pay based on the risk that is present of you filing a claim.

If you have a short life expectancy based on your age, gender, health and lifestyle, you will pay higher rates than someone who have a longer life expectancy based on the numbers.

Insurance underwriters will review an application to assess the risk that you present. An agent may quote you for rates for someone who is in excellent health when in actuality you are in standard health. Because of this, your quotes can easily change from the quote if you are not honest and realistic when you are filling out a quoting form.

You will be one of several rating classifications which can include: Super Preferred, Preferred, Standard, Tobacco, Tobacco Preferred or substandard table rated.

Here are the various factors that can take you from an excellent classification to a lower one that leads to higher risk and higher rates:

Age and Gender

Females have a longer life expectancy and pay lower rates than males. The older you are, the closer you are to your life expectancy which makes you a high risk.

Occupation and Recreation

If you are a carpenter, you pay more than an insurance agent who sits in an office. If you like to ballroom dance, your rates will be lower than a recreational pilot.

Height vs. Weight

Obesity leads to heart disease. If your Body Mass Index is high, you can expect to pay higher rates. Underweight applicants can also have higher rating groups.

Lifestyle

Applicants who drink and smoke regularly are high-risk because their lifestyle reduces their lifespan. Tobacco use, while it is not excluded with most insurers, can dramatically affect your rates.

Driving Record

If you are not careful behind-the-wheel, your risk of getting into a serious accident is high. Those with accidents and moving violations could get surcharged rates.

Some insurers will even deny applicants if they have a reckless driving or Driving Under the Influence conviction.

Tips on How to Use the Internet the Most Efficient Way

There are two types of online quoting systems: direct systems and brokerage-style systems. Direct online quoting tools are tools that are paid for and developed by the carrier providing the coverage.

You will access these systems by visiting the insurer’s official website and selecting the correct tab for life insurance quotes.

Brokerage-style quoting systems are very different because they are developed by a third-party company. The company’s focus is to build relationships with several top-rated companies that are financially solid so that they can give consumers a platform where they can comparison shop without being forced to visit more than one website.

These tools are advanced in that they can direct you to the rates charged by a handful of insurers without requiring you to provide your personal information a handful of times. You can even compare quotes side-by-side so that you are not confused by the pricing or the coverage details as you print out quotes.

If you are ready to buy coverage but you do not have the time to spend visiting local agents for a sit down discussion, you can use the Internet as your gateway to valuable information and to tools that will instantly show you how much you can pay for your coverage.

Research the differences between various plans, use calculators to find out how much insurance you need, and then enter your information into a rate comparison form. Once you are directed to the quotes, you can find the most budget-friendly plan offered in the life marketplace.

Use the FREE quote tool below to start comparing policies today!