Looking for a way to compare life insurance rates without a lot of time or effort? Requesting quotes online is the fastest and easiest way to get the information you need to compare life insurance policies. When you submit an online quote request, you’ll get results featuring the best rates for the type of coverage you need in just a few minutes. In most cases, you won’t even have to provide personal contact information, so you won’t have to worry about being contacted unless you decide to apply for the insurance. There’s no better life insurance rate comparison tool than using an online insurance agency’s instant quote request system.
Comparing Term Life Insurance Options
Want to protect your your loved ones or your business with a term life insurance policy?
Have you given any thought to what type of term life policy you need? Did you even realize that there are several different types of term life policies? In the most basic terms, this type of life insurance policy provides coverage for a specific period of time, which is referred to as the policy’s term. If the insured party passes away during the term, the full value of the policy is paid to his or her beneficiaries. If, however, at the end of the term, the insured party is living, the policy simply expires.
Types of Term Life Insurance
In order to truly engage in a term life insurance quote comparison, it’s important to know the different types of term life coverage.
Level Term: When most people think of a term life policy, level term is what comes to mind. With this type of policy, you purchase a specific dollar value of insurance coverage (death benefit), which remains constant over the policy’s term period (typically 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years).
Decreasing Term: In the past, people who were seeking life insurance solely for the purposes of mortgage protection have selected decreasing term life insurance (also known as mortgage insurance). This types of policy is rare today and even if you could find one, we don’t recommend this type of policy. Level term life policies often have similar or lower premiums for 20 or 30 year policies without a lowering of the death benefit. We recommend that you shop for level premium term or return of premium term life insurance rather than mortgage insurance.
Return of Premium Term: Many people hesitate to buy term life insurance because they don’t want a policy that simply expires with no benefit to them. The idea of a return of premium policy can be very appealing to some people. These types of policies are level term policies with an additional benefit. Assuming the policy stays in place throughout the entire term, all premiums paid will be returned to the insured party, assuming he or she is still living at the end of the term. Return of premium life insurance policies have a somewhat higher outlay than the other types of term life insurance because of the return at the end of the policy.
Traditional Term Life vs. Return of Premium
Have you decided that a term life insurance policy is the best option for you? Before you finalize your purchase decision, it’s important to consider whether or not your needs will be better served by traditional term life or a return of premium policy. Both types of policies provide death benefits for a preset period of time, after which coverage expires if the insured is still living.
With a traditional term life policy, coverage simply stops at the end of the term. With a return of premium policy, however, you’ll actually get all the premiums you paid at the end of the term. These types of policies require higher payments than traditional term policies. Of course, many people find the fact that the money is returned at the end of the term to be very appealing.
Only you can decide which policy option works best for you. If you’re looking for the least expensive way to make sure your family is protected in the event of your death, a traditional term policy is probably better suited to your needs. If you want to make sure that you get some benefit from your life insurance policy, however, you might find that a return of premium policy better meets your needs.
Premiums Vary Amongst Life Insurance Companies
When you compare life insurance policies, one of the first things you’ll likely notice is that rates may vary significantly from one company to the next. Life insurance premiums are based on risk, which is anything but an exact science. Each insurance company has its own risk assessment technique. While most companies use similar variables when assessing risk – such as age, health, tobacco usage, etc. – they don’t all assign the same weight to each factor.
That’s why it’s so important to get quotes from several different life insurance companies before making a final policy selection. You might find that you’re able to save a significant amount of money by choosing a company that uses a risk assessment formula that works in your favor. Therefore, if you buy insurance from the first company you come across, you might end up paying too much.
When you want to be sure you’re getting the best possible rate on the term life insurance coverage you need, it’s a good idea to request insurance quotes online. You’ll be able to quickly and easily conduct a life insurance rate comparison amongst top insurance companies. This will allow you to make sure that you’re getting the best value for your money.
Choosing Between Insurance Companies
What happens if you find great coverage for essentially the same price from more than one life insurance company? 
Remember that selecting the right life insurance policy is about more than just choosing a policy based on price. It’s certainly a good idea to take into consideration variables such as the company’s financial strength rating and customer service record.
- Financial Strength Rating: One of the things you’ll want to look at when conducting a life insurance comparison is the financial strength of each company. The better the company’s rating, the more solid it is. If price is the same between companies with different ratings, we typically recommend the company with the most favorable rating. You should check an insurance company’s financial strength ratings as found on this site when you get a quote.
- Customer Service Record: Before finalizing your choice of insurance companies, it’s also a good idea to check out the company’s customer service track record. After all, you certainly want to make sure your life insurance company will be responsive to your needs throughout the years you are covered.
Tips for Gathering Customer Service Information:
- Insurance Commissioner: Check with the insurance commissioner in your state to find out what types of consumer complaints might have been lodged against the insurance companies you are considering doing business with. It can also be a good idea to get in touch with the insurance commission in the state in which the company is headquartered.
- Referrals: Ask your friends and colleagues if they have had experience with the insurance companies you are comparing. They’ll likely be happy to share their life insurance company experiences – positive and negative – with you. Asking people with whom you have personal relationships with for their experience can be a great way to get feedback from people you trust and whose opinions you value.
Consider Flexibility When Choosing Insurance Companies
Life insurance is something that consumers hope not to have to use for a very long time after purchasing a policy. Because life insurance can be a long term commitment, it’s important to consider the fact that your needs, and those of your loved ones, might change considerably after you initially purchase your life insurance policy. That’s why you might want to consider flexibility and various options when conducting a life insurance comparison.
For example, some insurance companies offer convertible life insurance policies. If this option is available, you can choose to convert your term life policy to a permanent life insurance policy per the terms of the agreement. This option often appeals to those who purchase inexpensive term life insurance early in their careers or before they have families, who later find themselves in need of a permanent life insurance option.
Another consideration when comparing life insurance is whether or not riders are available for the policies you are considering. If your insurance company has provisions to allow for riders, this means that you have the option of adding extra benefits to your life insurance policy for an additional premium. Child riders and waiver of premium are very popular rider.