Life Cover Premiums Becoming Even More Affordable

It has become completely predictable and somewhat boring for us to see the price of essential purchases such as food and fuel increasing on a regular basis.

One other important purchase hasn’t been cheaper for years; this is a purchase which will keep your family in fuel and food in the case you pass away – life insurance (such as mortgage protection life assurance).

Premiums Coming Down

Sainsbury’s Finance recently undertook research, and the findings were that for most potential buyers, the cost of life insurance premiums has actually fallen over the past few years – including last year.

Even smokers in their customer profiles saw a 0.05% drop in cost, while non-smokers are enjoying 1% less to pay. Overall 74% of customers were paying less than the going rate from a year ago.

In September 2006 a market average premium cost £16.11p, by December 2009 this had dropped to £13.61p; by January 2011, a further decrease saw market average premiums costing only £13.52p, which can add up over the life of the policy. In any case, you know what they say, “every penny counts”!

In the bigger scheme of things with everything else increasing in price, what we save on our life insurance premiums might put a few more cans of baked beans on the table. Plus it will also ensure that the beans keep on coming for your family should something unfortunate happen to you.

Efficiency Savings Being Passed On

The reason why these prices are being driven down is due to more efficient technology for administration, as well as more competition. When things get tight with the cost of living, before simply cancelling your life insurance; ask questions about cutting costs.

There is a massive pricing difference in insurance ‘lifebelt’ policies, and results of this research also showed a 59% difference in cost between the least and most competitive products – an improvement on 65% during 2006. It is just as important to shop around for life, income protection and critical illness insurance as it is for insuring your car and new flat screen TV.

Although not all insurance is created equally, cost is still a driving factor and competitive deals are still available. It is usually possible to get the same cover for cheaper, or more cover at the same price.

Take Advantage of Brokers

Using a broker is a good idea as they use a list of various insurers and are able to advise on different products; in other words, they do the shopping around on your behalf, bearing your needs in mind.

A broker will make recommendations based on their knowledge of this market as well as your personal needs and financial capability. Not only will they be able to help you find the most competitive price but they will also be able to help with application process.

It is surprising to find in a sophisticated society such as the UK that so few families are financially protected against health risks. For example, more than half of UK families carry no life insurance at all and many more than this do not have income protection or critical illness cover. What is even more shocking is the fact that the most vulnerable – the single parent family, are even less well protected.