Top 10 tips for Cheap Life Insurance

In these tough times for our wallets, with the current 'credit crunch' in full swing, it is important to us all to ensure we are getting the best value for money from our month bills.

Your life insurance policy is no exception and finding cheap life insurance online is increasingly easy using comparison websites and tools like 2 Minute Quote.

Here's our top ten tips for finding cheap life insurance and ensuring you are getting the best value for your money:

1. Give up smoking!

Not only is smoking bad for your health (as you will be aware from the constant stream of government advice) but it has a huge effect on your life insurance premiums. On average, a smoker can pay up to double that of a non-smoker because of the increased risks to your health.

Your insurance company will consider you as a smoker until you have been smoke free for 12 months but after 12 months they will happily reassess your cover and bring your premiums down to a non-smoker rate, possibly halving your premium!

2. Paying more does not make it a better policy!

With some things in life it makes sense to adopt the 'you get what you pay for' attitude but with finding cheap life insurance, that certainly isn't the case!

Most life insurance policies are exactly the same with regards to the features they offer. The differences are minor and at the end of the day, they will pay your family a lump sum if you die within the term of the cover.

The only difference with most policies is the brand name on the cover and the company underwriting it. All life insurance policies are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme meaning you are covered if something goes wrong, so paying more for the name on the tin doesn't make the policy worth paying more for!

3. Use an online life insurance comparison website

Traditionally you would have sort your cheap life insurance policy from a financial advisor or with a company over the phone.

The advantage of the internet is that you have access to a online insurance comparison websites, like 2 Minute Quote, who can compare the whole of the market for you in just a few seconds.

This means that instead of getting just one price, you can get the prices of a wide variety of insurers and then pick the one that suits you best and which saves you the most money!

4. Avoid offers from Banks, Building Societies and Mortgage Lenders

Banks, Building Societies and often mortgage lenders will always try to prey on you when you are at your weakest, i.e. when you are sat with them in the bank and feel you shouldn't say no to what they are offering you.

If you want to save money and ensure you are getting the most competitive life insurance quote, you MUST say no! Even if it is only to give you time to go away and compare the offer against other providers.

The main downside of these types of institutions is that they often only offer you a single price from their own provider making it very expensive (Often twice or three times the price of elsewhere).

5. Use a whole of the market website

For similar reasons to why you need to avoid your banks offer, using a website which does not compare the whole of market means you are only getting a single (or a very small number) or options and prices to choose from.

A much cheaper life insurance premium could be sat right around the corner and you wouldn't know about it!

6. Don't take excessive amounts of cover

Sometimes it will seem tempting to take large amounts of cover when in reality you only need enough to cover your mortgage and protect your family.

Taking excessive amounts of cover just means you are paying for something you don't really need and whilst its nice to think that our families would lead a very comfortable lifestyle, in these cash strapped times couldn't you use the money elsewhere?

7. Use an advice driven service without a fee

There are two parts to this tip: 1. If you are uncertain about what is best for you, get advice! 2. Don't pay for that advice!

Because your life insurance is there to protect you family, you want to make sure its right and covering them and you properly. A professional advisor can guide you through the cover you need and ensure you are fully protected.

But (and this is a big but for our cheap life insurance hunt) some people will try and charge you for their advice. There is no need to pay for advice at all! Advisor's like those at 2 Minute Quote are paid by the insurance companies (on a commission basis) to ensure you get the best product for your needs. You don't pay a penny other than your monthly premium and because they are whole of market, you are getting the best advice and the best policy that is available to you.

8. Act now!

The longer you leave it to take your life insurance policy, the more expensive it becomes with age. Each time you pass even half a birthday (or quarter birthdays with some insurance companies), your life insurance quote will increase.

There is also the possibility that you will unfortunately contract an illness in the time you wait which could also increase the premium that any insurance provider asks for.

On the other hand, if you take your policy now, your birthdays won't affect the premium and any new health conditions won't force the premium higher.

9. Avoid over 50 plans

If your over 50 you have probably heard the myth that your life insurance policy is going to cost the earth.

This isn't the case at all and over fifties life insurance or over 60, over 70 or over 80 life insurance for that matter is the same. (See our over 50 life insurance guide for more details).

Many companies advertise so called 'Over 50 plans' which promise policies without any medical.

Sadly these policies tend to be over priced and usually include an exemption on the first two years of the cover, meaning that if you die in that period your family will be left without any payout.

For most people, over 50 plans are simply not cost effective and cannot be classed as cheap life insurance!

10. Make sure your cheap life insurance is written into trust for free

Writing your policy written into trust is vital to avoid the tax man taking a cut of your families payout in inheritance tax. It also serves to ensure that the payout is made faster (because its not subject to probate) and to exactly who you designated.

A lot of websites simply do not offer a trust writing service and those who do, tend to charge over the odds for it!

The other option is to get your solicitor to write the policy into a trust and this could cost you up to £300.

In reality the process of writing your policy into trust takes only a few minutes and costs the company or solicitor nothing!

2 Minute Quote will write your life insurance policy (which is now cheap thanks to our tips!) into trust free of charge with only a simple signature from you to confirm the process.

So that concludes our top 10 tips for cheap life insurance! Now all you need to do is head for our quote page, tell us about you and we'll go and find you the cheapest life insurance quote on the market!