The premiums for term life insurance depend upon a lot of factors, which include age, health, and lifestyle. All these factors have an effect on the premium; knowing how to control them will let you make better decisions while buying the policy and save on the cost.
Probably one of the biggest factors in determining premiums for term life insurance would be age. Most insurance companies consider the risks associated with a person according to his age. That could very well mean that for older people, premiums are higher. This is due to the fact that the chances of health problems and death increase with age. For instance, a 30-year-old who applies for a 20-year term policy generally pays a lower premium compared with a 50-year-old for the same sum assured and tenure. The earlier you get a policy, the better your premium rates are likely to be—making it advantageous to buy term life insurance young.
Health features quite front in determining your term life insurance premium rate. This takes into account your general health and medical history as rating factors. Probably in the case when you have a history of chronic conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes, or any lethal conditions, you will have to pay a higher premium, since this just translates to the risk of early mortality. You may need to go through a medical examination and/or answer some health questions when applying for this. Keeping fit, attending to medical problems before they become serious, and maintaining a good health record helps you get better premium rates. Added to this, most of the companies charge lower premiums to people who can prove that they have been in good health and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Last but not least, it is lifestyle. BAD habits or lifestyle choices—smoking, excessive drinking, hazardous sports—are all reasons for charging more premium while purchasing a term life insurance policy. For example, smokers are rated as higher risk due to health complications and increased mortality because of smoking. Hazardous sport players such as skydivers and motor racing enthusiasts may have to pay more premium because death or disability in such sports is quite possible. Provided that you are able to maintain a healthier lifestyle, give up smoking, and keep off hazardous activities, you can probably get your premiums reduced and thereby be counted as a better insurance risk.
Other rating factors that an insurer may use are a person's occupation and family medical history. A person engaged in a riskier occupation may have to pay a higher premium since the nature of such workplaces engages in hazardous activities. Similarly, family history of serious genetic disorders may be used to determine premium cost as this may indicate a higher risk of contacting or developing certain diseases.
In other words, premiums for term life insurance are calculated based on a long list of factors, which include a person's age, health status, lifestyle, occupation, and family medical history. Keeping these factors in mind and taking control over those one can could help bring down the premiums and enable you to get competitive rates. It really does pay to take these factors into consideration while applying for term life insurance and making those changes in lifestyle that may go toward better insurability and premium cost.
Factors that influence term life insurance premiums, such as age, health, and lifestyle.
August 13, 2024