Tips for Choosing a Life Insurance Company

More than 150 insurance companies offercompare like with like and check the small print.
thousands of life insurance products in the UK.This is particularly important if you are including
Choosing the right company and right productextra's such as Critical Illness Cover. Always read
from this bewildering choice is challenging.the Key Facts document carefully and look for
Fortunately, there are some common sensesome of the following benefits:
guidelines that will help you narrow the field to a-Are the premiums Guaranteed? This means the
more manageable selection of companies andpremiums are guaranteed to remain the same
products.throughout the term of your policy. This is
Looking at the Costopposed to `Reviewable´ premiums which, as
The UK life insurance business is highlythe name suggests, are reviewed usually every 5
competitive, but the industry tries to avoid priceyears and can increase dramatically.
competition whenever possible. Instead,-Check that the policy has terminal illness benefit
companies attempt to make their productsincluded. This is a valuable extra which is now
sufficiently different from their competitors soincluded in most Term Life Insurance policies for
that price is less of a factor in product selection.free and will pay the life insurance amount early if
However, there are ways you can keep youryou suffer a terminal illness.
premium rates to a minimum without affecting-Can the policy be written in trust? This will avoid
the quality of your cover.any delay in the money going to your dependants
-Consider Term Life Insurance - Term Lifeand the risk of inheritance tax being charged on
Insurance is the cheapest form of life coverthe benefit.
available and premiums are very competitive.-Can waiver of premium benefit be included in
-Shop around - in particular, if you know exactlyyour plan. This is a valuable extra which, if you
what type of cover you require and don't needbecome too ill to work for a number of months,
advice, you can reduce your premiums bywill ensure your cover continues without you
applying through a discount life insurance brokerhaving to pay the premiums.
such as Life Saver. These broker's discount theClaims History
insurance companies standard premiums byNo matter how good the policy it will all be for
rebating the majority of the commission paid tonothing if your insurer is difficult or obstructive if
them as an agent for the company. This reducesyou should have to make a claim.The industry
your monthly payments below the premium youpays out over £166 million a day in pension
would pay by applying direct to the insuranceand life insurance claims and all insurers have
company.procedures in place to process claims on their
-Stop smoking - premium rates for smokers arepolicies.
30-40% higher than for non-smokers. If you canBefore taking out a policy it is advisable to
or are thinking of quitting you will save hundredscontact your prospective insurer and ask about
on your premiums over the term of the policy.their claims history. Note their willingness to
-Only pay for the cover you need - If you areprovide this information and the attitude
looking for term insurance and critical illness, youpromoted by their response. Do they look for
can make big savings by buying a combined policy.reasons to pay claims or excuses to avoid them?
These only pay out one lump sum rather thanFinancial Strength
the two that separate policies would pay, if youWhen selecting or evaluating a UK life insurance
suffer a critical illness and then die.company, a logical place to begin is by reviewing
Obviously, the cost of monthly premiums is goingthe ratings given by major insurance company
to be a major factor in your choice of insurerrating services such as Standard & Poors and AM
but, it should not be your only consideration.Best. In a rating, the rating company or agency
Product Qualityexpresses its opinion of the life insurance
There can be major differences between UK lifecompanies financial condition.
insurance policies so it is important that you