Understanding the Cost of Life Insurance

Individuals face all sorts of financial risks as they progress through their lives. If they have a family, their risk exposure is greater because more people depend on their income. Some of the common financial risks that individuals face are:

• Variable earnings: your wages or salary could be affected by events beyond your control.
• Premature death: if you pass away when you’re young, your earnings will also end, and your family won’t benefit from what you would have earned in subsequent years.
• Longevity: if you live longer than expected, you could outlive your retirement savings.
• Health problems: your health may be negatively affected in ways that hamper your earning ability.

Insurance is an essential tool individuals can use to minimize risk. However, paying too much for insurance would cut into earnings, increasing their risk rather than reducing it.

Life insurance providers also face considerable financial risk. For them, it’s riskier to insure a person with pre-existing medical conditions than to insure someone who is very healthy, all other things being equal. They use historical data to approximate life expectancy with specific characteristics, medical conditions, and lifestyle habits. They price their products higher if there is a greater chance that a person with your profile will pass away while the policy is in effect.

• Age: the older you are, the higher your premiums will be, as there is a greater chance that you’ll pass away while your policy is in effect. Age is the single most important factor in determining your insurance premium.
• Gender: men generally pay higher rates than women because their life expectancies tend to be shorter. Women typically pay 10%-25% less than men.
• Smoking: as a risk factor for a host of life-threatening illnesses, smoking typically doubles the cost of life insurance. “Smoking” includes vaping, chewing tobacco, and smoking-cessation patches.
• Health status: your insurance provider will want to know about pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the medications you’re taking, and other aspects of your health, such as your BMI, your blood pressure, and your cholesterol level. Some insurance policies don’t ask for medical information; if you’re interested in that type of plan, look for companies that offer No-Medical Insurance or Simplified Issue Insurance.
• Family medical history: certain illnesses that tend to run in families will raise your premiums. Therefore applicants are asked questions about their family medical history in their life insurance applications.
• Occupation and hobbies: having a dangerous job such as high-wire repair, logging, or fishing will make your coverage more expensive, as will hazardous hobbies like mountain climbing and skydiving.

Life insurance companies will typically quote a rate for you based on your preliminary information and then adjust the rate as they receive more information from you.

• The face value of your policy: the higher the face value, the higher the premium.
• The type of policy: term life insurance policies are less expensive than permanent or whole life insurance policies because the policyholder can outlive the term, especially if they are young.
• Length of term: term insurance with a longer term costs more than the same policy with a shorter term.
• Options: some policies have options such as convertibility or renewability, which can make them more expensive.

Different providers use slightly different criteria and formulas to calculate your premiums, so shopping around for the best rate can be a good strategy. Most providers offer free quotes, and many have online quote tools that you can use to ballpark what your rates could be.