Tips for Choosing a Life Insurance Company


More than 150 insurance companies offer thousands of life insurance products in the UK.

Choosing the right company and right product from this bewildering choice is challenging. Fortunately, there are some common sense guidelines that will help you narrow the field to a more manageable selection of companies and products.

Looking at the Cost
The UK life insurance business is highly competitive, but the industry tries to avoid price competition whenever possible. Instead, companies attempt to make their products sufficiently different from their competitors so that price is less of a factor in product selection.

However, there are ways you can keep your premium rates to a minimum without affecting the quality of your cover.

?Consider Term Life Insurance - Term Life Insurance is the cheapest form of life cover available and premiums are very competitive.
?Shop around - in particular, if you know exactly what type of cover you require and don't need advice, you can reduce your premiums by applying through a discount life insurance broker such as Life Saver. These broker's discount the insurance companies standard premiums by rebating the majority of the commission paid to them as an agent for the company. This reduces your monthly payments below the premium you would pay by applying direct to the insurance company.
?Stop smoking - premium rates for smokers are 30-40% higher than for non-smokers. If you can or are thinking of quitting you will save hundreds on your premiums over the term of the policy.
?Only pay for the cover you need - If you are looking for term insurance and critical illness, you can make big savings by buying a combined policy. These only pay out one lump sum rather than the two that separate policies would pay, if you suffer a critical illness and then die.

Obviously, the cost of monthly premiums is going to be a major factor in your choice of insurer but, it should not be your only consideration.

Product Quality
There can be major differences between UK life insurance policies so it is important that you compare like with like and check the small print. This is particularly important if you are including extra's such as Critical Illness Cover. Always read the Key Facts document carefully and look for some of the following benefits:

?Are the premiums Guaranteed? This means the premiums are guaranteed to remain the same throughout the term of your policy. This is opposed to `Reviewable“ premiums which, as the name suggests, are reviewed usually every 5 years and can increase dramatically.
?Check that the policy has terminal illness benefit included. This is a valuable extra which is now included in most Term Life Insurance policies for free and will pay the life insurance amount early if you suffer a terminal illness.
?Can the policy be written in trust? This will avoid any delay in the money going to your dependants and the risk of inheritance tax being charged on the benefit.
?Can waiver of premium benefit be included in your plan. This is a valuable extra which, if you become too ill to work for a number of months, will ensure your cover continues without you having to pay the premiums.
?A valuable feature of some policies is counselling for your family if you die?

Claims History
No matter how good the policy it will all be for nothing if your insurer is difficult or obstructive if you should have to make a claim.The industry pays out over £166 million a day in pension and life insurance claims and all insurers have procedures in place to process claims on their policies.

Before taking out a policy it is advisable to contact your prospective insurer and ask about their claims history. Note their willingness to provide this information and the attitude promoted by their response. Do they look for reasons to pay claims or excuses to avoid them?

Financial Strength
When selecting or evaluating a UK life insurance company, a logical place to begin is by reviewing the ratings given by major insurance company rating services such as Standard & Poors and AM Best. In a rating, the rating company or agency expresses its opinion of the life insurance companies financial condition.

Copyright © UK Insurance Index http://www.uk-insurance-index.co.uk. All rights reserved.

Please feel free to publish this article online provided that the article and this copyright statement remain unchanged with live links.







Related News




FDIC approves bank fee increase for insurance fund - BusinessWeek

TopNews

FDIC approves bank fee increase for insurance fund
BusinessWeek -5 hours ago
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair made the proposal -- which will raise the average insurance premiums paid by banks and thrifts to 13.5 ...
FDIC Proposes Doubling Fees to Boost Insurance Fund (Update3)Bloomberg
FDIC chair seeks higher bank fees to boost deposit insurance fund ...International Herald Tribune
Ahead of the Bell: FDIC mulls bank insurance feesForbes
Los Angeles Times - Wall Street Journal Blogs
all 1,357 news articles

Gina Russo Opens Trenchant Insurance in Las Vegas - MarketWatch

Gina Russo Opens Trenchant Insurance in Las Vegas
MarketWatch -9 hours ago
LAS VEGAS, Oct 07, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Gina Russo opened the Trenchant Insurance Company at 8778 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite 105 in Las Vegas. ...

Singapore Insurance Report Q3 2008 Is Available Now - MarketWatch

Singapore Insurance Report Q3 2008 Is Available Now
MarketWatch -7 hours ago
Our Singapore Insurance Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Singapore's insurance industry. In Q308, the key change is ...
Research and Markets: Slovenia Insurance Report Q3 2008 - In 2007 ...MarketWatch
all 36 news articles

Insurance Professionals See Investor Confidence of Retirement ... - MarketWatch

Insurance Professionals See Investor Confidence of Retirement ...
MarketWatch -8 hours ago
The survey of more than 300 insurance industry professionals was conducted via instant electronic polling. Chief among the survey findings are: "A central ...

Bailout measure gives parity to mental health insurance coverage - Kansas City Star

The Money Times

Bailout measure gives parity to mental health insurance coverage
Kansas City Star, MO -19 hours ago
Tucked inside the lengthy legislation is a requirement that insurance plans provide coverage for mental illnesses and addiction disorders equal to what they ...
Bailout may bring relief for parents of mentally ill kidsRocky Mountain News
US Insurers Told to Cover Mental Health EquallyOneWorld.net
New bill mandates better insurance coverageTimes-Journal
MinnPost.com - Dayton Daily News
all 871 news articles

Insurance Exchange Is a Good Idea - New York Times

Voice of America

Insurance Exchange Is a Good Idea
New York Times, United States -3 hours ago
By Ezekiel Emanuel In this installment of Health Care Watch, Stuart M. Butler and Ezekiel Emanuel talk about what the candidates are saying about insurance...
Editors: Healthy Line of AttackNational Review Online
National panelists debate health careBizjournals.com
Two Ways to Extend Health InsuranceKiplinger.com
Dallas Morning News - Wall Street Journal
all 1,409 news articles

SeaBright Insurance Holdings to Release 2008 Third Quarter Results ... - WELT ONLINE

SeaBright Insurance Holdings to Release 2008 Third Quarter Results ...
WELT ONLINE, Germany -2 hours ago
SeaBright Insurance Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEAB) announced today that it plans to release financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2008, ...

Narragansett Bay Insurance Company Succeeds to Adirondack ... - MarketWatch

Narragansett Bay Insurance Company Succeeds to Adirondack ...
MarketWatch -9 hours ago
PAWTUCKET, RI, Oct 07, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Narragansett Bay Insurance Company announced that it has entered into a renewal rights agreement with ...
Renewal Rights Agreement Bolsters Narragansett Bay in New YorkInsurance Journal
all 8 news articles

CORRECTED: Insurance chief says AIG bailout was unavoidable - Reuters

Boston Globe

CORRECTED: Insurance chief says AIG bailout was unavoidable
Reuters -21 hours ago
N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after a dramatic investor crisis left the giant insurer starved for cash, New York insurance chief Eric Dinallo ...
Crisis strengthens Manulife's hand in AIG bidGlobe and Mail
HSBC Life Launches Online Insurance Sales In TaiwanEasyBourse.com
Insurance giant granted lifelineThe Press Association
Royal Gazette - Belfast Telegraph
all 972 news articles

Group still owns Fortis Insurance - Malaysia Star

The Associated Press

Group still owns Fortis Insurance
Malaysia Star, Malaysia -Oct 6, 2008
PETALING JAYA: Fortis Group has confirmed its continued ownership of 100% participation in Fortis Insurance International NV, following the recent ...
Ping An to post huge losses due to investment in FortisPress Trust of India
China's Ping An Insurance to book 15.7 bln yuan loss from Fortis ...Forbes
Ping An may lose 2b yuan on Fortis investmentChina Daily
Financial Times - The Associated Press
all 194 news articles