If you’re the main breadwinner for your family then life insurance is a must. Saying that you’ve probably got much more pressing matters that require your money and so you’re going to want to reduce the cost of the premiums you pay by as much as possible while still getting the level of benefits you need. Below you’ll find a few tips that might help reduce the cost of your life insurance policy.

Stay Fit and Healthy
If you exercise regularly, eat a healthy balanced diet, give up smoking if you’re a smoker and refrain from heavy drinking then your insurance policy quote will generally be lower than if you do the exact opposite. This is because unhealthy people that drink and/or smoke are more likely to suffer from the big three killers – cancer, heart attack and stroke – and this means that your policy provider will have to pay out early in the case of ‘whole of life’ assurance or during the term in the case of Term assurance because you die.

Shop Around
There are plenty of life insurance providers to choose from and some will have different qualifying criteria to others. Research the market well or alternatively seek the advice of a professional advisor.

Choose the Right Type of Policy for You
In simple terms there are two types of life assurance – term assurance that pays out a lump sum if you die during an agreed period of time, and whole of life assurance that pays out a lump sum when you die, regardless of when that is. So if you’re young but have major financial commitments, such as a mortgage, then term assurance will be adequate as it covers you for the term of your mortgage and the premiums are much cheaper than whole of life assurance. Again you might want to ask for professional advice when choosing a policy.

Review your Policy Regularly and Check it Still Covers your Needs
If you’ve had your life assurance policy for a while then it might be worth checking to see if there are any better providers on the market. The products that life assurance providers offer change from year to year and so it’s likely that there’s a better one out there for you. You might also want to check that the cover you have still meets your financial needs. For example, if your policy was taken out to cover the cost of several loans and maybe your mortgage but you’ve now paid off the loans then you’ll now be paying too much and you can comfortably reduce the amount of your monthly premiums.

It’s important to remember though that the policy with the lowest premiums isn’t always the best for you and that saving a few pounds a month now could leave you with an inadequate pay out on your death…and this is probably one of the last things you want for your family.