Life Cover Becoming More Appealing

The average cost of life insurance has dropped to its lowest for 15 years, registering a 30 per cent low.

According to independent broker Lifesearch the time is right to take out this type of protection in order to take advantage of the bargain basement premium. Furthermore the low premiums can be trimmed further if you are prepared to switch to another provider.


Low
Also those who want cheaper premiums for their life insurance policies should get straight to the gym, work out, get healthy and watch the pennies as well as the pounds disappear into thin air.

New product called the PruProtect vitality programme has been introduced with the sole benefit of rewarding those who try to remain fit. Through this programme if the policyholder is able to maintain and prove they are keeping in good health, policy premiums could be locked at their new slim line price. A case of rewarding those who try their best to avoid the grim reaper at all costs. All these are advised in an attempt to get those without life insurance policies into the market.

Director of protection development at Pru, Kevin Carr, said: "As well as becoming more competitive, we are enhancing our proposition for consumers by allowing them to reduce their future premiums and keep them low."

Lifesearch's Matt Morris says: 'The old loading for obesity meant premiums jumped by up to 20 per cent. That is more like 50 per cent today and can in some cases be more. People are being loaded earlier and loaded higher. No single insurer will be cheapest for everyone.

Smoking
To further cut premiums Britons could also cut smoking. Figures have revealed that a 35-year-old male smoker would be charged 16.93 a month for 100,000 worth of life cover over 25 years while a non-smoker could get the same insurance for just 9.79 a month with the same insurer, saving 2,142 over the term.

Emma Walker, head of protection at moneysupermarket. com, says: "Once smokers have given up for 12 months, they should go back to their insurer and ask for non-smoker rates, subject to tests to prove they have quit. The difference in the cost of life insurance premiums for a smoker and a non-smoker is vast and there are considerable savings to be made simply by getting the best value deal to suit your circumstances."

In order to be classed as a non-smoker and qualify for lower premiums, insurers insist on smokers having packed it in for a full year.

Gary Lumby, head of retail at Yorkshire Bank, says: "It's all too easy for long-term smokers to forget just how expensive their habit actually is, but those smoking just 10 cigarettes a day could easily save almost 1,000 during the course of a year. By putting the money they'd normally spend on cigarettes in an Isa or high-interest savings account, smokers will soon see.

Lack of cover
This is encouraging for the industry following the revelation that many Britons do not take out relevant protection should the worse happen.

In research carried out by Barclays Financial Planning, it was revealed that some 45 per cent of middle aged Brits not have this form of insurance, overall this figure hits 52 per cent.

Alison Tattersall, head of customer and proposition for Barclays Financial Planning, said: "People must consider the financial consequences of what would happen if they were unable to work, or their dependents' situation if they died, it would be far worse than any concerns they currently have over struggling to meet their outgoings."

By: Darren Estwick

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