Getting the most for your money

The New Year is a good time to get into the habit of shopping around to make sure you get the best deal, and buying insurance is no different.

Of course it should come as no surprise that the healthier your lifestyle, the less you will pay for life insurance and critical illness insurance, so you can save money by being healthier as part of getting the best deal. Below are some top tips of how to save when buying protection cover.

1) Start early and don’t put it off.

The total cost of cover can be lower when you take it out at a younger age, even if it means you are insured for many more years than if you take it out when you are older.

More than a third of people in the UK don’t have a financial safety net and many of us put off what could be the most important financial decision we ever make. A 30 year old looking for £100,000 of life and critical illness cover until retirement age will spend £5,000 less on premiums compared to someone who takes out the same cover when they are 50.

When it comes to insuring yourself against the financial impact of death or ill health there is a common feeling that it will happen to someone else and not you. It is only when the worst does happen that people see the devastating impact this has on family finances.

2) Have a budget and stick to it.

After all the Christmas presents have been unwrapped and wine quaffed your wallet or purse may have taken a battering. It’s important that you get as much cover as you can for the amount that you can afford.

Many people are unaware that you can request a quote for life cover, critical illness or income protection based on how much you can afford each month rather than how much cover you want to take out. This can help ensure that you don’t overspend.

To help manage the cost of protection insurance it is also possible to add different levels of cover into one plan, for instance, taking out £80,000 of life cover with £20,000 of critical illness cover in one policy, which gives you a discount versus taking them out separately.

If you look at our example of a 40 year old non smoker taking out life and critical illness cover until retirement age, they are quoted £43 a month for £100,000 of cover which is outside their budget of £20 a month. Instead of just opting for life insurance only to afford the premium, they could receive a quote driven by how much they can afford, and covering them for different sums assured for life and critical illness cover, dependent on their specific needs.

Example 1 – Premium driven.

£20 premium driven quote to age 65 for life and critical illness gives them cover of £37,972

Example 2 – Split cover.

By changing the amount of critical illness cover to £20,000 and the life cover to £80,000 this can be taken out for £19.74 per month. Cover works out fairly prorated so if the budget is doubled so too does the amount of cover you can get.

3) Lifestyle changes.

Everyone knows the health benefits that quitting smoking can bring, but an added bonus is the ability to save around 50% on your monthly life insurance premiums after just one year of being a non-smoker. If you stop smoking, lose weight or reduce the amount of alcohol you drink then it can have a huge impact on your life or critical illness premiums. If your lifestyle has improved it is a good idea to revisit your cover as you may be surprised at how much you can save every month.