| Your Health And Life Insurance Rates |
One of the best ways to keep life insurance rates affordable is to keep yourself healthy.
Good health is a reward in itself, and insurers also give those who maintain a normal weight, don't smoke and get regular checkups with lower premiums. If you're in good health, you still can get insurers' preferred rates in your thirties and forties
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Many health factors affect the cost of your life insurance premiums, including: |
| Your Weight |
Health conditions and excess weight go together, so insurers take your weight into consideration when setting rates.
Rates for excess poundage vary from company to company, and it's possible to check online to see the weight ranges each company sets. You could qualify for one company's lower premiums over another based on their weight charts.
If you have diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or any other treatable health condition, take steps to get it under control before buying insurance. Doing so will improve your health and your premium costs. |
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| Your Age and Gender
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| Women generally pay less for life insurance because their life expectancy is longer. All can receive lower rates for buying life insurance at a young age.
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| Smoking |
| A 40-year-old smoker should expect to pay about three times more for life insurance than a non-smoker. However, even smokers can get the preferred rate of a non-smoker by being smoke-free for three or five years. Stopping smoking for 1+ years drives your premium down in all cases.
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| Family History |
Insurers will ask you whether there is a history of heart disease, cancer or diabetes in your family among other things.
Because insurers have proprietary standards, you may find an insurer who will offer a better deal - even if there was an early heart disease death in the family.
Again: It pays to have insurers show you their rates for a side-by-side comparison, so request a quote now.
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