What Should You Expect When Applying for Life Insurance?

Life insurance may seem complex with an overwhelming number of options, but understanding how it works will save you from headaches later.

First off, there are two major types of life insurance: Term Life Insurance covers for a specified period of time whereas Permanent Insurance provides coverage throughout your lifetime. When determining what type best suits your needs, weigh up the fact that Term Insurance tends to be cheaper than Permanent Insurance but has shorter coverage periods (often between 10-30 years).

Now that you’ve chosen one type over the other and know how long you can be covered for, it’s important to understand how much coverage you need. You should ideally work out this figure based on many different factors such as the age of any dependents or spouses who rely on your income or even assets and liabilities – speak with an expert broker if necessary!

The Life Insurance Application Process

When getting life insurance, you might need to list down a few simple pieces of information about yourself like name, address, employer, and so on. You will also be asked for personal details such as:

• your height,
• weight
• lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking, etc.
• financial liabilities (if any)
• date of birth, and more

so that they can determine your coverage amount based on those numbers alone.

But don’t think that lying here won’t affect anything – if found out during application or after purchase, the company could reject your beneficiary’s claim at the time of death or even cancel the policy outright!

There are some insurance companies who allow you to provide just minimal info on their questionnaires. Others may require additional review by medical professionals.

At the time of the medical examination, the para-medic is likely to do these things:

• Take note of prescriptions you’re taking or any past surgeries.
• Inquire about family members’ general wellness status.
• Notice blood pressure and pulse rates.
• Measure height and weight.
• Get a urine and blood sample.
• Ask you about your lifestyle choices that may affect your health including things like smoking, drinking, or any recreational drug use.

If necessary, they’ll administer a slew of various medical tests; including but not limited to an X-Ray, treadmill test, and likewise. This is wholly dependent on your age and the type of policy you are looking for.

Once they’re finished doing all that, a team from the insurance company is going to review everything with utmost care. Once the review is complete, the life insurance company takes the final decision on your coverage amount.

What can you do to bring your life insurance premium down?

There’s no doubt that some things like your family’s medical history as well as your age are not under your control, but there are still quite a few things you can do to save on your life insurance premium.

• Quit smoking: Smokers will have to pay a higher rate than someone who doesn’t smoke. Plus, if you quit, it could lead to longer, healthier years ahead.
• Lose some weight (if required): Being overweight plays a big part in health issues like diabetes and high blood pressure – yet it’s something that is controllable if you take healthy lifestyle decisions. Reducing your weight will reduce your chances of getting these diseases and will also decrease your life insurance premium.
• Reduce alcohol intake: Drinking too much impacts your liver as well as your general health. Life Insurance companies can delve deep into your driving records and your medical reports to understand your drinking habits. By cutting on your alcohol intake, you can reduce your premium as well as improve your health significantly.
• Paying all at once instead of monthly payments: Do you know you may get a discount on your premium if you choose to pay the full amount yearly rather than paying monthly?

Get in touch with our life insurance advisors for any query you have on life insurance in Hamilton, Brampton, Mississauga, and Toronto

With all the life insurance options available out there, the process can get a bit too overwhelming. Get in touch with our advisors who can make the entire process easy for you.

Our life insurance advisors will assess your situation, budget, and needs, and come up with the best possible customized plan for you at no additional cost. You are assured to get the highest value for your money – that’s a guarantee, not a possibility!