Online life quotes. Cost of life insurance: Are you paying too much?,

You could spend as little as $2.93 per week.

We looked at three different age groups (30, 40 and 50) for people looking for cover amounts of $250,000 and $500,000 of life cover. Here's what we found: Life insurance cost.

The table below shows the weekly cost of life insurance for 30-year-old male and female applicants.

Prices shown in table are an average taken from the quote engine and are for non-smoking office worker. These prices should only be taken as a rough guide. Rates last checked on September 2017.

Cost of life insurance: Quick facts

As little as $2.93 per week. That's how much it costs to get life insurance for 30 year old male.

It's cheaper for females. Using the same details, a 40 year old female costs $2.76 per week vs $3.39 for a male (500,000 in cover)

Prices will change with personal circumstances. The cost depends on a variety of different factors including your age, smoking status and how much cover you obtain.

How does the cost of life insurance compare to some of your regular expenses?

Based on the cost of living in Sydney. Data sourced from Expatistan.com. Expatistan indexes and compares the cost of living around the world. The costs are based on over 3,000 prices entered by over 600 different people.

What affects the cost of life insurance?

There are several factors which insurers consider when determining how much you will pay for life insurance. These include:

Gender. Males and females are assessed differently by insurers, with females generally seen as lower risk than males.

Smoking status. If you are a smoker, you are seen as high risk and will pay more for your premiums. Some brands will reduce your premiums if you give up smoking for at least 12 months.

Occupation. What you do for a living can affect how much you pay for life insurance. If you are an underground miner for instance, you are considered to be in a high risk occupation.

Lifestyle. The things you do in your spare time can also have an influence on your risk rating. If you pursue risky pastimes such as rock climbing or driving fast cars, then your premiums may be higher.

Current medical condition. If a policy covers your medical condition they may increase your premium in some cases.

Cheap life insurance

Past medical history. Any pre-existing medical conditions you have or have had in the past can affect your premiums.

Amount and period of cover required. The greater the amount and the longer the period, the higher your premiums will be.

How is cost of life insurance affected by your age?

Cost is affected by your age both at the time you buy a policy (the older you are the higher your quoted) and over time e.g. as you get older the amount you pay monthly may increase. We analysed the monthly cost at the time of purchase for a life insurance policy with $500,000 in death cover and $200,000 in total and permanent disability insurance below.

Here's the cost breakdown

We calculated the average monthly costs based on life insurance policies in our quoting engine. The prices shown in tables are an estimate and were generated in July 2018.

What if I'm a smoker?

If you are a smoker, the monthly cost you'll be quoted increases and it also increases even more as you get older.

Here's the cost breakdown

We calculated the average monthly costs based on life insurance policies in our quoting engine. The prices shown in tables are an estimate and were generated in July 2018.

Six ways to cut down your life insurance costs

Premium structures: Stepped or level

When you taking out cover, you usually have a choice of stepped or level premiums. Which structure you choose will impact how much you pay.

Stepped premiums

Stepped premiums are premiums that are recalculated by the insurer yearly as you get older and your level of risk increases. Stepped premiums are more advantageous when you are younger, because they are cheaper than level premiums, but as you get older they will become more expensive (and more difficult to pay).

Level premiums

Level premiums are averaged out over the life of the policy so that you pay the same amount every time. Level premiums are less advantageous when you are younger as they are higher than stepped premiums, but as time goes by, they will become less burdensome as your income will also increase over time.

You should seek professional advice before committing to one or the other however, as their benefits will depend on your particular circumstances.

Should I reduce life insurance cover to get a better rate?

Not so fast. Research has determined that the majority of Australians are underinsured. The danger this poses with regard to life insurance is that, should you die prematurely, your family will not be protected financially and could lose everything you have worked for.

Instead, work out how much life insurance you actually need.

Life quotes

How much life insurance do you need?

Working out exactly how much life insurance you need is not an easy task. In order to determine your cover needs, you’ll need to take a number of factors into account:

If you're unable to work due to illness, injury or death how would your family cope with out your income? Make sure you life insurance policy is enough to replace your income for the foreseeable future.

If you have people that are financially dependent upon you, you need to take into account their ongoing expenses and think about how they'd be affected by the loss of your income.

Do you have a mortgage, car loan, credit card or other debts? Calculate the ongoing expenses your family will need to be able to pay in order to maintain their lifestyle?

Consider any assets you may have accumulated, for example shares, savings or investment properties. Do you want your family to live off these or would it be more prudent to provide them with enough cover so that they could keep these investments?

How to get life the right cover

The steps involved in taking out life insurance are similar to those you should employ when choosing any kind of insurance.

Determine how much cover you need and can afford, based on the amount your beneficiaries would require to maintain their lifestyle if you were gone.

Determine how long you will need cover for, factoring in likely changes to your assets and lifestyle in the future.

Compare policies and quotes online to determine which provides the best cover and best value for money.

Talk to an insurance adviser or consultant or approach an insurer directly if you are confident about your cover needs.

Myths about life insurance and the cost

Life insurance is too expensive. This is simply not true. This article contains plenty of tips on how to keep your premium costs to a minimum, and when you consider the importance of the financial protection that life insurance provides, it quickly becomes obvious that it is a very worthwhile investment.

It’s a waste of money. Life insurance is designed to protect those you love in times of need. How would your family cope if you were injured and unable to work? How would they keep up with mortgage repayments, credit card debts and other ongoing expenses? Life insurance is like a financial safety net for your loved ones, ensuring that they will be able to cope with whatever life throws at them.

Life insurance in

Applying for cover is a long and hard process. With the rise of direct life insurance, applying for cover is easier than ever before. Direct life insurance policies are designed to be simple and straightforward, allowing you to apply for cover and receive approval in a very short period of time. You’ll just have to answer a few questions about your health, while many companies will provide cover without even requiring you to undergo any medical tests.

Life insurance FAQs

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