How to Combat Rising Life Insurance Premiums

July 18, 2023 | By Adam Lippman

How to Combat Rising Life Insurance Premiums

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Have you noticed your life insurance policy premium has recently increased? Many policyholders are experiencing rising insurance premiums, making it more difficult to afford comprehensive coverage. The initial cost of life insurance depends on factors like age, health, sex, risk factors, and policy type. Many of these factors can also contribute to increasing premiums. Depending on the state of the economy, your premium may increase significantly in a short period. Paying high premiums for any type of insurance is less than ideal. Luckily, life insurance policyholders have options.

Learn why your life insurance premium may have increased and discover how to combat rising life insurance premiums.

Why Are Life Insurance Premiums Rising?

Depending on your policy, life insurance premiums may increase for several reasons. Life insurance premiums inherently cost more with older age and poor health conditions, especially when buying a new policy. For example, a 60-year-old would pay higher premiums than a 25-year-old because they are at a higher risk to insure, and the insurance provider is more likely to have to pay out the death benefit. The same is true of policyholders with poor health conditions.

As such, your life insurance premiums can rise as you age and your health declines. While these factors are natural, you become riskier to insure, so providers raise your rates.

Life insurance premiums increasing can also result from changes in the economy. For example, recent inflation and increased interest rates have significantly impacted many insurance policy premiums, including life insurance. While stable inflation over time is common and much less noticeable, sudden increases can make it more difficult to afford your life insurance premiums.

Some types of life insurance policies are more likely to see premium increases, especially those without fixed rates. These policies will be more affected by factors like inflation. Your policy’s length can also affect how much your premium increases. For example, term life insurance premiums remain the same over the term, though they can increase dramatically if you renew your policy after the term ends. You are older, and your health may have declined since originally buying the policy, so the premium will likely be more.

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What to Do If Your Life Insurance Premiums Are Rising

Whether your life insurance premium becomes too much to afford or you simply want to avoid paying the increased rate, you have some options. Here are a few potential ways to decrease life insurance premiums:

What to Do If Your Life Insurance Premiums Are Rising

  • Shop for new policies: Shopping for a cheaper policy is a common way for policyholders to keep life insurance coverage at a lower rate. You could switch to a different life insurance type with your current provider, or search for an entirely new life insurance provider to find the same coverage at a lower premium.
  • Drop your policy altogether: Depending on your situation, you could drop your policy without getting a new one. While this would eliminate the need to make payments, you want to ensure your loved ones are cared for financially before completely dropping your life insurance policy. 
  • Convert your policy: Some term policies are convertible to whole life policies. While your premium may be a little more for whole coverage, it can be worth the price increase to have coverage for the rest of your life rather than just a set term.
  • Sell your life insurance policy: You also have the option to sell your life insurance policy, which is called a Life Settlement. This is a great option if you need access to the cash value of your death benefit or have outlived your retirement savings.
  • Reduce your policy size: Most life insurance policies can be reduced.  While the premiums will still be relatively the same, the amount of money you spend will be less because you will have less insurance.

Talk to an insurance agent to discuss your policy and viable options for your financial situation. They can help you look for new policies and make the most informed decision.

How Much Can You Get for a Life Settlement?

Life insurance policies are your personal property, giving you the right to sell them as needed. Life Settlements are ideal for life insurance policyholders who experience life changes and prefer to have the money to spend as they please. For example, you may have recently paid off your mortgage or got divorced and want to have spending money. So, how much could you get in a Life Settlement?

Your Life Settlement payout typically depends on how big your policy’s death benefit is. The death benefit is the amount of money that would have been paid out by the insurance provider to your beneficiaries. Life Settlement providers typically pay out a percentage of your policy’s death benefit.

They will consider your life expectancy and how much your premium costs since they will make the remainder of your payments. These factors can affect how much you get for a Life Settlement. For example, you are more likely to get a bigger payout if your life expectancy is shorter. Sales can range from 10% to 75% of a policy’s death benefit. The sale also depends on the Life Settlement provider you work with — some are more willing to help you get bigger payouts.

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Do I Qualify for a Life Settlement?

Unfortunately, not every life insurance policy can be sold in a Life Settlement. To qualify to sell your life insurance policy, you must meet certain criteria. For a Life Settlement, you must:

  • Have a life insurance policy that is eligible for settlement.
  • Be 65 years old or older, or younger with a life-threatening disease.
  • Have a death benefit of $100,000 or more.

Some states have additional eligibility requirements that you may need to meet before qualifying for a Life Settlement. For example, some states require that policyholders pay their premiums for a specific number of years before being eligible for a Life Settlement.

If you have a terminal illness or life expectancy of less than four years, you may qualify for a Viatical Settlement rather than a Life Settlement. While similar to Life Settlements in that life insurance policies get paid out, Viatical Settlements help terminally ill policyholders pay for healthcare costs and make other options more accessible to them.

Get the Most for Your Life Insurance Policy With Settlement Benefits Association

 

Get the Most for Your Life Insurance Policy With Settlement Benefits Association

Regardless of why you are selling your life insurance policy, you deserve to get the most value out of it as possible. At Settlement Benefits Association, we are dedicated to helping you maximize your life insurance policy’s value. We will help you determine the value of your policy and find a buyer with the highest offer to ensure you get the most for your Life Settlement. Find out if you qualify for a Life Settlement and contact us for more information and to get started today.

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