Being your own boss has both an upside and a downside. On the one hand, you have more control over your schedule, your job responsibilities, and your work-life balance. However, being self-employed also means you’ll have to pay for your health and life insurance costs.
As a self-employed entrepreneur, you don’t have the convenience and cost-saving benefits of a group life insurance policy through an employer. Therefore, saving money on life insurance becomes more important. However, by adhering to a healthy lifestyle, even the self-employed can save money on life insurance.
Do You Really Need Life Insurance?
Anyone on whom someone else depends financially needs life insurance. This includes married couples, parents of small children, employers, and others. Life insurance is important in these cases because your life insurance policy will help to shield your dependents from financial loss in the case of your demise.
One holdup that people often have is that they feel it’s a waste if the policy is never exercised (weird, huh?). However, there are instances when it makes sense to benefit from a policy while you are still alive. Consider the medical bills that a seriously ill person can rack up in the final years of their life. This leaves a lot of burden and medical debt with the relatives. If you sell your life insurance policy to a third party, you can take advantage of the money while you are still alive and prevent the buildup of that debt.
Choose the Appropriate Category and Type of Life Insurance
One category of life insurance is called term life. This category of life insurance is based on the probability that the insured person will die within a predetermined number of years. You can purchase term life insurance for terms of 10, 20, or 30 years, in most cases. Term life insurance costs less than other kinds of life insurance. Therefore, by purchasing a term life policy, you can reduce your life insurance costs.
The other broad category of life insurance, on the other hand, includes a variety of alternatives. These include permanent life, whole life, variable life, and universal life. Each of these alternatives offer more benefits for your survivors, but each will be more expensive to purchase than a term life policy.
You Can Reduce Your Life Insurance Costs
Some tips for reducing life insurance costs are widely known. For example, according to a recent Health I.Q. survey, 82 percent of people understand the importance of locking in their insurance premiums while they’re still young. Naturally, you can find better rates at age 25 than you can at age 65.
However, did you know you can find other ways to lower the cost of life insurance? This is true even if you have a chronic medical condition. For example, if you can manage your condition through lifestyle changes and medication, you can often benefit from lower rates on life insurance policies.
Review Your Policy and Make Changes as Necessary
Make a point of reviewing your life insurance policy each year. You want to make sure that it still meets your needs. Better yet, take Health I.Q.’s quiz about reducing your life insurance costs.
Perhaps you realize your current policy is not the best policy for you. Or maybe you just want to look at another option. In either case, explore the in-depth life insurance FAQs on HealthIQ.com.
Health I.Q. is the only life insurance agency that offers special rates for health-conscious individuals based on health knowledge, active lifestyles, and healthy diets. Take advantage of Health I.Q.’s FAQs and quizzes to help you determine your life insurance needs. Armed with the proper knowledge, you can reduce your life insurance costs.
