Unless you have studied the way that life insurance works, you will in all likelihood over pay premiums for a policy. There are a lot of moving parts to underwriting and quoting life insurance. First on the list, life insurance agent’s services are FREE. We are paid by the insurance carriers a commission. In most cases, we can find great products from A+ Rated insurance companies at a better price and value that what a consumer will find online. Why you may ask? There are several carriers that do not have huge marketing budgets because they only market through insurance brokers. Therefore, they do not have the big marketing budgets of some of the more well-known insurance companies. Those savings reflect to cheaper premiums to the consumer.

The second reason is underwriting concerns. A life insurance broker is especially helpful if there are underwriting issues a consumer might not realize is a problem. There are a lot of factors that can cause rate ups or even declines from buying life insurance. Some examples can be overweight, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, prescription drug use, driving records and even occupations. The experienced life insurance broker can use case managers and underwriters to determine which product and insurance company to apply for at the best rate. Thus avoiding an unnecessary decline, that can haunt you for years every time you try to purchase life insurance. Your age, build, state of residence, occupation, policy type, health history and lifestyle all play a factor in determining premium.

The last reason you don’t want to buy life insurance online is rating factors. Each life insurance policy sold has 14 different levels of rates. They can range from “Best Preferred” which is for super healthy clients, to Standard rates which includes over 65% of buyers, to “Table Rating” which can increase premiums multiple times over. Most life insurance online quotes give the preferred rating knowing less than 8% of buyers qualify for that rate. When the policy is finished in underwriting, the rate comes back standard which is double the quoted rate. You just overpaid because you decided not to use a life insurance agent, which again is free.

When you look at buying life insurance online with hundreds of life insurance carriers, offering scores of plans times 14 rating classes, the odds are not in your favor of buying the best life insurance coverage at the best rate for your unique situation. Call a broker today!

“Caveat Emptor, Buyer beware”– Latin Proverb

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, grandfather of 2, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, employee benefit specialist, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger, author and team leader with over 30 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.