Help! Why did my life insurance increase?

Did your latest insurance bill come as an unwelcome surprise? Life insurance is less expensive than most people think, but you still don’t want to pay more than you have to. It’s all about protecting your family, and that should start with getting the best rate you can.

While it’s uncommon for your rate to increase once you’ve bought your life insurance policy, it can happen in certain situations. Here’s what to know, the factors that can affect your premiums, and what to do.

Why did my life insurance rates rise?

Wondering what affects your life insurance rates? The price you pay for life insurance is set when you first buy your policy, based on your health, your age, and other factors. Most term and permanent life insurance policies have level premiums, which means that payments will stay the same for the entire time you have the policy. In certain cases, though, your rate can go up over time. If you’re not sure why your life insurance premium is so high, there could be a few reasons:

• Your policy doesn’t have level premiums. With increasing term life insurance, the benefit increases over time and payments often do, too. You may also see premium increases with universal life insurance, which features premiums that you may adjust up or down over time. If you choose to pay a low amount, then your premiums may need to increase over time to meet minimums required by your policy.
• You converted your policy. Some term life insurance policies will allow you to convert to whole life insurance, which lasts your entire life and builds cash value. Permanent or whole life policies are typically more expensive than term life, which is why your life insurance premium might go up.
• You renewed your term policy. Once your term life policy ends, many insurers will allow you to renew annual premiums year after year, even into your 90s. The catch is that your rate will be based on your current age, which means that your prices will probably increase dramatically.

What to do if your rates rise

Not sure what to do about your rate increase? Here’s where to start:

• Contact your insurance company. They can help you read the fine print and understand why the rate hike happened (and make any corrections if the rate went up in error).
• Consider your options. If your life insurance rate went up when you renewed your policy, you have choices. If you are still healthy and need protection, you might want to buy a new term or permanent life insurance policy. If you have health issues, you might be better off sticking with what you have. eFinancial is here to help you sort things out.

Still have questions or want more information about life insurance?

That’s what we’re here for. eFinancial works with top-rated life insurance companies to help you find the right coverage for you and your family. Call us or start your quote online today.

 

At eFinancial, our goal is to make life insurance simple, affordable, and understandable for everyday families. This content is intended for educational purposes only. Each post is carefully fact-checked, reviewed and updated regularly to ensure the information is as relevant as possible.