Tips to Lower Your Insurance Costs

by

Finance

Published on: 05 July 2017 Last Updated on: 29 July 2024
Tips to Lower Your Insurance Costs

Investing in life insurance can be an intimidating thought. It is safe to say that the younger and healthier you are, the lower your insurance costs will be. This is because a healthy person has a lower risk of dying as compared to a person with an unhealthy lifestyle. Hence, if you are thinking about life insurance here are a few tips that could help lower the cost of your insurance.

   Stop Smoking

A smoker has to pay a much insurance premium as compared to a non-smoker of the same age. In some cases, this can be as high as triple the premium. So, if you smoke or use any other tobacco-based products, now is the time to quit. You will be considered a non-smoker after you have quit smoking for at least 3 to 5 years.

   Lose some Weight

A number of health issues are caused by being overweight. Hence, insurance companies consider obese or heavy people a high risk and hence charge them a higher premium. Maintaining a healthy BMI can help you live a longer, healthier life by reducing your risk of heart diseases, blood pressure problems, etc.

   Schedule an Early Physical

A thorough medical examination is one of the prerequisites of most life insurance policies. Try and schedule this exam in the early part of the day or on a day when you are relaxed and well-rested. This is because studies show that testing for blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. have lower results in the morning as compared to in the latter half of the day after you have had a stressful day or eaten a heavy lunch.  Fasting for 24 hours before your physical could also help lower your cholesterol count.

   Be Honest

If you suffer from a preexisting condition it may be tempting to try and hide this information from your insurance agency. However, doing this could cause you a lot of trouble. In most cases, the insurance company will recognize your health condition during the review of your medical history and medical exam. Since you did not disclose this condition, you will then not have an opportunity to explain the situation.

   Drive Carefully

Along with your health records, an insurance agent might also ask for your driving record. While this may seem unconnected, it is not. According to many insurance agencies, a driver who frequently breaks traffic rules is likely to put himself or herself in a dangerous situation and hence is considered high risk. So, if you have more than the occasional ticket to your name, it may be wise to wait a few years before applying for insurance and drive more carefully in the meantime.

   Keep an Eye on Insurance rates

Like everything else, insurance policy rates also change from time to time. Thus, even if you have already bought a life insurance policy, it is important to review and compare policies every few years. Affordable Life USA has great rates on life insurance. Along with comparing quotes, you should also update your policy from time to time to reflect the changes in your personal situation.

Credit score

PREVIOUS POST

5 Smart Ways to Boost your Credit Score
file insurance

NEXT POST

How to Get Low Cost Life Insurance for Seniors
author-img

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Popular

Creating A Startup Idea

Technologies For Creating A Startup Idea

20 Feb 2023

How to Download Facebook Videos

How to Download Facebook Videos on Android?

07 Feb 2019

Ecommerce Web Design

7 Rules of Effective Ecommerce Web Design

28 Jan 2021

wordpress-1863504_960_720 edited

The 10 WordPress Plugins Every Sucessful Blogger Uses

28 Jan 2017

Follow Us

Recent

Wine Bottle Design

The Craft Of Wine Bottle Design: All That You Need To Know

25 Oct 2025

Dual Citizenship

Caribbean CBI and Does India Allow Dual Citizenship?

09 Oct 2025

Self-Driving Cars

Self-Driving Cars And Pedestrian Safety: Who’s Responsible When Tech Fails?

07 Oct 2025

Ryan McCorvie global perspective

Ryan McCorvie on Helping Kids Develop a Global Perspective

02 Oct 2025

Related

Identify Theft
Finance

Discovering And Recovering From Identify Theft

Identify Theft is not a big problem if you have the right gadget with you. It is a real problem that affects millions of Americans every year. And, the number of victims keeps growing. According to Javelin Strategy And Research, over 16 million cases of identity theft were reported in 2017 resulting in over $16 billion in stolen money. Different Ways You Can Identify Theft For Your Betterment     There are multiple ways you can identify  theft for your betterment. Make things easier for yourself to enjoy the day. Work out the plans that can help you to achieve your goals. Identity Theft Explained: Stated by a credit repair company in San Antonio, when your personal and sometimes sensitive information is stolen from you and then used to open accounts in your name, you become a victim of identity theft. Stolen information includes your name, social security number, credit card numbers, bank account information, and other financial data. Your information can be taken via discarded mail, email scams, attacks on financial institution databases, or through any other company that stores a list of sensitive consumer data, for that matter. Thieves may start off with just a couple of pieces of information about you. They use this information to access further data that are key in opening accounts in your name and racking up debt. The Impact Of Identity Theft On Your Credit Score: Simply put, the longer identity theft continues the more it ravages your credit. If you have not put an identity theft monitoring mechanism in place, months may pass before you realized someone has been using your identity. You may not notice until the day you apply for a loan and are surprisingly turned down. Discover the victim before you identify theft. Identity thieves have no interest in protecting your credit. They’ll use your identity as long as they can to spend money until your score is so negatively affected no more lines of credit can be opened in your name. This means, depending on the condition of your credit when your identity was stolen, thousands upon thousands of dollars of debt can accrue before you ever realize your identity has been stolen. Then, your score will plummet from too much debt and have to start rebuilding your credit score. Recovering From Identity Theft: Once you discover you’ve been a victim of identity theft, you must contact all the financial institutions affected such as credit card companies, banks, and other lenders. Report the incident with them, and they’ll help you begin the process of filing your claim and freeze all fraudulent accounts. You need to identify the theft that can work well for you. Next, you’ll need to have new cards issued for any existing accounts you had before identity theft took its toll on your credit. Next, put a freeze on all future lending with a fraud alert. Instituting fraud alert mechanisms will tell lenders to take extra precautions before granting a new line of credit in your name for the next 90 days. Protecting Your Credit: The best way to ensure you don’t become a victim of identity theft is to use a credit monitoring service. These services often come as a no-cost benefit offered by many existing lenders. Credit monitoring will alert you any time there is a change in your credit score. It will also let you take a peek at your credit any time you need to check in on it. You can also protect yourself by using unique, strong passwords at each of the financial websites you have credit lines with. Never click on emails asking for personal information from you. Shred all financial documents, and never give out passwords on the phone. Read Also: Debt Consolidation Plans For Your Debt Relief How To Stay Safe When Making Mobile Payments How To Start A Blog Without Breaking A Bank? The Best Strategies For Retirement Funds Distribution What Are The Types Of Debt That Can Be Discharged In Bankruptcy? How To Check Someone Out Online: 5 Tips On Finding Out Someone’s Personal History

READ MOREDetails
gold bullion
Finance

2 Reasons to Invest in GoldBullion Even If You’ve Never Invested in an Asset Before 

Why should you consider investing in gold bullion even if you’ve never invested in an asset before? Gold bullion is a potentially valuable investment option for beginning investors looking to build a financial portfolio that can minimize risk and maximize potential returns. Gold has a better portfolio weight than many other asset classes, and it’s also more affordable than other assets. (Silver bullion is even more affordable.)You don’t need to be rich to invest in gold bullion, nor do you have to invest in a lot of gold bullion for your investment to pay off in the short and long term. Here are two reasons beginning investors may want to invest in gold bullion. What Is A Gold Bullion? First off, though, let’s define gold bullion. Gold bullion refers to gold bars, ingots, and coins officially recognized as being made of at least 99.5% pure gold. Gold bullion is kept as reserves at banks, governments, and institutional investors. The standard size of gold bullion bars and coins is 1oz. In North America, you can use bullion coins as legal tender. In Canada, sales tax doesn’t apply to gold bullion, and gold bullion can be included in RRSPs and other tax-deferred income plans. Some Canadian companies permit Canadians to include gold bullion in their retirement portfolios. How To Buy and Selling Gold Bullion? There are many reasons to consider buying and later selling gold in Toronto and elsewhere. Two reasons are that gold bullion is considered:       A safe-haven asset       A hedge against inflation 2 Reasons Are Making The Gold Bullion A Perfect Investment You will hear millions of names and types of investments in the money market. But every investment has some risk factors. Unlike the other money investment types, Gold Bullion has multiple facilities, which makes this a safe asset. Here are the two reasons. Take a look at these and know the advantages of the gold bullion investment. 1st Reason to Invest in Gold Bullion: Gold is Considered a Safe-Haven Asset Gold bullion is a safe-haven-type asset. This is a specific type of asset that tends to increase or retain value over time. That gold is considered a safe-haven asset doesn’t mean investing in it is risk-free. No investment is risk-free. But gold tends to perform exceptionally well during times of economic uncertainty, like the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. In fact, during the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the price per ounce of gold surpassed USD 2,000 for the first time in history. Recently, the price of gold per ounce has been hovering around USD 1,800. 2nd Reason to Invest in Gold Bullion: Gold is Considered a Hedge Against Inflation An asset that hedges against inflation is an asset that can keep pace with or even surpass inflation. Investing in inflation hedges like gold bullion is a smart way to save money. During periods of inflation, gold tends to appreciate. If you were to put your money into a traditional savings account, your money would likely fall behind the rate of inflation over time. Consequently, the value of your money in the future would turn out to be less than the value of your money now. However, if you were to put your money in gold bullion, over time, your money might keep pace with or even surpass inflation, so that the value of your money in the future might turn out to be worth as much or even more than the value of your money now. The Bottom Line There are many reasons why beginning investors could benefit from investing in and buying and selling gold bullion. In addition to being a relatively affordable safe-haven asset and hedge against inflation, gold is considered a strategic asset. Also, gold bullion is easy to purchase. All you need to do is head over to your local gold bullion dealers (although to be sure, it’s always a good idea to try out a few options before settling on the one that will give you the best deal). Later, when you’re ready to sell your gold bullion, you can take it to a gold bullion dealer that buys gold bullion. Your goal when doing so is to sell your gold bullion as close to the spot price as possible. Read Also: Is Investment Bankers/Brokers/Service A Good Career Path In 2021? 5 Reasons Why Bitcoins Are Considered Reliable Investments 5 New Assets To Diversify Your Investments In 2021 Top 5 Investment Decisions You Need To Make In Your Thirties

READ MOREDetails
Retirement Funds
Finance

The Best Strategies for Retirement Funds Distribution

Now that you have done an impressive job of accumulating your retirement funds, the next step of figuring a strategic means of distributing those funds with minimal impact on the tax efficiency of the various retirement accounts. However, this is often the hardest part. It involves calculating your retirement resources in a way to determine a smart way to maximize your benefits. Although everyone reserves a unique situation at the point of retirement regarding financial circumstances, needs and goals, there are a couple of strategies that cut across the retirement funds distribution process when planning your strategy. Consider the following few approaches to get you on the right track: Different Ways You Can Make Use Of The Retirement Funds  There are multiple ways you can make use of the retirement funds to develop your financial planning for the future. Work out the strategy that can work well in your favor. Work out the best plans that can help you to lead a stable life in your fifties. 1. Do an inventory Before you can figure out a withdrawal strategy, you must fully understand the available retirement resources so you can exploit them optimally. An inventory will give you a clear picture of the records you need to consider, among them, pension, social security, health savings account, ownership or interests in a business, real estate, FSBO Businesses, among others. All these assets are significant, but you must analyze what it really means and how it can work for you. What this means is that some assets have an income stream, while others do not. For those with an income stream, determine when the income will start coming in, for example, pension. 2. Understand the rules for your retirement assets As enlisted above, the retirement assets differ, and in this case, in the kind of returns, you get. With some items, the benefits of the assets increase every year, up to a certain limit. Consider, for instance, a pension. While you may receive a pension as early as 55 years of age, waiting until 65 can maximize your benefits. Understanding the rules for the assets allows you to make a calculated projection of how the overall retirement resources can benefit you a long while. While some people still work part-time jobs after retirements, the needs of people differ, and depending on what your needs are, with some assets, the longer you wait, the better your results. Remember that the resources need to support a reasonable life expectancy and that each plan is usually different. 3. Strategize your withdrawals The biggest mistake, common among people, is the assumption that they know how much to withdrawal. Fundamentally, the values in your accounts and your age, determine how much you can withdraw. Taking out more funds than you are required to attracts more significant income tax, and if you are not careful in your bulky withdraws, you could easily sacrifice the potential future tax-deferred growth of those funds. While your needs could play a big role in influencing your withdrawals, you must be smart and strategic. For instance, since the government allows you to delay your retirement distributions until around age 70, then that means you have to wait a longer period of time translating to withdraw more money. 4. Use the calendar to your advantage: The time of the year you consider your withdrawals has an often unseen impact on your fund distribution. The idea is to cut down on income tax for your distributions. For example, if you take a distribution on 1st of April, you would need another before 31st December, which would require that you pay income tax on multiple distributions. 5. Consider all accounts In your strategy for retirement funds distribution, you must calculate the required minimum distribution (RMD) for each of the accounts. Considering all your retirement accounts allows you to analyze all the assets you have. Still, you do not have to withdrawal from all accounts. The idea is to ensure that all your withdrawals, whether from one or several accounts, is that the money you take out must meet the overall required distribution. If managing all your accounts gets too overwhelming, consider a Rollover IRA to help you with consolidating your retirement savings. 6. Avoid guesses and calculate Every year has a different economic environment from the previous. You can therefore not assume that your RMD withdrawal amount is the same every year. Depending on the value of your retirement accounts, the year, and your age, you should be able to calculate the changing RMD in comparison with your cash flow needs, so you can determine whether your withdrawals would be enough to meet the requirements. Overall, some of these strategies might be cumbersome and overwhelming for you, particularly with age, and multiple retirement accounts to consider. For this reason, as you consolidate on those strategies, employ some insights from a tax advisor to help you understand the processes. Read Also: How To Become Financially Stable Before Age 30 How To Protect Your Finances While In A Nursing Home

READ MOREDetails