Sunday, October 28, 2007

Find Life Insurance Online: Preparing to Request a Quote

You are now in the third step of your quest for affordable life insurance. By now you should have decided whether you want a term life insurance policy or a whole life policy or a combination of both.

You should also have determined the amount of coverage that you will need to properly cover your situation. Now you are ready to start getting quotes to find out more specifically what your options are.

The first thing you should do is get together all of the information you will need to answer all the questions so that you can get an accurate quote. Some of the information you need will be obvious; your name, gender and age are the standard information to start a quote. Most companies will also want contact information; phone number and address.

In most cases they will also request some information that might not seem so obvious if this is your first time requesting a life insurance quote. In many cases they will also request your height and weight. With this information they will calculate your Body Mass Index and if this number is outside of what is considered the norm you may find that you have to pay a higher premium. The reason for this is that it has been medically proven that overweight people have a statistically higher rate of many disorders that increase the risk of an early death.

You will be asked if you smoke, and frequently how often and how much alcohol you drink. The reason for both of these questions should be obvious; it is a well-documented fact that cigarette smoking is a contributing factor in many life-threatening disorders. Excessive alcohol consumption is also well known to lead to some serious health complications.

You may also be questioned about your line of work. This can also affect your rate if you work in what is considered a high-risk industry. The insurance companies consider you to be at a higher risk of accidental death.

They may even enquire about your hobbies and activities. If you regularly participate in what are considered to be high-risk activities you might be looking at a higher premium. Some things that they may consider high-risk activities are: rock climbing, skydiving and hang gliding.

The next area that you can expect to answer a lot of questions about our past health issues. Don't think that just because you have not had any health issues that you are safe, they will also ask about your family health history at least two generations (grand parents) back.

They will want to know if you have suffered from seizures, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, liver dysfunction just to name a few. They will also need to know your family health history for many of the same disorders. You will be asked about any major surgeries, including when they happened and what they were for.

If you personal or family health history could be an issue or if you participate in activities that are considered risky you might be tempted to be less than truthful on your application. Resist the temptation; any failure to honestly disclose your health history and life style could put your pay out at risk when your family needs to collect. You could end up leaving your family completely unprotected if you are not honest on your application.

Get your information together and be sure that you have the answers to all the most common questions and then it is time to start finding a quote.

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