4 Ways to Make Buying Your First Life Insurance Policy Easier

Don't make buying life insurance more complicated than it needs to be.

Buying life insurance isn't a fun experience for most consumers. Not only does purchasing a policy mean thinking about an untimely death occurring, but the process of actually getting covered can also be complicated and time consuming.

The good news is, there are ways to make buying a life insurance policy easier. In fact, following these four tips can simplify the steps involved in getting covered and help consumers maximize their chances of buying the best insurance at the fairest price.

1. Shop for coverage when young and healthy

The single best way to make purchasing life insurance easier is to buy a policy while still young and healthy.

This greatly simplifies the process of getting covered since insurers review medical history when determining whether to approve an application. Those with pre-existing conditions may have fewer choices of insurers, or may be relegated to guaranteed issue coverage that is costly and offers only a limited death benefit.

But if a policy is purchased at a young age before any medical issues have had a chance to develop, the widest choice of insurers will be available and it will be easy to get approved for a policy with low premiums from an insurer with a solid reputation for good customer service.

2. Get insurance quotes online

The price of life insurance can vary from company to company and it makes sense to try to pay the lowest premiums possible while still getting the necessary coverage. That means consumers need to get multiple quotes from different insurers before buying.

This can be a hassle, but it's easy to simplify the process by getting insurance quotes online. Many life insurance companies will provide an estimated premium price based on a few quick answers to questions about age, health issues, and desired death benefit. By getting quotes from several insurers, consumers can decide which ones to move forward with submitting a formal application to.

Doing this process online is a major time saver compared with contacting insurers directly to submit applications in person.

3. Know upfront how much coverage you need

To effectively shop around for insurance coverage, consumers need to know how large their death benefit must be. Knowing this is also important to avoid overpaying for coverage by getting more protection than needed.

There are a few different ways to estimate coverage needs, but one of the simplest approaches is called the DIME method. Consumers using the DIME method will buy enough insurance to repay their debts, replace their income for as many years as their loved ones would rely on it, repay their mortgage, and pay for their children's education.

The DIME method greatly simplifies the process of deciding how much coverage is needed.

4. Consider an insurer that simplifies the application process

Finally, consumers looking for the fastest and easiest approach to getting covered may wish to look into insurers that use algorithms and publicly available information to set premiums rather than relying on a medical exam.

This is different from the guaranteed issue coverage mentioned above. Several newer insurance companies on the market simply use this alternative process of setting premiums and approving coverage, but still offer standard term life insurance at an affordable price with death benefits that can provide for loved ones appropriately.

By following these four steps, consumers can streamline the life insurance buying experience and make protecting their surviving dependents a much simpler process.