August 2008
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Average savings: $110
Life-insurance premiums have dropped so dramatically since the 1990s, it will probably pay for you to replace a policy bought years ago with a comparable one. A $500,000, 20-year guaranteed level term policy from Prudential, for example, would have cost a healthy, nonsmoking, 50-year-old man about $2,125 a year in 1998, according to Accuquote.com. Today the same guy, now 60, could pay Prudential $1,385 a year for the same coverage over the next 10 years. Savings: $60 per month.
Another option at any age: Adopt a healthier lifestyle and get re-rated for a lower premium. For example, a 40-year-old man with a $1 million, 20-year term policy could save $50 a month by cutting his cholesterol by 30 points; $65 a month if he dropped 50 pounds to reach normal weight; and $165 a month three years after he quit smoking.
How to do it. Get a physical checkup and follow your doctor's advice for shaping up before applying for a new policy. You can get premium quotes at AccuQuote and LifeInsure.com. Don't cancel your existing policy until you have a new one already in place.
