Financial needs change with change in one's life stage. Whether it's your marriage, children's education or retirement years, you need money to get through the various stages of life comfortably. Life insurance helps you meet these requirements and prepares you for unforeseen expenses. Insurance provides you with financial security that helps you take care of your loved one.

In order to reap the benefits that insurance has to offer, you must factor in insurance early in life.

When it comes to insurance, be an early bird

Ideally, it makes sense to buy at least one life insurance policy when you have just started to earn. Doing so has its own advantages. Not only do you add a crucial instrument to your financial portfolio, but it also helps ensure that your family's financial situation does not debilitate should anything untoward happen to you. Besides, when you start young, the premium amounts too are lower.

At a later stage in life, you can always revisit your insurance portfolio and add another policy keeping with your changing financial needs. This process is called a life insurance review and is extremely important.

Review your insurance plan from time to time

Life insurance is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is therefore important to review your insurance plan at regular intervals. It will prepare you for life's various milestones and the associated expenses. One of the biggest advantages of a life insurance review is that you do not stay underinsured. As age advances, your responsibilities increase and lifestyle undergoes changes. Based on timely reviews, you can revise your life insurance cover from time to time.

It is only with constant reviewing of your insurance plan can you start building a corpus for your old age.

Planning for the future

You start working, get married, have kids and soon enough, your kids grow up. Even before you realize it, you find yourself standing with a farewell bouquet at the threshold of a new phase of life - the post-retirement period. To ensure that you don't take a financial hit in your older age, you must plan for it in advance. Taking a life insurance policy at a young age will simplify things for you as you approach the golden years of your life.
There are varied options of retirement plans that one can choose from. You can choose to go with monthly income or annual payouts as per your requirements. If you choose to buy a monthly income plan, you will be entitled to a monthly income during your post-retirement years.

How your retirement plan will help you in your old age

On various occasions, people are under the impression that savings accrued over a lifetime are sufficient to see them through old age. This is perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions. Life is unpredictable and sometimes all it takes is a bout of critical illness to wipe out all that you had saved. You can avoid such a situation by opting for a retirement plan early in life (preferable in late 20s or early 30s). It supplies you with an income every month, almost similar to the salary that you used to receive when you were employed. You can use this money for your routine expenses as also for health emergencies.

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Life insurance is supposed to provide peace of mind. But for many, the approval process gives them nothing but nightmares. 

The cost of life insurance varies depending on an applicant’s health history. According to a recent survey, smokers, on average, pay more than three times for the same policy than non-smokers.A non-smoking 45-year-old woman pays around $45 a month for $500,000 of 20-year level term coverage, while a female smoke of the same age will pay $167 month.

Age, your overall health, and your hobbies and occupation are also taken into consideration and can drive premiums higher. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck paying a higher cost or skip insurance all together.

“There are many ways to save,” on life insurance, says Tony Steuer, an author and insurance literacy advocate. “Each insurance company has their own pricing strategy and can be more [or less] competitive in specific tiers. Companies also have different perspectives on medical/health issues, such as some companies are more lenient on build or on other more complex medical issues”

Here are four tips experts to employ to get life insurance without breaking the bank:

Tip No.1 Shop Around

Take the time to compare plans. “Some carriers weigh the fact that you are a smoker more heavily than other carriers,” says Laura Adams, senior analyst.

There are online aggregators that will compare plans and rates, or you can use an agent to shop around for you. If you use an agent, experts recommend making sure the professional has access to multiple policies and insurers since each company has different underwriting and rating polices.

“Every company has their own secret sauce on what they quote a customer,” says Adams. As a result, she says consumers should get at least three quotes and include one from a top carrier or a company that provides coverage nationwide.

Tip No.2: Get in Shape Now

In general, healthy people pay less than for coverage.

While it’s going to vary from one insurer to the other in terms of how long you’ll have to be smoke free to qualify as a non-smoker, kicking the habit is going to be your best shot at getting a lower rate.

“An individual who might be declined or facing life insurance premiums that are higher than they anticipated might use their quest for coverage as a wakeup call to improve their health,” says Jack Dolan, a spokesman for the American Council of Life Insurers. “When they do that, they can then come back to the life insurer and show how they have improved.”

If you already have a life insurance policy and quite smoking, Adams suggests alerting the insurer and inquiring about getting reclassified for a lower premium. The one thing you don’t want to do is lie or stretch the truth on your application--even if it’s something they can’t prove such as your weekend bungee jumping escapades. “If you die before you quit smoking and they investigate your death, they can deny a payoff if they found nicotine in your blood at the time of death,” says Adams.

Tip No.3: Get in on a Group Policy

Many corporate benefit programs offer life insurance that doesn’t require a physical exam or undergo any medical tests. While the amount you can take out is often capped, it is a way to get some coverage if you are unhealthy and fear you can’t afford the premium.

Becoming a member of an association or organization can often get access to a group life insurance policy in many cases.

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