Monday, September 15, 2008

Term insurance - is the premium proportional?

Dear Mr. Tan,
Thank you so much for putting so much useful information on your website. I almost bought a whole life insurance policy from my financial planner--but luckily thanks to finding your site I realized that it doesn't really make sense to do so. I'm in the process of reading every article in your website.

I have a question about the following page on your website: http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/term.html

In it you stated that the annual premium for $100 000, 30-year old male, covered for 30 years, are $305 for level, and $115 for decreasing.

My question is: how linear is this guideline? Does it mean that to get if the sum is $200 000, the premium should be $610 and $230, respectively? Does it get cheaper if the sum assured is more than 1 million? Also, what if I want the coverage to last 35 years (until I'm 67), instead of 30 years?

Thank you very much in advance, and thanks again for your blog and your website.

REPLY
Usually, the premium rate is in straight proportion to the sum assured. However, it depends on the practice of each insurance company. It is best to ask a few insurance companies to quote you the rates for various sum assured.

Here are some companies that you can call
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/termd.html