When purchasing a life insurance policy, it is generally better to go to an independent broker rather than a life insurance firm. This is because the independent broker will generally be able to offer you a wide range of products from various different firms whereas if you go to a specific firm, that firm will only be able to offer you their specific set of products. Since life insurance is a long term obligation, shop around before making your choice.

Many people buy term life insurance when they’re younger because it’s cheap. Others are persuaded to buy whole life insurance, which, unlike term, has a cash value and can presumably be viewed as an investment. If you’re in good health, term is generally the best value. Try to lock in term insurance for the longest possible timespan you can find. When it runs out, if you’re still in good health, keep looking for term. Most of the time, whole life will be more expensive, but as you age, term life will also get quite expensive to cover the inevitable health issues that will crop up. Remember: term life as long as it makes sense ratewise, then switch to whole life.

Term life insurance might be cheap, but remember it does not last. The primary selling point of term insurance is that it costs much less than a traditional policy. Remember, though, that a traditional life insurance policy is a permanent financial asset, even one you can borrow against. In contrast, term life insurance lasts only as long as you keep up the payments.

Sometimes in life insurance, more coverage is actually cheaper. As the amount of coverage increases, the cost per thousand dollars of coverage will decrease. For some companies, the math works out such that buying a bigger policy actually costs you less per month in premiums. Always ask for price quotes for multiple levels of coverage when shopping for insurance.