Consider More Than Just Price When Buying Life Insurance
November 28th, 2006
Service should be important when deciding where to place your life insurance application. Many consumers spend hours scouring the internet for the lowest possible premium however sometimes this will be a false economy.
At Torquil Clark Life Insurance we place great emphasis on the level of service our clients receive from insurance companies. When shopping around for quotes it is important that consumers ask for details on how long it takes on average for an insurance company to process life insurance applications…I bet most companies won’t even know.
We have been measuring these very figures for years and have just released our 2006 survey. This showed that Friends Provident were the quickest again with an average turn around time of 12 days, whereas Standard Life were amongst the slowest at 28 days.
So why is service important? Well, applying for life cover can be very easy and quick… but generally only for the healthiest of applicants. Anyone with a history of illness or a high risk occupation or hobby should expect to have to wait while the insurance company gathers enough evidence to decide how much to charge you (this is called the underwriting process).
Whilst they are doing this you will have at best very limited interim cover… a bit like driving your expensive car around with just third party insurance, when of course you really want fully comprehensive cover.
So next time you are in the market for some life insurance, make sure you compare more than just price. Here are my top tips:
- Shop around and get full details on the three cheapest insurers.
- Make sure you get details on their service levels.
- Compare any added benefits that the insure may throw in (such as options to increase cover, support services on claim etc).
Then make your decision. Only with a bit of consumer power can we make insurers focus on quality service.
Author: Jason King
November 28th, 2006
Category: Life Insurance.
