Life Insurance in your State There is no federal agency that regulates the sale of life insurance. The licensing of life insurance agents, and what regulations there are regarding life insurance policies are handled on the state level. No matter what state you live in, there are basically two types of life insurance available for purchase. Term Life insurance and Permanent Life insurance. You may wonder why I even need life insurance in my state, people seem to live a long time here. Well the truth is, no matter where you live most likely the number one killers that top the lists of causes of death nationwide, such as Heart Disease, Cancer and Accidents, are very prevalent in your community as well. Even in Hawaii, the state with the highest life expectancy in the nation, almost 750 in every 100,000 residents between the ages of 55 and 64 pass away every year.   A state’s Department of Insurance oversees the sale of life insurance within that state, but the Department does not regulate life insurance on the policy level the way that it will regulate other insurance plans such as health or auto. In other words there are few if any state regulations that mandate specific life insurance coverages, or how a policy has to be worded or priced. State regulations regarding life insurance usually come into play when a claim is filed, and most often have to do with payment terms and other issues surrounding the disbursement of death benefits.  However, there are certain provisions that do vary from state to state regarding regulations pertaining to free-look time frames, illustration requirements, underwriting, and medical exam requirements. You should be aware of these rules as you shop for life insurance, and can find a list of them, along with state specific resources within our Life Insurance By State guides.    7 Ways to Save on Your state Life Insurance There are many ways to save on your state Life Insurance. Most importantly, you need to shop around, as different companies charge different rates for your state Life Insurance. With hundreds of companies to choose from, comparison-shopping can save you significantly. Beyond shopping for a good deal, here are 7 ways you can save on your purchase of Your state Life Insurance. Term Insurance: If you really want to save on your state Life Insurance, consider buying Term Life insurance. While it may not have the cash value of Permanent Life insurance, Term Life insurance gives you the greatest insurance value for you money, with monthly premiums being as much as 10 times less than a Whole Life Insurance policy with similar death benefits. Shop Online: One of the best ways to comparison shop for your state Life Insurance is to use the Internet. Get Healthy: One of the surest ways to save on your state Life Insurance is to buy it when you are healthiest. Get healthy and stay healthy and you will fall into the “preferred” or lowest rate group when receiving a quote on Your state Life Insurance. If you are overweight, or a tobacco user, you will certainly pay more, so consider making some lifestyle changes, you’ll live longer – and pay less! Buy the Right Amount: Save on Your state Life Insurance by buying only the amount you need. Experts recommend you purchase at least 7x your annual income, 10x if you have kids. You can use an online death benefit calculator to more precisely figure out the amount of Your state Life Insurance you should purchase. Riders: If you need to make an adjustment to your state Life Insurance policy, consider the use of riders first, before canceling and purchasing a new policy. Depending on the change you need to make, this may, or may not be possible, however it is always less money to add a rider to an Your state Life Insurance policy than it is to purchase new one. Buy Young: When you are single without any dependants, you probably do not need life insurance at all. However, you should buy your state Life Insurance policy as soon as the need arises; once you are married perhaps, certainly by the time you have children. The younger and healthier you are when you apply for your state Life Insurance, the cheaper the monthly premiums will be. Payment Options: If you can, try to pay your premium for your state Life Insurance annually, rather than monthly. Most insurance companies add fees to monthly premium payments. Also, some Your state Life Insurance companies will apply a discount for premiums paid directly from a checking account. 5 Ways You Didn’t Know You Could Use Your State Life Insurance You may not realize that there are ways you can use your state Life Insurance beyond its primary purpose of paying a death benefit. Living Benefits – If you or a family member with a Life Insurance policy should be diagnosed with a terminal illness, you may be able to leverage the policy to pay for the often-exorbitant cost of care. This is known as Living Benefits or Accelerated Death Benefits, check with your state Life Insurance agent to see if your policy has such a provision.  Cash Value –Do not forget that if you have any kind of  Permanent Life Insurance, such as Whole Life, Universal Life, or Variable Life, the policy can be used to save you from financial ruin in the event of an emergency. You can borrow against your accrued cash value, anytime with no other collateral or income verification required. Your state Life Insurance provides not only a death benefit, but can be a lifeline in hard times.  Long Term Care – Long-term care such as in a Skilled Nursing Facility can be very expensive, and exhaust retirement funds or a family’s assets. In some circumstance your state Life Insurance policy can be used to pay for long-term care. If you have such a rider on your state Life Insurance policy, a portion of its value may be used to pay for long-term care, and the death benefit is reduced by that amount. Premium Waivers   - In some circumstances your state Life Insurance policy will pay for itself, when you cannot. Often your state Life Insurance agent can suggest a “waiver of premium” rider on your policy. In this way, should you lose job, or become disabled, your premiums will be waived, and your policy remain in effect for a limited time, usually around six-months. Conversion – If you have a Term Life Insurance policy, you may be able to convert that to a Permanent Life Insurance policy such as Whole Life. Usually you can make such a conversion without a medical exam, which can prove invaluable if you are diagnosed with a serious medical condition and want to make sure you are covered by your Life Insurance beyond the length of the term.