The good news about purchasing life insurance today is that people are living longer than ever before and the mortality rates have gone down.   The average male and female are living longer than they ever have before.

The benefit to the customer buying life insurance is that longer life expectancy creates lower rates.   Since 2000 the  average term policy rate has gone down about 4% a year.  The rates have also gone down due to insurance company’s being more selective on who qualifies based on health and the tremendous competition between company’s.

If a term policy was bought 3 or 4 years ago, it is worth taking a look at what the policy would cost you today and it might make sense to re-apply.   The most popular type of term insurance is level term with a term of 20 or 30 years.  The insurance company guarantees that the premiums remain the same for that period.    If you can lock into a lower rate than it can make a big difference over 20 years.   It is also important to select a company not just on rate, but one that has a good financial rating.   If the company doesn’t have at least a A rating,  it is probably a good idea to keep looking.

You can read a lot of good information about life insurance and mortality rates at  http://www.iii.org.