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Life insurance cover is a sensible purchase for anybody with young children or other dependents – but it can seem like just one extra crippling cost to add to the expenses of bringing up a family. Here’s how to bring down the cost of your cover and secure peace of mind on the cheap.

Be choosy

You can use calculators on sites such as MSN Money to figure out roughly how much you should be paying for life insurance, but finding the best deals out there will be up to you. There are plenty of companies out there who are keen to sell you their life insurance policies. Instead of singing up to the first good deal you see, spend some time comparing offers. Internet comparison sites are useful shopping tools, but you should also sound out some of the larger insurers, such as ASDA Finance and Direct Line, to gauge the current conditions of the market. When you find a policy that seems right for you, it may also be possible to drive the price down further through negotiating.

 Don’t lose on tax

Under current IHT legislation, every £100,000 of life insurance represents a potential £40,000 tax bill. To protect your family’s money, ask you insurer to write your policy in trust. This will prevent a good slice of your life insurance pay-out from going to the tax man.

Look out for added benefits:

Cheaper premiums may represent limited cover and fewer benefits. Taking the time to think about the exact cover you need before signing on the dotted line is a good way of ensuring your family’s security. For example, good critical illness policies will automatically include up to £20,000 worth of cover for children. Since this is the sixth most common cause of claim, it can be a useful benefit for parents.

Don’t take out unnecessary cover

 Before you begin comparing life insurance policies, double-check the cover you already have. Life insurance, income protection and critical illness insurance can be included in employee benefits packages – sometimes under different names like ‘death-in-service benefit’, ‘long-term disability benefit’ or ‘permanent health insurance’.

 Get in shape

The healthier you are, the lower your life insurance premiums will be. By stopping smoking, limiting your drinking habits and losing weight, you could end up cutting thousands of pounds over the lifetime of your policy. Reducing your cholesterol and blood pressure through healthy eating and regular exercise will also help save you money – and it’s not bad for you, either.

Your efforts to save on life insurance are best met by browsing for quotes online as it’s efficient and easy and usually cheaper than buying in person. You might like to try Asda Finance’s website as a first-step search for your life insurance purchase.