Life insurance policies are issued at the Insurance Age of the insured. With age being one key factor in determining the premium rate of a policy, it is important to keep the age at policy issue as low as possible. In the absence of a viable time-traveling machine, there is little we can do to reverse the aging process. However, policy backdating is sometimes an option that could keep the Insurance Age of the insured down by one year. And one year often makes a big difference in premium rates.
For the most part, life insurance premiums increase as you get older. So having an insurance age change during underwriting is most likely going to result in a higher final premium when the policy is issued. To prevent this change in premium, a policy may be backdated to save the previous age of the applicant. Here's how it works:
Original Quote = $300.00 annually
Action | Date | Age |
| Application signed and dated | July 1 | 30 |
| Applicant's age changes | July 15 | 31 |
| Application approved as applied | July 30 | 31 |
| Policy issued | July 31 | 31 |
| Premium submitted/policy in force | August 15 |
|
Final Premium = $325.00 annually
The final premium is now $25.00 higher annually due to the age change. Over the course of a 20-year term policy, this would result in an additional cost of $500.00 to the policy owner.
Original Quote = $300.00 annually
Action | Date | Age |
| Application signed and dated | July 1 | 30 |
| Applicant's age changes | July 16 | 31 |
| Application approved as applied | July 30 | 31 |
| Policy backdated and issued | July 31 | 30 |
| Premium submitted/policy in force | August 15 |
This policy was backdated with a policy date of
Backdating this policy would result in a savings of $500.00 over the course of the next 20 years. However, in doing so, the policy owner must pay for coverage for a period of time in which there was no coverage in place (July 15 to August 15). This is the opportunity cost of backdating and in this case the amount is equal to approximately $25.00. There is obviously a positive tradeoff for the policy owner in this case. Backdating the policy to age 30 would result in a net savings of $475.00 over the term of the policy.
Depending on the circumstances, it may not always be best to backdate a policy. QuickQuote's Account Managers and Case Managers work closely together to identify backdating opportunities and present the associated advantages and disadvantages to applicants. Our objective is to help customers decide the best course of action to take for saving money on their life insurance policies.
Life insurance companies use several factors when determining the premium for a policy. These include, but are not limited to, health status, health history, tobacco/nicotine use, gender and age. The last one seems fairly simple to determine. After all, your age is what the calendar says it is. Unfortunately, many life insurance companies see it a different way.
Life insurance companies generally use one of two methods for determining an applicant's insurance age for the purpose of issuing a life insurance policy.
1. Actual Age
The first method of age calculation is called Actual Age (sometimes referred to as Age Last Birthday). This method calculates your insurance age based on your last birthday. Let's look at a couple of examples:
| Your Date of Birth | May 1, 1950 |
| Today's Date | April 30, 2006 |
| Your Insurance Age Today | 55 |
| Your Date of Birth | May 1, 1950 |
| Today's Date | May 2, 2006 |
| Your Insurance Age Today | 56 |
The Actual Age calculation method is very straightforward as it is simply a measure of an applicant's calendar age on any given date.
2. Age Nearest Birthday
The second method of age calculation is called Age Nearest Birthday. This method calculates your insurance age based on your nearest birthday, which could be either your last birthday or your next. Here's how it works:
| Your Date of Birth | May 1, 1950 |
| Today's Date | May 2, 2006 |
| Your Insurance Age Today | 56 |
| Your Date of Birth | May 1, 1950 |
| Today's Date | November 2, 2006 |
| Your Insurance Age Today | 57 |
Example 2 shows us the significance of the Age Nearest Birthday calculation method. Your insurance age in Example 2 is 57 because on November 2nd, you are actually closer to your next birthday (your 57th) than you are to your last birthday (your 56th). So even though you have not yet turned 57 by the calendar, this method of calculation determines your insurance age to be 57. This will happen every year on the day you move to within six months of your next birthday.
Most life insurance companies use the Age Nearest Birthday method for age determination. QuickQuote's quoting system is designed to provide an accurate quote based on your date of birth, taking into account each individual company's quoting method.
However, by the time your policy is issued, your insurance age may be different than it was when you received your original quote. This will depend on whether you had a birthday or moved to within six months of your next birthday during the underwriting process. In either case, it may be possible to have your policy backdated to keep your Insurance Age down.