Among the many perils that threatened the new millennium, Y2K computer problems and the apocalypse failed to materialize.
But term life insurance rates did go up once a new regulation, called Triple X, went into effect Jan. 1. The reason: Insurers must set aside more money to pay future benefits on term policies that keep premiums level for more than 10 years.Thirty-year guaranteed-level-term insurance premiums took the biggest hit, with premium hikes of up to 150 percent. Some companies simply stopped selling policies that lock in premiums for three decades.
Twenty-year guaranteed-level-term policy rates shot up 50 percent at some companies, said Byron Udell, president of insurance-shopping service AccuQuote.com. Ken Sapp of Zurich Kemper Life blames Triple X for a premium increase of up to 40 percent on his company's 20-year term policies.
Confusion is on the rise, too, as some insurers cut their guarantees rather than boost premiums. In other words, a plan may be called "20-year term," but its level-premium guarantee is good for only five or 10 years -- short enough that it's not affected by Triple X.
You can still find good deals if you're in the market for level-premium term life insurance. These Web sites offer valuable help:
-- AccuQuote www.accuquote.com doesn't provide instant quotes online. Instead, you answer detailed questions on its Web site, then an agent gets in touch with you. You may not relish the idea of chatting with an agent, but considering all the confusion swirling around long-term policies, having someone to turn to with your questions can be a blessing.
-- Inswebwww.insweb.com provides you with instant quotes for many big-name insurance companies. And by asking more questions in its online interview than other services, InsWeb usually does a good job of matching you with a policy (and price) for which you'll actually qualify. Less-inquisitive sites can highlight fabulous deals that, you later discover, are out of your reach. InsWeb mixes guaranteed and nonguaranteed policies together. So look carefully at the "initial rate guarantee" column to make sure that the price will not rise for as long as you want the policy.
-- Quotesmith www.quotesmith.com offers pages of instant online quotes without asking many questions. After the lowest-price companies pop up, you need to take the next step and answer several medical questions to find out which policies you're likely to qualify for. One plus: Quotesmith segregates guaranteed from nonguaranteed policies.