Refinance your life insurance

If you've got a term life insurance policy, chances are good that you're paying too much for it.

Rates on term policies have been tumbling for more than a decade and are, according to a survey by Insure.com, hitting all-time lows. (Term policies are "pure" insurance that offer a death benefit but no investment component, as opposed to "cash value" or "permanent" insurance that combines a death benefit with an investment feature.)

Millions of Americans used lower interest rates to refinance their mortgages, sometimes repeatedly, and many even refinanced their cars. But many people are failing to take advantage of a similar opportunity to get cheaper life insurance.

Better premiums are out there You might be missing out on a good deal if you:

• Bought your policy years ago. People assume that because they're older, insurance will cost more. In reality, competition and lower mortality rates have driven premiums down to the point where you can pay less for a policy at age 50 than you did 10 years ago when you were 40.

• Buy your coverage through your employer. This may be a convenient way to buy insurance, but it's an expensive way to go if you're younger and healthier than the average employee. The insurer prices the policies to cover the higher-risk folks, so you're essentially subsidizing the older, sicker workers.

• Don't qualify for "preferred" rates at your insurer . . . and don't realize that you may very well qualify for lower premiums at another company.