Health: The state of your health is a critical factor determining the mortality risk and, therefore, life insurance premium. Higher the mortality risk, the premium charged will be higher. Most insurers would ask about your health status at the time of purchase/renewal of the policy.

Smoking/drinking: Most insurance companies ask about these habits before fixing a premium. You would have to pay more premium to cover for the risk associated with these habits.

Riders: Insurers offer additional benefits in the form of riders available by paying extra premium. But be careful while selecting the rider. These should be based upon your need, as otherwise it would increase the policy cost.

Premium payment: Insurers usually offer a choice on frequency of insurance premium. The total premium is likely to be less if you choose an annual payment option rather than a monthly payment option because the company is able to save on administrative cost which is passed on to the consumer.

Online purchase: Premium charged for policies sold online is less than that of a policy bought offline. This is because the insurance company is able to save on commission, distribution and administrative cost, the benefit of which can be passed on to the policyholder.