Monthly premiums are fixed when you take out term assurance so you could find a bargain if you buy cheaply now. But it may be worth switching only if you took out your cover relatively recently. But if you bought 20 years ago, or have had significant health problems, you may not get a better deal. If you switch insurers you could save hundreds of pounds by shopping around. Life insurance is such a small part of a mortgage deal that many people don't stop to think whether the cover is good value.
Lenders rely on inertia to keep their customers.
If you obtain cover through a broker you could also get a discount on the underlying premiums. New Internet services have made shopping around a lot easier. Swiss Re says the fall in premiums is slowing down and could rise again to reflect a possible increase in mortality. It believes younger generations could even prove to be more frail than those born in the earlier half of the last century because they have not lived through challenges such as war and high levels of pollution. But for now life insurance is cheap and policyholders can change deals without paying penalties, although Tom McPhail warns that switching may take time.