How to compare and apply for life insurance on bonkers.ie
Sarah Rigney
Sarah Rigney
Staff Writer

Comparing and applying for life insurance can be daunting, but we’ve made the process easier with our step-by-step guide.

Having life insurance in place puts your mind at ease knowing that those you love will be financially looked after should the unexpected happen. However, reviewing policies can leave many confused and scratching their heads.

The good news is that comparing and applying for life insurance is easy on bonkers.ie! 

This guide is the second in our six-part series on comparing and applying for life insurance. In this guide, we've outlined the steps involved in using our comparison tool so that you can apply for life cover with ease.

You can find the rest of the guides in our series linked at the end of this article.

Step 1 - Input your details

To get started, head over to our life insurance comparison page. 

You’ll be able to input the amount of cover you desire and click the ‘Get started now’ button. 

How much cover do I need?

Life insurance is often taken out to replace the loss of income in the event of death, so if you’re unsure of how much cover to take out, this may act as a good guideline for you.  

You should consider the age of your youngest dependant. Ideally, a life insurance term should be based on the age of your youngest child to bring them to 25, which is the age that they would be viewed as being financially dependent. 

You can find out more about how much cover you need in this guide on what to consider when taking out life insurance. 

Step 2 - Tell us your life insurance requirements 

If you opt to run a comparison on our site, you’ll be prompted to enter some details regarding your requirements in the next step.

Quote details

To calculate your quote accurately, we need to know:

  • Your date of birth.
  • The term length you require: This is the number of years you wish to be covered by your policy. You can find out how long you’ll need to take out cover for in this guide. 
  • Whether or not you smoke: You should select ‘yes’ if you have smoked any tobacco or used nicotine replacement products in the last 12 months. Smokers will pay a higher premium than non-smokers. 

Step 3 - Add an additional person

You’ll have the option to add an additional person to your policy. Should you wish to do so, we’ll also need to know their date of birth and whether they smoke as well. 

Step 4 - Optional extras

Once you’ve filled in your personal details, you’ll have the opportunity to add other benefits to your policy, including indexation and a convertible term option.

Indexation: This gives you the ability to increase your life insurance cover in line with inflation. It ensures that the benefits of your policy increase by a certain amount each year.

Unsure about whether you should add this to your policy? You can learn all about indexation in this guide.

Convertible term: This is a type of term cover that lets you extend the term of your policy at any point without having to undergo a new medical examination. 

We explore convertible term in detail in this guide.

Step 5 - Are you replacing an existing policy?

Before reviewing your results, you’ll need to let us know whether you’re looking to replace an existing life insurance policy. 

If you select ‘yes’, you’ll be prompted to choose your current insurer from a drop-down list. 

Step 6 - Review your results

When you’ve filled in all your details, simply hit the ‘Compare Life Insurance’ button to be taken to your results page. 

You can sort your results by monthly premium, either in ascending or descending order.

Filtering your results

You can easily filter and update your results by adjusting:

  • The amount of cover you want.
  • Your term length.
  • Whether or not you want to include indexation or convertible term options. 

These filters can be found on the left-hand side of the results page.

Policy features

You can find policy features and benefits outlined under each plan on the results page. Benefits may include:

  • Children’s cover
  • Terminal illness benefit
  • Indexation
  • Convertible term
  • Guaranteed insurability option
  • Reinstatement clause 

For a full outline of a plan, simply click ‘see details’ and you’ll be brought to the policy’s page. 

Joint and dual cover

If you’ve opted to include another person on your policy, you'll be shown a variety of dual and joint cover options, which can vary in price.

  • Joint cover: This covers two lives, but there is only one payment made. The insurer will pay one lump sum when the first person dies and the policy will end. 
  • Dual cover: This cover also insures two lives under one policy, but a claim can be paid out in the event of both deaths. After the first death, the policy continues. 

We outline the difference between single, joint and dual cover types in this guide on common life insurance terminology.

Step 7 - Select your policy and apply online

Once you’ve found the policy that best matches your needs, click on the ‘Apply now’ button.

Your details

To proceed, we’ll need some details from you:

  • Your name
  • Your email address
  • Your phone number
  • Your gender
  • Your address
  • Your date of birth: This will be input from before, so check it’s correct

Your circumstances

We will need to know some information about your financial circumstances. This is needed to get a true and complete financial picture so that we can provide appropriate recommendations and advice for your financial needs. 

This is required by The Central Bank of Ireland.

We’ll need to know:

  • Whether you’re in good health: Answer yes or no
  • What your marital status is: Select an answer from the list
  • Your occupational details: Tell us your employment status
  • Your job: If employed, type your job in and select it from the dropdown list of options and your employment industry

If you’ve added an additional person to your policy, you’ll need to fill in the same information for them. 

Step 8 - Submit your application

Before submitting your application, you’ll be asked to select a preferred callback time from one of our qualified insurance brokers to discuss your application.

You must agree to the declarations and terms and conditions. Then finally, it’s time to submit your application.

What happens next?

After you submit your application, one of our qualified advisors will phone you to confirm your medical history and answer any questions you may have about the policy you’ve selected. 

The call will last approximately 10 minutes.

Our expert advisors will help guide you through the application process and will liaise with the life insurance provider on your behalf. 

They’ll be with you every step of the way until your policy has been issued. 

Check out our other life insurance guides

If you found this guide useful, why not take a look at the other guides in our life insurance series:

You can stay up to date with all the latest insurance news and advice with our blogs and guides pages. 

Get the best value life insurance on bonkers.ie

On bonkers.ie you can find a life insurance policy to suit your needs.

Head over to our comparison page, input your life insurance requirements and we will compare the best policies available from Ireland’s main insurance providers.  

Once you have selected your policy, submit your application online and our team will take care of the rest. 

You could have cover in under an hour!

On our site, you can also compare serious illness cover, mortgage protection insurance, home insurance, and car insurance. 

But why stop there? We have made it easy to lower your costs across other household expenses such as energy, broadband, and banking. 

Begin your savings journey on bonkers.ie! 

Get in touch

Do you have any questions or concerns about applying for life insurance? If so, get in touch with us and we’d be happy to help. You can contact us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.