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Finder’s life insurance methodology – 2023
How we calculated the Finder life insurance awards.
What are the Finder life insurance awards?
Finder's life insurance awards is a ratings methodology that compares both price and features across 10 life insurance policies. We got 192 life insurance quotes based on 16 different profiles.
We use the final scores from our insurance awards to inform the top picks on our best life insurance page. The ratings range from 0 to 10.
Finder's life insurance awards criteria
The criteria for Finder's life insurance awards was determined by our insights team and life insurance experts.
The provider must have offered the policy for 12 months or longer
Quotes must be available online
We must be able to get at least 16 quotes from each provider
Finder's life insurance awards methodology
1. How we calculated our price score for life insurance
To determine our life insurance award winners, we got prices across a total of 16 customer profiles varying in age, gender and smoking status:
Age
Gender
Smoker
Occupation
30
Male
No
White collar worker
30
Male
Yes
White collar worker
30
Female
No
White collar worker
30
Female
Yes
White collar worker
40
Male
No
White collar worker
40
Male
Yes
White collar worker
40
Female
No
White collar worker
40
Female
Yes
White collar worker
50
Male
No
White collar worker
50
Male
Yes
White collar worker
50
Female
No
White collar worker
50
Female
Yes
White collar worker
60
Male
No
White collar worker
60
Male
Yes
White collar worker
60
Female
Yes
White collar worker
60
Female
No
White collar worker
Our life insurance price research in numbers
192
Total number of quotes received
16
Total number of customer profiles
10
Final number of insurers scored
2. How we calculated our features score for life insurance
The features score evaluated 18 different features commonly covered by a life insurance policy. This year we weighted 12 of these features, meaning we've gone into more detail than previously. In 2022, we looked at 10 features.
Features allocated points out of 10 – for example, a policy that offers a maximum sum insured amount of $25 million received 9.23 points, a policy with a $15 million limits would get 7.69. Meanwhile, an insurer that offers $1.5 million receives 2.31.
These 12 features were then assigned weights by our life insurance experts.
Features were scored and weighted as follows:
Features
Weighting
Non-smoker price
25%
Smoker price
15%
Max. sum insured score
12%
Fully underwritten score
9%
Optional TPD cover
6%
Optional child benefit cover
6%
Premium suspension cover
6%
Trauma cover
3%
Funeral benefit
3%
Interim accident cover
3%
Guaranteed renewability score
3%
Max. entry age score
3%
Policy expiry age score
3%
Quote available online
3%
3. How we calculated our final scores for life insurance
Why you can trust Finder's life insurance experts
We're free
You pay the same as buying directly from the life insurer. Better still, we regularly run exclusive deals that you won't find on any other site – plus, our tables make it easy to compare policies.
We're experts
Our team of life insurance experts have researched and rated dozens of policies as part of our Finder Awards and published 250+ guides to make it easier for you to compare.
We're independent
Unlike other comparison sites, we're not owned by an insurer. That means our opinions are our own and we work with lots of life insurance brands, making it easier for you to find a good deal.
We're here to help
Since 2016, we've helped 270,000+ people find life insurance by explaining your cover options, simply and clearly. We'll never ask for your number or email. We're here to help you make a decision.
Frequently asked questions
We currently run our Finder life insurance awards once a year. The 2023 awards are based on policies that were available to take out during the 2022–23 period.
We endeavour to assess the majority of products in the market but this isn't always possible and it may be that not every product or brand in the market was included for judging.
Sometimes we aren't able to include an insurer in our final results because we were unable to get enough quotes from them. For our results to remain fair, we aim to get at least 16 quotes based on different customer profiles. If we aren't able to do this, we don't include the insurer in our final results.
Gary Ross Hunter is an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, news.com.au, The Telegraph, Explore Travel and Escape. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Kaplan Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146).
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finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stands by our editorial principles
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