A discount life insurance broker is a middleman; someone who acts as an intermediary between an insurance company and a person who wants to buy life cover.

If you're on a budget, using an independent discount broker can help you get a good deal on your life cover and allow you to save as much as 40%. Note that the term 'discount' doesn't mean the insurance you buy is of any lesser quality. The insurance policy you buy is exactly the same as the policy you'd buy directly from the company, but you pay less.

Using a discount life insurance broker is typically cheaper than buying directly from an insurance company for three reasons:

1. First, the broker has access to a large number of companies, so they're able to quickly and easily search for cheaper policies that match what you want.
2. Second, a broker typically does a large amount of business and can often access volume discounts from insurance companies that the general public can't. They receive commissions from the insurance companies they work with, and sacrifice some or all of these earnings to maximise the premium savings for customers.
3. Third, a discount broker does not offer any financial advice so won't tell you which policies will work best for you. This way, the brokers operating costs are reduced which is passed on to you in the form of commission discounts.

This third reason is perhaps the only real disadvantage of using a discount broker. When it comes to deciding which policy will best meet your needs, you're on your own, which means you must spend time researching various policies so you can decide which will provide the most advantages.

But the main reason for using a discount life insurance broker is the cost. By sacrificing some or all of their commissions, your premiums can be reduced by 20%-30% when compared to buying exactly the same policy from the same insurer. If you compared the savings to buying cover from a bank or mortgage lender, the savings can be even higher.

Finding discount life insurance brokers online isn't difficult, but it can be tough to sort through them all to find the best. Don't assume that all brokers are created equal; they vary widely in the amount of commission they will sacrifice and in the number of life insurance companies they have access to. When you're searching for a broker, look for one who offers minimal fees and has access to a large range of insurance companies. They're the ones who are most likely to give you the best prices.

Using a discount broker isn't necessarily faster than buying direct from an insurance company. Instead of spending time comparison shopping for insurance, you'll most likely end up shopping for brokers, instead. However, even if you don't save much time, you'll save some money by using a discount life insurance broker.