Insurance premiums are among the best expenditures to examine when you're trying to save money. And the Internet can be an efficient tool for shopping for policies.Many in the industry emphasize personal service as a differentiating factor, and it can be useful for some people.

But if coverage is identical and the insurance companies are financially sound, you can choose by price. And prices on identical policies can vary dramatically, sometimes by hundreds of dollars per year.That makes insurance low-hanging fruit for savings.

This is especially true for term life insurance. Term insurance involves little or no service during the life of the policy. "There's no service, unless you're changing your address," said Byron Udell, founder of comparison site  which has been online since 1995.

"You're going to have one claim on life insurance, and you're going to be gone when that happens. With life insurance, you're dead or you're not dead. If you're dead, they pay. If you're not, they don't."Even if you're not struggling with money, regularly evaluating your life insurance policy is part of being a good consumer. Life insurance premiums are less than half of what they were 15 years ago.

If your policy is more than a few years old, you probably can save money by replacing your policy, even though you are older.Those potential savings can turn into thousands of dollars when compounded over the life of the policy."There's no point in spending more than necessary for term life insurance," Udell said.

Although insurance can be purchased many ways, including obtaining quotes directly from companies or using a broker, it can be useful to compare premiums online for guaranteed level term insurance. That means you are guaranteed to be covered, and the premiums remain the same while the policy is in effect. Replacing your policy involves filling out forms and undergoing a medical exam. After your new policy is in place, you can cancel the old one or let it lapse by not paying the premium.

Here is what you need to know when shopping for term life insurance online-Types of comparison sites Comparison sites break down into two broad categories: those that will give you an instant quote online and those that take your information and pass it along to brokers who then contact you. Most are lead-generation sites for brokers.

on price nowadays," said Amy Danise, editor of Casting a wider netComparison sites often offer a wider variety of insurers to choose from than a broker. Although Web sites have business relationships with certain insurers, you can mitigate that by using multiple online comparison sites.

Know your health category Do you qualify for a preferred rate or a standard rate? Besides your health, including your weight and medical history, such activities as smoking and dangerous hobbies figure into your premiums. "If you're perfectly healthy, it's easy to go online and get the correct rate," Udell said. "If you're not, you're better off talking to a human being."