Life Insurance Question

[jq26]

I know there are folks out there who sell life insurance. A couple quick questions-

I have a nurse coming to my house tomorrow morning to take blood, urine, and whatever measurements they need for the bank to write me & my wife a policy. I am a healthy 32yr old. My wife is a healthy 33 yr old. Assuming this checks out, ING Bank has quoted me $455/yr for a 20yr term $1,000,000 policy. They have quoted us $415/yr for a 20yr term $1,000,000 policy on my wife (for those playng at home, guys tend to throw a 7 earlier, hence the rates are higher).

1a. My wife is 6 months pregant and has put on weight and may have sugar levels above what she typically would have if she were not pregnant. Will the insurer take into conisderation her pregnancy when evaluating the collected data?

1b. Assume the weight & sugar numbers come in high and they knock her off of the preferred rate tier. If we decide not to go with the policy and wait until she has the child, will this negative health report be held against her in the future?

2. Is this rate a decent rate for a 20yr level term policy?

3. Is a 20yr policy long enough or should I trade up to a 30yr policy? I also have a $500k policy through my work which is universal group life. My wife has a $150k employer life insurance policy.

[Ravenous Wolf]

I have been so curious about this now that I am getting older. All of my insurance policies have been through work but I have never had one on my own. I need to get serious about now that I am an older parent with three small kids.

So I am very interested as well.

[GH0104]

I don't sell life insurance, but I am a mobile insurance examiner (the nurse that performs the exam).

As that I am only an examiner, I'm not part of the results process, and I perform exams for many insurance companies; but, pregnant women are always going to have some things out of the ordinary, especially weight, so be sure the examiner documents:

a. How many weeks gestation your wife is on the exam AND the lab slip

b. What her non-pregnant weight is or how much weight she's gained since becoming pregnant

I do know that life insurance companies are just as interested in your past medical history, and will be pulling past medical records. Current abnormalities attributable to pregnancy should be cleared up by her past records/blood tests.

As for the rest of your questions, a life insurance agent will have to direct you.

[fert]

How much shopping garound did you do? Life insurance is like anything else. Shop around and get quotes. Just stay with well rated companies. Good Luck!

[unusualsuspect]

I have an insurance license... PM me and I can help you out.

[jq26]

I spoke to my agent who gave me his best rate throgh MetLife. It was $565/yr.

I then went onlne through TD Bank's online system. They apparently give you quotes through a handful of companies and you choose. ING was $50 better than any other quote.

I don't particularly want to go through the process more than once. Just got stuck with a needle and had to pee in a cup.

[GH0104]

I don't particularly want to go through the process more than once. Just got stuck with a needle and had to pee in a cup.

And people always say "thank you" after I do it!

[EFD97]

I am a representative from Allstate Insurance-below is some information on term life vs. permanent insurance:

Term Life Insurance: This coverage lasts for a "term" you choose, usually 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. During that time, your life insurance premiums are guaranteed not to increase. If you pass away during that time period, your beneficiaries get a cash death benefit. If you live longer than the term period, you have the option to continue your life insurance coverage for an annual, renewable premium, which is generally much higher. You can usually convert a term life insurance policy to a permanent life insurance policy without getting a new medical exam.

Permanent Life Insurance: There are two big ways that permanent life insurance is different from term life insurance. First, the policy is meant to last the rest of your life (as long as you make the required premium payments, of course). Second, part of the money you pay into your permanent life insurance policy is set aside in an account where it can grow cash value that you can tap into later on. There are several types of permanent life insurance, each with different advantages.

There is also other helpful information on the Allstate Web site.

[Bigwoodystyl]

I know there are folks out there who sell life insurance. A couple quick questions-

I have a nurse coming to my house tomorrow morning to take blood, urine, and whatever measurements they need for the bank to write me & my wife a policy. I am a healthy 32yr old. My wife is a healthy 33 yr old. Assuming this checks out, ING Bank has quoted me $455/yr for a 20yr term $1,000,000 policy. They have quoted us $415/yr for a 20yr term $1,000,000 policy on my wife (for those playng at home, guys tend to throw a 7 earlier, hence the rates are higher).

1a. My wife is 6 months pregant and has put on weight and may have sugar levels above what she typically would have if she were not pregnant. Will the insurer take into conisderation her pregnancy when evaluating the collected data?

1b. Assume the weight & sugar numbers come in high and they knock her off of the preferred rate tier. If we decide not to go with the policy and wait until she has the child, will this negative health report be held against her in the future?

2. Is this rate a decent rate for a 20yr level term policy?

3. Is a 20yr policy long enough or should I trade up to a 30yr policy? I also have a $500k policy through my work which is universal group life. My wife has a $150k employer life insurance policy.

(1.) I have no idea, but I was warned to be extremely careful that the application is flawless with no lies and that there are no contradictions in your past medical histories. In the event you need the benefit, most life companies will have a pretty aggressive investigator look into any improprieties and try to find a reason for recission. So, even with every doctor's visit going forward, you'll even need to be careful not to mention anything pre-existing that maybe should have been on your application but wasn't. Further, you'll be dead, so you can't likely defend yourself if they come to the wrong conclusion...LOL

(2.) Based on my limited experience, I think that's a good rate. I have only $500,000 of coverage for same 20 year level term policy and I pay a bit more than half of your premium for only half of your coverage...

(3.) That depends on your circumstances and liabilities. The fact is: most people see term life primarily as mortgage payment protection, figuring if the house is paid off, then everything else will be relatively OK. In that case, inflation doesn't matter because the long-term price of your house obviously isn't going to change. As for the term, twenty years from now, the house would likely be paid off or at least almost paid off, so is a longer term necessary for you... only you can know.

If you're relying on the insurance for other things, then you should consider that at a constant inflationary rate of 3%, in 20 years, $1M will have the purchasing power of only about $550,000 today.... and that higher education costs have outpaced the CPI by 500% for the last few years.

Me, personally, I'm considering letting my policy lapse. Seven years ago, it was smart, but I don't need it anymore...

Then again, it's so cheap, I might as well keep it. I guess I have no conviction one way or the other...

[jq26]

Thanks. Re: inflation- that is baked into the amount of insurance I am applying for. If I were to die today, the $1,000,000 would also grow larger. If I were to die in 19 years and 364 days from now, I'll have less debt and the full $550k will be for educational costs. Plus I already have a $500k group life insurance policy through my employer anyway.

UPDATE: Aside from perfect health otherwise, my cholesterol came back on the higher side (260). This changed my annual rate from $455/yr to $880/yr for a 20yr policy. I told the agent to eat crow.

Can't figure this one out. My employer requires that I have a full blood panel performed annually. Never had cholesterol over 220 my whole life. All of a sudden, I apply for life insurance and it is miraculously 260, knocking me down three levels on their pricing tier. Conspiracy? Where is Goldbug when you need 'em?

So I'm going to work on getting my cholesterol down. Then reapply in 2011. I suppose I'll avoid skydiving this year.

BIG: Keep your policy. That is quite reasonable. And as you can tell, little health annoyances can disqualify you or knock you into a higher pricing tier. Additionally, your age obviously increases price tremendously. If it is "not smart" anymore because you lack a beneficiary, PM me and I'll send you my SSN.

Edited January 30, 2010 by jq26

[Bigwoodystyl]

LOL! My wife is still my beneficiary. I just don't think we need it. First, I have absolutey no debt and enough equity for us right now and our net worth is only increasing. Second, if it's enough for us right now, it had better damn well be enough if I die... Third, she doesn't have a policy and this doesn't bother me. In the end, I'll probably keep it because the expense is trivial.

UPDATE: Aside from perfect health otherwise, my cholesterol came back on the higher side (260). This changed my annual rate from $455/yr to $880/yr for a 20yr policy. I told the agent to eat crow.

Can't figure this one out. My employer requires that I have a full blood panel performed annually. Never had cholesterol over 220 my whole life. All of a sudden, I apply for life insurance and it is miraculously 260, knocking me down three levels on their pricing tier. Conspiracy? Where is Goldbug when you need 'em?

Sucks. I'm digging out my numbers from October, 2002. [i save EVERYTHING!!]

Total Cholestorol: 132 HDL: 61 LDL: 71 Triglycerides: 85 Blood pressure: 116/76 Height/weight: 6'1 195 lbs

With those numbers, I qualified for: $500,000 at $24.10/month. [of course, I was also in my mid 20's]

By my calculations, I've thus paid $2100 [not adjusted for inflation]... that's really quite reasonable. I should probably keep it.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Bigwoodystyl

[GH0104]

UPDATE: Aside from perfect health otherwise, my cholesterol came back on the higher side (260). This changed my annual rate from $455/yr to $880/yr for a 20yr policy. I told the agent to eat crow.

Can't figure this one out. My employer requires that I have a full blood panel performed annually. Never had cholesterol over 220 my whole life. All of a sudden, I apply for life insurance and it is miraculously 260, knocking me down three levels on their pricing tier. Conspiracy? Where is Goldbug when you need 'em?

Although the medical community has become incredibly alarmist over the years about cholesterol, I tend not to make too much of cholesterol numbers....

BUT a cholesterol of 220 for a young man (I'm assuming you're in your mid to late thirties) is not very good. If you have an extremely high HDL (like 90+), you may be the exception; barring this exception, the ballpark of 230 is generally where your MD gives you the "talk" of putting you on a statin (cholesterol med).

Do you know what your lipid panel was comprised of (total, HDL, LDL, VLDL, triglycerides)?

I'm sure you already know you were supposed to fast...but I'll ask: did you fast?

Fasting alone doesn't always yield the best result, because I find what people ate the last 4-5 days before the test actually have a stronger bearing on the numbers than hours of fasting before the draw. It far wiser to begin watching your diet several days before the insurance exam.

I'm sorry things did not pan out as you had wanted.

[jq26]

Yes I did fast. I'm 32. My cholesterol came in at 268. I'm 5'11", 178lbs. According to ING Bank, their best rate requires cholesterol below 220.

Strangely, my wife's cholesterol came in at 290. She is also a picture of health and thin. She has never had high cholesterol ever before in her life...though she IS 6 months pregnant so that may explain it.

In any case, nothing I can do. I just hope I don't throw a 7 before I pick up a policy.

[Bigwoodystyl]

Slightly off topic, but something I've been thinking about is a catastrophic health insurance plan, something that would cover cancer, End Stage Renal Disease, cardiac arrest, stroke, long-term disability, et al....

I want it as secondary health insurance, but portable and permanent. And, I want it with a HUGE deductible [to drive down the cost of premium] and a HUGE aggregate limit.

Maybe a deductible as high as $150,000 and an aggregate limit like $50 million.

I worry that the only possible way I could get knocked off track financially is through some kind of freak health concern. ING offers a similar type plan, but their underwriting is too cookie-cutter and the benefit isn't high enough. I might have to buy some type of surety bond... I bet Lloyd's of London would write me a policy, but I haven't really looked into it, yet.

[GH0104]

Yes I did fast. I'm 32. My cholesterol came in at 268. I'm 5'11", 178lbs. According to ING Bank, their best rate requires cholesterol below 220.

Strangely, my wife's cholesterol came in at 290. She is also a picture of health and thin. She has never had high cholesterol ever before in her life...though she IS 6 months pregnant so that may explain it.

In any case, nothing I can do. I just hope I don't throw a 7 before I pick up a policy.

During pregnancy, the body gives of a hormone that increases peripheral insulin resistance (higher blood sugar) and increases the level of free fatty acids (higher cholesterol, particular triglycerides) into the bloodstream to accomodate the growing fetus.

Elevated lipids and blood sugar is sometimes expected during pregnancy, although the latter *sometimes* can point to a higher risk of developing diabetes later in life (but not a guarantee).

[Ravenous Wolf]

I am a representative from Allstate Insurance-below is some information on term life vs. permanent insurance

Also, something I always wondered about (because of so many horror stories I heard from the people I have known who described what happened to their relatives) is that it entirely depends on you die.

For example, nearly all policies do not cover what they consider dying doing a dangerous activity. One co-worker from years ago explained that her brother drowned at a nearby lake that was always popular with boaters, families, etc during the summer. Well, swimming is considered a dangerous activity since you can drown in water; so the life insurance policy of her brother didn't cover that.

A project leader of mine who enjoyed flying a Cessna explained that getting life insurance to cover him for flying was outrageously expensive; since that can be a dangerous activity.

So getting cheap life insurance with plenty of loopholes is still not worthwhile. But I don't know what would be considered good coverage?

[jq26]

UPDATE: Aside from perfect health otherwise, my cholesterol came back on the higher side (260). This changed my annual rate from $455/yr to $880/yr for a 20yr policy. I told the agent to eat crow.

Received my results back from Quest Diagnostics on my annual bloodwork. My cholesterol came in at 205. That is more or less in line with every other required annual blood screening result that I have had done in the past decade by my employer.

Just as I expected, the life insurance lab results were absurdly high. Sloppy lab work or do the results "trend" high to jack up rates?

[Bigwoodystyl]

LOL, that would certainly give me pause if I were you.

From a practical standpoint, I think I would call the insurance company's customer service and raise those concerns in a friendly manner. If the CSR with whom you speak is well prepared to answer that question and sounds like s/he either has a script or has been asked that question a time or two previously... That is, if there is a workflow in place for that type of concern, then you just might be on to something. That's probably what I would do, but, then again, I'm a no-nonsense type of guy and I've become incredibly good at reading businesses over the phone.

And, well, you're an attorney, so I know you can spell c-l-a-s-s - a-c-t-i-o-n and p-u-n-i-t-i-v-e...

[Rebecca Hall]

Hi,

More information of insurance please makes a call this number 512-961-6974.

Thanks

Rebecca

[Loverde]

Thanks for number Rebecca.

[jq26]

Old thread, but I think I'll start looking for life insurance again. It has been 14 months since we started looking originally, and I haven't died, so I guess waiting was a wise decision . Though I am sure I'll pay more now that I'm that much older.

Both of us have life insurance through work, but I don't think it is enough. I have $500k and my wife has $200k. But with a 9month old and a 2yr old, getting them educated and to the point of self-sufficiency is going to take a hell of a lot more cash.

Edited January 18, 2011 by jq26

[DHK]

First, don't work with an amateur life insurance agent.

How can you tell? If your quote says anything other than "standard" underwriting. If the agent is quoting "preferred, select preferred, ultra-preferred" BEFORE doing the medical exam... then he is "assuming" way too much.

(If you are doing your own quotes and it's asking you for underwriting classification, then you could be assuming too much if you choose anything "better than standard".)

Second, I would look for a good term insurance policy that is convertable to an attractive permanent form of coverage at anytime during the term period.

Why would anyone in their right mind consider permanent insurance coverage when term is so cheap?

YouTube - 10 Minute Lesson on Life Insurance.flv

There is one inaccuracy with this video: life insurance contributions above the MEC guidelines are not treated like qualified retirement plans... but like Non-Qualified Annuities. Interest paid in last is the first out (LIFO) and taxable instead of contributions withdrawn first and interest last (FIFO).

Life insurance can have MAJOR advantages in retirement if it's part of your total savings & investment portfolio, especially when considering social security benefits.

With social security, at the death of the 1st spouse, the remaining spouse received the HIGHER of the 2 benefits, NOT BOTH. Life insurance can help with smoothing out that transition in retirement.

You may not think there will be any social security left for people in our age bracket (30-40s), but there will be SOMETHING.

Third: Any agent that is on an online message board saying that they can help ANYONE with their life insurance can be considered "soliciting" and this isn't legal unless you know that you are licensed in the state that the person is contacting you from. I am licensed to sell life insurance in California.

[Jason Drakes]

Life insurance is too much important in this present era. I am also going through the procedure of life insurance and home insurance because both are very important.

[Johnny]

This is very useful post and it gives me lots of new knowledge. Please anyone tell me that I want to do insurance of my family of four. What I have to do?

[robinwood002]

Death and injuries can occur any time. Think a situation when you are not any more beside your family and relatives in their time of need. It is your responsibility to make them secured whether you are unavailable. It is your decision to buy a gift for your nearest and dearest one to protect him/her in your absence.

Obviously the life insurance policy is the best way to secure your family in time of your absence. Though you can’t help them to reach their goals, your little contribution can minimize their future threads.

Generally life insurance is an agreement between the policy holder and the company that covers your beloved’s financial need through an estimated sum of money when you are no more. It also covers your financial crisis when you are injured seriously and unable to work.

Though there are several companies in the country that provide you the life insurance policy but their foggy style or jargons of conditions may reduce the strength probability of securing your family. Make sure that your all efforts aren’t going to waste. Try to know clearly the Face amount, Premium to be paid and length of coverage of the life insurance policy you are going to take. A little contribution such as an installment (called premium), in monthly or yearly basis, secures your family’s financial need in time of your absence.