Archive for September 21st, 2007
I never stop looking on behalf of people who just can’t seem to get an offer on life insurance. I’ve literally work for years before finding a client the policy they needed.
Because I didn’t have a company that would touch it, I have literally had to turn down dozens of people who were headed to Iraq to work for civilian contractors. I have had numerous inquiries from people that were actually on the ground in Iraq asking about life insurance coverage.
First of all I would like to say that there is no substitute for good planning. These people should have had life insurance in force well before they thought about going to Iraq. They were all adults with responsibilities, which I think pretty much defines most people who should already have life insurance.
Having said that, once you actually accept a job in Iraq, the thought might even cross my mind that more is better. And now we have a way to meet that need. Some relatively easy criteria need to be met, but Iraq, Afghanistan, African countries that are life insurance nightmares, all possible.
Bottom line. It’s a dangerous world. Some places more than others. Most life insurance companies don’t want any part of your intended foreign travel to the dangerous places. I’ve found one that does!
September 21st, 2007
A client I worked with this week was a little miffed because Met Life didn’t come through with the rate the agent said they would, even though he had divulged his health history and his labwork was perfect. Apparently he quoted the client $1800 a year and it was approved at $2400, just a little 30% surprise.
The Met Life agent said he shopped the industry and couldn’t find anyone that would beat the price. The client enlisted Accuquote who also claimed that the $2400 range was as good as it would get.
My client’s health history? Mild sleep apnea and well controlled ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder). The industry average on this client would be a standard rate at $2400 a year for the coverage he wanted. I shopped this and found some companies that were well above that, two companies that were in the $1800 range and one company, a major player for a long time said that as long as both issues are well controlled, they will approve it for just under $1200, their best rate class.
Think about it from an mortality assumption point of view. Sleep apnea, if not well controlled, can lead to number of other health issues such as high blood pressure, stroke and heart problems. If it is diagnosed early and well controlled, it has virtually no impact on morality.
And ADHD!! I think the best determinant of whether ADHD is a factor in life insurance is if the control is good enough that a person can carry on with a normal productive life. In the case of my client he is a professional and a stable family man. Being successful and stable at either of those, let alone both, pretty much negates any mortality impact that ADHD might have.
So why would a Met Life agent and a major internet agency like Accuquote miss the better rates? Or did they have some reason not to quote the better rates? Folks, it’s called commission, with a capital C and that rhymes with G and that stands for Greedy. They didn’t want to quote the best rates available because they come from a company that pays below average commission. They would rather take their chances at snowing the guy into believing they’ve done their homework and that, well, “it just doesn’t get any better Mr Professional.”
Call me simple, but 100% of a lower commission feels better than coming in second and I’ve found that making sure clients get the best possible price seems to build more loyalty and get more referrals.
Bottom line. There is not a perfect life insurance company out there. Not one of them is strong in everything. It takes an independent agent who puts customer service ahead of compensation to put you in the winner’s circle.
September 21st, 2007
A comment from Katie on my first Biggest Loser post asked, “what would be the rate the trainers would pay? so what is the difference between a trainer and a contestant’s payment, when both are the same height?”
I responded, ” Katie, Since I don’t know the trainers ages, what I can do is post the best attainable rate for each of the participants assuming they met the weight requirement for the best rate class. Great question and I would be glad to add the trainers if I knew their ages and actual weights.”
I think the meat of the question was what kind of rates could a person get if they were fit enough to obtain the best rates. Using the participants still on the show, those rates would be as follows for $250,000 of 20 year term. In parentheses, the weight they would have to be at.
Blue Team
Jerry, $1702.00 (201#)
Kae, $135.00 (153#)
Neil, $145.00 ((216#)
Nicole, $135.00 (166#)
Patty, $135.00 (182#)
Ryan, $147.00 (193#)
Red Team
Amy, $135.00 (170#)
Bryan, $147.00 (205#)
David, $147.00 (205#)
Phil, $145.00 (233#)
Black Team
Bill, $202.00 (182#)
Jim, $202.00 (176#)
Hollie, $135.00 ((176#)
Isabeau, $135.00 (182#)
Jez, $145.00 (182#)
Julie, $135.00 (153#)
Again, these rates are assuming no health issues and qualifying for the best rates based on weight. I would be glad to throw the trainers into the mix as well, but unless someone can supply me with ages, height and weight, I can’t provide that information.
Bottom line. All life insurance companies use build charts, which by the way, are no where near as abusive as BMI charts. You don’t have to be Superman or Superwoman to qualify for the best rates. At 5′10, 177, I am considered overweight on a BMI chart and still have as much as 25#’s to spare to qualify for the best rate class with at least one of the top companies.
September 21st, 2007
Every once in a while I get hit with a client who just doesn’t see the value in seeing a doctor. The old “if it ain’t broke” attitude. Why see a doctor if you aren’t sick? According to CNN.com 43% of men get annual physicals. I’m thinking if half that many do it would be amazing.
I recently worked with a guy who had colon cancer 13 years ago. He had 18 inches of his colon removed, did chemo and radiation, and was, according to him, pronounced cured. I asked him when his last colonoscopy was and he said “13 years ago”. I asked him what kind of followup he had done post cancer treatment and he said “none”. I asked him when he last saw a doctor for anything and he said “13 years ago”. We went our separate ways at that point, not exactly seeing eye to eye.
That was certainly the most outrageous case of “you just can’t fix stupid” that I’ve run into, but it is more common than the 43% CNN suggestion would lead me to believe. I’ve talked to people that have had heart attacks and bypass surgery and never followed up on it. These guys get their cars tuned up but think the driver is bomb proof.
I recently called a client who paid some pretty hefty rates on his life insurance because on the insurance exam his total cholesterol was 313. Assuming that it would be down substantially and we could get him better rates, I called on his first anniversary of the policy and asked how he was doing with his cholesterol. Well, he had never talked to a doctor about it and never had it checked again.
This could be the real reason women live longer than men and get better life insurance rates. They take health seriously. They get mammograms and pap smears and physicals and when they have a health problem, they are prudent with the treatment and ongoing followup.
Bottom line. I think boy children should be implanted with some alarm thing that starts going off annually at age 45. Only way to get it turned off is with an annual physical. Maybe then we could actually get up to 43% or 50%. The rest of them would probably find a way to disarm it with a hammer or something. People who take care of themselves live longer and pay lower rates for their life insurance.
September 21st, 2007
Here is another area where men just don’t follow through and do the right things. Doctors say that after age 50 we should have our PSA (prostate specific antigen) checked once a year. No big deal. A little blood and a relatively inexpensive test. OK, all you guys that have done that as suggested, raise your hand! Ok….that wasn’t impressive.
Catching a rising PSA early can mean catching prostate cancer in an early stage, giving more options for treatment and better long term results. But, does an elevating PSA always mean that cancer is present or imminent? The answer to that would be no!
Medline Plus sums up the three main reasons a PSA can be elevated. Keep in mind that PSA can change from day to day as PSA is released into the blood whenever a prostate cell dies. This can occur with an infection (prostatitis), an enlarged prostate (BPH) or with prostate cancer.
I’ve always been told that a normal PSA is between 0 and 4. I think mine was .6 the last time it was checked. Doctors don’t seem to be as concerned with “normal” as they are with increases. I have had clients diagnosed with prostate cancer because their doctor did a biopsy when their PSA went from 1.0 to 2.4 in one year.
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare suggested in an article that the PSA can fluctuate as much as 20% a day. It seems the key word there is fluctuation, which would seem to indicate up and down, as opposed to just up.
From a life insurance underwriting perspective, out of normal is the most common red flag that is found. Many men, as I mentioned in the beginning, don’t bother to have their PSA checked, so they find out about the problem on an insurance exam. If you have an abnormal PSA on an insurance exam, expect to be put on hold while it is evaluated by your doctor. If, after testing, it is found to be prostatitis or BPH, and treatment successfully lowers the PSA, you are back in the game.
If it turns out that the elevation was due to cancer, depending on the stage and grade of the cancer, you could be back in the hunt as soon as a year after treatment. Often better than standard rates can be had after treatment.
Bottom line. Prostate cancer is the second most lethal cancer for men in the United States. It is very survivable if caught early, but you don’t catch it early by applying for life insurance every 10 years or so.
September 21st, 2007
