Archive for November, 2007
Prices are dropping! Save 60% to 70% on term life insurance! We’ve all read the articles and seen the advertisements. We would all like a piece of that less expensive pie to protect our families. But, is it real? Does the agent you are talking to really know how to find those rates? Does your agent really want to find those rates?
Reading an industry magazine, a colorful advertisement caught my eye with the statement “Seize a new opportunity with Lifefirst - the powerful new term product from Foresters”. It presented a comparison with five other companies showing just how great their pricing is. Using a male age 45, best health class, purchasing $600,000 of 20 year term, it stacked up like this. Foresters was $855 annually. Shanendoah was $978, Old Mutual $1236, Americo $1338 and Chesapeake $1396.
Clearly Foresters is a force to be reckoned with, right? While this ad was designed to attract agents to sell Foresters, and it will, the same information will go out to consumers who, with the careful guidance of their Forester’s agent, will come to the same conclusion.
So, is this a true portrayal of the best of the best offerings? I used my Compulife system to put this in perspective. At $855, Foresters came in at number 32. The best rate came from Western Reserve Life at $726 a year. That is $129 a year less, a savings over the life of a 20 year term of $2580.
I have shared before the fact that saving 60% to 70% is really no great trick simply because there are some unbelievably overpriced products out there. This ad didn’t dig deep enough. Provident Life is hoping you will buy their 20 year term insurance for $1416 annually, a full 95% higher than Western Reserve.
Bottom line. You need a good independent agent to sift through all of the nonsense and bad deals for you. With 2000 companiies vying for your life insurance business, let them do the work. If you feel the need to double check and make sure they are trying to pull a Foresters on you, find a free on line quote system and check it out.
November 30th, 2007
New technology called stereoscopic digital mammography is proving to be dramatically more accurate than standard digital mammography.
Initial testing has shown a decrease in false positive findings of almost 50% with the new technology and it reduced the incidence of missed lesions by 40%. This is huge. Eliminating false positives will reduce dramatically the need for further testing and possibly unnecessary invasive biopsies.
Increasing the percentage of lesions found means that more cancer will be detected at earlier stages and that means better treatment results.
Both of these improvements will save stress on those tested and their families. While there may be joy in finding out that a cancer diagnosis was a false positive, there is trauma and grief that comes first.
Bottom line. Better testing has already helped turn the corner on cancer. Combining early detection with better treatment means that more and more women will be surviving breast cancer. The good news from a life insurance perspective is that early detection generally means low stage and grade, a combination that makes reasonable life insurance show up in your life much quicker.
November 30th, 2007
I bet you thought you would never see the day when I had good news to report on obesity in America. Having harped on how America’s obesity has steadily increased for the last 25 years, how it is changing the health and lives of the country through diabetes, cancer and heart disease……finally some good news.
Our friends at the CDC, Centers for Disease Control, released new statistics yesterday showing that overall obesity in the US has leveled off and may have even started decreasing slightly in women over 20. Go Curves Go!!
That’s the good news. The bad news is that more than one third of Americans still fit tightly into the obese category, and while women seem to have figured out the magic bullet, obesity in men is still increasing, albeit not as rapidly as before the year 2000.
Janet Collins, Director of the CDC, seemed a little less than impressed with the leveling off, stating “In view of these alarmingly high rates of obesity in all population groups, CDC has made the prevention of obesity one of its top public health priorities.” And it should be. Having shared the good news, let’s get real about the bad news. Americans’ diet and lifestyle is pathetic at best, and even if the rate of obesity levels off, the health consequences for our country are huge and will become even more so over the next 20 years.
When you take 72 million people and throw them into a high risk pool for diabetes, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease and on and on, the cost in medical care and lives lost is going to be overwhelming when it all hits the fan.
Bottom line. There is just no way to paint a pretty picture from this scene. When mortality rates increase, so will the cost of life insurance. While we have gone for years now with rates decreasing, that bubble has to burst when Generation 3X starts dropping off.
November 30th, 2007
It is a statistical fact, and certainly no secret, that African American men continue to take more of a beating from prostate cancer than men from any other ethnic background in this country. They are more likely to get prostate cancer. They are less likely to detect it early and they are more likely to die from it. Remember, overall, prostate cancer has a high rate of survivability.
While there is a genetic predisposition that accounts for a higher number of cases, a recent study indicates that the other two issues, early detection and mortality, may have more to do with attitudes and beliefs than any medical reasoning.
The two findings that really stand out in this study have to do with “cancer fatalism” and “religious coping”. Cancer fatalism, as I understand it, is a kind of giving in to the idea that there isn’t much a man can do about cancer. If you get, you get it….if you get it, you’ll likely die from it. While that is probably an oversimplification of the issue, it is cancer fatalism that sets a person’s attitude about screening and early detection. African American men are less likely to get regular screening, so when prostate cancer is detected, it is generally detected in later stages with a higher mortality experience.
The study used three groups of black men, American born African Americans, African Americans who immigrated from Nigeria, and African men living in Nigeria. The logic of the three groups is that generally the genetic makeup, the DNA pool is the same. Most African slaves came from the Nigerian/West African area.
The other finding was interesting, that having to do with religious coping. More than religion, this studied looked at spiritual coping skills and how possessing those skills improved the chances of successful treatment of cancer.
Separating out African American men, the other two groups, Nigerians and West African immigrants were 22% less likely to have a fatalistic cancer attitude and 60% more likely to have the religious coping skills to carry them successfully through treatment.
Another factor that was mentioned, one I touched on in a post earlier this week, is that obesity can make early detection of prostate cancer harder due to a process called hemodilution.
Since African Americans are more prone to obesity and diabetes, these other medical issues can serve to mask the ability to detect early stage prostate cancer.
Bottom line. Each person has to examine life and make their own decisions about how to live it out. Having a fatalistic attitude may make sense to some. You live a good life. You get sick. You die. While I doubt that life insurance underwriters are trying to weigh people’s attitudes, the mortality figures that result from those attitudes are not ignored when considering life insurance.
November 29th, 2007
I know at times it seems that my agenda is more focused on obesity than helping people who are overweight find affordable life insurance. My goal has always been to help people with weight issues become educated on how life insurance underwriters look at obesity which is directly linked to how obesity effects health.
I think it is important for people to understand that life insurance underwriters are not just looking at a build chart and using higher rates to punish pounds. As we have discussed many times in this forum, the earlier an obesity problem arises and the longer it goes on, the more it wears on the body parts and functions.
We have covered many times how obesity puts people at a much higher risk of having diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. A new report should come as no surprise since it is ultimately our skeletal system that has to support the weight. While there doesn’t appear to be any adverse impact on the relative strength of the bones between normal weight and obese people, it does appear that the overweight study group didn’t have the bone mass in comparison to muscle mass that the slimmer study group had.
This seems to be triggered by the fact that bone cells and fat cells are produced from the same source and that in overweight people, the production of fat cells may get in the way of producing adequate bone cells.
Bottom line. No one is saying skinny is better, but let’s not mince words. Obesity has adverse impacts on health, life style, mortality and life insurance rates at every turn. Knowledge is power and sometimes knowledge is the nudge we need to take action.
November 28th, 2007
In case no one has noticed, I occasionally offer my opinion, my take on a real life issue.
The truth is that about 5% of overweight people that inquire about life insurance actually buy it. Most will never return a call after they have seen the quotes that their build generates. They don’t want to deal with the idea that their weight has a bearing on their health and very likely on their mortality.
They know why the rates are higher and yet they never call to see what the options are or how much insurance they can have without busting their budget. I’ve always maintained that if you don’t qualify for what you want within your budget, buy as much as you can within your budget and then work on the problem that created the higher rates.
Burying your head in the sand is not going to help your family when you have a heart attack and die.
Bottom line. Life insurance rates are higher, for good reason, for people who are overweight or obese. Life insurance is still available though. There is simply a time to look beyond the next meal to what your responsibility to your family really is.
November 28th, 2007
The Prostate Cancer Foundation has an annual scientific retreat where the top research scientists get together and review and summarize the major breakthroughs of the year. The Foundation provided a summary this week that, thank you, offered the summaries in language that would excite a scientist, and a separate summary that helps us normal folks understand what the heck they were trying to say.
Just a few of the highlights that I believe we can draw hope from was the discovery of chromosomal fusion. In a nutshell, knowing that this DNA change takes place at the very beginning of the formation of prostate cancer may offer new ways to test for early onset. Previously we had to wait until there was some change in the PSA and often, by the time the PSA showed a significant enough change to warrant further testing, the cancer was advanced. By testing for chromosomal fusion, tests such urinalysis could be used to determine if any DNA shifting had occurred.
While the conclusion was that further study is needed, there is growing evidence that lifestyle may play a key role, and specifically the way food is prepared. Our Cajun friends will not be happy with this, but it seems there is a link between charred (blackened) meats that cause a major dietary cancer-causing chemical (carcinogen) called PhiP, to settle in the prostate.
And finally, nanotechnology, the microscopic delivery of cancer fighting drugs to nano specific areas is gaining momentum. Each new step that can help deliver the needed drug to the specific target is a step toward improved treatment and ultimately improved success.
Bottom line. Prostate cancer detected early and treated correctly is ultimately survivable. These scientific breakthroughs are great news for the 1 in 6 men who develop prostate cancer, and for every prostate cancer survivor who seeks fair life insurance rates.
November 28th, 2007
There are days when you think things just can’t get any more ridiculous. That would not be in the world of advocacy groups. Webster defines advocate as “one that supports or promotes the interests of another”. Today one advocacy group advocated another advocacy group knowing full well that neither of them are doing a good job of advocacy for the groups the purport to be advocates for.
I have long railed on AARP for the way they mistreat their constituency when it comes to life insurance advice. AARP has been in bed with New York Life forever in an effective effort to sell poorly constructed, overpriced life insurance to old folks like us. I mean really!! If you are putting a product together to sell to people primarily in their 60’s, with today’s life expectancies really reaching into the mid 80’s, would you create the product so that it ends at age 80? That is AARP’s idea of good advice and it is New York Life’s idea of a cash cow.
Another advocacy group, the ADA (American Diabetes Association) purports to serve the needs of those with diabetes. Even though it has been brought to their attention on a multitude of occasions, the ADA won’t even talk about life insurance on their website. They don’t talk about how hard it can be for someone with diabetes to find fair rates. They don’t talk about what a person needs to do to find those rates. They don’t even acknowledge that one of the challenges faced by people with diabetes is obtaining life insurance to protect their family.
Well, today they hugged. It was one of those moments when you add two negatives and everything they taught you in school doesn’t come to pass. You still end up with a negative.
The ADA just spouts pure bunk with “Their contributions to the diabetes community and dedication to diabetes awareness directly support ADA’s mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people living with diabetes.” These two are up to something and you can bet it is not all about the good of their constituents.
Bottom line. Neither the ADA or AARP care if you have affordable, quality life insurance. AARP has 39 million members. I have no idea how many of those members they have talked into buying their life insurance, but if it is 1%, there are 400,000 people out their with truly bad life insurance contracts because of their advice. As agents we have to complete ongoing ethics education expressly geared toward our dealings with the elderly. Why isn’t AARP held to the same standard?
November 27th, 2007
Being a longtime small town dweller, it is my personal belief that just driving through a large city can be dangerous to your health. There is the obvious risk that goes with driving along with a bazillion other cars, but just the stress and anxiety that goes with having to work your life around the craziness has to take a toll.
1-2 hour commutes with nothing but stop and go traffic. People cutting you off, flipping you off, and honking their horn because they believe it makes a difference. The extra hours added to your workday. The stress of figuring out what restaurant to eat at.
And now, a study from the UK that seems to indicate that women in big cities have denser breasts. I still haven’t wrapped my mind around what that means or how that could be true or relevant, but the one fact that did make sense is that the big city women are less likely to have regular screening for breast cancer such as mammograms.
This makes sense since planning time for the extra hours needed to accomplish a visit to a clinic in a life that is already so insanely busy, seems at least much harder than out here in the country where the nearest clinic is no more than a 5 minute drive.
As most studies assert, more study needs to be done, but at the very least it seems that anything that causes women to be less proactive about breast cancer screening, and for that matter, causes men to be less proactive about prostate cancer screening, can’t be good. Regular screening has proven its’ worth in early detection and better survival rates. For those in the big city, it is worth using one of those coveted sick days so that the screening can be done, and done regularly, without adding stress.
Bottom line. The more regular the screening, the earlier the detection, the better the prognosis and, of course, the more likely to obtain reasonable life insurance rates. It’s good for you. It’s good for your family and, big city or not, it’s the right thing to work into that busy schedule.
November 27th, 2007
A recent senate finance committee meeting was convened to hear both sides of the argument on the 2010 repeal of estate taxes. As I have pointed out in previous posts, the estate tax has been modified over the past 7 years to make it less of a burden on medium sized estates.
In 2009, the size of the estate exempt from estate taxes will have grown from a pathetic $600,000 in 2000 to $3.5 million. To put that in perspective, in 2000, a $3.5 million estate would have owed nearly $1.5 million in estate taxes. In 2009 it would not be taxable.
The next step comes in 2010. That is the year, if the current legislation is left in place that the estate tax will go away completely at the federal level. You would think that the idea of no estate taxes would have the wealthiest individuals drooling, but just the opposite has happened.
Speaking at this particular hearing was Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men in America. Even though his estate would be taxed billions of dollars, he thinks it should be left in place. One of his primary arguments had to do with how the government was going to replace nearly $24 billion in lost annual revenue.
One of the strongest arguments against the estate tax, and the primary reason that the exemption has been brought to a more realistic level is the portion of the estate tax law that makes the taxes due within 9 months of the death. Settling an estate of any size in 9 months is nearly impossible if everything goes right. If there are significant taxes due, the estate not only has to be settled, but there may have to be substantial liquidation in order to meet the tax burden. It is this fire sale mentality that causes the demise of many ranches and businesses. Hopefully one of the changes that will come out of the fray is a longer period for estate tax settlement.
Bottom line. We probably won’t have a good feel for how this will all shake out, until it shakes out in 2010. Until then, life insurance for estate preservation is the most viable tool out there to protect what you’ve worked all your life to build.
November 26th, 2007
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