Archive for May 6th, 2008
There’s been plenty of press lately about the fact that too much is being made of obesity and sedentary life styles. Can’t we all get along? Maybe, just maybe, obesity isn’t the devil incarnate. Maybe, just maybe, fitness and fatness aren’t oxymorons.
I talk to clients all the time who explain it all away with, “well, I used to play football and this is the weight I played at”. Well, 6′, 280# might work well on the football field, but 20 years later you aren’t needing to knock anyone down and a substantial amount of that 280# isn’t muscle. Life insurance underwriters aren’t out of line calling that a standard rate risk.
Now comes a study that busts the myth that you can be fit and fat and not suffer consequences from your cellulitranslated (a word I just invented that in Greek means “in denial”) life.
The meat of the study cuts right to the chase. Fitness and fatness is better than no fitness at all, but not better than fitness in the absence of fatness.
Bottom line. Yes we can all get along, but don’t blame life insurance underwriters for a lack of sensitivity to your weight issues when they have the facts on their side. They do offer fair rates for the risk they are assessing and they occasionally cut some slack if a person is working hard at changing the life style that got them where they are.
May 6th, 2008
I had a call earlier today from a long time friend that is going to be coming through. Bob has asthma and quizzed me about whether we still had cats or not. More than once he has decided not to stay the night because cats and his asthma just don’t mix.
Now Bob knows I’m a life insurance agent and he knows I’m a bit of a brutal blogger on some subjects, so I am armed with a new study that shows that if my friend would just lose some weight, cats and asthma would likely be less of an issue.
This fairly large study showed that BMI 30 obesity level folks were 66% more likely to have asthma symptoms on a consistent basis than even those who were just considered overweight, BMI 25-29. Bob has always floated between those two categories depending on his level of exercise.
I have another out for my cats though. Bob and I inevitably share several good laughs when we get together, sharing stories and comparing notes on whose kids can mess up better than the other’s. I also found a study about laughter induced asthma. According to this study LIA (yes, they gave it an acronym) is as common or more common than most allergy induced asthma.
From a life insurance standpoint asthma has to meet the same thresholds as many other health issues. The biggest of these are compliance and control. If a person takes the situation seriously and complies with medical direction, the asthma will be well controlled and therefore pose less of a health threat.
Bottom line. Bob is a friend among friends. One of those guys that is always there for you. I hope my advice that he lose the weight once and for all and stop laughing isn’t taken wrong.
May 6th, 2008
It’s really as simple as this. Is your life insurance agent driven solely by the money he will make from the sale, or is there something larger and more important? Is, perhaps, your life insurance agent driven by a passion for what life insurance is all about and because of that passion, driven to do whatever it takes to make sure that you have the opportunity to own some and offer your family the kind of protection that can only come from life insurance?
God has blessed me with the ability to support my family in the life insurance business and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. He has also blessed me with the opportunity and the ability to serve those who haven’t had such an easy go of things when it comes to their health or chances of getting life insurance.
There is a predominant mindset in the business easy is better. I’ve seen so many cases where, with some extra work and effort on the part of an agent, they could have helped a client secure the life insurance they sought, but it was easier to just walk away, or worse, to tell the person that they were uninsurable. At the very least it would be a feather in the hat of the industry if agents were taught how to refer clients in the right direction if they truly don’t know how to help them.
Bottom line. If you are young and healthy with a good family history, any agent can take your money and provide you life insurance. If you have or have had health issues such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease or depression, seek out an independent agent who knows what to ask and where to go to serve your needs.
May 6th, 2008
