There is skin cancer, the most common cancer in the United States with over one million cases annually. Not to trivialize, but most of those cases are basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma and are generally easily and successfully treated.
It is the third in the trio of skin cancers that can and often does change and end lives, Melanoma. Melanoma, while a skin cancer, is extremely aggressive and invasive.
As with most kinds of cancer, early detection and treatment is the key to winning the battle. Self magazine recently ran an article on the ABC’s of Skin Cancer and gave a 5 step list for self examination and identifying problems while still in the early stages. The real message from this timely article was not to get caught sitting and watching a mole change or grow.
From a life insurance standpoint Melanoma is a tough challenge. The real issue is stage and grade, how advanced is it and how deep is it. A melanoma in situ is the best case scenario. Fully encapsulated with very shallow margins, a melanoma in situ can be removed surgically without concern of spread. Generally shortly after successful treatment standard or better rates are available. The deeper the Clark’s level of the melanoma the tougher the underwriting. With higher grade cancers it can be as long as 10 or more years before you can get back to standard rates and it is not unusual, just because of the tenacious, aggressive nature of melanoma, that once you have had it, you might never do better than standard rates.
Bottom line. Vigilance is the key. Don’t poopah that mole. Get it checked out by a dermatologist and if it starts changing at all, run, don’t walk back.
June 23rd, 2009
Some have noted that I’m more than just a little opinionated when organizations and companies try to sell overpriced, under guaranteed term insurance or whole life policies as final expense policies.
First let’s kind of define the final expense need so people will understand the target, or if they even have a target that needs to be aimed at. Having just been through this with my Dad’s passing away 8 months ago I can tell you that final expenses included a funeral, legal fees to close out his trust, fees to change property ownership documents, final medical expenses and hospice care.
Because of planning well and choosing to be cremated versus buried, Dad’s final expenses were under $10,000. If you add a burial and take away the existence of his trust and insurance that covered about half of his hospice stay, the bill would have run closer to $25,000. My professional opinion is that today, in the absence of $25,000 cash set aside for this purpose, a person should have at least a $25,000 permanent life insurance policy in force.
Since I normally beat AARP to death on this subject, for the sake of spreading the beatings out, we’ll actually take a look at Globe Life, a more respectable but still overpriced option. I ran quotes for a 60 year old from their website and was presented with 7 and 15 year term options and whole life as their permanent recommendation. Their whole life product was priced at $119.25 a month and illustrated that the policy would generate $1900, $5200 and $12,000 cash value at 5,10, and 20 years respectively. Concerning that cash value their website states “Builds cash values! Yet another quality benefit is the guaranteed cash values that build up tax-deferred over the life of the policy. Once they start accumulating, the money can be used any way you see fit.”
OK, I want the cash value to be added to the death benefit when I die. That’s the way I see fit. But that’s not happening. If you die 20 years down the road your beneficiary doesn’t get $25,000 plus the $12,000 cash value. They just get the $25,000. And, if you chose to use that cash value in some other way you saw fit, and didn’t pay it back, it will be deducted from the death benefit. What a deal I have for you.
Soooo, I ran rates on what I recommend for a permanent life insurance solution. If you don’t have that money socked away for final expenses I highly recommend a universal life policy with a no lapse guarantee. This product is permanent. You will not outlive it. It has a level premium guaranteed for life. And it doesn’t use cash value as an internal guarantee so the cost is much lower. To be fair, even though most 60 year olds can qualify for better than standard rates, I ran a quote at standard with Genworth Life and Annuity for $25,000 and the monthly cost was $52.52.
The difference between these two policies? You have to take an exam for the lower rate which is at no cost to you. You can have Globe manage $65 extra a month for you or you can do it yourself. With Genworth if you decide to use that $65 “any way you see fit”, it doesn’t have to be paid back to keep your policy intact. If you choose to invest it I think you will see that beating the cash value accumulation in a whole life policy isn’t that tough even if you pay taxes on the interest gain.
Bottom line. Final expense is a valid reason for life insurance if you don’t have it truly covered in some other way. Simplified issue whole life policies such as AARP and Globe Life are, in my professional opinion, a bad idea. Don’t let the lack of exam entice you into paying far too much. The exams and quick and easy and don’t cost you anything…and you get the results whether you ultimately accept the policy or not.
We will be joined shortly for a comment from Hadley who represents Globe Life. He is a fine agent and I have a lot of respect for him. We disagree on this subject, but there are a lot of things we do agree on, so………
June 23rd, 2009
Behind every good man is a good woman the saying goes. That’s certainly true in my life. Also, behind every successful impaired risk life insurance agent is a talented, well connected General Agent.
Impaired risk is an industry term that covers the full spectrum of those clients who, because of some physical or mental impairment, have a hard time getting life insurance at affordable rates and often have a hard time getting life insurance at all. It is this end of the business where I have hung my hat and where I found the perfect partner in Rich Fuller with CPS/Special Risk Services in Denver.
Rich has, when all of my bullets have been shot, gone to bat and to battle over cases where we know that the facts and logic are on our side (things that somehow escape underwriters who are lovers of their sacred underwriting manuals). Because of his connections and because of the connections he has helped me make, we are able to able to present trial quote requests to the right people with the right information, a key to success.
He has successfully ferreted out life insurance rates for private pilots that are second to no other agency in the country. He has helped me carve out niches where very few agents want, or even have a clue how, to go. We have been able to consistently beat some of the largest agencies in the country for clients with heart disease, aortic valve replacements, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, bipolar disorder and depression.
For both of us this is all about the clients we can help. We have gone above and beyond what an average agency would given the small amount of money to be made on some cases. There are a lot of agencies that will just blow off smaller cases, a rather self centered point of view. We have also hit major home runs on huge estate cases where we were able to save clients tens of thousands in premium per year.
Bottom line. I just needed to say these things for two reasons. First, there are a lot of agents who follow this blog and I wanted them to know where they can find the best help for their clients. Second, it’s important for those looking for life insurance to know that there is a professional team out there who will make their life insurance challenge a personal mission. We want to get the job done the way it should be.
June 23rd, 2009
