So you just got declined for life insurance and you’ve decided that life insurance companies suck. The truth is you may have just had a goose lay a golden egg for you.
So, the good news in a decline? It almost always means that you either had the wrong agent or the wrong company, or both and you now know why you were declined. OK, I know you’re waiting for the good news. The good news is that if you know why you were declined and you take that information to the right agent who takes it to the right company, you will more than likely get approved.
If I’m you, the first question that comes to mind is how do I find the right agent? Well, I wish I could tell you it was as simple as going to www.rightagent.com, but alas, it’s a real estate agent site. So, narrow down what you’re searching for, and fire up the search engines. Don’t get sidetracked by agencies that are obviously using every key word they can just to attract attention. Look for links to agency blogs that actually show that there is some knowledge of your particular health issue and some expertise in being able to find good rates.
Then interview them. Call and ask questions. You know your health issue. Find out if they know it too. Do they ask you questions about your health issue that make sense? Do they seem to be digging for relevant information? Can they explain to you why the information they need is relevant to a life insurance underwriter?
When you feel like you’ve found a knowledgeable independent agent, lay it all out for them. Tell them you’ve been declined and by what company or companies. Tell them about the interactions you had with the agent or agents that worked on your declined applications. Tell them everything you know about your health issue and if they ask you to call your doctor for copies of tests or more information, do it for them.
Does it have to be an independent agent? I think not using an agent that has the freedom to go to the best company for your situation is foolish. You want an agent that has absolutely no allegiance to any company. You don’t want an agent who is trying to rack up points with a certain company to win a production prize. Their only focus should be who will approve you and give you the best deal.
Bottom line. Most people who contact us do it when they’ve been declined. I have this vision of someone being declined, for instance, for bipolar disorder and angrily typing into Google “bipolar life insurance”. Call up Ed Hinerman and see if he really knows anything about how to get life insurance if you have bipolar disorder. If not, go to the next.
February 24th, 2010
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has held themselves out as the private pilot’s friend for a long time, the advocate, the go to organization, the one stop shop for all of your needs.
For all I know they may in fact be the shining star they claim to be, except when it comes to life insurance where they stand out as being very limited in scope for the average pilot and amazingly like AARP, my least favorite advocacy group, in their other offerings.
From the life insurance information page of their website they throw out these offerings:
AOPA Group Term Life Insurance
Most likely you have some life insurance coverage. But is it enough to adequately provide for your loved ones if you’re no longer there to support them? Right now, AOPA members and their spouses under age 65 can apply for $5000 up to $1 million in affordable coverage with no aviation exclusions. Go ahead and get your quotes, but I’m not getting a warm, fuzzy feeling about a group product with face amounts available from $5000 to $1mm. Being group with super small face amounts it almost certainly has to be a simplified issue product and the way companies make it simple to issue is by overcharging or not guaranteeing. And what’s with only offering it up to age 65?
AOPA Level Term Life Insurance
AOPA members and their spouses can lock in affordable rates and benefits from $200,000 up to $1 million for 10 or 20 years. Every year you can trust that your rate won’t increase, making it easy to plan and budget from year to year. This is their Minnesota Life offering which, by the way, can be purchased through any independent agent. And when you go through an independent agent Minnesota Life opens up the offerings to include all the term lengths, 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, and face amounts from $100,000 to $10,000,000.
AOPA Senior Term Life Insurance
Often times obtaining quality, affordable coverage after age 50 is difficult. That’s not the case with AOPA Senior Term Life Insurance. It’s specifically designed for members over age 50. AOPA Members age 50 to under 75 and their spouses age 45-75 can obtain $10,000 to $50,000 in economical life insurance without submitting to a medical exam. This is the product that stinks like they robbed right off an AARP truck. Guaranteed issue whole life. Viciously overpriced permanent coverage that, because of the high cost, will rarely be still in force at the time of your death unless you can manage to die early on as a “senior”, say at age 50. Guaranteed a bad deal even if you’re just looking for a final expense policy.
Bottom line. AOPA is pathetically far down on the list of places that a private pilot should go looking for their best options on life insurance. There are plenty of independent agents out there that can get better deals in almost every circumstance.
February 24th, 2010
