Posts filed under 'bipolar'
Insurance agents annual reviews have gotten a bad name over the years and with some justification. Some agents see it only as an opportunity to sell more and kind of do service as an aside.
But don’t underestimate the value of those annual calls. I know before I call a life insurance client I always review what they have, what kind of rating they accepted and look for possible changes in underwriting that could possibly put them in a position to pay less, or possibly get more for the same.
Case in point is a client of mine with bipolar disorder. On an annual review I did, as described above, I re-shopped his bipolar history and a company that had offered the 4th best trial quote the year before now offered an extraordinary quote.
He and his wife had just had their first baby and wanted to increase his coverage but were concerned about the budget. With this offer we were able to double his coverage for just barely more than he was paying before. So, the annual review call filled a need with additional coverage and also gave us an opportunity to talk about, with the new baby, the need for a life insurance trust.
Bottom line. If it’s all about selling you more, then tell your agent to skip the annual review calls and get a life. If, on the other hand, your agent is truly working for your best interests and serving rather than selling, take that call. You’ll be glad you did.
March 17th, 2010
I went to the big city with my wife the other day. Now understand that I dislike shopping about as much as a person can, but a couple of times a year I will give in, amuse my wife, and do it with a smile.
That is in sharp contrast to shopping for the best life insurance deal for a client, something I do daily and with gusto. It pays off big time for my clients. Today we got an approval for a client who has bipolar disorder. He had thrown it to the wind several times and was declined with the exception of a highly rated approval by one company.
We shopped it were able to get a standard rate approval for this client, a full $5000 a year under the best offer he had received from his other applications. There are rewards for being methodical and not haphazard when it comes to shopping and there are rewards for not assuming that just because most companies are going to beat up on an individual, that one company won’t bust through and get the job done.
This particular client fit perfectly into the criteria that I’ve laid out in this blog so often for bipolar, the steps to a good approval.
1. Someone who has not been hospitalized for bipolar disorder other than for diagnosis?
2. Someone who has not attempted suicide or had bouts with suicidal ideations?
3. Someone who is compliant with their treatment, both medications and regular followups?
4. Someone who is leading a stable family life or social life?
5. Someone who is exhibiting a stable work life?
6. Someone who is not on disability for bipolar and does not have issues with drinking or drugs? If there’s a problem here, then the answers to 3, 4 and 5 are no.
7. Best rates come when a person is not using anti psychotic drugs for control
Bottom line. Shopping with gusto is something I can do as long as it’s for life insurance and not shoes.
March 15th, 2010
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
I was involved in an exchange on the Bipolar Disorder Forum of eHealthforum not too long ago. A person had been declined for life insurance and wanted to know if anyone knew the way out of the jungle.
The person asking for help had been declined for life insurance three times due to bipolar and they were ready to throw in the towel, three strikes you’re out. One wife shared that they had been able to get life insurance on her bipolar husband.
Another agent suggested that it was unlikely they could get traditional life insurance given all of the declines and that they should consider a guaranteed issue graded death benefit policy. This is exactly the problem with too many agents. They see a decline, assume it’s completely justified and either walk away or recommend guaranteed issue, all without knowing anything other than the general diagnosis.
I shared my general thought on most declines and that is that, rather than being a dead end, it simply means that it is a case of the person having used the wrong agent who used the wrong company. It is absolutely true that there are underwriters out there who will die never having had the pleasure of processing an approval on a bipolar application, but we work with underwriters all the time who, given reasonable parameters, will give their blessing to the same application in an instant.
I offered the same criteria I try to include every time I speak to the subject of any of the mood disorders, depression, anxiety, ADD, and especially bipolar disorder. Given these parameters and the right agent there is a high likelihood of approval at reasonable rates.
1. Other than for diagnosis, no hospitalization for bipolar in the last 10 years
2. No suicide attempts or suicidal ideations
3. You can’t be on disability for bipolar
4. You have to be compliant and consistent with your treatment, both medicine and consistent psychiatric followup
5. You have to have a stable home and work life
6. The best rates are usually when treatment doesn’t include anti-psychotic drugs
Bottom line. With the number of life insurance agents out there, and the fact that at any given moment most of them are brand new or working for large internet agencies that don’t put a lot of emphasis on quality and effort, the chances of you finding the right agent who can find the right company are slim. I don’t say this to discourage anyone, but rather to possibly change your focus from a shotgun approach to a more focused search. Talk to a prospective agent and ask questions about bipolar disorder. If they don’t know how to answer your questions I assure you they are not the right agent.
February 6th, 2010
It’s December and it’s been an outstanding year in helping those with bipolar disorder find the life insurance they need at affordable prices. Most of our successes have been snatched from the jaws of defeat that other companies have held our clients in. Most have been declined at least a few times before they find out that not all companies underwrite the same.
I’ve often shared the basic criteria it takes to get approved for life insurance if you are bipolar. It doesn’t work with just any company, but independent agents should have access to enough companies that, given the right criteria, an approval should be within reach.
1. Someone who has not been hospitalized for bipolar disorder other than for diagnosis?
2. Someone who has not attempted suicide or had bouts with suicidal ideations?
3. Someone who is compliant with their treatment, both medications and regular followups?
4. Someone who is leading a stable family life or social life?
5. Someone who is exhibiting a stable work life?
6. Someone who is not on disability for bipolar and does not have issues with drinking or drugs? If there’s a problem here, then the answers to 3, 4 and 5 are no.
7. Preferably someone who is not on anti psychotic drugs, although this isn’t set in stone.
We just an approval, a very good one, on a client and without using his name I believe he would be ok with me sharing what his psychiatrist said about him. It really typifies what you would find in a person’s records if they were tracking with the criteria above.
“I have seen the patient on a once a week basis since 2006. During this time period the patient has been stable and has functioned at a high level in his work. He is seeking new opportunities for expanding his knowledge and plans to work toward self employment.
The patient has not suffered any manic, hypo-manic or depressed periods during my time with him. He takes Depakote (mood stabilization) which has controlled his BPAD and he is compliant with taking medication. In other words, his BPAD has been well controlled, especially given the stresses of his job and additional education.
The patient’s mental status examinations have been consistent. He is early for his appointments, well motivated, well groomed, cooperative and pleasant. He has always been oriented to time, place, person and situation. His speech is of normal rate, tone and prosody. His mood is usually euthymic, with some degree of anxiety and sadness at times. The patient has never manifested suicidal or homicidal ideation. He has never been delusional nor experienced auditory or visual hallucinations. His concentration and memory have always been intact. His judgment and insight are good.”
I know there are plenty out there that think that these thoughts would apply to maybe 1 in 1000 of those with bipolar disorder and while this client is certainly a model to shoot for, he is just one of an astounding number of professionals who just also happen to have bipolar disorder.
The reason people (and underwriters) have negative thoughts about bipolar is that there are so many with the disorder who simply go unnoticed because they have milder cases and take their treatment seriously. You wouldn’t know they were bipolar unless they told you. For these people life insurance is only an obstacle if they pick the wrong agent who picks the wrong company.
Bottom line. One of the things that has really stood out about this past year is the number of CEO’s, doctors, dentists, psychiatrists and other professionals who have trusted in us to give the life insurance experience one more try and with almost all we have been successful.
December 5th, 2009
This is a theme I have pounded on for some time. There are the obvious cases where, for instance, someone with bipolar disorder who goes to their Farmers insurance agent should not expect a good outcome. Wrong agent with the wrong company.
In that case there is no competition for the agent’s business. A Farmers agent can only write for Farmers. They only have an underwriter who can review the case through the lens of Farmer’s philosophy and Farmer’s reinsurance agreements. They get one opinion for their clients when there are hundreds of opinions available to an independent agent. They are also stuck with the fact that property/casualty companies like Farmers, State Farm, and Allstate just to name a few, have life insurance available but they are very conservative because it isn’t their area of expertise.
Then there is the independent agent who has contracts with multiple companies but either doesn’t know how to shop a case or just doesn’t shop a case before applying. Not knowing how is usually a matter of not understanding the health issue and what underwriters need to know in order to evaluate the case. It is also a matter of not understanding the power of the trial offer. This combination which can either be sort of the right agent/wrong company or wrong agent/right company also ends in failure.
When all of the facts that an underwriter cares about are presented prior to a formal application and they approve a trial offer at, say, standard rates, they have painted themselves into a corner of sorts. The trial is only as good as the information presented and this is where it is essential that an agent understand what underwriters need to know and understand the underwriting issue and are dogged about making sure they client presents all the information accurately. If all the information needed is presented accurately and a trial offer is given, an underwriter is hard pressed to approve the application differently. If they find new information in the medical or psych records that wasn’t presented, all bets are off.
Not shopping a case on impaired risk cases is simply not doing your job if you are an independent agent. Many agents will simply send the application to their favorite company or the one the pays the best commission and hope they can make the sale when the bad news comes back. In this instance there is a fine line being walked that smells like bait and switch, but could just be ignorance or laziness on the part of the agent.
The right agent using the right company for each client has a high degree of success in getting cases approved at the rate initially quoted. The agent knows what underwriters need to know and insists on having the information before shopping the case. Many times when a certain part of a client’s health history isn’t clear to me I have told them that I need to see the medical or psych records in order to make sure that we present everything accurately on the trial. I’ve had customers walk when I ask them to go the extra mile. I’ve also had customers who had been declined several times get approved because we were able to present the facts on a trial to a wide range of companies.
Bottom line. How do you know it’s the right agent? If you have a serious health or mental issue, whether it heart disease or chronic depression, your agent should be able to understand what you’re talking about and should be able to ask intelligent questions about your condition. If they quote without asking questions or digging for more information you are, in all likelihood, talking to the wrong person.
November 11th, 2009
I’ve talked recently about the United of Omaha “Fit test” crediting program where a person’s health habits and lifestyle can help reduce the price of their life insurance. Well, they bowled a strike on a bipolar disorder term insurance case I was working on today, approving it at the rate they quoted on the trial offer and then lowering that price by about 25% using Fit test credits.
In this case my client was looking at $500,000 of 20 year term at $2360 annually. Once the credits were applied her new guaranteed rate for 20 years is $1762.00.
And these aren’t killer requirements to qualify for credits. It’s not like they want to know if you can run a 10k in under 30 minutes or spend more than 2 hours daily in aerobic exercise.
There are some serious savings to be had for people that have been rated by other insurance companies or have an impairment like type 2 diabetes or bipolar where we know up front that best case is going to be a moderately rated approval. United of Omaha’s crediting can reduce the premium 25% to 50%.
Bottom line. Not being rewarded for your life style is one of the primary complaints people have about life insurance underwriting. United of Omaha just might be the right Fit for you.
October 26th, 2009
To be completely candid and fair when I write about life insurance and mood disorders, mostly bipolar disorder, I have always included a kind of check list on what underwriters do and don’t want to see.
I do this…….
1. Someone who has not been hospitalized for bipolar disorder other than for diagnosis?
2. Someone who has not attempted suicide or had bouts with suicidal ideations?
3. Someone who is compliant with their treatment, both medications and regular followups?
4. Someone who is leading a stable family life or social life?
5. Someone who is exhibiting a stable work life?
6. Someone who is not on disability for bipolar and does not have issues with drinking or drugs? If there’s a problem here, then the answers to 3, 4 and 5 are no.
7. Those who are not on anti psychotic meds will get the better rates.
…..so no one spins their wheels in reaching for the prize. We all want the same thing, a good price on life insurance. It gets us nowhere if you just kind of don’t talk about one of these things and hope it doesn’t pop up in your psych records.
Case in point, “issues with drinking or drugs”. I just had a client who completely ignored that question or didn’t answer it honestly, and when we got medical records it turned out there was a mention of a DUI and being a member of AA. When the company asked for an alcohol questionnaire he confessed on the questionnaire that he had, in fact, had a DUI. He did in fact go to AA. And he still drinks on a daily basis although he claimed he had cut back.
He was declined. If he had divulged this prior to applying I could have told him it was a likely decline. Life insurance companies really hate the idea that people are going to AA and still drinking.
Bottom line. We help a lot of folks with bipolar disorder, depression and other mood disorders, but we are only as good as the information we are given. Underwriters really do care about the answers to those questions and they really will look at your records.
July 8th, 2009
I read a post on Twitter @bpluv today that really kind of drives home one of the points that I’ve been trying to make about the bipolar disorder/life insurance experience. It starts with the oh so true supposition that “Mental illness doesn’t make me crazy, just different”.
And more often that not the only person that notices the difference is the one that has bipolar disorder. But they live feeling different and when they are forced to openly admit they have bipolar disorder, such as on a life insurance application, they are often treated as if crazy until proven otherwise.
It is at this point that I truly believe not all life insurance agents should be allowed to talk to clients who have impairments that they are not familiar with. If the agent doesn’t know the nature of the disorder they won’t know what questions to ask. They won’t know what company to go to and they won’t know what will constitute a good shot at a good result. In a nutshell, they will be primed to waste the client’s time.
There are websites and forms out there that will tell an agent what questions to ask, but if they don’t understand what the answers to the questions mean, or what followup questions to ask to clarify the first question, well, it’s just doomed.
With the help from underwriters from several companies we have been able to develop a concise pre-screening set of questions for bipolar disorder. These questions don’t guarantee optimal results, but for those who get through this trial run, the likelihood is that we can get an approval at a reasonable rate.
1. Someone who has not been hospitalized for bipolar disorder other than for diagnosis?
2. Someone who has not attempted suicide or had bouts with suicidal ideations?
3. Someone who is compliant with their treatment, both medications and regular followups?
4. Someone who is leading a stable family life or social life?
5. Someone who is exhibiting a stable work life?
6. Someone who is not on disability for bipolar and does not have issues with drinking or drugs? If there’s a problem here, then the answers to 3, 4 and 5 are no.
7. We have found companies come through with better offers on single medications and with anti-seizure meds versus anti-psychotics.
Bottom line. There is hope out there for those challenged by bipolar disorder. The hope lies in finding agents that understand that while every tree in your forest might have bipolar disorder, it doesn’t mean that the entire forest is crazy.
May 21st, 2009
Most of the life insurance cases I work are shopped to multiple companies just so I can be assured that the insurance quote I am providing really is going to be as good as it gets and ultimately the client gets the most bang for their buck.
When I shop I am looking for the company that sees a subtle difference in the mortality risk. Most of the time the trial offers I get are bunched around the same rate class and the winner is the company that sees a case as standard plus rather than standard, preferred rather than standard plus, or a table 2 rather than a table 4. Every once in a while I get a reaction from an underwriter that is incredibly out of line with the information I provided and obviously a knee jerk reaction to, well, to something.
A case I am currently working on brought this kind of reaction from Banner Life. This client had a condition called Fuch’s dystrophy of the eye. It is asymptomatic at this point and truly, in a worst case scenario, at some point in the future might require a cornea transplant. All of the other trial offers I got ranged from preferred to standard based on treatment for mild depression, disregarding the Fuch’s as insignificant from a mortality standpoint. This was what I expected, except for Banner. They declined to make an offer due to the Fuch’s dystrophy.
I emailed back and asked for an explanation of their trial non offer and so far haven’t received anything, but I suspect that the underwriter reviewing the case had a knee jerk reaction to the word dystrophy and didn’t bother to research this particular malady to see what impact it would really have on the overall life expectancy.
Another case I was working was for someone that was being treated for depression, rather mild depression, but was being treated with a drug that is used for bipolar disorder. Most companies came back about where I would expect them to, somewhere between preferred and standard, but one company declined to offer due to bipolar disorder. It was the underwriter’s knee jerk reaction to the medication, which is a primary drug for bipolar disorder but is also used for depression that led them decline rather than clarify the facts.
Bottom line. Underwriters are human too and they occasionally misread the information presented or I present it in a way that doesn’t clarify a situation enough. But, for whatever reason the knee jerks and that company is out of the running for now. That is why we always shop to multiple companies. The more eyes that see the case the more likely that we will get a fair hearing and a good offer.
May 19th, 2009
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