Posts filed under 'Independent agent'
Well, no…..or maybe yes……it all really depends. I hope this information has been helpful.
Seriously though, underwriting of Hepatitis C really comes down to a few key factors. First, is the disease in remission and second, how much damage has the liver sustained? Remission, if achieved, usually comes after treatment with interferon.
The goal, the measure of remission, is whether liver functions are normal and a negative viral load has been achieved. While it varies depending on the progression of the hepatitis, generally the treatment and return to normal labs will take two to five years. Once those benchmarks have been achieved it is possible to get standard rates from some companies. Prior to those benchmarks being achieved companies vary between highly rated policies or a decline.
The other factor looked at is the results of liver biopsies. Obviously any serious liver impairment has long term health consequences and each case would have to be reviewed by a medical director to determine the extent of the risk. Again, like the previous variables, if liver damage is relatively minor or non existent, standard rates should be attainable through several companies.
Bottom line. Hep C is not the end of the world for reasonable life insurance rates and the rumor going around that once you have Hep C you are uninsurable is simply unfounded. Seek out an independent agent and have them shop it for you.
October 29th, 2008
We certainly have our good days and our bad days in helping those with bipolar disorder obtain life insurance. Fortunately the good does outweigh the bad. I think we do need to throw a reality check water balloon on this party though.
I have often mentioned that one of the most critical components of putting together a successful quest for life insurance if you are bipolar is that you have to be able to demonstrate a stable life, both work and personal.
What I am going to say here is very critical, so please, if you are considering applying for life insurance…..understand that just telling me your life is stable isn’t going to get an approval on your life insurance. What you tell me has to match up with what’s in your medical records, psychiatrist’s reports, etc. Your stability has to be real and we have to be able to back it up.
We have helped so many people, from homemakers to CEO’s, all with bipolar disorder and each of those we have been successful in helping has one thing in common, brutal honesty. It isn’t easy to talk about the things that aren’t right in our lives and as Americans I think we are somewhat prone to putting a bit of spin on how we present ourselves.
As an independent agent I am armed to the teeth to be able to pull off approvals that can’t be found elsewhere, but our exchange of information has to be an absolute no spin zone.
Bottom line. Whether it is bipolar disorder or cancer, the end result in underwriting is going to come from your medical records. I end first interviews with potential clients by asking if there is anything that I haven’t covered that might show up in their medical records. A last attempt to make sure we have everything we need and there are no hidden gems.
October 27th, 2008
As many of you have so graciously tolerated my use of my Mom’s breast cancer to discuss the life insurance take on the subject, you may remember that prior to Mom, there was Dad and his stage 4 bladder cancer.
About a year and a half ago Dad was given a few months to possibly a year to live when the oncologist were unable to find a chemotherapy drug that he could tolerate. He was told that they didn’t have anything else they could do. But we, family, friends and everyone we could engage did have one more arrow in the quiver, prayer.
We prayed for Dad’s healing in spite of the fact that the medical community had given him a rather grim forecast. Six months later he had a CT scan and there was less cancer then than he had when they discontinued treatment, and Dad felt great. He was 85 years old and walking a couple of miles a day and living life to the fullest.
We feel so blessed that he had that time of winning with God, beating the odds and enjoying a rather vigorous period of his life for a guy his age. He felt blessed enough to share the Lord with anyone who would listen. He shared his story with anyone, but particularly with people who were going through hard times physically, people who were old and facing cancer battles.
The cancer came back about a month ago and Dad is in hospice now. He’s not doing well. As you have all prayed for him and Mom in the past I would ask you to pray for them again. Cancer is a sinister thing but I’ve so many people make so much good come out of it. Please pray for God’s perfect healing for him. It seems they will be together before long and then the pain and discomfort will end. My Dad will be healed.
Bottom line. My Mom and Dad and I have prayed more together in these last two years than in our lives before that combined. God has brought us the peace, comfort and wisdom that we could not have found on our own. He has brought us extra time that doctors said wouldn’t happen. His grace and mercy have carried us.
October 16th, 2008
You know the rates I’m talking about. You see them advertised everywhere and it makes it seem as though life insurance is almost free, simply there for the picking. In the industry those rates are called things like preferred plus, preferred elite, select preferred, or jokingly, Superman rates.
The question really revolves around whether you do, in fact, have to be superman or woman to get those rates? Is perfect health required? Do companies go out of their way once you have applied to find a way to disqualify you? If the truth was really known, would they actually bump Superman out because of his genetic weakness to kryptonite or because he is a private pilot (of sorts)?
OK! Let’s cut to the core of this question. All people do not qualify for those “best rate class” rates. Those who call up with diabetes, a history of depression, or heart disease and get all indignant because they don’t qualify are, well, living in la la land. Life insurance underwriting is to the best of its’ ability a measure of mortality risk. People with health issues and especially health issues with obvious mortality assumptions will be asked to pay a higher rate than those with no health issues.
There are a few health issues that balance in between. High blood pressure is one of those. Most companies will not allow their best rate class if you are treated for high blood pressure. High blood pressure of course has links to heart attacks and stroke. There are a few companies, two that I know of, that will allow their best rate with blood pressure treatment as long as the treatment is working and the blood pressure is well controlled.
Cholesterol is probably a better example as companies seem to be split about 50/50 on cholesterol treatment. About half seem to think it is OK to be treated with good control and the other half think you should pay more because of the cholesterol link to heart disease and heart attacks.
So, the question is “do you have to be in perfect health”? The answer is not cut and dried, but I would say no. We’ve placed a lot of best rate class life insurance on people with less than perfect health. Can you stretch that very far? NO!
Bottom line. Once again the edge for you goes to the independent agent. If you are locked into one company the chances of catching a break is slim to none. Be forthcoming and straightforward about any medications you take and past or present health issues you have and tell your agent that your goal is the best possible rates that you qualify for. Be realistic and you won’t be disappointed.
October 14th, 2008
If you talk to most life insurance applicants who fall into the obese or morbidly obese categories according the their BMI, they have usually been told that they aren’t insurable or that the prices are so high as to render uninsurable because they can’t afford it.
Let’s not dance around the subject. Life insurance underwriting is all about assessing mortality risk, your chance of dying compared to someone in average health. One of the things they consider are the risk factors that you have and the health issues you might, or in some cases are likely to acquire.
In the case of obesity, it is a known risk factor for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. So honestly it is not just the weight that impacts the outcome of the life insurance application, but the compounded perceived risk. Given the risk factors, while you may not agree when you have to pay higher premiums, life insurance companies are actually pretty generous with their build charts.
As I was running quotes for a person 5′11 and 395 pounds today, I was impressed by the fact that, number one, he was insurable and number two, while he may not be able to afford all he wants, he can still afford to make sure that his family is taken care of. Back when I did a series of blogs on the TV show Fat March, it generated a lot of attention to see the contestants on that show go from uninsurable to insurable, to great rates as their weight came down. Probably the most important aspect of that show and that series of blogs was the great discussion it generated over not just life insurance rates, but how life style changes could have such a huge positive impact on health and longevity.
Bottom line. If your only issue impacting life insurance at this point is weight, bite the bullet and find an independent agent to shop for the best possible rate for you. The picture isn’t going to get any prettier if you drag your feet and other health issues pop up and compound the issue. While there is a point where weight alone can keep you from getting traditional life insurance, chances are you aren’t there even if you’ve had a decline letter or two.
October 7th, 2008
Talk about a topic that has changed with the wind over the years, diabetes underwriting would be that animal. There was a time not all that long ago, at least if you’re my age, that diabetes was treated by most companies with a swift decline and by the few that would entertain it, with extreme caution (read that higher rates).
In the last 6-7 years we finally found some sanity on the subject with US Financial Life. They were the first so called clinical underwriting company. In a nutshell that meant that they didn’t treat all people with diabetes the same. If you happened to have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and were doing all the right things to take care of yourself, they would often hand out approvals at their preferred rates. That was the good news. The bad news is that they caved into a buyout offer by giant AXA Equitable. When all was said and done, they dismantled the company and the progressive underwriting and left it as a fond memory.
Since then we have had beacons of hope in companies like Banner Life. Banner briefly stepped out there and said they would offer their best rate class given strict guidelines. They wanted to see age of onset past 50, no other health issues or risk factors, and an hbA1c in the borderline area, below 6.0.
They soon revised that from their best rate class to standard plus, still a breath of fresh air. In premium dollars their standard plus was actually competitive with the old US Financial preferred so it seemed that even given their swift back step from preferred plus possibilities, we still had a competitive direction to go. That was last year.
Fast forward to now. Banner Life is still the one to beat out there although they have tightened on their criteria a bit more. That has brought companies like American General (yes, they’re still a good company) and West Coast Life into the mix.
Bottom line. Type 1 diabetes has become a tougher hunt than it used to be, but still not impossible. The companies that do entertain underwriting the condition are very cautious about collateral health issues. Type 2 diabetes remains a very competitive market which means there are good rates available. Seek out a good independent agent to find out what all of this means for you or your loved one.
October 6th, 2008
Well, duh! Of course you do, but the good news is that you don’t have to be breathing all the time. After all, sleep apnea could be loosely described as periods of not breathing during sleep.
Sleep apnea is one of those health issues that life insurance underwriters, from company to company, vary wildly on. Some companies treat sleep apnea as if you’ll never start breathing again, instant decline. They act as if the risk is somewhere between stage 4 colon cancer and sky diving without a parachute.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have been very successful at getting best rate class approvals for people with mild to moderate sleep apnea if there aren’t any other risk factors involved. Even severe sleep apnea is getting placed at better than standard rates.
So, are underwriters really concerned that someone will stop breathing and not start again? Well, no! The truth that drives sleep apnea underwriting really revolves around the fact that during those periods of apnea, the blood oxygen level drops and sometimes blood pressure increases. These strains on the heart can lead to cardiovascular issues and possibly a heart attack.
There is also the very real risk that a spouse may strangle you because, to put it gently, there is snoring and than there is sleep apnea snoring. The difference is not subtle and with sleep apnea, especially severe sleep apnea, there is very little break from the onslaught.
Underwriting becomes more difficult when there are already risk factors involved such as obesity or high blood pressure. The more risk factors you pile on that all sort of lead in the same cardiac related direction, the tougher it is to get the best rates. In most cases though, with a good independent agent, life insurance can be found and approved.
Bottom line. As with all health issues, life insurance underwriting of sleep apnea is all about compliance with treatment, control of the problem and if you have confined the problem to just one issue.
September 30th, 2008
If anything, I hope I’ve driven home the point over the years that life insurance underwriters look at any health issue not just from a pure mortality standpoint, but from a compliance and control point of view. If you look at the overall bucket of potential insureds, some of the old school underwriters will still look at it from the angle that all people with hypertension should be treated the same.
But the key for those underwriters who truly analyze each case is compliance, does the client truly follow the doctor’s instructions and control, how well is it working? The truth is that while the dynamics of different health and mental issues may differ, the end result given an underwriter who isn’t trapped in the old school box of “everyone in the same bucket”, can vary dramatically in favor of those who take their issues seriously and strive for control.
A few examples of companies and underwriters who are acting outside the industry box with hypertension are Banner and Minnesota Life. While no other companies will allow their best rate class if a person is treated for blood pressure, these two leaders do just exactly that as long as control is demonstrated. Given good control most companies will only bump these clients to their second best rate class, but that is usually a full 20% higher than the best class. That can mean hundreds of dollars a year depending on age and policy size.
More and more companies are allowing that kind of treatment with cholesterol, but there are still plenty of old school companies and underwriters who believe that people should be penalized for treating their cholesterol, even when that treatment is preventative or if it’s for a borderline issue.
While certainly more complicated in what it takes to call bipolar disorder controlled, there are a few companies with underwriters that understand that the bucket approach is completely inappropriate. There are people with bipolar who are completely functional, stable and far from being a mortality risk.
Bottom line. Whatever your health challenge, if you believe it to be well controlled, if you believe that you are truly in charge of it and not it of you, seek out the independent agent who can capitalize on that for you. In many cases there is simply money that doesn’t need to be spent.
September 26th, 2008
I understand that most people go and stay where they are the most comfortable. That’s why so many people end up buying overpriced life insurance through their auto and homeowner’s agent, agents that are captive to companies like Farmers, State Farm, Farm Bureau and Allstate.
An independent agent can offer two things that will set them apart in the life insurance arena to such a distance that you will wonder where the auto and homeowners guys get off even claiming they sell life insurance.
First, and I have documented this in previous posts, the rates available through life insurance companies can be as little as half of the premium you would pay for comparable coverage through one of the Farm companies. The agents don’t have a choice. That is their product and I honestly believe that most of them don’t know any better and believe that their rates are just fine. After all, if they weren’t just fine, why would people be buying them. A case I mentioned just recently with Farm Bureau was on a young couple that was paying $51 a month for both of them for $100,000 of 10 year term on each.
This couple has two very young children and to start with, 10 year term insurance isn’t the right product. They needed at least a 20 year term to make sure things are covered until those kids grow up. We were able to get them $250,000 of 20 year term each and they are paying $33 a month total. So, numero uno, independent agents have the best prices available to them.
Second is underwriting. The folks underwriting life insurance at auto and homeowners companies are very likely told not to accept any risk, perceived or real. So even the smallest of issues is blown into an underwriting nightmare. I worked with a woman over the weekend that was told by her State Farm agent that at her age and her health, she should probably just forget about getting life insurance. She is 66 and the only health issue is borderline high blood pressure. She is well on the way to getting the coverage that she really needs at a very good price.
Bottom line. It is the independence that makes the difference. If your agent hasn’t got a choice of companies and and variation of underwriting guidelines, they are stuck hoping you don’t notice just how bad their products are. Shop around.
September 22nd, 2008
With the federal bail out and takeover of AIG a few days ago it is now pretty apparent that assets from the insurance giant will be up for sale soon. With the terms of the bailout loan only being two years in length and at an interest rate of 11.5%, while there won’t be a fire sale mentality, there will most certainly be very little foot dragging.
The good news for the government and AIG is that apart from their financial products unit, the branch that insured mortgages, there are some very healthy and profitable parts of the company. There will be some very healthy and wealthy companies that will be looking seriously at purchasing, for instance, American General Life Insurance.
For all of those policy holders with guaranteed products through American General, their term insurance products and their universal life products with external no lapse guarantees, the sale of the company will have virtually no impact other than who their premium checks are made out to. By law all of the guarantees that are part of the American General policy will remain intact with the new company.
Where the rubber, all I’ve said over the years about non guaranteed universal life and whole life policies, will meet the road will be in this sale. Because many of those products have no guarantees or short guarantees, they will be subject to rate increases when the guarantees run out and I think it is fair to say that those rate increases aren’t something that might happen. They will happen.
The good news will be for those who still have some guaranteed time left and even better for those that are still guaranteed and have cash value. If you work soon with an independent agent to look at alternatives, you may be able to replace your current policy with a fully guaranteed policy at potentially a better rate than you are currently paying. If you have cash value it can be rolled into the new policy tax free through a 1035 exchange.
Bottom line. In a few years this will be just another financial footnote. I can say unequivocally that none of my customers will be impacted by this as they all have guaranteed products. If I were king I would ban all non guaranteed products and force those who want to play with their money to do it outside of the scope of their family protection.
September 19th, 2008
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