Posts filed under 'private pilots'
All right guys, you can take a break. I already know how most of you feel about life insurance. If it’s free you’ll take some but if it gets into your beer or bass boat money, well, a guy has to have his priorities, right?
Ladies, in general men have two ways of handling life insurance. Not at all or insufficiently. Men really believe that it won’t happen to them even though the facts don’t back that up. The truth is that 1 in 6 of them that reach age 25 won’t make it to 64 and I suspect I’m not going to far out on a limb to say that there’s probably very few, if any, of you who can’t plug a friend or family member into that statistic.
I would just like to share a testimonial from the wife of a client who died a few years ago. He was a private pilot and, well, her words…..
“My husband John loved to fly. His entire childhood he dreamed of the day when he could learn to fly, and own his own plane. In December of 2005 he was closer to that dream, when he purchased a Bonanza Beechcraft single engine airplane. He was a year ahead of his scheduled deadline of flying before he reached 50! His dream was real, and it was like Christmas to him.
His excitement hit an all time high when he finally took ownership of the plane in February and planned his first “cross country flight†with his flight instructor. He had to reschedule that flight 6 times, due to rain and schedule conflicts, and finally was able to go on my son’s birthday, almost 4 months later.
It was his first and last cross country flight. Coming home from Reno, on takeoff the plane lost its engine and plunged tragically into a house in Reno and in a blaze of fire destroyed the house. The flight instructor and John were instantly killed.
Life Insurance? Thank God John had done that. He and Ed had established a policy to cover in the event he had an accident, even tho it was NEVER going to happen! I will forever be grateful for that.
Ed made the process move along and championed my cause from the first phone call after the accident. He was diligent, focused and made things happen – all at a time when I wasn’t any of those things.
No, the money doesn’t bring my husband back, but the boys and I have been able to be free from the tremendous financial pressures we would otherwise, no doubt have faced, and at a time we were least equipped to face those challenges.
John was only 49. I have had five friends lose their husbands before they reached 52. Strange things happen. To me, Life insurance is not optional, it is a real necessity.”
“John was only 49.” John was an exceptional man. He cared deeply about Karen and his boys and even though he figured he would outlive his term insurance, he just wanted to be sure. He bought it. He didn’t fuss about it. And he bought a very adequate amount.
Bottom line. Whether it is cancer, a heart attack, or an accident while pursuing a dream, unforeseen things happen. Life insurance is a very affordable way to make sure that those left behind don’t have to struggle with finances as well as grief.
April 16th, 2009
I finally got my wife to look the other way while I jumped out of an airplane for my 54th birthday. She’s always so nice about asking me what I want for my birthday, and for the past 5 years I had
been telling her I wanted to try skydiving and that would be a href="http://www.mile-hi-skydiving.com/tandemEx.php">great present. She steadfastly refused, not wanting to be a party to my smashing demise on an airport runway. So, having paid for it myself and knowing that my life insurance was all current, it’s a perfect example to discuss how life insurance companies feel about you taking up risky hobbies after you already have insurance in force.
The whole thing hinges on a simple question. Were you actively planning on doing the activity when you took out the insurance? Hoping to do something at some point in the future is not actively planning. Hoping for it, dreaming about it and asking for it for your birthday don’t constitute actively planning. Having a date set to jump out of the airplane is actively planning. If you weren’t actively planning when you took out your life insurance policy, you’re covered.
A current client is a good example of this. He travels all over the world in his business and we divulged all of the places he travels or has plans to travel to on a questionnaire that went with the application. The policy was approved, but before he put it in force he called and asked, “Will this policy cover me if I start traveling to places that weren’t on the foreign travel questionnaire?” Since he doesn’t have any current plans to do so, the answer was yes.
This question has been brought up by a number of my private pilot clients. In many cases they were ready to dump life insurance policies that they had taken out prior to becoming a pilot. So my question to them was, “at the time you took the policy out, were you actively planning to start training as a pilot? Had you signed up as a student pilot?” If the answer was no, their old policy covered them. They also ask about future changes in their aviation activities. If, down the road, they get an opportunity build and fly an experimental airplane, as long as it wasn’t planned at the time the insurance went in force, they’re good to go and fully covered.
From an insurance company point of view, when they underwrite your policy there is an assumption that people with bad habits will stop them and people without bad habits will find some. I have had clients that started smoking after they had insurance in force as a non smoker. They were fully covered even if they died from a smoking related cancer death. It is not uncommon for a recreational scuba diver to take up wreck or cave diving after a while. As long as they didn’t plan on doing wreck or cave diving when they took out a policy, it’s covered.
As for me and my 54th birthday flight of fancy, I was covered. And it was awesome.
Bottom line. Insurance companies don’t assume your life will remain static after they approve your policy. Before you run out and look for new insurance because of a lifestyle change, have your policy reviewed by an independent agent. You may be covered already.
March 31st, 2009
The ADA continues to strike me as an incomplete advocate. Just try to find information on what it takes to get affordable life insurance if you have diabetes. Unbelievable! I called them this morning and then sent the following email in an attempt to break through to someone that cares.
“I have attempted in the past to share information about how diabetes impacts a person’s ability to get life insurance and what it takes and how a person can find affordable life insurance rates with a history of type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
I am struck by the lack of information provided by the ADA website on this challenge. Life insurance is mentioned more often in the context of planned giving to the ADA than it is as an everyday need for people and families dealing with diabetes.
The only page you have that goes into life insurance at all, is less than informative, and at least in the first few sentences, inaccurate and misleading. I suspect a lot of people, if they can even find that page, are turned off and don’t read the entire article. If they do read the entire article, they certainly don’t have a clue where to go from there.
I have been treated rudely and unprofessionally by your staff in my attempts to provide useful information in this arena in the past. I would like to believe that there is a way to get valuable information on to your website, information that positively impacts your member’s everyday lives.
Is it possible to speak to someone about how we might collaborate to provide real, insightful, valuable information to those that face the challenge of protecting their family and/or doing planned giving through life insurance when diabetes stands between them and doing those things affordably?”
Bottom line. I certainly haven’t hidden the fact that I have no love loss for “advocacy” groups that don’t deal with, or deal inappropriately with their member’s need for life insurance. What the ADA isn’t for those with diabetes is the same as what AARP isn’t to older people is the same as what AOPA isn’t to private pilots.
March 24th, 2009
It’s been a fascinating couple of years. I will sum it up by saying that we have helped a lot of people get life insurance who never thought they could. And what better way to celebrate the information we’ve shared and the victories we’ve had than with a shared meal, a key word salad.
Diabetes has been at the forefront of our life insurance efforts from the very start. We’ve made huge headway in finding aggressive underwriting for type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. I think our strong point has been in education. There are a lot more people out there today that know what their A1c is than when we started.
I’ve been very clear about where some of the problems lie in our industry. The AARP/New York Life collaboration, on what can only be described as a sick crime against older folks, continue to offer the worst term insurance and whole life insurance in the business. They are simply not the advocate they claim to be.
I’ve stepped on some toes along the way. Selectquote and Zander Life insurance have taken exception to some of my observations. Being a Dave Ramsey fan and I think, ultimately, a reasonable person, I did apologize to Zander. In spite of Selectquote’s berating commentary, I still stand by my assertion that they are biased in what companies they offer (otherwise they wouldn’t be so easy to beat) and I still believe that Suze Orman should go back to waitressing. As to their assertion that I only use Selectquote and Suze Orman for search engine optimization, well, I don’t, even though they think I do. If I didn’t think there was better service elsewhere and more honest advertising, I would never have mentioned Selectquote.
We’ve touched on scuba diving and Prudential being a leader in great rates for recreational divers. Pru also stomps the competition on prostate cancer, sleep apnea and mild anxiety issues. While providing direction on those issues we have also been able to provide direction for those involved in skydiving and foreign travel to places where kidnap and ransom insurance is more than just a casual thought.
We’ve stayed abreast of the economic meltdown and recession that have whacked us all and tried to help people understand how best to handle their life insurance needs in these tight times.
We’ve held lengthy discussions about obesity and the impact it can have on other health issues such as hypertension or high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, heart attack, stroke and cancer. We’ve discussed the risk and benefits of gastric bypass surgery as a means to avoid the life threatening side effects of being over weight.
Probably our biggest response has been from those suffering from depression and bipolar disorder. We reached a group of people that have truly been black balled in the insurance industry and we’ve been able to find some level headed underwriting and hit some major home runs for those who have the name tag but lead normal lives.
We have bared the facts behind the black eye of all black eyes in the insurance industry, the non guaranteed whole life, universal life and variable universal life policies and explained the alternatives in the permanent insurance market. There is nothing that provides greater value and peace of mind than a rock solid guarantee.
We’ve had frank discussions about business life insurance such as key man insurance and buy/sell life insurance. We did a whole series on women and life insurance. We’ve provided direction and information to private pilots that they aren’t getting anywhere else. We’ve talked about the guts of the policy when it comes to the two year suicide and incontestability clause and the accelerated death benefit and the beneficiary rights and the beneficiary issues for those who aren’t in a legal relationship such as a gay couple or an unmarried couple.
Bottom line. And the list goes on and on. We’ve tried to leave no stone unturned and no question unanswered in our quest to find life insurance for those whose mortality risk might be more challenging than average. As an independent agent it has been gratifying to have so many ways to help those who have been mishandled by the wrong agent or the wrong company. As we continue to reach out my prayer is that all who need help find it, and that more agents consider serving those who are harder to help.
March 18th, 2009
Most of the private pilots in the US have had some experience with the effect their hobby or avocation has on their life insurance rates. Insurance companies generally don’t look favorably on private aviation and the insurance quotes that most companies and agents provide reflect that.
There are a few companies out there that offer fair, reasonable rates for term insurance and universal life as long as the pilot meets thresholds. These thresholds reward those who are experienced and fly enough to maintain their proficiency. It’s important when a pilot chooses an agent, that they question that agents’ experience and proficiency in finding competitive rates.
For the perfectly healthy pilot or those with only mild health issues such as high blood pressure or possibly being a bit overweight there are plenty of players. But even at this level shopping around a bit is prudent. Some agencies have their “primary” carrier and they may tend to push in the direction of that company even if it isn’t the best rate available with minor impairments.
Where things become a little more complex and the proficiency of the agent is tested is when there are health issues that are more complicated. For instance, when a client has diabetes and is a private pilot, going to the same company as an agent would use for a perfectly healthy client is generally going to be a bad idea.
A tough pill to swallow and one that may take some patience to work through is when a pilot is grounded by the FAA for health reasons and then eventually regains their flight certificate when the FAA decides they have met their health criteria for private aviation. Life insurance underwriters don’t always agree with the FAA and it may take some time to reach the underwriter’s threshold for approval with full aviation coverage.
Bottom line. Shop it. Even those agencies who claim to the best with pilots don’t always offer the best rate available.
February 25th, 2009
I’m often asked, after the fact, what it takes to get the best life insurance rates. While I would be hard pressed to cover everything that could be hiding in your medical records, I can provide a general rundown based on the exam, labs, family and personal history.
Generally a person can’t have used any kind of tobacco or nicotine products in the last 5 years. They test for it and while the test really won’t show anything more than a month or two old, medical records almost always indicate if a person is smoking or uses other types of tobacco. If you say no and die during the incontestability period due to lung cancer, you better figure they will be asking people who were around you prior to your death.
Family history generally holds the best rate at “No cardiovascular disease or cancer prior to age 60″ for your mother, father and full siblings. A few companies say no death prior to age 70 and a few add diabetes to the before age 60 list.
A few companies allow blood pressure treatment for their best rate. Most don’t allow it. Either way, good control is a must with 135/80 being a pretty standard benchmark. Some allow 140/80. That’s actually pretty liberal. Most healthy folks are more in the 120/75 and under range.
Cholesterol treatment is being accepted for the best rate class by more companies all the time. That being said, good control is being looked at more stringently than ever before. The old benchmark for most companies was a total cholesterol of 220 and HDL of at least 40 giving a ratio of 5 or less. Some companies are going as low as 205 and a ratio of 4.5 for their best rate now.
The only cancer history acceptable at the best rate class is one instance of basal cell carcinoma. Multiple basal cells can be OK with some companies, but any other cancer history will end your chances for the best rate class.
Your driving record counts. Most companies won’t allow more than one moving violation in the last 3 years and yes, they will pull an MVR and check. Best case for the best rate would also include no reckless driving, DUI’s, license suspension or revocation in the last 5 years. Many companies are more stringent on the DUI topic.
Private pilots can only get the best rate from a few companies and they generally have to be well qualified. Instrument rating and enough total hours and annual hours to be considered experienced is a must.
Hazardous activities is kind of a crap shoot. Scuba diving can be ok if you aren’t going below 100′. Skydiving never gets the best class. Rock or mountain climbing, car or motorcycle racing and extreme sports will almost always bump you out of running for the best rates.
The last of the general underwriting guidelines is build. All companies have height/weight charts that they use and for the most part they run pretty much the same. Using my height of 5′10″, a sample of weights for best class are American General at 195, Banner at 196, Genworth at 193 and probably the most generous is Prudential at 202.
Bottom line. They don’t just ask how you’re feeling and give you a policy at the best rate. There are a lot of people who say these rates simply aren’t attainable, especially at older ages, but plenty of my clients receive offers in the best rate class and the oldest of those was 79 at the time.
February 17th, 2009
One in six men who reach age 26 in our country will not make it to age 64. For women it is one in nine.
I live in a small town in the “Heart of the Rockies”, Salida, Colorado. Around here when someone passes away, everyone knows it. When someone passes away at an age that is far too young, everyone talks about it. Today’s Mountain Mail lead article was about a 57 year old teacher who died suddenly while elk hunting.
We buy life insurance because you just never know. An early 50’s couple in Nebraska purchased policies through Hinerman Group a few years ago. The wife was concerned because her husband was an EMT helicopter pilot, kind of risky especially in the winter. Several months after the policies were put in force she called to say he had died of a stroke.
Another couple in California, in their 40’s, put policies in force when the husband decided he was going to learn to fly. We were able to find him good rates as a student pilot and were planning on getting even better rates once he got his private pilot’s license. He and his instructor died on his first cross country flight. His wife Karen wrote to me, “Life Insurance? Thank God John had done that. He and Ed had established a policy to cover in the event he had an accident, even tho it was NEVER going to happen! I will forever be grateful for that….John was only 49. I have had five friends lose their husbands before they reached 52. Strange things happen. To me, Life insurance is not optional, it is a real necessity.”
Another man took out a policy after successfully escaping the collapse of the twin towers on 9/11. He died at age 51 of lung cancer after smoking most of his adult life.
It’s like any paper, any day will provide you with all the impetus it should take to make life insurance a priority. These widows would have had a much different life without their husband having done the right thing. It would have been hard for some, devastating for others.
And even though there are literally no people out there that don’t know personal stories just like these, I will still hear, “But what if I spend all that money on term insurance and don’t die?” So, you spent some money and did the right thing!! The same logic could be used to not buy your wife birthday or anniversary gifts because there’s a chance you may end up divorced. But buying those gifts is the right thing because we love our wives. Making sure they’re OK if we die suddenly is the right thing for the same reason.
Bottom line. One in six don’t make it to 64!!!!!!!
January 15th, 2009
Shopping for life insurance is no big trick if you’re healthy, young and boring. This is the one area where the giant on line agencies may actually provide good service.
Anything more complicated than young, healthy and boring is definitely where the services of a knowledgeable independent agent can be a time and money saver. Having an agent that knows what questions to ask and knows what companies to talk to, and more importantly which to avoid, can be the difference between a decline or rated policy or an approval at a competitive rate.
Private pilots take the boring out of that equation and should definitely not throw themselves to the winds of online superstores like Intelliquote or Accuquote. There are plenty of companies that can do a fine job for pilots, but choosing just the right company is a bit more work than the big boys really want to do.
Remember that just because you’re a pilot doesn’t mean that aviation is the only criteria that a life insurance underwriter will care about. Your agent needs to be able to find the right fit for your health, family history, foreign travel and aviation, and within your pilot activities, what you fly, how experienced you are and how often you fly.
As with any health issue, pilots should beware the agent that throws out quotes without having a complete picture. That’s a sure way to a bad result.
Bottom line. The country is strewn with life insurance agents who don’t know that private pilots can get great rates, as well as agents who don’t know what to do when a client presents the challenge of something like diabetes or depression. Finding that right agent, the agent that can pull all the parts together and save you money, is work worth doing.
January 12th, 2009
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
Oshkosh is wall to wall private pilots this week. It’s a week long fest of vintage planes, shows, and even the much anticipated Martin Jetpack kicking things off with it’s first public flight.
Life insurance will be well represented I’m sure, but before you buy into the best rates coming from those agencies, bring their information home, shop and compare. Just because you are a private pilot doesn’t mean that an agency that specializes in pilots can necessarily find you the best deal. It’s important to remember that your life insurance risk isn’t just measured by one thing, but by a combination of health, family history, hobbies and even foreign travel.
The Pilot Insurance Center is generally well represented in Oshkosh, and to their credit they’ve done a fine job for a thousands of pilots over the years. But even PIC isn’t always the source for the best rates available. A second opinion could put money back in your fuel jar.
Bottom line. Enjoy the show and when you get home do some prudent shopping.
July 29th, 2008
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