There are nearly 2000 companies in the US that purport to be life insurance companies. When you work your way through all of the “sort of’s” and “wanna be’s”, and get down to those companies that are serious about the products they offer and their approach to underwriting, the field narrows to maybe 50, at the most. When it comes to narrowing the field down to the serious life insurance companies I can offer a few helpful hints.

  1. Stay away from property/casualty (car/homeowner) insurance companies. These agents will always be glad to take your money, but the majority truly don’t have a clue that their products aren’t competitive (really, really not competitive), and they don’t understand life insurance underwriting. A little like going to a boat mechanic to get your car fixed.
  2. Steer clear of life insurance companies that attempt to bulk mail you into submission. Like most bulk mail offers, if they were truly worthwhile, they wouldn’t have to keep mailing it over and over and over.
  3. Steer clear of advocacy group offerings. AARP is not the senior’s friend when it comes to life insurance. Gerber’s life insurance products aren’t a good deal for your children’s life insurance. The AOPA is padding their own pockets at the expense of private pilots that sign on for their life insurance program.

So, where should you turn? Put as simply as possible, an online independent life insurance agent is your best bet for meeting your needs. They offer all the life insurance products you could possibly want or need. They have the education and experience to help you decide what is appropriate and affordable. They are independent, so they truly have no allegiance to a company, freeing themselves up to represent you 100%.

Bottom line. There are some legitimate reasons to be declined for life insurance, but the majority of declines are the result of your situation being handled by the wrong agent and the wrong insurance company. I’ve seen hundreds of declines turned into reasonable offers. Don’t take a decline as the industry answer to your life insurance needs. Get a second opinion.