Fishing And Life Insurance! Is There A Catch?

Part of every life insurance interview has to do with extreme or dangerous activities. Often when I ask clients about whether they participate in anything like that, they will answer something like, “Well, I golf or fish. Does that count?”

It seems after today that I may have to be a bit more prying about the question, especially if fishing is their answer to dangerous activities. Today’s news reveals someone that a life insurance company might very well take exception to approving coverage for. When I get an answer about fishing I really never considered someone jumping out of a helicopter on to the back of a marlin.

All companies have some form of the question that is worded to weed out guys or women who might participate in something that has inherent dangers. A good example would be scuba diving. While recreational diving of 100′ or less is generally not an issue with several companies, when you start going deep or get into wreck or cave diving, risk increases and so does the cost of life insurance.

Bottom line. Be straight up with your agent. If you do participate in activities that someone other than you might consider hazardous, talk about it. A good independent agent should be able to find a company that will fit your needs at a reasonable rate.