I am often asked why I need to know someone’s driver’s license number when they are applying for life insurance. “What’s that got to do with it”?
Life insurance companies have found a glance at a motor vehicle report to be helpful in evaluating a person’s lifestyle. Multiple moving violations or perhaps an unadmitted DUI might just point toward a risk factor that might need a closer look.
Most insurance companies aren’t going to go bonkers if you have a couple of tickets that are just marginally over the speed limit, but if they run your MVR and find that, for instance, you have 3 or 4 speeding tickets in the last couple of years, that might raise some eyebrows and rates. The bad news for you folks that drive too fast on a consistent basis is that you will likely pay more for your life insurance for now. The good news is that, just like your auto insurance, the further you get from that last ticket, the better your chances of securing even the best rates available.
DUI is a little different and somewhat the same. You are hard pressed to find insurance companies that will want to make any offers if you are less than two years removed from your roadside attempt to walk a straight line. From 2Â to 5 years you will need a good independent agent to weed through all the companies that will make offers and find the best for you. Generally after five years you are back to best rates with a lot of companies………..unless you have a history of more than one DUI. Something about that multiple occurrence thing worries insurance companies, a lot.
Bottom line. Life insurance companies don’t just weigh health risks when evaluating a potential customer. They want to know if your habits are healthy as well.
This post is somewhat dated. Life insurance underwriting is changing and evolving continually. For more updated information check out some of the key word links. If you have a specific question or topic you need information for do a search. If you don’t find the answers you need contact me and we’ll make sure you get the information that is important to you.
My 20 years of experience give me the knowledge and leverage to find reasonably-priced life insurance for people who have been declined or are paying more than they need to.
Recent Comments