1. Know What You Need: The classic and best reason for an individual to buy life insurance is for protection against dying too soon. The person buying life insurance should be primarily concerned that his or her survivors do not face a financial hardship. Life insurance is also purchased to pay estate taxes.
2. Where Do You Begin: Start by evaluating your family’s needs. Gather all your personal financial information and estimate what your family will need after you’re gone. Include ongoing expenses (such as day care, tuition or retirement) and immediate expenses at the time of death (like medical bills, burial costs, and estate taxes). Your family also may need funds to help them readjust perhaps to finance a move, or pay expenses while job hunting. Remember, life insurance provides financial protection.
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3. Don’t Apply to Too Many Companies at Once: It is unwise to apply to too many companies at once for a policy, especially a large one. In such cases, reinsurance companies, which receive part of the premium to share in the risk, will get the applicant’s name from a number of insurance companies and may suspect that the medical difficulties are more severe than they actually are.
4. Life Insurance Isn’t Just for the Healthy: Many people with health problems find it difficult to buy affordable life insurance. But there are ways to do so, while easing the search. The best approach is to use a specialist in the field like Excalibur Brokerage, which is known for impaired risk life insurance. Such specialists work with insurance agents and/or insureds to help people who have medical problems, serving as their intermediaries with life insurance companies. They seek out one of the insurers willing to take on risks that other companies aren’t interested in. This insurance comes at a higher price than the standard premiums. But to those who really need it, cost is often secondary to access. Who can be considered an impaired risk? Most people in this category cannot buy low cost life insurance for health reasons: being overweight, alcohol consumption, diabetes or heart problems. One of the most difficult challenges is how to accurately measure the effects of the “big three” coronary risk factors: smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol.Others who might be considered high risks include those with hazardous occupations, such as a lineman for a utility company, or dangerous hobbies, like power-boat racing.
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5. Be Truthful: Don’t intentionally, or even unintentionally, “omit” any details on your life insurance application. For instance, if you tell your life insurer that you’re a non-smoker, even smoking a few cigarettes a month could result in cancellation of your policy or, worse, denial of a claim. The same holds true if you don’t disclose a pre-existing medical condition or your travel history and travel plans.
6. FREE Specialist’s Help: Once you know you have a medical problem, ask your Excalibur agent for an expert advice. The customer will pay nothing for the specialist’s help.
7. Understand the Major Factors that Can Affect Life Insurance Premiums. Some are uncontrollable, like the age at which one purchases a policy or a serious pre-existing medical condition, like cancer or heart disease. Other factors are much more dependent on an individual’s behavior, like poor health habits (e.g., smoking and excessive drinking), driving record (e.g., accidents and Driving While Intoxicated citations), engaging in dangerous hobbies (e.g., sky diving, car racing or rock climbing) and even where one lives, since mortality rates in a geographic region may be used by life insurance companies to help establish premiums.
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8. Get in Shape: To improve your risk class and be able to buy an affordable life insurance, you can take steps such as quitting smoking, losing weight and reducing your cholesterol and blood pressure if they’re high. You also can get that exam before you apply for insurance so you’re not hit with any surprises. In some cases, the changes you make can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a policy.
9. Never Give an Agent Money Without Getting a Receipt. Never give money to an insurance agent without getting a conditional receipt that includes the amount given signed by you and the agent. Make your check payable to the insurance company.
10. For Young People: Young singles who want to be sure that they can get life insurance later in their lives when they may develop health problems should consider purchasing term life insurance that is guaranteed to be renewable. They may also want to consider a term policy with a conversion option, which enables them to switch, for a set fee, to a cash-value policy at a time when they have more money. Young families should consider purchasing life insurance for both spouses, even for a non-working.
