Protecting your family from an unexpected tragedy is critical. Finding affordable life insurance when you have a pre-existing medical condition sometimes seems difficult. This article will give you the tips and secrets you need to find the most affordable policy.
The first tip to find the most affordable life insurance is to use an independent broker who specializes in and has experience in the high risk life insurance arena.
The special risk life insurance arena is a very niche area. Most agents do not know how to properly design and present the case to an underwriter. Therefore, the agent who represents you is priority number one.
A good independent special risk agent will have many years of experience dealing with high risk. They will typically represent dozens of high quality carriers. They will know the questions to ask you in regard to your health history. No matter if it is diabetes, heart condition, multiple sclerosis, etc. Half your battle is done when you find a good agent that can walk you thru the process.
Let’s take a look at some of the information your agent will discuss with you when looking for affordable life insurance.
In general the agent will need your date of birth, your height/weight, any history of tobacco use, your family history, how much protection you need, the need for coverage and for how long. In addition, the most important part of information is your medical history. When were you diagnosed? What treatments, surgery, etc. have been performed? What medications do you currently use? Do you have a regular exercise program? Are you planning any future surgeries or doctor evaluation of your condition?
The answer to these questions can help the agent devise a plan to find you the best carrier at the best rate. You see all life insurance companies underwrite people differently. Some companies are very conservative and do not like to accept people with a history of say heart disease or cancer. Whereas other companies may specialize in underwriting diabetics, polycystic kidney disease, etc. It is your agent’s job to find the company that will underwrite your particular situation the best.
Many people get frustrated sometimes because they apply to an insurance company and get denied for coverage, or perhaps get denied several times. They make think they are uninsurable when in fact they may have just applied to the wrong carrier.
Here are some other tips to make sure you get the best chance at an offer. Keep your health appointments up to date, keep copies of any reports from your doctor, if you need to lose a few pounds do so before applying for life insurance, start a workout routine, stay up to date on medications, don’t stop taking medications unless told by a doctor. Underwriters like to see a consistent medical history and up to date appointments.
Do not let an agent talk you into just submitting applications to several carriers and just see what happens. This can actually hurt your chances of getting an offer for coverage. Underwriting companies use the Medical Information Bureau to see if you have applied elsewhere for coverage. These carriers do not like to see to many hits on your MIB report since it cost them money to underwrite a policy. They may just decide to not participate in underwriting since the likelihood of them actually writing the policy is lower since you have applied to so many other carriers.
This is a mistake that many agents make. A knowledgeable special risk life insurance agent will not submit your application this way. They will call and talk to several different underwriting companies beforehand, will discuss your case and get you a tentative offer for coverage over the phone before completing and submitting any paperwork.
This saves the client from being entered into the MIB network until it is time to actually formally apply for coverage with an offer already in hand. 95% of the time the tentative offer for coverage is what comes back once all underwriting is complete.
In conclusion, don’t give up hope on finding a competitive offer for life insurance. The secret is to use a life insurance specialist and let them do all the heavy lifting. This will save you time, money and most of all frustration.