Term Life Insurance Blog: June 2006

Monday, June 05, 2006

Health problems and life insurance...

I was talking to a friend of mine that other day.. We were talking about finances , debts and all the usual guy financial talk.

My friend , aged 42, mentioned that he had gone to renew his 10 year term life insurance policy that he got when he was 32 years old. At the time , when he was 32 years old, he was in great health, played sports, wasn't married and had no children. He was also 50 pounds lighter than he is today.

When he met with his life insurance agent, the agent said that he had 3 new problems that were going to increase his insurance rates.
1) Being overweight
2) High blood pressure
3) Being a smoker

The good thing was that all of these problems merely made him higher risk, but still insurable. They did however increase his rates by a considerable amount.

At this stage of his life he needs life insurance more than ever because he's got a big mortgage, a wife and three children. His need has increased for life insurance from over ten years ago when he was renting an apartment and looking after himself financially.

HEALTH ISSUES MAY MEAN HIGHER INSURANCE PREMIUMS
I bring this example up because health issues and smoking are a pretty common occurance.. Especially when you got from your 30's to your 40's. You put on a few extra pounds, your job status changes, you take on more and more stress and your health can take a bit of a beating.

HEALTH ISSUES MAY MEAN HIGHER INSURANCE PREMIUMS
It's important to know about these things BEFORE you renew your old life insurance policy, or apply for a new one.

SOME COMPANIES HANDLE HEALTH PROBLEMS DIFFERENTLY
Example... the life insurance company you used 10 years ago gave you great premiums because you were in top health and didn't smoke. It may be the case that your original life insurance company isn't very competitive rate wise, with your current health situation.

The point is... it's a good idea to shop insurance even though the life insurance agent and company you dealt with for the last 10-20 years has treated you well. They may not be the most competitive rate wise.

If you're renewing your life insurance policy or getting a new one, please take a moment to sign up on our site.
We'll have a friendly agent contact you and help you shop for the best life insurance rates possible.
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Smokers life insurance - for smokers

One of the hard parts about smoking is that the life insurance companies think that smokers are a higher risk than non-smokers.

If you've taken up smoking since you got your last life insurance policy, or you're just getting a new life insurance policy for the first time, being s smoker is something that the life insurance companies are going to assess you for.

Companies will rate the amount of cigarettes you smoke and base your life insurance costs on that. Or if you smoke too many cigarettes, they may consider you too high of a risk, and not give you life insurance at all.

It's all about risk for the life insurance company. Assessing risk based on how many cigarettes, cigars, or pipes you smoke in a day is how they'll rate your risk factor.

For more information about your smokers life insurance situation, please sign up today for a quote and we'll have a knowledgable representative contact you with more information.

It's good to know that even if you smoke a few cigarettes per day, you may still be able to get life insurance coverage.
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