“I Can’t Qualify for Life Insurance.” (Yes, you probably can!)
Many people may tell you that they are “uninsurable”. Often, when pressed, they reveal a minor malady or a health history that is less than perfect. Most of these people either don’t have any – or don’t have enough – life insurance. A good number of them could probably get it.
In insurance-speak, your candidate for insurance may be referred to as an “impaired risk”. But, that doesn’t automatically mean that they cannot qualify for coverage.
Sometimes, it comes down to simply choosing the right insurance company. Some carriers are lenient when it comes to coronary problems but are tough on cancer. Other carriers have rigid guidelines for tobacco users, while others make a distinction between what kind of tobacco use is involved and how often it is used.
At Designs In Life, we have highly knowledgeable case managers and a dedicated underwriter that can be of great help in determining whether a person can qualify for life insurance and how much it might cost them.
Not long ago, I had a couple that wanted to buy “final expense” insurance because they thought that was all that they could qualify for. They were in their 60s and the wife had some pumonary problems while the other had coronary disease. I asked if they would describe their problems to me and then I asked them if they would be willing to go through full underwriting. They both said that they would. I called our underwriter, Shannon Jensen, and gave her their medical profiles and prescription medication – name, dosage, frequency, and reason for taking. Shannon said that she thought that they would both qualify but that they might be “rated” (pay higher than average premium).
Long story short, both were successfully underwritten with premiums that was lower than the cost of final expense insurance – and at higher face amounts. Nine months later, the husband died of a massive heart attack. A month later, the wife received an income-tax-free check that she told me “saved the house” for her. The higher-cost and lower face amount of a final expense policy would not have been able to do that.
“We need to redefine the word ‘healthy’ in the context of life insurance eligibility. For adults with conditions such as anxiety, asthma, depression, high cholesterol and sleep apnea, life insurance can still be an affordable part of their overall financial plan, especially if they are actively taking steps to manage their condition,” says Janet Deskins regarding a recent study by Genworth Life of persons 18-64 that did not think they could qualify.
Don’t let an opportunity to help someone buy life insurance go by just because they don’t believe they can qualify. They might have a better chance than they think to get the valuable coverage that they need if they are under a doctor’s care, their conditions are under control, and they are living a relatively healthy and active lifestyle.
