When we are talking to clients the goal is to establish the appropriate amount of coverage first and foremost.   Often time, our clients will know the amount that they want to buy and if not we take them through the analysis.   Many of our clients are looking for affordable term life insurance and interested in shopping the  market.    We are an independent broker, so we are not beholden to any carrier and we shop the market for them.   This is a huge benefit to the client, so they can capitalize on the best carriers and the best rates on the market.

With term rates at all time lows, it is possible to get coverage at very minimal costs depending on age and health.   With that being said, we know which carriers will probably bear the best rates based on age and health.   Just selecting the carrier with the best rate in the quote engine can sometimes be a mistake.   For example, they may show as the best rate, but you may not be able to qualify for it.   Conversely, the company that shows up as the third best rate, may underwrite your case better and give you  a more affordable premium.

Other ways to make premiums more affordable are shortening the term length.  For example, rather than a 20 year term, we might look at a 15 year term.  Obviously, it is important to get coverage that will last as long as you need it.   We know all the different options and nuances to help consult you to find the right carrier for you.

When looking for life insurance as a cancer survivor, it is important to consider many factors.    You want to speak with a life insurance consultant that can work with you to understand your situation and ask the right questions.   How long have you been cancer free? What type of cancer did you have?  Did you have chem0therapy?  What medications are you on now?  What follow up do you have on an annual basis?

Those are just a few of the many questions that should be considered for a preliminary analysis to determine the best carriers.  When looking for the best carriers, we want the most aggressive underwriting and best rates will be imperative.  The various carriers will look at different scenarios different ways, so it is important to weed out the ones out who will not provide the best opportunities.   Once we have the preliminary analysis, we like to take the analysis  and inquire on anonymous basis with all the carriers.   Once we get the feedback of the best opportunity for the client, then we will submit a formal application for the client.   In some cases, we might even submit applications with two carriers and have them compete for the business.

The last thing you want to get is a decline.  The decline goes into your record and all of the insurance carriers can see this and it makes it more difficult to get a good rate or even get approved.    If you want a preliminary analysis, we are happy to go through the process with you.  This is the best and most efficient route if you are a cancer survivor, unless it has been more than ten years.

What is the best term life insurance?  That is an interesting question and how do I determine what that means?

I generally think this can be answered through a basic analysis when selecting the carrier you want to work with.  Which carrier will underwrite me the most favorably based upon my specific underwriting situation?  If you have sleep apnea and take medication for a couple of different purposes, then it might be one carrier.  If you have type 2 diabetes it may be a totally different carrier.  Based upon which carrier will underwrite your situation the best, that will determine your underwriting rating and your ultimate premium.  See what offers a Florida life insurance consultant can help with you. 

Another aspect of determining the best term life insurance for you is what is the company’s financial strength.   Generally you want to select a company that has an A rating or better.   This is something you will want to be comfortable as you select the carrier you work with.

When determining the best term you want to look at your short and long term goals and needs with the insurance.  For example, will you only want the term for the term period?  Will you possibly want to convert all or a piece of the term to permanent insurance?  If you will want this as an option then you want to look at what the term carriers offer as conversion options.   Do they have a good whole life option?  Universal Life?  How long do you have to convert it with no proof of insurability?

These questions might help you if you are trying to figure out what the best term life insurance is.  It is going to be specific to your situation and varies per person.

We get calls all the time about AARP life insurance and that clients are interested in this.   The bottom line is that AARP has partnered with New York Life Insurance Company to offer life insurance to its members.  No medical exam is required and only 3 medical questions are asked on the application.  Since there is minimal underwriting the premiums are note going to be more than a fully underwritten product.   With that being said it may be of benefit to some to have a product not fully underwritten as health may be a concern.  If that is the case there are other companies that offer similar products that may be even more competitive.

Did you know that the life insurance carriers like when you buy term life insurance?  A lot of clients we speak with think  that it is the agenda of the insurance company to sell them permanent insurance because it costs more.  While of course life insurance carriers want you to buy permanent products, they are quite content when you buy term.   Only about 2 percent of term policies ever pay out a benefit and therefore it is highly profitable for them.   A good option for many is to buy a return of premium term product.   This allows you to have best of both worlds with term, but return of premium if you outlive the level term.  If you are not familiar with this option you should ask about it.  It is usually more beneficial the younger an insured is.

One of the longest standing arguments in the insurance business is buy term and invest the difference or buy cash value life insurance.

The argument of buying term and investing the difference is based on the premise of getting cheap term and taking the extra money (you would have spent on whole life) and investing it in the market.  The thought is that you can make a higher return with the money in the market than you can inside a life insurance contract.

While the true accumulation value of an investment account can be higher than the accumulation value of the cash value, other factors must be considered.   For example, what if your investment account performs poorly and you actually lose money.   A life insurance policy has certain guarantees built into it that guarantees that you will not lose money no matter what.

Also, a big consideration needs to be from a tax standpoint.  What is a modified endowment contract?  Where will you invest?  What is your tax bracket?  What will the tax bracket be when you want to access the money?  Would it help you to have money that you can access tax-free from the life insurance?  Is the death benefit being passed tax-free going to be a benefit to your estate and family.

Term is a great way to cover your liability at a very reasonable price.  The problem with term is that it only lasts for a period and most people outlive the term and their family never sees a benefit.  Often times a combined approach can be a good one.   In other words, having a majority of the coverage as term and part being whole life or universal life.

What term life insurance carrier is the best for you?

This is an important question and one that should be looked at before you apply to a carrier for life insurance.

Do you have any special underwriting circumstances?  Medical issues? Dangerous avocations?  Family history? Medications?  Weight considerations?

Based upon various underwriting circumstances, different carriers will underwrite the issues differently.  Therefore, it makes sense to use a company that underwrites for that particular situation the most favorably.   That is what we try and help our clients identify what those companies are going to be.

A great example is Prudential who will give an occasional cigar smoker a non-smoker rating as long as it is admitted on the application.   Most other carriers will give that client a smoker rating, so that is a huge piece of information to know.   Recently we had a client who had lupus and after speaking with all the various carriers we actually found one that would consider her for preferred.   Most all the other carriers would consider her at at table B rating at the best.   This specialized knowledge will help you win as the consumer.

Another factor in picking the right term carrier for you is if they offer a good conversion option.   Does the carrier have a good universal life conversion option or whole life conversion option?   While you may only want term know, it is good to have a permanent option just in case.   The permanent option can be exercised with no proof of insurability.   It allows you to convert all or part of your term to some form of permanent insurance.

Have you ever heard of  “Infinite Banking”?  It is a great strategy that is pioneered by Nelson Nash that uses the cash value of life insurance as your personal bank.   In essence you buy big ticket items with the cash inside the dividend paying whole life insurance policy and finance the purchase with it.  For example, you buy a new car with the buildup in your policy and then amortize the loan over a period of time and pay your policy back at a fair interest rate above the interest rate of the insurance company.   Rather than make the bank or finance company rich, you are able to recapture a lot of the finance charges you would otherwise payout elsewhere.  After paying back the loan to yourself, you have completely repaid the principal and made the interest spread yourself.   This will turbocharge your policy.

Not only is the cash value used during your life for various purchases, investments, etc., but it can be used for retirement income as the money can be accessed at retirement tax-free.  In order to create the “infinite Banking” concept you need to capitalize the bank.  Just like Bank of America or the community bank, there was no money in the bank until it was capitalized.   Once it is capitalized, the fund has been created to use for this purpose.  It is important to set the policy up correctly with a good mutual company and to fund it the appropriate way.    The structure of the policy is important for your long term success.

This is often a great way to start the process of applying for life insurance.   We use this with our clients on a regular basis and it is a great way to avoid wasting time blindly.

For example, if a client has type 2 diabetes, I need to fill out a questionaire for this to give to our underwriting consultant.    Once our underwriting consultant receives this information, then he can help us determine the carrier that would probably underwrite the case the most favorably with the best possible rate.  Since we are an independent broker, we can shop it across all the main players in the life insurance market, to ensure that we are getting our clients the best estimate.  Of course, everything is subject to actual underwriting.  With a little preliminary checking we have a much better chance of pinpointing everything better.

Another reason to do a preliminary questionaire is the client doesn’t want to get declined.   If we look at it from the information we can gather, we can rule out applicants who will probably be declined.   Since we are getting feedback from all the carriers, we also know who would probably not decline them as well.   Once we get the initial information to the carriers and get feedback, we can do a formal application to the identified best carrier.   Obviously, if there are no major health issues a preliminary evaluation is not necessary and you can go right to the application.

If you have questions on your condition(s), please don’t hesitate to call me at (800) 554-5142 and ask for Vince.

This is a popular way to use affordable life insurance.  Mortgage protection is basically a policy that pays a death benefit that will be enough to pay off a person’s mortgage in the event of death.     A term life policy will be taken out for the term of the mortgage.  A level term or a decreasing term product can be used for this, although a level term is a much better value.   Decreasing term has a decreasing benefit, and level term has a level benefit.  Once the term product is selected for 10, 15, 20, or even 30 years, that rate is locked in.   The great thing about term is that the beneficiary can use the proceeds however they want to.  In other words, they can pay off the whole mortgage, continue to make payments, or do something completely separate.

Having a level term policy with the flexibility of the use of proceeds can be very beneficial.   This is a single use of insurance that is only factoring in one debt of the consumer.     Often times there are other debts that would be left to a beneficiary, college funding goals that might not be reached, lost income, etc that need to be considered.  As a single use product, term life can certainly be a perfect fit.

Another type of term product that is being used on a regular basis for mortgage protection is return of premium term.   This is a term program that is level for a period of time (the length of the mortgage) and then if the client is still alive at the end of the term they get a full refund of premiums paid.   The downside to this product is that it is more expensive than a regular term, but guarantees the money back.

When I think of a safe place to put my money, I immediately think of a bank.  Most people I speak with would probably name a bank as the safest place.  Banks tend to be pretty safe and have the FDIC backing for deposits up to $250,000.    With that being said over 100 banks have failed this year.   If you compare that to life insurance companies, you will find that there have been no failures during that period.   Life insurance companies that issue annuity contracts have very stringent reserve requirements and have reinsurance to further backstop them.   Obviously, the higher the rating they receive from the financial ratings services the better.

We get questions about bank CD’s vs fixed annuities all the time.    They both are very safe investments, that are perfect for safe money.   The main differences, are that CD’s gains are taxable every year and fixed annuities are tax deferred.    If you pulled the gains out of the fixed annuity then the gain would be taxable too.  With a fixed annuity though, you have the ability for the gains to compound and you will not receive a 1099 then.   If a CD and an annuity have the same interest rate, the annuity will grow more with the compounding deferred interest.  Both CD’s and annuities have different term lengths that consumers can select.  For example, a 3 year year, a 5 year, and a 10 year term.   Generally the longer you lock in, the better rate of interest you can expect to earn.