Life Insurance Lowdown

While each individual life insurance policy may be different depending on the policyholder’s needs, there are certain factors that remain constant and affect your life insurance costs. One of the most common factors that can have a great impact on your life insurance costs is — believe it or not — cholesterol. Nearly 50 percent of adult Americans have cholesterol levels that are not within the general desirable range. While this is definitely bad for your health, it also puts a lot of strain on your life insurance policy.

While a slightly elevated cholesterol level will not generally impact your life insurance costs, if you have cholesterol level is severely elevated, or if you have slightly elevated levels combined with another negative underwriting factor (such as blood pressure or weight), your costs may be higher. So how do you remedy this problem? Check your cholesterol levels regularly and find out ways to lower the high levels. This can help you both physically and fiscally.

Prudential Financial, Inc. recently announced a new tool that can assist families in selecting the right amount of life insurance cover for women. ‘The Value of All You Do’ Calculator, now available on the company’s website, estimates the economic value of many services women provide for their families, such as managing the home, caring for children, running errands, preparing food, and tutoring. Finanzen.net reports:

Wives are less likely to own life insurance than their husbands at nearly all income levels, according to LIMRA, 2005. In addition, a 2006 study by Salary.com concluded that the value of the things moms do can amount to an average annual salary of $85,876 for working momsand $134,121 for stay at home moms.

Read more: New Life Insurance Calculator for Women Estimates `The Value of All You Do’

Imagine being able to take a life insurance policy in less than 15 minutes! No, I’m not joking and such a thing actually happens. Only that it happens in a country that is a very good friend of ours — Mexico. Insurance firms in quite a few companies are impressed with this system which gets you an insurance in lesser time than it takes you to have a cup of coffee! May be you could even walk into an insurance firm during your coffee break to get the work done….

A group of financial planners have found a method to deliver an insurance policy in the shortest time possible. All they do is harness the power of the Internet. They use it to access and send data, process it and deliver it in the shortest time possible. moneymanagement.com reports:

They do this by using electronic applications that are e-mailed to head office, put through an underwriting system, and sent back as a policy document before the client has even finished their coffee.

Read more: I’ll have my life insurance to go, thanks

Signed up for a company life insurance policy that you don’t want now? Chances are that your company’s HR asks you to wait till the financial year-end even though life insurance firms allow cancelation of the policy anytime. Azstarnet.com reports:

The life-insurance option is part of a larger, "cafeteria" benefits plan, which is governed by IRS rules that do not permit changes in benefits more than once a year, explained

Read more: Canceling life-insurance benefit is difficult because of IRS rules

The Internet has become a constant in our lives and today; it has even revolutionized the way we shop. We buy everything from pet food to expensive furniture and gifts on the Internet and you can even shop for loans and insurance while sitting at home. However, you cannot get into an agreement on the Internet with your eyes closed. Here are some tips to help you shop for life insurance online:

• Shop around: Yes, you need to shop around even for life insurance. Different companies offer different rates and you can get the best deal possible when you shop around. Another benefit is that you will be able to determine which insurance coverage best fits your needs.
• Double check: Find out if the insurer you have zeroed in on is licensed and can do business in your state. For this, you must cross check with your state insurance department. You could also approach the department for a list of companies and agents that are licensed in your state.
• Update your browser: What’s that got to do with buying insurance? Everything! When purchasing insurance via Internet, you need to know that your personal information is protected. Newer browsers are equipped with current security measures. One way to know if the site is secure is by checking the address. If the firm’s site address begins https:// instead of http:// then it is a secure site. If you cannot confirm the security, it’s best to resort to good old paperwork. Just contact the firm or agent and submit the required papers.
• Keep the paperwork: This is very important. You need actual proof of everything from the time you begin scouting around for an insurance policy. And most important: You MUST receive a copy of your new insurance policy within 30 to 60 days of purchase. If you don’t get a copy, then immediately contact the firm or insurance agent.

Regulators from the Minnesota Department of Commerce recently fined Indiana-based Conseco Inc., and California-based Pacific Life Insurance Co. a combined $3.4 million. This fine was to settle charges that the two insurance companies sold unsuitable investments to Minnesota consumers. Bizjournals.com reports:

The companies also were charged with using unfair and deceptive advertisements by some agents in the state. The state reviewed possible misconduct at Pacific Life Insurance dating back to January 1985.

Read more: State fines two out-of-state insurance companies

Imagine purchasing a life insurance policy with a $1 million death benefit. Then you sell it to investors who in exchange will pay you $50,000 in cash. And the best part? No money needs to come out of your pockets! Sounds like an unbelievable offer? Well if you are in your late 70s, chances are someone out there is trying to sell you something like this. Put simply, this is the face of the speculative market for life insurance policies that has been around for sometime now.

Of course, there are laws in place to restrict life insurance companies from issuing policies to people with no genuine, insurable interest in the life of the person being insured. However — and this is the gray area — an insurable interest is not required when the ownership of an existing policy is changed. Some life insurance companies have taken or are considering actions to prevent use of their policies in such transactions. To make the transactions impractical they are sponsoring congressional legislation that would place a heavy excise tax on certain ownership changes.

Imagine purchasing a life insurance policy with a $1 million death benefit. Then you sell it to investors who in exchange will pay you $50,000 in cash. And the best part? No money needs to come out of your pockets! Sounds like an unbelievable offer? Well if you are in your late 70s, chances are someone out there is trying to sell you something like this. Put simply, this is the face of the speculative market for life insurance policies that has been around for sometime now.

Of course, there are laws in place to restrict life insurance companies from issuing policies to people with no genuine, insurable interest in the life of the person being insured. However — and this is the gray area — an insurable interest is not required when the ownership of an existing policy is changed. Newsinfo.iu.edu reports:

Some life insurance companies have taken or are considering actions to prevent use of their policies in SPINLIFE transactions. To make the transactions impractical they are sponsoring congressional legislation that would place a heavy excise tax on certain ownership changes.

Read more: Older Americans increasingly being targeted by speculators benefiting from life insurance purchases

Alaska and Minnesota recently became the 26th and 27th states to formally join a regulatory network known as the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact that members of the Kansas City-based National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) first proposed more than five years ago. Member states believe that they have now beaten Congress to the draw in a duel to streamline insurance regulation across the country. Kansascity.com reports:

Now, with more than half the states in the U.S. in the plan, an NAIC-created commission is scheduled to meet June 13 in Washington to begin setting up organizational machinery to screen and approve life, disability and long-term care polices and annuity contracts for about 40 percent of the U.S. market.

Read more: KC-based group winning race on insurance rules