Miss asked:


I would like to get life insurance on a male family member in poor healt. He has diabetes & heart trouble. Is it possible to get someone at that age insured for life insurance? I would like to get some true answers before asking an agent.

Triple Nipple asked:


How are Life Insurance Sales Agents doing in the recession?
Real estate agents are hit hard, but what about Life Insurance Sales? I’m talking about independent agents that work for insurance companies and sell life insurance.

Donald asked:


My parents are in their eighties, and I was told that they could sell their life insurance policies via something called a “life settlement.” Could anyone fill me in on what that is, without trying to solicit my business? Thank you.

feeddaneed asked:


I always feel like they want to keep selling me more and more….I just want a simple term life insurance policy for myself, and my husband. What is the EASIEST way to get this set up, sans all the sales rigmarole?

Marilyn Katz asked:




Term life insurance policies are very popular these days, and of course, they can provide very valuable protection at a low cost for many people. However, the problem with term life insurance is that it expires just when the covered person would find it harder to find protection, after ten or twenty or thirty years, the term life insurance expires. The theory behind term life insurance is that by that time the insured person will have less obligations, and they will have enough money saved to self insure.

However, we find many senior citizens and retired people who have not had the good fortune to be free of obligations, and with sufficient savings to cover their debts, final expenses, and other obligations. Also, by the time we reach maturity, we may also have developed more health problems. As if an advanced age were not enough, health problems may make us very tough or expensive to insure at all!

However some life insurance companies have developed senior life, guaranteed life insurance, or final expense life insurance programs to meet these needs. These are, basically whole life insurance policies. This means that the policy will stay in force as long as the policy is kept in force. A policy is usually kept in force by paying premiums, or by having the policy “paid up”. Yes, many whole life policies can be paid up over a period of years, usually ten to twenty years. In this case, an insured person can relax, knowing they will have life insurance for their whole lives, and not just for a period of years.

These type of senior life insurance or final expense policies come in two types that do not require a medical exam. For a face value that usually ranges from $2,500 to $25,000, many senior life insurance companies will offer simple issue and guaranteed issue life insurance policies. Because the face value is lower, and so the risk to insurance companies is lower, you can find some more relaxed requirements to gain affordable coverage for life insurance. Seniors can leave this money to a beneficiary, usually their spouse or children, to cover burial expenses, settle final debts, and leave some money as an estate.

Simple issue life insurance policies provide immediate death benefits. They do as health questions on the applications, but the great majority of seniors can qualify. They usually only declined applicants who have a terminal disease, or are in a nursing home. So smaller health issues will not prevent an applicant from obtaining coverage. Since the coverage is immediate, as soon as the insured person is notified that their policy has been issued, they will be covered.

Guaranteed issue life insurance policies do not ask any health questions at all! Instead they underwrite by delaying full coverage for a period of months, from 24 to 36, or 2 to 3 years. If the insured person passes away during this qualification period, they will refund all premiums with a specified interest rate. For an older individual with serious health issues, this is still a no-lose deal.

If you are an older person, or if you are concerned about paying final expenses for your parents, consider a senior life insurance policy. It will be much easier to pay an affordable monthly premiums than to come up with several thousand dollars for a burial and other expenses after the person dies.

Love my curves! Whoa! asked:


Which life insurance companies do you recommend? How young is too young for your child? He’s 1… I’d like to leave my family with the security and without the stress of “money” when I die, but I don’t know where to start. Thank you in advance!

jazngabsmom asked:


My husband commited a felony nine years ago when he was nineteen years old and has not been in trouble since. He is now a foreman, owns his own home and is just a regualr citizen, but he has been denied life insurance through 3 companies. Any suggestions?
His medical exam and history is perfect, he even qualified for prefered rates, but it all comes down to the background check.

200m asked:


I have a life insurance exam scheduled in the next few weeks. I had smoked some cigars and cigarettes during a bachelor party not long ago. Should I postpone the medical exam? I am not a smoker and want the non smoker lower premium. Above that I do not want to be flagged for being one.

Marilyn Katz asked:




How Did We Get This Old Without Life Insurance?Many Americans pass fifty and realize that a good financial plan would include more life insurance. Maybe some people just never really felt any sense of mortality until they passed fifty, but I think most people had other reasons. Some of us had life insurance through our jobs, but it did not follow us when we retired or changed jobs. Others did take out term life insurance policy to protect their families or pay off a mortgage. Then that term life insurance expired, and those people realized they had no coverage at all, but their savings were still not sufficient to take care of all obligations if they passed away. They could still carry debts, or perhaps offspring had not yet become as self sufficient as expected. Other people realize that they might give their families a tax advantage if they pass on money through a life insurance plan, rather than just leaving them money. Others want to protect their business if they pass away, or be able to allow a partner to buy out their portion of a business from other family members.

No matter what the reason, lots of mature people, from the middle aged to the elderly, are looking for more life insurance. Life insurance companies are responding with insurance products that are designed for older clients. Actually, many older people can find rates that are fairly affordable, especially if they are still in reasonable health. But older people, even with health problems, can still find coverage. Of course, a normal insurance policy will cost more for a sixty year old than it would for a thirty year old, all other things being equal, but older people can have many things in their favor.

Good Credit and Good Health Habits of Older Americans

For one thing, insurance companies check into credit reports these days, and use that information to factor into their rates. Older people are more likely to have good credit, and a long history of financial responsibility. Mortgages may be paid off, or close to being paid off, so debt is less. In addition to good credit, more mature people have often developed good health habits. Following a doctor’s orders, they may quit smoking and watch their weight. These factors can help with insurance company rates too!

A Smaller Face Value May Be Enough

One more thing to consider when looking for life insurance for an older adult is that the amount of coverage, or life insurance need, may be less. Mature people may not need to cover the whole mortgage or plan for their children’s education anymore. Instead of having to consider a policy with a death benefit of hundreds of thousands of dollars, a few thousand dollars may be enough. Maybe a mature person just wants to leave their family enough money to pay for a funeral and settle debts, with perhaps a little left over as an estate. Instead of looking for life insurance policies with death benefits in the hundreds of thousands, a few tens of thousands may be enough life insurance coverage! Life insurance companies are more willing to offer policies to older, and perhaps sicker, people if the face value is lower because their risk is less. And of course, the cost of insurance will be less when the amount is smaller.

Build An AssetTerm life insurance is popular with younger families because it usually has the lowest monthly premiums. However and older person who is looking for a smaller face value policy will usually buy a permanent policy like whole life or universal life. This type of life insurance, in addition to providing a death benefit, can also build a cash value. So it can be more than a life insurance policy, but also a savings vehicle, and an asset that can be borrowed against or cashed in should the need arise. Some retired people will even sell their life insurance policy, before they die, to a life settlement company. They can use the cash to meet their needs while they are still alive.

Luis asked:


What is the best health insurance and life insurance policies? I am recently out of the military and need to purchase an individual health ins policy. However, I am not sure which ones are the best. I am a student, do they offer any good student policies? Also, is the SGLI to VGLI conversion a good change to make? If not, which is better term or whole life insurance policies?