It’s always best to visit a doctor when you are experiencing anxiety or extreme, unexplained sadness – only a doctor can diagnose what might be going on – but you should be aware that this can affect your life insurance rates or possibly result in a denial of your application.

Because The Centers for Disease Control says that those who suffer from depression and anxiety are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and asthma, and have life-altering bad habits such as smoking, binge drinking and eating, and don’t usually get proper exercise, life insurance companies may consider you at greater risk for an early death.

At the time of your policy application, a life insurance company looks at your medical records; they will generally receive a summary of your diagnosis, the treatment you’re being given, and the current outcome. Within this summary, an underwriter will look for key details if he or she sees depression or anxiety listed on the applications, which includes whether or not the applicant has been diagnosed with “chronic” or “situational” depression, anxiety, or both.

Ed Hinerman, owner of Hinerman Group in Salida, Colorodo says, “If it’s just simple anxiety and depression and they take a single medication because they lost their job or a spouse, a fair number of companies will offer preferred rates. Underwriters are looking for whether the anxiety and depression is based on a sudden, temporary life event or has been going on for quite sometime. Long-term anxiety and depression might indicate something much more serious, such as an underlying mental disorder. If the applicant has to stay on meds for the rest of their life in order to function, that would be considered long-term. They would typically get standard to plus standard rates.” He stresses that individuals diagnosed with “situational” anxiety or depression should not have difficult in getting preferred rates.

It is usually not too difficult to get preferred rates from life insurers if you suffer from depression and anxiety if:

• You keep your symptoms under control with just one medication.
• You don’t smoke.
• You haven’t missed work because of your anxiety or depression.
• You have never been hospitalized.
• You haven’t attempted or considered suicide.

The more recent your diagnosis, the more concern an underwriter will have about your affliction. The insurance company may delay your application with a first-time diagnosis of depression or anxiety, but it will depend on what the physician’s records show; what the diagnosis plan is and if you’ve been recently hospitalized are two major factors. If you go on and off medication of your own accord, keep changing types of medications, or have difficulties that lead to a hospital stay, most insurers will be less accepting of your application and may not approve you; if they do, your rates will be higher than they might otherwise be.

If a relative, who has named you as the beneficiary of his or her life insurance policy, has died, are you still eligible to receive the death benefit if you are unable to find the policy and have no idea which company it is with?

Let’s take a look:

If you are able to find the lost life insurance policy within six months to a year of the person who has named you as their beneficiary has died, claiming the death benefit should be relatively trouble free.

Permanent or Term Life Insurance Policy:

You’ll want to first determine if the insured had permanent or term life insurance.

If he or she had a permanent life policy, you will receive the benefit if the death occurred during the period that the policy was “in force.” This means all premium payments were made up to the time of death. You may be eligible to receive interest from the time of death if it has taken some time for you to claim the benefits.

If the insured held a term policy, you will receive the benefit if he or she died before the end of the policy term. If the death occurs after the expiration date of the policy, you would not receive anything.

There’s also a chance that you may not receive any benefits if the insured stopped making the premium payments before the time of death.

If a policy holder stops making payments on permanent life insurance, causing his or her policy to lapse, most companies will switch the status of the policy to one of the following two options:

Extended Term: The insurance company uses the cash value of the permanent life policy to buy a term policy for the same death benefit. This benefit will continue until the cash value has been depleted.

Reduced Paid Up: The insurance company keeps the policy in force as permanent life, but reduces the death benefit.

Check with Your State Comptroller Department

There are cases in which – under the escheat laws – a beneficiary has failed to claim a death benefit for several years, so the money is transferred to the state where the policy was purchased.

If an insurance company has knowledge of an insured’s death but cannot find the policy’s beneficiary, it must turn the full benefit over to the state comptroller’s office within three to five years of the death. This money is considered “unclaimed property” and is lumped in with dormant bank accounts. A database is maintained by the comptroller department that has lost life insurance beneficiary names and addresses.

Tips for looking for lost life insurance policies:

1. Go through canceled checks or contact the deceased’s bank for copies of old checks to find any that are made out to insurance companies.

2. Ask those who may have known about the deceased’s finances. Speak with the his or her insurance agent, lawyer, accountant, or banker.

3. Contact the deceased’s past employers. They may know of group life insurance. It’s possible that he or she purchased supplemental life insurance through work.

4. Check the deceased’s mail for a year. Premium bills and policy-status notices are usually sent annually.

5. Look at the deceased’s income tax returns for the past two years. Check for interest income from policies or expenses paid to life insurance companies.

6. Contact the Medical Information Bureau. If the deceased bought life insurance fairly recently, there might be a trail of the companies to which he or she applied. The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) maintains a database that might show if insurers requested his or her medical information within the past seven years. The MIB claims that approximately 30% of searches turn up leads.

Be Sure You Have the Retirement Income You Need

Life insurance is the new answer for business owners who face retirement; let’s face it, the economy may or may not turn around enough – or soon enough – to allow you to retire comfortably. Life insurance can help.

Because of the financial difficulties the U.S. has lately faced, many future retirees have recently developed gaps in their financial goals. These gaps existed prior to our economic meltdown as well, if you consider the difference between the income one would like to have upon retirement and what would be provided by Social Security and a company pension. The fall of market values has, however, created further issues. Even if one has carefully planned and saved, he or she may still face a challenge in falling retirement capital – portfolios just can’t seem to generate nearly as much income for retirement as many had planned.

Your stakes may have increased during the economically unstable times we’ve had as of late if you own your own business. With the likely decline in value of your business as well as a decline in the value of your portfolio, it’s certainly possible that you won’t have enough income when you retire.

Realizing you may have gaps in your retirement is the first step toward filling them. Once you truly understand how much you are lacking and what you need to replace the lack, you can start to plan how you will make your situation more beneficial. This is where life insurance can help. Life insurance will protect you by filling the gap incase you should die unexpectedly, can diversify your portfolio, and will provide tax advantages as well.

Life insurance, a tool that will help protect your family should they lose the owner of a business which provides primary income. It will also help indemnify your business against the financial loss that is created when a key employee dies.

You, as the owner, can be provided benefits, too, if you insure the loss of a key employee who is essential to the success of your business with life insurance.

Life insurance is a form of security. Many forms will offer a guarantee of both principal and interest; they are also designed to have much less fluctuation than a typical stock market return.

It’s impossible to solve the problems we’ve been facing financially all by yourself, but you can help yourself fill your own financial gaps using life insurance as your key tool.

Most people would probably agree that the Aflac duck is adorable and a great marketing tool; what everyone can’t agree on is whether or not it’s wise to choose one of their many insurance policies.

Aflac, a Fortune 500 company based in Columbus, Georgia and founded in 1955 by the Amos brothers, Paul, Bill, and John, is available to everyone in the U.S. as well as various overseas markets. In fact, Aflac is the insurance of choice for a fourth of the households of Japan.

Aflac shares have been performing quite well lately, proving that the company prides itself on offering and providing high-quality products and services at competitive prices. Additionally, Aflac is consistently reported to be one of the -most employee-friendly companies, especially so for working mothers and minority women.

Aflac offers term life insurance, whole life, or a combination of both. You won’t be required to have a medical exam or blood tests when applying for insurance with Aflac, so the company can’t disqualify you based on your current state of health. The coverage you’ll receive will include a Waiver of Premium Benefit and an Accelerated Death Benefit.

Aflac consistently receives grades of A+ (the best being A++) from a variety of independent insurance rating companies. Generally speaking, Aflac shows customers as happy with the insurance coverage they’ve received; they like the flexibility of its plans and the quickness of fulfillment of claims.

Aflac carries a wide variety of insurance including long-term care, life insurance that can be used to care for your family should you die or as retirement income, insurance that will cover your expenses should you be unable to work, cancer insurance (not available in all states), and supplemental health insurance (to work in combination with health insurance you already have or to diminish the costs of healthcare if you are not able to afford regular insurance).

As a former Aflac salesperson, I can personally recommend the company if you have a need for unique coverage; excellent and affordable, Aflac can be a great addition to the coverage you already have.

Although the point of paying expensive insurance premiums every month is obviously to keep ourselves protected should we fall ill or become injured, insurance companies, unfortunately will likely try to find an excuse not to pay a claim if and when you do need to make one. If your insurance company tries to wriggle its way out of paying your claim, they are engaging in what is known as “insurance bad faith.”

Insurance bad faith, according to a legal term that “describes a tort claim that an insured person may have against an insurance company for its bad acts” is the attempt to skirt the duty they have to pay a claim, implied by the fact that they accepted an individual’s premium in return for coverage. This duty is often referred to as the “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing” which automatically exists by operation of law in every insurance contract. If an insurance company breaks this duty, it can be sued on a tort claim in addition to a standard breach of contract claim. The insurance company may then be liable for paying damages above and beyond the value of the policy because of bad faith.

Almost every type of insurance carrier has a legal duty to honor their agreements to pay policyholder claims. Types of insurance companies that are sued in bad faith often include: Health, Auto, Life, and Long-term disability.

To protect yourself from going through the ordeal of having to sue an insurance company in order for them to pay your claim, you should always check with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to make sure the company with whom you’re insured is in good standing, both financially and legally.

Knowledge is Power When It Comes to Buying Insurance

When you’re shopping for insurance, it’s important to know as much as possible in order to compare quotes and find the best insurance for the best price based on your specific needs. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) commissioned a survey to find out the extent of Americans’ knowledge on the subject; their findings were not terribly impressive. The average score on the “insurance IQ” quiz, a 10-question portion of the survey, was a mere four. The low scores are in great contrast to the fact that only 15 percent of those taking the survey felt insecure with matters of insurance, while 60 percent had reported feeling “very confident” in their decision-making abilities.

Here is an example of the questions on the NAIC Insurance IQ quiz portion of the survey:

1. Does auto insurance automatically cover a rental car? (no)
2. Can you own a house without homeowners insurance? (yes)
3. In general, how much life insurance is recommended in relation to your annual salary? (5 – 7 times your annual salary)

The majority of American adults could not answer these questions correctly; if you knew the answers, you are among the few who did!

To take the entire quiz, go to: http://www.insureuonline.org/iiQ_final.htm

The NAIC survey revealed that only 62 percent of Americans knew that accident history, vehicle safety features, and geography are key factors in determining the cost of auto insurance. A mere 19 percent knew that the requirement for private mortgage insurance is based on the size of the down payment and the lender. Just under 40 percent of those taking the survey had any idea of how much life insurance to carry based on a yearly income multiplier. And fewer than 50 percent knew that when choosing COBRA health insurance after losing a job they must cover the entire cost of coverage.

You really MUST educate yourself about whatever type of insurance you plan to purchase so you can utilize the knowledge to compare quotes from various providers. Before signing a policy, you should confirm that the provider or agent is licensed with your state insurance department. Once you’ve decided on which insurance is best for you, be sure to review the policy regularly so you know how well you’re covered should you need to make a claim.

Insurance is Very Important After You Become a Parent

Becoming a parent is one of the biggest life changing events there is. When you become a parent, one of the first things you need to think about is how your life insurance needs to be updated to be sure everyone relying on your income will be provided for. Great peace of mind can come from knowing your children will be taken care of in your absence.

Life Insurance Needs

As one of the providers of your family, your life insurance will need to be enough to replace your salary while your spouse works through the grieving process and becomes able to work. If you are the sole breadwinner in your family, it’s even more important to be sure you have enough insurance to take care of your family so they are able to continue living as you, as a family, had planned.

Protecting Your Children’s Future

If something were to happen to both you and your spouse, you will need a trust to hold your death benefit until your children are no longer minors. Call upon an estate-planning expert to help you with this specific need.

Deciding How Much Life Insurance to Purchase

To determine your needs, you will need to ask yourself some questions:

• Do you and your spouse both work?
• Do you prefer your spouse be at home to raise your children in the event of your passing?
• Do you have elderly parents who are currently depending on you?
• Have you recently purchased a home?

Again, you should refer to a professional estate planner to help you look at all the pertinent aspects of your life to determine the correct amount of life insurance for you.

Life Insurance as an Investment for Your Children’s Future

Whether or not you should purchase a life insurance policy on a child is often a very difficult decision to make. Because the risk is quite low, however, life insurance for a child can be gotten quite easily and inexpensively; and, it can be an excellent investment. Once you’ve purchased life insurance for your child, he or she will be able to maintain that coverage for the remainder of his or her life, often with the option to buy more coverage at certain intervals or upon particular life events, such as marriage or the birth of a child.

Which Type of Permanent Life Insurance Do You Need?

Insurance that will last to the end of your life is called Permanent Life Insurance, sometimes called “cash-value” insurance because, as you pay your premiums, your policy grows in its cash value. Though permanent life is somewhat costlier than term life insurance, you can, with permanent, borrow against its cash value or cash it in altogether by canceling your policy. This means that permanent life is an investment; term life is not.

The various types of permanent life insurance and how they work are listed below:

Whole Life Insurance

With a whole life policy, you will pay a constant premium and, upon your death, it will pay a fixed amount to your beneficiary. With whole life, your cash value increases during your lifetime at a specific rate, which is guaranteed by the insurance company. This is the only type of permanent life insurance against which you cannot borrow money.

Variable Life Insurance

With a variable life policy, you will have a constant premium as well, but the benefit amount upon your death is dependent upon how well your investments do. You are in control of how your premiums are invested; if the investments do well, your benefit will be larger than if your investments do not fair so well.

Universal Life Insurance

Universal life has a flexible premium, as well as a death benefit that depends on how you much you are able to invest. With universal life insurance, however, the insurance company will control the investments and guarantee you a certain rate of return. The amount you pay in premiums each month is your choice.

Universal Variable Life Insurance

This type of life insurance, as is obvious by its name, combines the flexible premium of universal life with the investment choice of variable. You choose how much you will invest, as well as how it will be invested. The insurance company won’t guarantee the amount of your death benefit; it will depend on how much you pay each month, and upon your investment decisions.

Choosing the Best Permanent Life Insurance

• While variable and universal variable life can give you better returns, they do carry a higher risk.

• You will have flexible premiums if you choose either universal or universal variable life insurance.

• Whole life allows you to pay your premiums with the dividend payments after you’ve built up enough cash value.

Be sure to consult an agent who can provide you with quotes for each type of life insurance, as well as help you decide which kind will best suit your needs and provide your beneficiaries with the funds you’d like them to have upon your passing.

Choose Your Insurance Provider Wisely

When you purchase insurance, whether it be auto, health, home, renters or life, choosing the right provider should be a major part of your decision-making process. You should remember that cost alone should not be the only deciding factor of who to buy your insurance from. Whichever provider you decide upon, your agent should help you get the best possible coverage at the best price.

First, your insurance provider should be licensed to sell insurance in your state; check with your state’s insurance department to verify they are. Do NOT purchase insurance from a provider that is not licensed with your state! The department should also be able to provide you with provider recommendations; they keep files on providers that have complaints as well as those who come highly recommended. Be sure to check into any complaints against a provider you are considering to find out why customers had issues with them. You should also utilize friends, associates, and family for recommendations as well.

Second, look beyond the lowest price when you choose your provider; take their experience into account when you are evaluating companies to make your decision. An insurance agent is paid the same commission regardless of their level of experience. A more experienced provider is likely going to be able to help you maximize your coverage while saving you as much money as possible.

Third, the provider you choose should regularly review your policy; this is a service you should expect. Ask any of the providers you are thinking of utilizing how often they will look over your policy. Consistent reviews will ensure your policy is not outdated and that you have the coverage you need and want.

Finally, you should look for an insurance provider who will fight for you to resolve any claims you may need to make on your insurance. Be sure they will support you if you are involved in an accident, disaster, or catastrophe.

The closer you look into a provider’s reputation, the better off you’ll be; remember, it’ll likely save you money in the long run if you choose the best one!

Term Life - A Good Alternative During Economically Trying Times

Due to the current economic issues most of us are facing, many of us are looking for every way possible to cut expenses. When it comes to considering making a cut to your life insurance policy, however, you may want to think twice before you cancel it altogether.

The Need for Term Life Insurance in Difficult Economic Times

When financially difficult times hit, having a life insurance policy may be even more crucial; you’ll want to be sure your family is taken care of should something happen to you. They could suffer greatly should you die while it is still so difficult to find a job.

Don’t cancel your life insurance; this is a mistake when times are tough. It’s rather easy to think you should cut out this expense in order to more easily afford your basic bills, but you need to think about the consequences to your family should you die. Would they be able to pay the bills with you gone? Life insurance may be the only way they can continue to afford living in your current home and keep up with the bills. Always keep this in mind!

Term life insurance is quite a bit less expensive than many other types of life insurance, so consider adding to your current policy to provide all you can to your loved ones in the even of your passing.

You may be lucky enough to still have your job; if you’re luckier still, you have a group life insurance policy through your employer. But what if you were to lose your job? If you are at all concerned about the loss of your job during the current economic challenge, this would be the time to do a search for term life. This type of insurance is the least expensive while you are young and in relatively good health, so the sooner you purchase a policy, the less it will cost you.

If you are in poor health, but don’t yet have individual life insurance, you should also strongly consider purchasing term insurance as soon as possible as it will only get more expensive the longer into your illness you wait. You may be able to waive a required medical exam, however, by paying extra. It very well may be worth it as the alternative might be denial or an even higher premium.

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