Some steps to buying life insurance are:
1) Find the agency you want to use. Peruse the internet or Yellow Pages, or get referrals from others. Find an agency that carriers lots of choices, and offers service and companies that you can trust.
2) Figure out what type of policy best suits your needs. Your agent can help with that.
3) Fill out an application and submit it.
4) If you are purchasing No Exam insurance, that is all that needs to be done. If you are applying for a medically underwritten policy, you will then need to take a free insurance exam in your home or place of your choice.
5) Wait for approval. Hopefully, you will be working with an agency that lets you know if you can help in other ways (e.g. call your doctor's office to ask them to provide your medical records more quickly, clarify something on your application, etc). That extra bit of customer service can be the difference between approval and decline.
6) Pay for your policy and treasure it for years to come.
President, The Firm of Steven H. Kobrin, LUTCF, 6-05 Saddle River Rd #103, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
I’m going to answer your question this way:
I’m going to describe for you the kind of person who buys life insurance and is really glad they did. They are happy with the policy they bought; they are happy with the process they went through to get that policy; and they are happy to tell all their friends and neighbors about how happy they are with the purchase :).
These are the qualities of a happy life insurance shopper:
Quality number one: the happy life insurance shopper dares to care.
Look, life insurance is not for you, right? It’s for your beneficiaries.
And frankly, some people could care less about what happens after they die.
I mean, to put it bluntly, they are dead, right?
Isn’t that what it comes down to?
But for other people, the difference between being alive and being dead is not that great. I mean, you have spent a lifetime building something of value. Your marriage. Your family. Your business. Charitable causes worthy of your support.
All these folks have become dependent on you. If you die, they could lose their economic foundation. But if you have insurance on your life, then they don’t have to miss a dime. Life can go on in style for your spouse, your children, your business partners, your employees, and all the needy people that are being helped by the charities you support.
If you care about these people, then life insurance can make sure life goes on for them, even when your life does not go on for you.
Quality number two: the happy life insurance shopper understands that the time to buy is now.
Everyone knows we all die sometime. For most of us, though, death is something that happens to someone else - until it strikes home. Maybe someone close to us gets really sick, or we ourselves have a brush with death that wakes us up.
But up to that point, we just don’t want to think about it. We also convince ourselves that if we stay in shape, eat right, manage our stress, and maintain a good attitude, we can forestall the inevitable.
The fact of the matter is that if we really thought about it, there are a whole slew of hazards that are entirely beyond our control. Here’s a few that come to mind: Freak household accidents. Violent crime. Natural disasters. Car crashes.
Of course we all say that odds are against any of these happening to us. We even say to ourselves that we can afford to wait and buy a policy next year or the year after, so we can qualify for a better rate. But in the meantime, things can happen. And they do. All the time. Unexpectedly.
If your time comes before you have a policy in force, then your beneficiaries lose out. You really can’t “afford to die” until that coverage is in place.
Quality number three: the happy life insurance shopper wants a guaranteed return on his or her money.
OK. Now you know you need to get coverage in force as soon as possible because you never know when your time will come. The next logical question is: for how long do you keep the coverage in force?
Easy answer: for as long as you live. You know at some point you will have your last day on this earth, so that means you know for sure your beneficiary will get their money when your time comes...
... as long as the policy is still in force. That means you need permanent coverage. The policy should last as long as you do.
Doesn’t permanent coverage cost more then term coverage? Yes.
Isn’t term good for short-term needs? Yes.
Can you buy term and then purchase permanent when you can afford it? Yes.
Does it make sense to buy term now and then convert to a permanent product? Yes.
The thing is, if you don’t take a long-term strategy, then you won’t be guaranteed a payout. If you do take a long-term strategy, then you will. Guaranteed by a top-flight financial institution.
Quality number four: the happy life insurance shopper knows what he’s getting into.
When you buy a house, do you expect to write a check for the purchase price agreed on? Of course you do. Same when you buy a business, book a cruise, and buy a pair of shoes. We even demand that a grocery store clerk honors the price on the shelf if an item has been mislabeled.
Life insurance should operate the same way. Hard to believe, isn’t it? All too often, a broker will submit an application on the hope and prayer that the applicant will be approved at the rate quoted. “We won’t know what the price really will be until you are approved.”
Yes, right, but if you go through full disclosure on a preliminary basis, you can become confident in what that price will be. The broker has to prequalify you and present carriers with thorough and accurate quote information upfront. They can then commit to a price, contingent upon information obtained in underwriting not contradicting the preliminary disclosures.
You can then be sure of what you are buying. If you don’t get prequalified, then you can’t be sure. Simple as that.
Quality number five: the happy life insurance shopper wants to be heard.
There are a few companies out there who let consumers call them and buy policies. That’s nice for a tiny percentage of the zillions of men and women who need coverage. The rest of us need personalized service and a guide to walk us through the vast marketplace of potential carriers. Only one or two of them will be the best for us, and that broker has to lead the way to their doorstep.
But life insurance distribution can be pretty rigid. The broker usually does not have direct access to the carriers. He or she must work through carrier general agencies who act as wholesalers of their products. So there is you, your broker, his or her general agent, and their carrier.
I am sure you have played that telephone game where one person in the line passes down a message, and by the time it reaches the end, it’s completely different. It’s the brokers job to make sure all information about you that is passed along the underwriting channels remains consistent and is fairly assessed. He or she is your advocate, and must be prepared to carry your cause over any and all hurdles that pop up in underwriting. And they do pop up. All the time.
If you have been properly prequalified for coverage, then the bottom line is this: you should be approved at the rate quoted unless information arises in underwriting that is substantially different from the information that was disclosed on a preliminary basis.
Your broker is your advocate to make sure that happens.
In my humble opinion, this is how you buy life insurance. If you follow this path, you will be one happy camper :)
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1) Find the agency you want to use. Peruse the internet or Yellow Pages, or get referrals from others. Find an agency that carriers lots of choices, and offers service and companies that you can trust.
2) Figure out what type of policy best suits your needs. Your agent can help with that.
3) Fill out an application and submit it.
4) If you are purchasing No Exam insurance, that is all that needs to be done. If you are applying for a medically underwritten policy, you will then need to take a free insurance exam in your home or place of your choice.
5) Wait for approval. Hopefully, you will be working with an agency that lets you know if you can help in other ways (e.g. call your doctor's office to ask them to provide your medical records more quickly, clarify something on your application, etc). That extra bit of customer service can be the difference between approval and decline.
6) Pay for your policy and treasure it for years to come.
I’m going to describe for you the kind of person who buys life insurance and is really glad they did. They are happy with the policy they bought; they are happy with the process they went through to get that policy; and they are happy to tell all their friends and neighbors about how happy they are with the purchase :).
These are the qualities of a happy life insurance shopper:
Quality number one: the happy life insurance shopper dares to care.
Look, life insurance is not for you, right? It’s for your beneficiaries.
And frankly, some people could care less about what happens after they die.
I mean, to put it bluntly, they are dead, right?
Isn’t that what it comes down to?
But for other people, the difference between being alive and being dead is not that great. I mean, you have spent a lifetime building something of value. Your marriage. Your family. Your business. Charitable causes worthy of your support.
All these folks have become dependent on you. If you die, they could lose their economic foundation. But if you have insurance on your life, then they don’t have to miss a dime. Life can go on in style for your spouse, your children, your business partners, your employees, and all the needy people that are being helped by the charities you support.
If you care about these people, then life insurance can make sure life goes on for them, even when your life does not go on for you.
Quality number two: the happy life insurance shopper understands that the time to buy is now.
Everyone knows we all die sometime. For most of us, though, death is something that happens to someone else - until it strikes home. Maybe someone close to us gets really sick, or we ourselves have a brush with death that wakes us up.
But up to that point, we just don’t want to think about it. We also convince ourselves that if we stay in shape, eat right, manage our stress, and maintain a good attitude, we can forestall the inevitable.
The fact of the matter is that if we really thought about it, there are a whole slew of hazards that are entirely beyond our control. Here’s a few that come to mind: Freak household accidents. Violent crime. Natural disasters. Car crashes.
Of course we all say that odds are against any of these happening to us. We even say to ourselves that we can afford to wait and buy a policy next year or the year after, so we can qualify for a better rate. But in the meantime, things can happen. And they do. All the time. Unexpectedly.
If your time comes before you have a policy in force, then your beneficiaries lose out. You really can’t “afford to die” until that coverage is in place.
Quality number three: the happy life insurance shopper wants a guaranteed return on his or her money.
OK. Now you know you need to get coverage in force as soon as possible because you never know when your time will come. The next logical question is: for how long do you keep the coverage in force?
Easy answer: for as long as you live. You know at some point you will have your last day on this earth, so that means you know for sure your beneficiary will get their money when your time comes...
... as long as the policy is still in force. That means you need permanent coverage. The policy should last as long as you do.
Doesn’t permanent coverage cost more then term coverage? Yes.
Isn’t term good for short-term needs? Yes.
Can you buy term and then purchase permanent when you can afford it? Yes.
Does it make sense to buy term now and then convert to a permanent product? Yes.
The thing is, if you don’t take a long-term strategy, then you won’t be guaranteed a payout. If you do take a long-term strategy, then you will. Guaranteed by a top-flight financial institution.
Quality number four: the happy life insurance shopper knows what he’s getting into.
When you buy a house, do you expect to write a check for the purchase price agreed on? Of course you do. Same when you buy a business, book a cruise, and buy a pair of shoes. We even demand that a grocery store clerk honors the price on the shelf if an item has been mislabeled.
Life insurance should operate the same way. Hard to believe, isn’t it? All too often, a broker will submit an application on the hope and prayer that the applicant will be approved at the rate quoted. “We won’t know what the price really will be until you are approved.”
Yes, right, but if you go through full disclosure on a preliminary basis, you can become confident in what that price will be. The broker has to prequalify you and present carriers with thorough and accurate quote information upfront. They can then commit to a price, contingent upon information obtained in underwriting not contradicting the preliminary disclosures.
You can then be sure of what you are buying. If you don’t get prequalified, then you can’t be sure. Simple as that.
Quality number five: the happy life insurance shopper wants to be heard.
There are a few companies out there who let consumers call them and buy policies. That’s nice for a tiny percentage of the zillions of men and women who need coverage. The rest of us need personalized service and a guide to walk us through the vast marketplace of potential carriers. Only one or two of them will be the best for us, and that broker has to lead the way to their doorstep.
But life insurance distribution can be pretty rigid. The broker usually does not have direct access to the carriers. He or she must work through carrier general agencies who act as wholesalers of their products. So there is you, your broker, his or her general agent, and their carrier.
I am sure you have played that telephone game where one person in the line passes down a message, and by the time it reaches the end, it’s completely different. It’s the brokers job to make sure all information about you that is passed along the underwriting channels remains consistent and is fairly assessed. He or she is your advocate, and must be prepared to carry your cause over any and all hurdles that pop up in underwriting. And they do pop up. All the time.
If you have been properly prequalified for coverage, then the bottom line is this: you should be approved at the rate quoted unless information arises in underwriting that is substantially different from the information that was disclosed on a preliminary basis.
Your broker is your advocate to make sure that happens.
In my humble opinion, this is how you buy life insurance. If you follow this path, you will be one happy camper :)