10 Facts About Life Insurance

A funeral alone costs an average of $10,000 and many families do not have enough cash in their emergency funds to make up for the lost income. If you’ve ever been to GoFundMe.com, you know this situation sadly occurs very often.

6. Underwriting varies between life insurance carriers.

Underwriting is when the insurance company evaluates the risk of accepting potential clients. This process decides how much coverage the client can receive, how much they should pay for it, or whether to even accept the risk and insure them.

The underwriters look over your unique profile for both health and lifestyle factors such as depression, anxiety, diabetes, speeding tickets and/or DUIs, scuba diving, history of bankruptcy, etc.

Quotacy is an agency that works with multiple life insurance companies. On our online application, we ask important underwriting questions so your Quotacy agent can make sure you’re matched with a company that will underwrite you most favorably.

Asking these questions before sending in a formal application will ensure you apply to the best carrier the first time around. Your agent will set realistic expectations and you’ll be able to know your estimated premium costs before applying versus finding out at the end that your final rate doesn’t match your initial quote.

» Learn more: What Is Life Insurance Underwriting?

7. Underwriting takes time.

The life insurance underwriting process is partly a waiting game if you want to receive the lowest prices. Some policies could be approved in as little as a few days while others may take months.

Your responsibility includes a phone call to confirm the information on your application, which takes about 30 minutes, and finding the time for a health examiner to meet with you.

Behind the scenes, your medical records from your doctors may be ordered and a lot of paperwork is processed. Sometimes hospitals and doctor offices wait a month or longer before sharing your records, so it is much less stressful if you prepare yourself ahead of time embracing the fact that it may take a while for your life insurance policy to be approved and put inforce.

Some carriers have accelerated underwriting processes. If eligible, applicants can zip through the underwriting process with a much faster turnaround than traditional underwriting. Not to mention these eligible applicants get to skip the medical exam.

When you apply, your Quotacy agent will let you know if you’re eligible for the insurance company’s accelerated underwriting process.

8. It’s important to be picky about choosing a life insurance broker.

It’s important to choose your agent or broker with care.

Make sure they will be there for you if you need to change your beneficiary, address, or banking information, and that they will be there for your loved ones should you die prematurely to help with the death benefit payout.

Some online agencies are marketing firms that pass you off to another organization and expect you to navigate the bureaucracy of the insurance carrier on your own.

Quotacy is your point of contact from start to infinity. We will not pass you along after you purchase a policy. You can always contact us at any time if you need assistance with your policy now and in the future.

9. It’s vitally important to look at valid third party reviews.

Do some research on the agent or broker you’re going to work with. Ask if they can give you a referral to a current customer or look for online third party reviews, just as you would if you were shopping on Amazon.

To take a look at Quotacy’s reviews, check out our profile on Trustpilot.

10. There are many online marketing firms selling leads.

There are many aggregators on the Internet who ask people for a name, phone number, and email address to receive a free term quote. These sites are marketing firms that sell your contact information to multiple agents and your phone will begin to ring unsolicited.

If you want to know your pricing hassle-free, run a term quote here on Quotacy. You will see pricing instantly (without even entering any contact information!) and can window-shop in peace. You will only be contacted by a Quotacy team member after you choose to apply or, of course, if you reach out to us with questions.

» Calculate: Life insurance needs calculator

Image courtesy of Rupa Panda on Flickr.