Obesity and Term Life Insurance
07/18/2008
Life Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released the results of a government survey showing the states with the highest levels of obesity in the country. The south dominated the top ten, due mostly in part to diet habits that tend to include fatty and fried foods. Obesity is determined by an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI).
Learn more about BMI.
Calculate your BMI.
Mississippi had the highest obesity rate once again this year, with 32 percent of residents falling into the obese category. Colorado had the lowest rate in the nation at 19 percent.
- Mississippi - 32%
- Alabama - 30.0%
- Tennessee - 30.1%
- Louisiana - 29.8%
- West Virginia - 29.5%
- Arkansas - 28.7%
- South Carolina - 28.4%
- Georgia - 28.2%
- Oklahoma - 28.1%
- Texas - 28.1%
Build is a very important factor in the underwriting of a term life insurance application. Every life insurance company considers an applicant's height and weight when determining which rating class to place the applicant in. Most companies will offer coverage to individuals with larger BMI's; however, the premiums will be higher due to the increased risk taken on by the company.
Be sure to ask your agent how your build will affect your application. You can also input your build when obtaining quotes from our term life insurance quoting system. Be honest for the best results!
MetLife 'Rocks' With New Insurance Video
07/11/2008
Life Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
Do you remember those old School House Rock educational videos? You know, the jams with titles like 'Conjunction Junction' and 'I'm Just a Bill?' Well, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) has put together an educational video with a similar theme as the School House Rock videos. The topic of the video is risk pooling in insurance. Risk pooling in insurance is a form of risk management in which insureds are 'pooled' together to help spread risk and keep any one individual from suffering large losses. It allows protection at a fraction of the cost it would take to do it alone.
Risk pooling is a basic component of insurance and this video does a good job of simplifying the topic. While it may not receive any 'Kids Choice Awards' anytime soon, it is still worth the time to watch.
MetLife YouTube Risk Pooling Video
Leave it to Google ...
07/08/2008
Life Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
The ability to Google your medical records may be closer than you think. The Internet giant recently released Google Health, a health information service aimed at helping users store basic medical history, track medications, schedule doctor appointments, refill prescriptions, receive lab results online and a host of other related services.
The company will store personal health information on dedicated servers with additional security measures installed for protection. One long term goal of the project is to electronically maintain users' medical records. This would allow users to review and retrieve their own medical records at any time.
Privacy concerns will of course dictate how far we are from seeing this portion of Google Health become active. However, it will be well worth the wait for the life insurance industry. The storage of personal medical records has the potential to speed up the underwriting process significantly on life insurance applications. The current process of requesting medical records from an applicant's physician can take up to several weeks to complete. Imagine reducing that process to several days at most.
Insurance Companies Exhibit a Century of Quality
07/02/2008
Life Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
A.M. Best Company has been issuing financial strength ratings on life insurance companies since 1906. Consumers have relied on these ratings for the past century as a tool for selecting a life insurance company to purchase a policy from. A.M. Best recently recognized the following insurance companies for maintaing an A.M. Best Financial Strength Rating of 'A' or better since 1907.
- Federal Insurance Company
- The Life Insurance Company of Virginia (Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company)
- Great American Insurance Company
- Hartford Fire Insurance Company
- John Hancock Life Insurance Company
- MetLife
- National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford
- New York Life Insurance Company
- Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
- Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company
- Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Company
- Prudential Insurance Company of America
- Standard Insurance Company
- Western & Southern Life Insurance Company
California Drivers Beware ... Cellies Not Allowed
06/30/2008
Auto Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
Bluetooth headsets are about to become all the rage in California. The reason? On July 1, the state will begin fining drivers caught using cell phones while driving; unless they are using a hands-free device such as a Bluetooth headset. Additionally, drivers under the age of 18 will be ticketed if caught using
any type of cell phone while driving, including a hands-free set.
Fines are scheduled to begin at $20 for a first offense, increasing up to $50 for multiple offenses.
It will be interesting to see if other states will take California's lead. Perhaps the new law will help to reduce automobile accident rates. If so, we could possibly even see auto insurance premiums affected.
Something tells me police officers in Beverly Hills will be busier than normal.
Federal Reserve Holds Rates Steady This Time
06/26/2008
Finance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
The Federal Reserve Board changed course at its most recent meeting yesterday, June 25th. The Fed held its target for the federal funds rate at 2.00 percent. The federal funds rate is the rate consumers pay on credit cards, home equity lines of credit and automobile loans.
Yesterday's widely expected decision to hold rates steady breaks a string of seven consecutive rate reductions over the past eight months. The Fed's last statement noted "uncertainty about the inflation outlook remains high." This comment had many experts believing the Fed may be done cutting rates, and it turns out now to be the case indeed. This meeting's statement noted "upside risks to inflation and inflation expectations have increased."
The federal funds rate is an overnight bank lending rate that affects rates on various types of loans such as variable-rate mortgages and credit card rates, among others. The rate may also impact rates on various investment and insurance products offered by life insurance companies.
Health Insurance Receives 'Failing Grades' in Many States
06/12/2008
Health Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
Families USA, a Washington, D.C.-based health care consumer group, recently released a report claiming laws in most states benefit health insurance companies over health insurance consumers. The report, titled 'Failing Grades', is the result of the group's survey of insurance commissioners of all fifty states. The group contends the results show the individual health insurance market is a market of abuses and inadequate consumer protection.
According to the report, 35 states have no set limitations on the premium increases insurance companies can impose on consumers based on health status. The group also claims most states allow insurance companies to hand-pick healthy customers.
Some other findings include:
- 21 states allow insurance companies to exclude coverage for pre-existing condition for a period of more than one year.
- 44 states allow insurance companies to revoke coverage without state review or approval.
'New' Life Insurance Travel Guidelines
06/10/2008
Life Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
Life insurance companies may soon take a different view of applicants' foreign travel history and future plans when considering applications for life insurance. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recently adopted new guidelines aimed at protecting consumers from discriminatory underwriting practices by life insurance companies in the sale of life insurance. The guidelines modify the NAIC's Unfair Trade Practices Model Act to limit an insurance company's ability to deny an applicant life insurance based solely on lawful past travel or lawful future travel (under specific circumstance on the latter).
The new guidelines state that future travel cannot be the basis for a coverage decision unless travel to a specific location at a specific time is found to create a risk of loss greater than that for individuals who do not travel to that place at that time. Such findings must be based upon sound actuarial principals and actual or anticipated experience.
The language implies there is plenty of room for 'interpretation', and seems somewhat ambiguous. Specifically, it will be interesting to see how life insurance companies adapt and justify their findings based upon 'sound actuarial principals and actual
or anticipated experience.'
Longevity Insurance - Get Paid to Live Longer!
06/02/2008
Other
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
Most people are familiar with the concept of life insurance; you purchase a policy and the insurance company will pay a death benefit to your family (or other beneficiary) if you die while covered. The concept of longevity insurance may be a bit more unfamiliar.
Symetra Life Insurance Company hopes to change that. The company recently released a new product called the Symetra Freedom Income Annuity, which the company states acts like longevity insurance. The idea is to purchase the annuity at today's premiums to insure you do not outlive your retirement savings.
For example, a 65-year old could purchase a policy today that will begin regular monthly payments at a specific age, say 85. For a monthly benefit of $2,500, the premium would be approximately $30,000 today. The premium would be significantly higher if the policy was purchased at age 85.
This new product from Symetra is called a single premium deferred annuity (SPDA). It is not a new product to the industry and longevity insurance is not really an insurance product at all. It's simply a unique way of looking at the benefits provided by this type of annuity.
Making a Case for Good Auto Insurance
05/29/2008
Auto Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
This won't come as news to many, but poor drivers abound on America's roads. Now we have the results of the 2008 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test as proof of such. The survey, which polled over 5,500 Americans in all 50 states, shows 16.4 percent of drivers would not pass a written driver's test if taken today. This number represents approximately 33 million licensed drivers! The test used was a sampling of 20 actual exam questions.
Some of the more interesting findings are as follows:
- Kansas drivers recorded the best scores at 84 percent.
- New Jersey drivers recorded the lowest scores at 70 percent.
- 20 percent of women failed the sample test, while 13 percent of men failed.
- The top five states were Kansas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Idaho and Minnesota.
- The bottom five states were New Jersey, Washington, D.C., New York, Massachusetts and Georgia.
Earthquake Insurance
05/28/2008
Homeowners Insurance
By: Tim Bain
Permalink
Earthquakes are a hot topic in our corporate headquarters located in Reno, NV. Several hundred quakes have shaken the region within the past few months. Yes, several hundred. And while most are considered minor quakes (the largest registered as a 4.7 on 4/25/08), they are still enough to put people on edge. This is especially true if you are a home or business owner.
California, Nevada and Alaska are the three states with the most seismic activity in the United States. However, earthquakes have been felt in all fifty states. Some 5,000 are recorded each year in this country.
Seismologists recently released a report that predicts a magnitude 7.8 or greater quake will rock southern California at some point in the future. The group says it is more a matter of 'when' not 'if.' A quake of this magnitude is projected to cause an estimated $200 billion in damages. Not to mention the toll it will take on citizens in the form of injuries and fatalities.
Still, far too few Americans carry earthquake insurance on their homes and businesses. One reason may be that many believe their homeowners insurance policy covers earthquake damage. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Earthquake coverage must be purchased separately, and is typically fairly expensive in relation to a homeowners insurance policy.
But with all this shaking going on, it may be a prudent time to look at some quotes for this coverage. Major insurance companies will put a moratorium on new policies for a period of time following a major quake (typically 30-60 days). So it may be best to look now.
