Whether you are hard to insure or have been declined for life insurance in the past, getting the coverage you need may seem impossible, but there are a few things you can do to help maximize your chance of being approved for life insurance.
There are many reasons why insurance companies may decline coverage or why some people are harder to insure than others. Whether it is a high-risk lifestyle, health issues, prior/current drug use or mental health issues, insurance underwriters take into account many different risk factors to determine whether a person can be offered coverage.
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While many people are aware that by changing lifestyles or by improving their health they are more likely to be approved, there are four other life insurance application strategies that you can use to greatly improve your chances.
Preliminary Inquiries
One of the most important things all brokers say is that clients should be is honest up-front. Before the application process has begun, let your broker know of any major health or lifestyle issues that might cause your policy to be declined or rated.
Armed with this information in hand, the broker will contact the potential insurance company, explain the situation (leaving out the client’s name), and determine whether or not underwriting would approve the application.
This is called a preliminary inquiry, and it can save clients time and a decline on their files.
Multiple Applications
Like handing out multiple resumes while job-hunting, applying for coverage with more than one insurance company at a time can increase a person’s chances of being approved with a low premium.
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And because multiple companies will be competing for your application, the odds of being approved will go up.
Cover Letter
Exactly like in a job hunt, having your life insurance broker hand in a cover letter can help improve your odds of being approved.
Like employers, when an insurance application is handed in, for the most part, that is all the insurance company sees of a person, that is all they know of their history, etc.
Adding a cover letter can explain your unique situation and allow them to understand why they should approve your application. While normally done for clients wanting in excess of $1 million in coverage, this also works in situations where people are difficult to insure or have been declined in the past.
Ensure your life insurance broker is up to date
Like all industries, life insurance has it’s own trends, policy reviews and updates. Insurance company underwriting departments are changing their approval procedures (such as straight through processing), medical labs are taking an increasing role in insurance application processes and many companies are adopting predictive modeling in order to be better able to determine the risk a person presents.
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A good life insurance broker should be aware of what is on the horizon and should factor that in when determining which company is the right fit for his or her client. Each company does things differently and being on top of changing trends and aware of the different approaches can save clients money down the road.
