Brian Gruss Licensed Insurance Planner

Better Health Equals Lower Life Insurance Rates

Eating well, not smoking and exercising regularly isn’t just good for your health-it’s also good for your wallet. That’s because healthier people generally pay much lower rates for life insurance.

On the other hand, if you smoke, are overweight, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a heart condition, you’ll pay the price when it comes to life insurance. As a matter of fact, it may be hard to find a company to insure you in the first place.

Why do unhealthy people pay more? Because life insurance companies don’t want to take on large amounts of risk. The poorer your health, the higher risk you are to an insurer. Therefore, if you have a medical condition or chronic illnesses, insurance companies expect you to pay more for coverage.

Get in shape for better rates

If you already have a life insurance policy and are paying sky-high rates due to your health issues, there is hope. It is possible to lower your rates by getting fit. Some insurance companies will decrease your rates if you can verify that your overall health has improved.

Say you purchased your life insurance policy when your health was less than stellar. However, since then you’ve taken measures to improve your health and lifestyle. Maybe you’ve lost weight, quit smoking or lowered your cholesterol through diet. If so, you can request a reduction in premiums from your carrier.

How to request a lower rate

If you’ve recently improved your health, just call your life insurance company and ask them what’s required for them to reconsider your rating class. Most likely, they will want to review your recent medical records.

Some insurance companies will ask your primary physician to confirm that you’ve maintained good health for a certain length of time. If you previously suffered from a severe condition, such as cancer or heart problems, you will probably have to maintain good health for an extended period of time before your insurance carrier will lower your rates. Then again, if you suffer from a condition that is irreparable, they will probably never lower your rate.

Many life insurance companies require that you go through their own medical tests. If this is the case, you’ll have to be re-tested by a representative of the life insurance company each time you request a lower rate. However, if you are being tested for a specific condition, such as high cholesterol, and your life insurance company finds something else in the process, they cannot increase your rate.

One advantage is that there’s no limit to the number of times you can request a lower rate from your insurance company. If your health continues to improve, you can keep asking the insurance carrier to review your medical records or re-test you.

So lose a few pounds, gain a few bucks. Quit smoking, quit paying lofty insurance premiums. Lower your cholesterol, lower your rate. This is just one more incentive to get healthy and stay that way.

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Planning for Retirement: Considering Long Term Care Insurance as an Option

When it comes to retirement planning, long term care insurance is not one of those subjects most people want to address. Nobody likes to think of themselves as suffering from the infirmities associated with age or illness. Therefore, many times, this kind of insurance is relegated to the “back burner” so to speak.

People tend to think that long term care insurance is an unimportant topic until they’re faced with possibly needing it. However, this is the time such a decision is unwise as you will most likely stand a very good chance of not being able to qualify.

Making the choice when you’re younger and in better health is a more prudent approach to your overall well-being.  There may likely come a time when you’ll be glad to have coverage for your assisted living needs.

Probably the best way to determine when to purchase long term care insurance is to contact an insurance professional. He or she can advise you as to the consequences of waiting to purchase such an insurance plan, and how it can affect you later when you may need the services assisted living provides.

Unfortunately, research points out that most of us will need this type of care when we’re older. Also, statistics show that most of us will be living past 80 or 90. This fact alone makes long term insurance an important consideration with regards to our quality of living in our later years.

Of course, we all enjoy our independence as younger adults, but you are at least guaranteed some future independence financially by opting for this type of insurance plan. Naturally, you hope you will never need to use your auto coverage or homeowner’s coverage either. Still, to be without such financial security can wreak havoc in your life if you’re not covered.

Long term care insurance is mainly designed for middle income people. If you’re extremely wealthy and don’t believe you will be under any imposition paying for assisted living, you may consider this insurance plan non-applicable. Likewise, if you are eligible for Medicaid, this insurance probably isn’t a consideration either.

Nevertheless, for the rest of us, long term care insurance offers a solution for any future care we may need, and provides us with the assurance that our care can be met.  Give me a call and we will look at all of the available options and choose a plan that’s right for you.

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