Life Insurance Plans

It depends on the product and the carrier. Fully underwritten term and whole life policies usually involve a health questionnaire, prescription and medical record checks, and sometimes a paramedical exam with blood and urine samples. Simplified issue and final expense policies are often approved on health questions alone, and guaranteed issue policies ask none at all. Easier approval usually means a smaller coverage amount and a higher cost per thousand dollars of coverage.

Rates are set by the carrier based on your age, health history, tobacco use, the amount of coverage, and the length of the term. Because those factors vary so much from person to person, any quote you see online is a starting point, not a promise. The most useful thing I can do is run real quotes across several carriers for your actual age and health profile and put them side by side.

Yes, and it happens for reasons people do not always expect, including recent cancer treatment, uncontrolled diabetes, or a history of heart disease. Being declined by one carrier does not mean you are uninsurable. Underwriting guidelines differ from company to company, and there is usually a home for most situations, even if that means a simplified or graded benefit policy.

Often it is not. Group life typically pays one or two times your salary, and it usually ends when you leave the job, including if you are laid off or change careers. If you have a mortgage, children, or a spouse who depends on your income, that gap is worth pricing on its own. A personal policy stays with you no matter where you work.

Yes. Many people layer coverage, using a term policy for the mortgage and a smaller permanent policy for final expenses. Carriers generally allow it as long as the total coverage is reasonable for your income and situation.

Most policies include a grace period, usually around 30 days, before coverage lapses. If that window passes, the policy can terminate. Whole life policies usually build cash value that can be used to keep coverage in place temporarily, and some offer a reduced paid-up option. If money gets tight, call me before the due date rather than after. There is almost always something we can do.

Final expense and simplified issue products are commonly available from the mid-40s into the early 80s, though exact age limits differ by carrier. Term coverage gets harder to obtain past your 60s, and prices climb steeply with age. If you are wondering whether you still qualify, that is worth finding out rather than assuming.

Death benefits are generally paid to your beneficiaries free of federal income tax. There are exceptions, such as when a policy is owned by or payable to your estate and the estate is large enough to owe federal estate tax. That is a question for your tax professional, and I am glad to work alongside them.

Yes. You can add coverage, reduce it, or add riders later, though a new policy is underwritten at your age and health at that time. Some term policies include a conversion option that lets you move to permanent coverage without a new medical exam. I will point that out when it is available.

Final expense and simplified issue policies are often approved within days, sometimes the same day. Fully underwritten policies can take two to six weeks depending on how quickly medical records come back. I track every application and follow up with the carrier, so you are not the one chasing it.

I am licensed in eight states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, and Ohio. Product availability and policy details vary by state and carrier, so we confirm what is available where you live before you apply.