3 Things That Make It Surprisingly Hard to Get Life Insurance
Insurance companies are amazing at a few things and crunching numbers is one of them. In fact, they have fleets of people called actuaries who collect and analyze statistics and other data to determine risk and manage uncertainty.
When you decide to get life insurance, your insurer is assessing a lot more that just the answers from your online questionnaire. They compare your answers, your test results, and other basic health information against their own benchmarks (other people your age, gender, and weight) to decide how much your premiums will be.
Here are 3 things that make it harder to get life insurance:
Your driving history
Your driving history will have an impact on your ability to get life insurance. If you have a DUI or more than a few moving violations on your record, it’s going to affect more than your auto insurance rates. Your life insurance premiums are probably going to take a hit as well.
The basic gist is that risky driving puts your life in jeopardy, which might make you a bad insurance bet. If they make the decision to insure you at all, your premiums are likely to be higher than the average person’s.
Your credit report
It’s surprising how much can be revealed by your credit report. Your buying habits may be of some interest, but what’s really important to life insurance company is whether or not you’ve filed for bankruptcy.
Apparently, buying a life insurance policy before your bankruptcy is discharged can make you look like a high-risk candidate. Most will deny you life insurance coverage but a few carriers may offer you a ten-year term at exorbitant rates.
Even still, you probably don’t want to leave your family in a bind. It’s best to just pay the higher rates until your debt is settled and then get a better premium rate once you are free and clear.
Your favourite pastime
Your life insurance company is interested in your hobbies. Do you like long walks on the beach or do you prefer base jumping? Does collecting stamps do it for you or are you more of a rally car-racing type? These kinds of personal decisions will end up influencing your likelihood of getting life insurance.
Riskier activities like sky-diving, car-racing, and some kinds of scuba diving will exclude you from the best premium rates. If one insurance company doesn’t like your hobbies, there will be others that can offer you a product that fits your situation – although you might have to pay for it.
Be careful about what you do. Look for the best policies online, and be aware that your health habits, and other habits, can impact your ability to be approved for life insurance, and will influence your premiums.