Shouldn’t the process for life insurance be easy, fast, and reasonably priced?
We think so. Introducing Plum®
Plum® offers some of the best prices and processes in the industry.
We only ask the questions that need answering-nothing more. Complete it on your own, or your advisor can do it for you. We’re flexible.
Our best-in-class policyowner portal lets you access all your information in a few clicks and complete transactions easily online.
Using advanced digital technology and data, we can get you an answer on your application more quickly than ever.
Bringing you industry leading insurance solutions combined with a best-in-class experience – all while giving you the strength and stability of A-rated partners.
What are the 2 main types of Life insurance?
Term insurance is temporary in that it normally covers 10, 15, 20, or 30 years.
Here at Brigade, we believe in the rule of decreasing responsibility as you age and go through life stages.
- When you are younger and you have people that depend on you like a spouse, children, etc. you need more coverage to support them if something were to happen to you and you are no longer here.
- As your assets accumulate and the kids are out of school, the need for life insurance decreases and is no longer needed
We support the use of Term Life for anyone under 50 years old that has people who depend on them.
Whole life insurance is exists as long as you continue to pay your premiums or until you pass on.
Here at Brigade, we support the use of Whole Life for anyone over 50 years old that doesn’t want to leave the cost of a funeral on their loved ones.
What is life insurance?
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance company and you that promises a financial payout in the event of your death to whomever you designated as the beneficiaries of the insurance policy (typically family members). You must continue to pay your premiums to keep the policy active for the death benefit to be paid out.
What is the process to get Life Insurance?
While processes vary slightly from insurer to insurer, there are typically five steps that you can expect when applying for life insurance:
- Submit an initial application. First step to obtain life insurance, you submit an application that covers general information, your personal and familial medical history (e.g. surgical history, medical diagnoses), and your lifestyle (e.g. smoking habits, hazard level of your occupation). From there, the insurance company determines if you are an acceptable risk for their pricing and product and moves you to the next step if you are. (Plum Life makes this easy)
- Participate in a phone screening. After your application is reviewed and if you meet the carrier’s criteria, they’ll often follow up with a phone call to confirm the information you provided and discuss any more questions they have related to your health and lifestyle. (Plum Life makes this easy)
- For some products and higher coverage amounts, you’ll receive a request for a free medical exam. While not required by all insurance policies, some higher value coverage amounts require an additional medical examination for more information for the carrier to make their decision. This can include everything from simple things like weight and height to more complex things like blood tests and even drug tests. (Plum Life makes this easy with no medical exams for many coverage levels)
- A little time passes. The insurance company might perform a soft credit check, pull your motor vehicle report, and check your prescription history. They’ll use this information and the previously gathered information in the underwriting process to determine your final rating.
- Confirm and sign your policy. The insurance company will then verify the product, coverage amount, and premium if no other issues arise. Then, if that is acceptable to you, you just need to confirm and sign your policy!
Remember, you must keep paying your premium to keep the coverage in place.
What happens with my life insurance work when I die?
After you pass away, your beneficiary which you named in the policy must file a claim with the life insurance company. The insurance company will most likely also request that your beneficiary submits relevant documentation, (such as a death certificate) before the claim is paid.
Your beneficiary may choose how the death benefit will be paid out to them (either via lump sum or annual payments).
Each life insurance payment option is paid out tax-free.
What would cause the death benefit not to be paid?
Most causes of death are covered by life insurance, including natural causes, accidents, and illness as long as your policy is still active and in good standing. So, what are the reasons why a death benefit might not be paid?
- Policy not active or not in good standing. Most likely due to non-payment of premiums.
- Application fraud. You must tell the truth on the policy or else the death benefit could be adjusted lower or potentially denied.
- Suicide within 2 years of the policy being issued (in most states).
- Murder of the policyholder by a beneficiary.
- War, work or lifestyle related exclusions in the policy.
What if I have pre-existing conditions?
individuals with pre-existing conditions can still find coverage in many instances be it at higher costs or with lower death benefits, but still coverage.
Coverage availability, limits, and price for higher-risk individuals will vary from company to company.
If you have pre-existing condition(s), the best thing to do is fill out an application to see what type of coverage you can receive.
With Plum life, the process is so quick and simple, so what do you have to lose?
What are the main factors that influence the price of Life insurance?
Term insurance is generally cheaper than Whole Life as Term is for a shorter time.
The more coverage (death benefit) the higher the price of the insurance.
Age is one of the most important rating factors. For Life insurance, it is the opposite of auto insurance, the younger you are, the cheaper your premium will be. Younger people are generally healthier and thus, less likely to die soon which decreases the cost for life insurance.
Women live longer than men on average. This data is used by insurers to help price premiums. The output of the data is that Insurance companies charge higher rates for men since they calculate premiums based on mortality risk and men have a shorter life (again, on average).
Health is a significant indicator of your morbidity risk. People in poor health may pay higher rates than those who are in good health as poor health increases their chances of morbidity.
If tobacco use is part of your lifestyle, your premiums will be higher. Smokers are considered high-risk due to the myriad illnesses exacerbated by smoking.
Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree is an old saying and it applies in insurance too.
Insurers will inquire about your immediate family’s history of illnesses to estimate what direction your health could take over time.
Some jobs are riskier than others.
Some hobbies are riskier than others too.
If you change lightbulbs at the top of cellular towers for a living while skydiving and cliff diving in your free time, your premium may reflect the elevated risks posed by your hobbies.
These factors affect your premium to a lesser degree than the above, but they are still used as risk indicators.
If you are a speeder, have a history of accidents, committed crimes, what the insurance company sees is a higher risk of the policyholder suffering an accidental death.
Low credit normally is an indicator of a customer not paying their premiums.