Life Insurance tips / experiences / thoughts

[gildo]

Not sure if there is any other threads pertaining to this, if so sorry to ask again. Just looking for tips / advice on Life Insurance. This is new to my wife & I and with young kids we have been thinking we should get into something since we are in our late 30's. Always thought about it before, but was weird to talk about but one of our new years plans was to look into and get some.

Any general tips / experiences / ideas would be greatly appreciated.

As always, thanks in advance for the help.

[Hockeyguy15]

Talk to Slava.

[MoneyGuy]

I'm a financial planner with the same firm as Slava but I'm not local. He'll be able to help you and should be your first call.

[Buff]

Apparently it's a great way to find if you have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Worked for me.

[GP_Matt]

If you have gone rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, sport climbing or other such activities in the last three years you may want to wait. I was told my premium would have a five times risk multiplier on it or my policy would contain an exemption for all kinds of sports.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

If you have gone rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, sport climbing or other such activities in the last three years you may want to wait. I was told my premium would have a five times risk multiplier on it or my policy would contain an exemption for all kinds of sports.

Or just not remember that month on K2, stuff like that slips my mind all the time.

[DoubleF]

A few things that stuck out for me way way back when I set up my policy were:

There are different types of insurance. One for kinda like investment purposes, the other more bare bones for basic backup plan purposes. Figure out which one (or combo) works best for you.

Don't lie on the questionnaire. You don't want to give them (the insurance empires) reason to not insure you/pay out. That being said, no need to overstate your negatives as well. Prior to the physical (if there is one), a detox diet for a few weeks doesn't hurt your chances of a better "result" which often leads to lower premiums.

You mentioned you're getting it as you have young kids. Generally, don't put a kid with age less than 18 as the recipient. It can cause all sorts of chaos and havoc and unintended problems. (ie: funds might be frozen until child reaches age 18 etc.)

Life insurance is a good thing to get when you have kids, but having a really good will is perhaps just as, if not more important IMO (Mainly guardianship of the kids in the event something happens). Apparently some people assume the parents will immediately get custody of the kids. Apparently, this isn't always the case and sometimes kids are sent to the foster kid system until the grandparents successfully win the right to their grand kids. Spell it out in the will who you want to get custody.

Life insurance brokers/agents are important people. They are easier to deal with than the corporations themselves. IMO, find someone who you feel will go to bat for you rather than just chasing the lowest price.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by gildo

Not sure if there is any other threads pertaining to this, if so sorry to ask again. Just looking for tips / advice on Life Insurance. This is new to my wife & I and with young kids we have been thinking we should get into something since we are in our late 30's. Always thought about it before, but was weird to talk about but one of our new years plans was to look into and get some.

Any general tips / experiences / ideas would be greatly appreciated.

As always, thanks in advance for the help.

If you want some help, just send me a PM. I can answer questions here if you prefer or just want some general information also. I am an independent broker, so I can quote you for a number of companies and go through all your options as well.

I do have a thread in my sponsored sub-forum that goes through some of the generalities if you are interested. http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=148259

[Slava]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

If you have gone rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, sport climbing or other such activities in the last three years you may want to wait. I was told my premium would have a five times risk multiplier on it or my policy would contain an exemption for all kinds of sports.

I just wanted to comment on this specifically, because it depends on the company and specifics. I have had clients who are extremely avid rock climbers and we have been able to secure coverage with out huge rates. There are a number of ways that things are dealt with and it's not always more money.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

A few things that stuck out for me way way back when I set up my policy were:

There are different types of insurance. One for kinda like investment purposes, the other more bare bones for basic backup plan purposes. Figure out which one (or combo) works best for you.

Don't lie on the questionnaire. You don't want to give them (the insurance empires) reason to not insure you/pay out. That being said, no need to overstate your negatives as well. Prior to the physical (if there is one), a detox diet for a few weeks doesn't hurt your chances of a better "result" which often leads to lower premiums.

You mentioned you're getting it as you have young kids. Generally, don't put a kid with age less than 18 as the recipient. It can cause all sorts of chaos and havoc and unintended problems. (ie: funds might be frozen until child reaches age 18 etc.)

Life insurance is a good thing to get when you have kids, but having a really good will is perhaps just as, if not more important IMO (Mainly guardianship of the kids in the event something happens). Apparently some people assume the parents will immediately get custody of the kids. Apparently, this isn't always the case and sometimes kids are sent to the foster kid system until the grandparents successfully win the right to their grand kids. Spell it out in the will who you want to get custody.

Life insurance brokers/agents are important people. They are easier to deal with than the corporations themselves. IMO, find someone who you feel will go to bat for you rather than just chasing the lowest price.

A detox diet for a couple weeks probably won't change things for your medicals. They are looking for things like high blood pressure, cholesterol and diseases which might impact your life span. A detox diet (and I am not going to get into whether they work or not for overall life) won't do much for those kinds of issues.

As far as leaving money to the kids what you have to do is name a trustee or the public trustee would receive the funds on their behalf. You can't have someone who is under 18 to be a beneficiary without this because they cannot receive the funds legally.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Slava

As far as leaving money to the kids what you have to do is name a trustee or the public trustee would receive the funds on their behalf. You can't have someone who is under 18 to be a beneficiary without this because they cannot receive the funds legally.

Have your "estate" be the beneficiary of the insurance as the alternate to your spouse. Then, you can control the proceeds through a Trust you create in your will. Unless you want them to have all the proceeds when they are 18.

[gildo]

Thanks again everyone, as always great place to come when you want honest information from experience. Will definitely call Slava

[Slava]

Originally Posted by troutman

Have your "estate" be the beneficiary of the insurance as the alternate to your spouse. Then, you can control the proceeds through a Trust you create in your will. Unless you want them to have all the proceeds when they are 18.

Yeah a testamentary trust is a good way to go as well. The only drawback with leaving all of the insurance money to the estate is that it has to go through probate. The expense isn't huge in Alberta ($525 IIRC), but if there is legal wrangling it can be tied up. Part of the benefit of an insurance contract is that it transfers outside the estate, so there are a few benefits that come with that. I don't mind the testamentary trust in the right scenario, but you want to be aware of the other ramifications.

(I'm not saying that you aren't here Troutman...being a lawyer you're likely better apprised than I am!)

[troutman]

Probate takes about 3 months in Calgary if if goes smoothly, and as Slava says, the maximum the Court can charge is $525. We have no inheritance tax in Alberta, so far.

If both parents were gone, the estate is most likely going to probate anyway. Most parents would not want a large insurance payout going to their children at 18, so that can be delayed in a testamentary trust until they are more mature.

[afc wimbledon]

It's important to have your own trustees set up for your kids though, if not the public trustee steps in and he/she ain't cheap, they charge a percentage fee for doing bugger all, complete rip off imho.

[GP_Matt]

Originally Posted by Slava

I just wanted to comment on this specifically, because it depends on the company and specifics. I have had clients who are extremely avid rock climbers and we have been able to secure coverage with out huge rates. There are a number of ways that things are dealt with and it's not always more money.

I planned to up my coverage through work although haven't actually filled out the forms yet. If that doesn't work out I will give you or MoneyGuy (to support Edmonton) a call.

Thanks

[Slava]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

I planned to up my coverage through work although haven't actually filled out the forms yet. If that doesn't work out I will give you or MoneyGuy (to support Edmonton) a call.

Thanks

Oh yeah, I wasn't suggesting that you jump ship and do things through me. It's just that you would want to try to get a policy that doesn't cost a fortune or have a pile of exclusions if you can avoid it!

Supporting Edmonton in any capacity is a questionable decision, although MoneyGuy is a good guy and advisor.

[CroFlames]

What do insurance companies count as "high" for bp? Don't most people get nervous and their BP spikes when getting measured, leading to higher premium?

Surely there is wiggle room?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

What do insurance companies count as "high" for bp? Don't most people get nervous and their BP spikes when getting measured, leading to higher premium?

Surely there is wiggle room?

Yes there is wiggle room and it's not a set rate. So when you are applying for insurance, if you even do medicals, you're compared against other people your age and situation. So someone who is a 20 year old athlete isn't compared to someone who is 65.

The other thing is that medical requirements are lessening. I can't say they're eliminated now, but they have really cut down on requirements as far as giving blood, urine and blood pressure.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Slava

A detox diet for a couple weeks probably won't change things for your medicals. They are looking for things like high blood pressure, cholesterol and diseases which might impact your life span. A detox diet (and I am not going to get into whether they work or not for overall life) won't do much for those kinds of issues.

As far as leaving money to the kids what you have to do is name a trustee or the public trustee would receive the funds on their behalf. You can't have someone who is under 18 to be a beneficiary without this because they cannot receive the funds legally.

Well, someone is going to get an ass kicking from me if they continue telling me I overpay for life insurance because I had a burger and vodka the night before the physical.

And yeah, I was under the impression most brokers will refuse to name someone below the age of 18 as the benefactor, but it would be good to know why none the less.