Life insurance rates – life insurance online
When searching for life insurance online, the majority of the contracts will go through a process called underwriting in order for them to be able to grant you cover. This process is done by a team within the company you decide to take the insurance with who deal with nothing else but underwriting. The majority of the companies who are providing the insurance will have a large selection of manuals and procedures that they must adhere to. They are also likely to have a large amount of policy documentation that they can follow to enable them to make the correct decision. To enable underwriting to occur, most of the providers will ask you to complete an application form. This application form will pick up general personal information about you. This form is then normally uploaded on a secure internet server to the appropriate insurance company.
When the underwriting takes place the life insurance rates company are specifically looking out for a number of key areas on the application form. They will then on these key areas assess your application form and come up with a decision on your case. There are a number of options open to the underwriting team, they could decide to decline the case altogether and not offer any cover what so ever. This is done by the insurance company when they feel due the risk factor they are unable to offer cover to the applicant. Examples of this could include situations where the applicant has previously had cancer, heart attacks or a stroke. One of the other decisions an insurance company could decide to take, is to exclude parts from the cover they are willing to give. This once again is done when they feel the risk of insuring that particular condition or scenario is too high but the difference between this and a decline is that they may decide to cover part of the plan only. One of the other decisions a company may make on a plan is that they want to charge an extra premium every month.
Once again the reason for this extra added onto the monthly premium is due to risk that the insurance company perceives. When the insurance companies add extra money onto the plans they will normally do this as a percentage of the overall premium. The more that they add on in percentage terms the higher the perceived risk is.
Life insurance rates
When the life insurance online company actually gets into the underwriting process they will look at specific areas on the application form. One of the first things they will take into consideration is the client’s age. The price of this type of insurance is very age sensitive and the older you get the more expensive the cover will become. Normally the most cost effective way of taking this type of insurance is to take it when you are younger and to try and take the full term needed rather than taking a shorter term, which may initially be cheaper but could turn out to be dearer if it has to be re-priced at different intervals. The next part of the cover that is normally looked at when assessing the application is the sex of the applicant. It is fact that women statistically live longer than men so they will normally pay less for their cover. After assessment of the sex and age the insurance company will move on to look at the height and weight ratio of the applicant.
This can have a large impact on the final price you pay or even if the company will grant you cover at all. If you are underweight, then this is seen as a risk, as you may suffer from osteoporosis and your immune system may struggle to cope. Likewise if you are over weight this also adds possible complications to the state of your health. If you are over weight then you are at a higher risk of suffering from strokes, heart attacks, types of cancer and osteoarthritis. There could also be risks of suffering illnesses such as gout and sleep apnea. The height and weight is calculated on a scale called the BMI (Body Mass Index) the BMI is a calculation of body fat that is based on your height and weight. This will then give you a number on a scale and as to where you are on the scale will determine if you are over or under weight.
If you are way off either end of the scale there is a possibility that you would be declined from taking the insurance. If you are seen as substantially under or over weight then the life insurance rates provider could add an extra premium onto your policy. If you are a normal BMI on the scale you are likely to get the standard premium.
Life Insurance online
The life insurance online companies will also assess your application based on your family history. This is normally close family history and is your natural parents and brothers or sisters. The insurance companies are likely to want to know if they have suffered from illnesses such as heart attacks, cancers, strokes or hereditary disorders prior to them being 60 or in some cases 65. If there is a strong hereditary link then an additional premium could be placed on the plan and in some cases it could lead to a decline. The main hereditary illnesses are breast cancer, bowel cancer and ovarian cancer; however this list is by no means exhaustive. The life insurance rates company may also assess your application by actually looking at what you want the insurance for. They will want to ensure that the cover that you take is inline with your financial situation and the reason for you applying for the cover seems reasonable.
One of the other main points that ties in with this area is how much cover, if any you have elsewhere. The insurance companies will have criteria that they must adhere to and the majority of insurance providers will only allow you to have up to a certain amount of life insurance. Occupation is also another main area that is looked at when a policy is being underwritten. If your occupation is one that involves danger then the plan may once again have an additional premium added or in some circumstances it could be declined. The insurance providers are sensitive to working at heights and occupations that involve working offshore. Once again this is because of the higher perceived risk involved with their occupations.
The underwriters will also pay close attention to the smoker status and how much alcohol is consumed by the applicant. If you were to of smoked in the last 12 months then this will also affect the final premium that you will pay for your cover. A smoker will pay higher premiums than a non smoker once again due to the perceived risks involved with smoking and the illnesses it can cause. It is a similar situation with drinking, if someone regularly consumes a high amount of units of alcohol then this can also lead to serious medical conditions and it is a higher risk to the life insurance companies. Hobbies can also influence the insurance company’s decision on the cover, if you were to take part in motor sport, hand-gliding, white water rafting or flying non commercial aircraft then this could be seen as dangerous past times. Once again as with most of the areas, it is the risk factor that affects the company’s decision on the cover.
These hobbies could generate loadings to be placed on the premium or exclusions made to the policy if it is considered a big enough risk by the life insurance comparisons company. Finally one of the other main areas that is carefully underwritten by the underwriters working in insurance companies is overseas travel and working abroad. If you visit or you work in certain foreign areas this could be seen as more of a risk. Parts of Africa and the Far East can be an issue for some companies. They are concerned about a number of things when you go abroad, one of these is that you could pick up disease or infection if the sanitation is substandard, there is also a higher risk of contracting diseases in some areas. One of the other factors that they could be concerned about is the risk of death, if the particular area you travel to is hostile and not welcoming to foreigners it could cause problems for the insurance companies providing the life insurance polices and underwriting the plan.
