Burial Insurance Companies To Avoid
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Not all insurance companies are created equally, nor will every insurance provider be the best option for you. In this article, we’d like to recommend our picks for the top 5 insurance providers to generally avoid, or those that may even be insurance frauds. Although some individuals may find that one of them may be their best option, overall we feel as though there are better choices out there.
What To Look For With Your Life Insurance Provider
There are a lot of important factors when considering which provider to place your trust in, and this may differ depending on the individual and what they consider a priority. We’re going to lay out some aspects to consider in no particular order so that you may place importance on whatever you wish.
Underwriting
Underwriting is how insurance providers evaluate the risk you would impose on the company if they insure you. Factors that affect this decision are things like pre-existing conditions, age, if you smoke, etc. Most of these factors can be adjusted by the individual applying with enough preparation, and it’s important to research what the insurer you’re applying with considers the most urgent factors when adjusting your rate. For example, if you’re a smoker, it’s going to be difficult to find an appropriate monthly premium compared to other’s rates, therefore a provider like Americo would be your best course of action as they market their services to smokers for very similar rates to those that do not smoke.
Think Ahead
Different policies offer aid to different facets of life. For example, Final Expense Insurance would be your best bet if you already have life insurance and would like to give beneficiaries additional benefits. When applying for insurance coverage, keep in mind your goals. Do you want as much coverage as possible? Are you preparing for a specific debt? Do you think your time may be cut short unexpectedly?
Policy Type
There are a tremendous amount of life insurance policies, and all serve a different purpose with only a few exceptions. It’s important to understand the policy types, as well as the type that would work best for you. Final Expense Insurance applies to funeral expenses and can exist with life insurance policies, Whole Life Insurance policies exist throughout the lifetime of the participant as long as premiums are paid, Term Life Insurance exists at a lower rate but has an expiration date that can be renewed – just to name a few examples.
Types Of Life Insurance
Permanent Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance
The Most popular form of Life Insurance, this policy lasts for an entire lifetime as long monthly premiums are paid appropriately. Generally, this form of insurance is the most expensive kind of life insurance, as it’s locked in for life. This type of policy also holds a cash value, so this may be useful regarding compounding interest but could be detrimental regarding taxes.
Universal Life Insurance
Very similar to traditional whole life insurance, with the main difference being that this form of insurance is very flexible in reference to your monthly premium as well as coverage amount. This policy also holds a cash value like traditional whole life insurance.
Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense Insurance exists like a whole life insurance policy tailored specifically for funeral expenses. These policies offer no medical exam and generally accept all applicants regardless of status. As a result of this acceptance rate, though, your rate may be adjusted based on how much of a risk you are assessed to be. Final Expense Insurance funds are paid out as normal as long as premiums are paid, and contain no restriction on how the funds may be used. This is always a good idea because you don’t have to spend the payout on a funeral if this is unnecessary, making this a very versatile policy.
Term Life Insurance
Simplified issue
A term policy that offers acceptance with no medical exam, although at an adjusted rate based on your applicable conditions. Generally the more health questions you apply for, the lower the monthly premium.
Group Term
A term policy that groups together multiple individuals into an all-encompassing policy. The most common form of group term insurance involves insurance offered via employer, and may sometimes not be enough to cover insurance-related expenses.
Insurance Providers To Avoid
Globe Life Insurance
Globe Life, or rather its parent company, Globe Life Insurance, aren’t exactly the most honest company. Since their beginning, Globe Life has seen their fair share of controversy. Ignoring their past, Globe Life recently has come under fire for marketing replacement policies or supplemental coverage meant to cover someone completely, when they do not in fact represent the coverage replacement they claim to be. It’s also been claimed that some agents have attempted to convince policy holders that their whole life insurance policy would expire at age 65, incentivizing them to renew or purchase a new policy altogether. It’s also been reported that individuals were sold on the rate of a policy that would aggressively go up the longer the policy was maintained. An example includes a man in Mississippi undergoing a policy that featured an $86 premium, where it would double in less than two years. Regardless if true or not, these claims are too frequent for us to recommend this company.
Colonial Penn
Marketed as offering coverage to individuals for only $9.95/month, Colonial Penn in fact sells its coverage in units, and these units contain a mandatory expiration date, not allowing for renewal. To put it simply, The Colonial Penn 995 plan is not worth your time and doesn’t offer the competitive rate they advertise. Here at Final Expense Benefits, we’ve written an entire article on why the Colonial Penn 995 plan is in fact not ideal.
National Family Assurance AKA Assurance IQ
National Family Assurance is a brokerage firm for Assurance IQ but you would not know that by looking at their website. By design, they leave a lot of information out in order to force you to put in your personal information and to get more details. What you may not realize, however, is that numerous disclaimers on their website say that you are agreeing to share your information with 3rd party agents and agree to spam calls. This agreement even extends if you are on a do-not-call list. This tactic is used to harass people into buying an insurance policy. They have an abysmal Better Business Bureau rating of a B and have a number of customer complaints.
AARP
AARP, or better known as the Final Expense Insurance Program under New York Life, is a final expense benefits plan meant specifically for AARP members. The plan itself is diagnosed adequately online through their website, and overall seems appealing, with New York Life agents not being explicitly on the nose or anything. The main drawback to AARP’s program is the non competitive price point. One of the most expensive Final Expense coverage options on the market, AARP hasn’t exactly grown with the times. As a literal pioneer of insurance policies, existing for over 175 years in various forms, it could be that their time in relevance is finally up.
Lincoln Heritage
Similar to AARP, Lincoln Heritage offers a final expense coverage option that as far as we’re concerned, looks appealing on the surface. Once you dig deeper, though, you understand that it’s essentially the same case as AARP, with this industry giant refusing to meet the standard set by the current year. Lincoln Heritage’s final expense plan can be up to 300% more expensive then the same plan with the same specifications offered somewhere else. Their underwriting is also particularly nasty, punishing you for the slightest health issue, as well as their consistent two year waiting period, we do not recommend ever using Lincoln Heritage.
Our Thoughts and Conclusion
To be on the safe side, none of these companies are a valuable option when looking for coverage. Thankfully, here at Final Expense Benefits, we contract with over 20 carriers and can find you an option that works for you, guaranteed.
Examples would include companies like:
Here at Final Expense Benefits, we like the consumers to make the best decision for themselves vs being told how to think. Hopefully, after reading this article, you feel more informed about the 5 companies named, and can maneuver more confidently when purchasing insurance options from the aforementioned. If you’d like more information about these insurance providers, or for a free consultation, give us a call at (866) 311-4338, 9-5 EST.