All,

One more question: I got my quotes through term101 and InsWeb. They
claim to shop around for the best rates. Are these outfits really the
best deal for the consumer (ie. do they really a reasonable facsimile
for shopping around oneself)?

Thanks much,

Mike

Hi Again,

Thanks for the good advice. When I originally applied for the life
insurance the company was well-aware of the melanoma. I made no effort
to hide that. The quote they eventually came back with was just more
than the original one. Gene's advice seems pretty win-win to me so
I'll most likely take it.

Thanks much,

Mike

"Cal" <cal-lester[at]comcast.net> wrote in message
news:y4GdnfzzO4JB_JTYnZ2dnUVZ_s-dnZ2d[at]comcast.com...
- quote -

AS usual, Cal is right on the money. I would like to take this a step
further - as both an agent and a personal with a "rated" policy.

The closer you are to the date of the original event, the greater the
perceived risk by the insurance company. The further you are from the
incident, the more likely you are to get a normal rating. For example, if
you have no recurrence of melanoma for 5 years you may be deemed no more
risky than someone who has never had it - this would result in your getting
a better rate.

The trick is this - if you wait you may have other issues come up, you will
certainly be older (which impacts rates) or (EGADS) you may have a
recurrence of the melanoma - in which case you would be a two time cancer
sufferer. This could very likely get you RATED worse than Table 2 - which
would result in a hefty rate increase.

My general recommendation to folks in your situation is this - purchase a
30-year term policy for as much as you can afford to pay, then review it in
5 years. If your health situation has improved you can always purchase a
new policy and drop the old one. However, if your situation has
deteriorated then you would have the benefit a good policy at a lower rate
then you could obtain at the time. And 30-years of coverage for a 39-year
old should certainly get your kids through college, see the house paid for
and leave something as a legacy - assuming (the Good Lord willing) your
family doesn't need the money first.

I'd suggest you meet with an insurance advisor to discuss the specifics of
your situation and your options. I know that the master general agent I use
allows me to send client information to them so they can shop various
insurance carriers looking for ones that specialize in "impaired risk"
cases. There are lots of options and you should not buy the first policy
you look at, unless you or your agent has shopped around for the best deal.

Good luck,
Gene E. Utterback, EA, RFC, ABA



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"
- quote -

Mike, in order to explain your question, it will be necessary for me to give
you a little INSIGHT as to how rates are determined. There are records kept
of ALL deaths, at what ages & for what reason. When you received the
original quotes, it was assumed that you were a TYPICAL 39 yr old male in
EXCELLENT health. When you applied the second time, the records reflected
the Melanoma. This present "some risk of death" to the carrier. They applied
a rating (increase) to cover that RISK.

The Table 2 simply represents one of 8 or 9 Tables, that are multiples, that
can be applied to REDUCE the amount of RISK that they have.

It is quite obvious that when your doctor answered the "APS", he reported
(as he is required to do) the melanoma. That is now on record with the
Medical Information Bureau, which will report it to EVERY company that asks.

HOWEVER, there are some companies that have more "EXPERIENCE" with
melanoma, and the MIGHT offer the policy with a lower rating.

Ask your agent to check it out (without sending in an application).

Cal Lester CLU

Hi All,

I (I am 39 years old) have applied for 20 yr term life two years in a
row. Last year I was advised to withdraw my application as in the
middle of the application process I was diagnosed with melanoma (I
withdrew the application then). I re-applied this year in June and was
just contacted back by the agent who said the insurance company was
willing to write the policy but the rate would be substantially higher
than they had originally quoted. This was due to my being placed on
"Table 2". What is table 2? I have Googled this and the term is
pretty generic so it seems to be hard to find. The quote was nearly
$1400/year for $600K over 20 years. Should I just be glad anyone will
write a policy or is this a reasonable price? Should I continue to
shop around?

Thanks much,

Mike