So you went through the hassle of applying for term life insurance with a sense of dread about the paramedical exam. You\’re not in a hospital bed or anything but your cholesterol and blood pressure aren\’t responding well to the daily cheese burgers and occasionally brisket sandwich in spite of the ketchup (it\’s a vegetable, right) that you lather on it. The tests come back and you get declined for coverage. Now what? You need some protection with a new baby on the way and it\’s been a challenge to get the weight and cholesterol down. Actually qualifying for term life insurance these days can be rough but there\’s good news. The carriers are always bringing out new options to address the fact that a large number of Americans will probably have difficulty qualifying for standard life insurance. Let\’s take a look at the newest offer that we find to be a great benefit for our clients.

Essentially, the plans offer a accidental death benefit up to a certain amount with little if any health underwriting. This is amazing. So what are we gaining and/or losing with this option. The main catch is that the benefits are triggered if it\’s the result of accidental death as opposed to illness. Obviously, we like to have both but it\’s better to at least cover this risk than cover nothing at all. We find the benefit to be ideal for younger demographics since heart disease, etc is probably not going to happen under a certain age. Most illnesses are partially dependent or at least concurrent with increasing age. Depending on the length of term you\’re looking at and the age at which time you purchase the coverage, this can be address a great deal of the risk and still take advantage of the cost savings associated with term life insurance.

So let\’s look at the how the risks break down to really understand what we\’re protecting against. Accidents are the 5th most common cause of death in the United States. The top four are Heart Disease, Cancer, Stroke, and Respiratory Disease which can generally be viewed as diseases accompanying an increase in age. Cancer is probably the one that has less of an age criteria but only slightly. So how should we view this data? If you\’re a younger person and/or your expected coverage will take you up to between 40 and 60 years old, we can address a fairly large portion of the risk out there. This protection decreases as we go forward but perhaps the better approach is to get the Accidental Death policy for a short term while trying to either secure full term life insurance (say through an employer) or addressing the health issues that are currently posing a problem. Keep in mind that many advancements on the health care front may render your health issue a non-issue in the next 5-7 years or at least not a reason for life insurance declination.

The new accidental death protection only provides partial coverage but at least we can address that percentage of the risk until we have other options for full coverage. It\’s a smart first step on the road to complete life insurance protection.

Author Bio: Dennis Jarvis is a licensed insurance agent concentrating on getting the best term life insurance quote. Shop, compare, and instantly quote multiple carriers with over 150 articles to help you understand the market.

Category: Finances
Keywords: term life insurance quote, term life quote, term life insurance, accidental death insurance