finance
COVID-19 is having an immediate impact on the life insurance industry…
To help their clients and prospects and protect them from unnecessary personal contact and in-person meetings during these times of social distancing, many insurers are changing their life insurance underwriting process and, in some ways, making it more streamlined. Paramedical visits, blood and urine samples might be waived in some cases, especially for the younger and healthier classes of people. Also, fewer medical records might be requested. Since these steps are a major source of delay in underwriting new policies, the overall process from application to decision might go a lot faster than we are used to. To allow this to happen, the applicants themselves are being asked by some companies to provide more information, rather than requesting (and waiting for!) volumes of doctor’s records. In any case, for those us who are reluctant to be stuck with a needle (and who isn’t!), now is the time to apply for a new policy.
On the other hand, because the corona virus poses more risk to certain older folks and those with weaker health overall, life insurance companies are taking a second look at their age limits and how far they are willing to go in the direction of rated policies. How all this will play out in the industry over the coming months is anybody’s guess, but already we have heard of reputable companies not taking life insurance applications for anyone 75 or older, or on prospects 70 years old with impaired health. These changes are said to be “temporary” and I am sure life insurance companies will use this “time out” to study the more lasting impact this crisis will have on the life expectancy of certain groups of Americans going forward.
Maybe a lesson for business owners would be insure your key people early and make sure you don’t keep postponing your buy-sell financing.
Come to Stonehouse for help, education, counseling and to see how any of this applies to you and your business, or your estate planning.
