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Nobody Gets Life Insurance!


Jens

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I know there are a lot of people like myself that climb and have a wife and kids.

We need life insurance.

It seems that as of late, the insurance companies have it listed on all their applications "Do you climb mountains, rocks, snow, or ice?" If you say yes, you are now either denied coverage or are given an astronomical price that literally only Bill Gates could afford. If you lie, that automatically nixes the contract when you really do die.

I just got outpriced through the roof for my life insurance plan and as of this very moment, have zero life insurance.

Anyone have any ideas?

Please Help

 

 

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I went through this last year in getting life insurance. I was just totally open and honest about all the "dangerous" activities that I do (motorcycles, climbing, etc.) because I don't want my wife to be denied benefits when I just croaked for something as stupid as climbing.

 

The agent guy took notes and had me sign some type of disclosure form. In the end, it took an extra day to get approved and the price difference was really minimal. I wondered if they even noticed the disclosure because the agent said I was going to get the ol' dry corncob when it came to pricing, but it really wasn't bad at all.

 

For me, it's worth the peace of mind knowing that my family won't have to deal w/ the hassle after I kick it. wave.gif

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When I applied a few years ago, they had some additional form for me to fill out, but in the end I don't think it cost me a dime extra, because the company only charged extra for people who climbed in the Himalayas or Denali, or at least above 14K. Based on that experience, I suspect there are decent life insurance policies available for most Cascade climbers. The actuaries know that once you're over 40, you're still more likely to be one of the unexpected heart attacks than the unexpected avalanche victims.

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If you have anything to protect in case you go to meet the maker, e.g. to protect your home from getting reposesed from your partner since you can't make payments, then you need life insurance. Period.

 

I'm not an insurance salesman, but it just makes sense. People's Benefit Life offered me and my wife a really good deal and didn't care that we climb, bike, etc. PM me if you want the name/number of the agent I used. They'll come to your house if you want and run a real slick program that compares over a dozen companies and all the different policy options to get you exactly the coverage you need for a price you should afford.

 

Greg

 

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If you're mostly worried about biting it climbing or driving to and from climbing you might consider looking into accidental death and dismemberment insurance. That's much more affordable.

 

I had no problems with my insurance wrt climbing, but I'm a GIANT group policy (Washington State public employees).

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Jens:

 

I went through this last year when the new addition to the family was on the way. You have to shop around. I received very different reactions/quotes depending on the company. USAA essentially lied to me and tripled the quote at the last minute. I ended up going with Lincoln Life and Annuity (not sure they do business in the PNW). For a better policy than USAA offered me, the price was 25% that of USAA's.

 

 

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mdidriksen said:

Jens:

 

I went through this last year when the new addition to the family was on the way. You have to shop around. I received very different reactions/quotes depending on the company. USAA essentially lied to me and tripled the quote at the last minute. I ended up going with Lincoln Life and Annuity (not sure they do business in the PNW). For a better policy than USAA offered me, the price was 25% that of USAA's.

 

 

I had a similar situation with USAA. I ended up switching to TIAA-CREF.

 

 

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Sorry for the picking up a dead thread but I just got a really high quote and went looking for names of some other companies to look at. What’s up with USAA? I’ve been very happy with their low-cost and really good customer service for auto and homeowner’s insurance over the years. But get this, we’re only getting enough insurance to pay off our house, and after honestly filling out the extra “climbing” questionnaire, my quote went from $134/quarter to $696/quarter. Obviously, we’ll be shopping around some more…

 

I asked the guy about it, and basically they just lump people into “climbs occasionaly” and “climbs regularly” which includes high altitude. Their questionnaire was really dumb, too, obviously written by someone who knows nothing about the sport. It was full of pointless, debatable questions like “how many rock climbs, on average, do you perform a year?” Do they mean pitches? Days? Can I count 5 30 foot sport pitches at exit 38 as one climb?

 

I think maybe they just took their scuba questionnaire and changed “dives” to “climbs”. There was a lot of space for detail about “instructional courses”, including # of hours, but only one line for “what safety equipment do you use?” Apparently, a long history of climbing without injury and the health benefits of being physically active mean nothing to them.

 

Grrrrr. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

 

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USAA IS GOING DOWN THE TUBES. MAJOR INTERAL SHAKE UP..FINANCIAL NUMBERS ARE DOWN AND SO ARE CLAIMS. IT IS TIME TO REPRIORITIZE THE COMPANY. CUT THE FAT AND MAKE THE CUSTOMERS PAY FOR THEIR SERVICES.

 

THE EMPLOYEES ARE FEELING QUITE VIOLATED NOW A DAYS THERE AS WELL.

 

MY MOM IS A MANAGER FOR THEM.

 

 

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NO

 

THE REASON BEING IS THAT IT CREATES A LAG IN THE SYSTEM. INSURANCE COMPANIES MAKE UP PLANS FOR EVERY YEAR CREATING A BUDGET AND WHAT NOT. THEY MUST ANSWER TO THE POILICY HOLDERS AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES, IF THEIR PREDICTIONS ARE NOT RIGHT. SO THEY AXE PEOPLE, RESHIFT THE BUDGET AND WHAT NOT...CREATES HUGE ISSUES.

 

THE INSURANCE PART OF USAA IS QUITE SMALL COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE COMPANY.

 

 

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Forrest - the price difference is rediculous, but at least you can get it. I looked into getting life insurance a few years ago when I owned a house for the same reason you did and couldn't get insurance privately because I climb. Basically the advice that I was given was to max out all life insurace benefits I could get through work because they don't have the same exclusions. I was told that until I quit climbing for a period of 3 years no one would insure me. Once I'd done my time of not climbing, I could get insurance then start climbing again and they wouldn't care. Stupid system if you ask me.

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You guys are approaching this all wrong. Don't mention that you're a climber unless you're a pro. You die on the mountain and the family just says this was the first time climbing for you and that they told you not to try it. They play dumb to the whole thing.

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