Life Insurance in the time of Coronavirus

If the current landscape has you thinking about life insurance, you are not alone. Many people are worried about themselves and their loved ones as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. These turn of events have more people searching for life insurance as an added peace of mind for their loved ones.

To help navigate the process during this unprecedented time, we have put together the following insights on how this pandemic will affect future and current life insurance policies.

The Life Insurance Landscape During COVID-19:

Life insurers are assessing their guidelines constantly as the situation evolves. New questions about COVID-19 are making their way into the application process.  During this time, there have been slight changes in the underwriting for life insurance. However, it’s more likely that this pandemic will have more of an impact on people who are applying for a new life insurance policy than those who already have a policy in place.

Travel

Carriers have, to date, imposed very little in the way of exclusions. For those with a policy already in place, life insurance covers pandemics, assuming you were truthful about your travel plans and exposure to illness during the application process. People applying for life insurance policies during this time should be completely honest about any past or future travel plans, otherwise, their policy may be invalidated.

Underwriting

Today, many companies are postponing applications of prospective insureds who have traveled to Italy and six Asian countries (China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, S. Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam). Applications are held until 30-days after their return to the United States but can proceed thereafter. Some companies are also asking applicants if they plan on traveling to these places in the next few months. Additionally, some insurance companies could postpone your application for 30 days if you have a member of your household who has recently returned from travel outside the U.S. or if you have come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. You may also be required to provide a statement of good health for a new or pending life insurance application.

Medical Exam

During the current coronavirus pandemic, some states are prohibiting in-house medical exams as an added safety precaution. It’s important to understand that getting a policy that doesn’t require a medical exam may require recent medical records. For those applying for temporary coverage without a medical exam, you may see some limitations on your coverage — but you would still have some life insurance protection to protect your loved ones during the pandemic.

Policy Issuing Process

Social distancing will disrupt the sales process for many companies reliant upon face-to-face communication. Luckily here at Bearingstar, we’re built for these times. Our team is laser-focused on ease-of-doing-business and pride ourselves on packaging the highest level of planning into our client’s preferred means of communication.

Most importantly, here at Bearingstar, our team is on-hand and readily available to help you and your family procure a life insurance policy and answer any questions you may have.

At Bearingstar we believe, no matter the circumstance, life insurance is truly important. We have many carriers that do not require a medical exam and we are issuing many polices a day. However, with guidelines possibly changing, if you’re planning to buy life insurance in the near future, your best bet may be to jump on it sooner rather than later.

For a life insurance quote or questions contact Adam today!