Saving You Money For Life

More and more traditional life insurance carriers are expanding into the substandard risk market (impaired risk) making obtaining life insurance coverage easier and more affordable today for people with conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. For instance, 5 years ago a diabetic would always pay 50-100% more above standard rates. Today, people on oral (not insulin) medications can get standard rate.

However, every carrier is different and specializes in a particular impaired risk. Unfortunately, there isn’t a life insurance carrier that specializes in ONLY impaired risk substandard business these days, so here are a few quick tips to helping you get the best rate on life insurance if you have had a serous or life-threatening illness including heart disease, diabetes and cancer:

• Use a broker who has access to products from many insurers and who has experience finding coverage for people with health problems.

• Increase your chances of finding coverage by taking steps such as losing excess weight or work to lower your cholesterol

• Make sure you’re free of cancer or heart attacks for several years – insurance companies are more likely to issue a policy to you if it’s been awhile since the diagnosis

Another easy way to find life insurance if you’ve had a past illness is to buy a group policy through your current employer. Workplace insurance is often available to employees regardless of their health history. However, the best advice is still to buy life insurance when you’re young enough and healthy enough.

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According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 108 million Americans carry no dental insurance. That’s over twice the number of citizens who currently have no medical insurance, and is slightly over one third of the population. Those sorts of figures are not going to encourage careers in dentistry.

However a low-cost alternative to traditional dental coverage has emerged, similar to the early versions of HMOs that introduced managed health care in this country. Both consumers and employers are turning to discount dental plans as high premiums, strict limitations of coverage and service issues are often associated with traditional dental coverage.

The National Association of Dental Plans (NADP) views discount dental plans as a viable, cost-effective alternative, and also has an even higher estimate of the uninsured populace: “With an estimated 45 percent of Americans not having any type of dental coverage, and the dental insurance marketplace offering few, affordable dental products for individuals, discount dental plans are an attractive answer to the need to reduce consumer out-of-pocket costs and increase access to care.”

Discount dental plan members pay a low annual membership fee and are granted access to a network of participating providers offering discounts of 10 percent to 60 percent on most dental procedures, including braces, root canals, crowns, dentures, cosmetic dentistry and more on select plans. Certain plans have expanded to include discounts on additional benefits, including prescription, vision, hearing and chiropractic care.

Discount dental plans start at about $80 per year for individuals. According to a 2005 report by the NADP, the average monthly premium for individual dental HMO insurance is over $190 per year, about compared $285 per year for individual dental PPO insurance and nearly $375 per year for individual dental indemnity insurance.

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